Psychology of Colors in Marketing: Boost Website Traffic and Conversions

Do you run a business with a marketing campaign and a willingness to bring in more customers and revenue? 

Color can have a big impact on the psychology of your new and existing customers! We have compiled a handy guide which will ensure that you pick the best colors for your marketing campaign and maximize your potential revenue.

Understanding Color Psychology

Colors can have an impact on the way humans perceive or interact with something. Colors such as red, for example, give off vibes of being angry and aggressive. This makes for a bad color in marketing, as it will turn people away from your product.

A survey on color found that the 35% of women thought of blue as their favorite color. 

Knowing this, we can tailor parts of a website during web design and development process which is dedicated to women in shades of blue to make features attention-grabbing and interesting for women. In the same light, women were found to not like orange, it was their most hated color. Logically, this would mean that pages aimed at women should not contain the color orange. 

Men had a preference for blue as well but hated brown. The rules should apply to male-focused sections of the site. 

Note that not all female participants felt that orange was their most hated color, it is important to be able to understand how different color combinations can affect a customer’s mood, but there is no definite combination which is simple; the best.

A Sneak Peak at a few Examples of Color

It is safe to assume that blue is a safe color since it’s ranked at the top of both male and females. Notice how many popular sites such as Microsoft and Twitter use shades of blue for their borders and logos, this is because it’s a desirable color which has been linked to trust and relaxation. 

As these companies often deal with people’s personal information, they need to convey a vibe which will allow their users to hand over everything about them without question.

Green can be linked to nature; this is because of the leafy tones of the forest. Many national park logos and outdoor focused hardware stores have green dominating their marketing. Linking your store to the industry it resides in can help to draw in customers by association. Even if they are brand new to the industry, hobby or simply, curious people.

White space is the use of color white around which there is no other tones or color. It can help draw attention to what’s important but should be used cleverly, as there’s a debate as to how much white space is too much, and it can be easy to go overboard. See Google for the most popular of websites which use white space to their advantage.

Use Of Color Wheel in Marketing

Marketers incorporate many tactics like influencer marketing strategies, emoji marketing, etc., while launching marketing campaigns. And considering color as a strategy is becoming the new trend.

The color wheel is an important part of marketing. Poor use of color can result in a clash which can be unsightly. Using a color wheel to help you pick your colors will be of a big benefit to your business. 

You should try to use color which is next to each other to convey a blend which appeals to emotion or gradient. They will look great next to each other as they are generally the same hue.

Colors which are opposite each other can be used to create a powerful contrast which can be used to create a vibrant scene, be sure to choose a gradient of a similar variety to ensure that they fit together well. This can be used to create a big impact or draw attention to certain areas of a page, wall or product by using the contrasting color.

A general rule for when creating a color palette is to have 20% of a secondary color and 10% of an accent color (a different color, often darker, which can add impact to a scene). This leaves 70% of your scene to be completed with a single color variety, there may be slight differences between swatches of your chosen colors, but they must stay the same e.g. blue, yellow and grey. 

Using a less frequent color (not the dominant one) will draw attention to a particular product or area of the store.

Consider Cultural Differences

Localization should be something that every business should consider, this also translates to color. For the uninitiated, localization refers to the practice of changing your storefront, menu or business, in general, to appeal to markets which may have different preferences, likes and dislikes. This still applies to color and you should consider this if you plan on expansion into new countries or offering different sites for specific countries.

Red is represented in much of Asia as the color has been associated with happiness and overall positive color, in the western world, it speaks corruption which no business should want to convey. 

As mentioned earlier, in North America, green is a color which promotes the idea of the outdoors and freedom. In Israel green is a color linked to bad news.

It is important to complete market research on the color scheme you should use and which to avoid when dedicating part of your marketing plans to specific regions or even areas within a region, even countries can have differing opinions based on their local color associations.

Plan Ahead for Best Results

Choosing a color scheme which collectively conveys your business while also appealing to the mass market is difficult but should be one which is thought of before launching into a new area or market.

Choosing the correct color pallets can have a hugely positive impact on the operational success of all businesses, large and small. Planning ahead will ensure that you enter your markets with the best possible chance of success.

In a Nutshell

Color is an extensive subject with many considerations, theories and ideologies. You must pick colors that apply specifically to your circumstances. Performing your own targeted research should be of high importance for business owners planning a new color scheme for their business. 

We hope that this guide on psychology of colors in marketing has been a good introduction and has created a basic understanding for all things color related.