Behind The Click: How to Use the Hidden Psychological Forces That Shape Online Behavior to Craft Digital Journeys That Delight, Engage, and Convert

There are so many hidden factors that influence the decisions your customers make, and it has little to do with the facts of your brand or the products you sell. They know they like a product or brand. They know that one service feels like a better value than another. They know that what you sell isn't a good fit, and they should head over to your competitor. But they usually don't know why they feel that way. They feel it, and that's good enough. This is where most companies miss the mark, deciding to throw all of their time, energy, and focus into conversion rate optimization to boost sales. But the answers you need to meet your sales goals don't just lie in user data - it goes all the way to human nature.

Behind The Click dives into the psychological principles behind the shortcuts our brains take to make decisions and how different elements of your company's digital experience play into those shortcuts to either guide customers toward a purchase or send them running to your competitor. By understanding these underlying principles, you can deploy optimization tactics that create a digital experience that not only meets but anticipates, your customers' wants and needs.

This book takes a step back to optimize your company's entire digital experience - from the first time they encounter your company to well past checkout. You'll find actionable optimization strategies to deploy on your company's website as well as the underlying psychological principles behind why those strategies do - or do not - work. Because no matter what else changes in the future, this focus on the customer experience will remain constant. Technology is going to change. Marketplaces are going to shift. But the psychological principles that influence how we make decisions will stay the same.

R. Jon MacDonald is the founder of The Good, a digital experience optimization firm that has achieved results for some of the largest online brands including Adobe, Nike, Xerox, The Economist, and more. Author of three books on digital journey optimization and a frequent keynote speaker, he has been invited to share his expertise on important stages including Google and Autodesk. He knows how to get website visitors to take action.