What Is The Halo Effect?

The halo effect describes our natural tendency to be much more trusting, tolerant and compliant towards good-looking individuals in contrast to the not-so-attractive...or in other words to be inordinately biased in a positive manner to people who are good-looking.

This has far reaching consequences, especially in the work place, as illustrated by the commonplace manner in which employers routinely employ more attractive applicants before the less-attractive, sometimes even when the less-attractive applicant is better qualified!

In fact the ramifications of the halo effect are now understood to be a lot more extensive than previously thought.

For example we now know that people reflexively and subconsciously ascribe positive traits such as honesty, kindness, intelligence and talent to good-looking individuals whether or not such traits actually exist!

1st Impressions Really Do Count!

You've probably come across or heard the saying "Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover".

Well the simple fact of the matter is that people do just that! They routinely judge "the book" by its cover. You see the fact of the matter is, we are pre-programmed from birth to make subconscious snap judgments based solely on appearance. In fact studies have revealed that babies instinctively fixate on attractive faces far longer and more often than on the not-so-attractive visage, irrespective of whether the person is a stranger or not.

Significance of The Halo Effect to Internet Marketing?

Of what significance is the halo effect to internet marketing or any online business for that matter? Well the first thing you have to appreciate is that people are only going to buy from a website they feel comfortable with. The reason is simple. That feeling of comfort they experience subconsciously translates into trust. Naturally, if you happen to be the owner of a well-established brand-name site such as Amazon.com, this issue of trust is a non-issue.

However if you are one of the faceless millions of netpreneurs scattered across the globe you are precisely that...Faceless! You are working from a position of weakness in that you don't have brand-name recognition behind you and that you're an unknown entity.

Being unknown means that the onus is on you to cultivate trust, but first you have to overcome the particular challenges that conducting business online poses.

What are these particular challenges I speak of? Well the fact that the internet is a virtual reality as opposed to a true reality means that all the rules of real life do not and cannot apply online. Point in case, it is impossible to employ all our senses online in the same manner that we do offline.

This is important because we humans are guided and driven by our senses. And the only tool of measure we have at our disposal for online shopping is a visual assessment. And that is precisely what most of us use to assess a product's quality prior to purchasing it...vision!

Bearing this in mind, it makes sense to have the best visual presentation for your visitors. Because traffic to your site is much more likely to stick around and comply with your directives so long as they believe and trust you. And the only way you are going to convince a perfect stranger to trust you online is through the appearance of your site.

A sloppy Site Provokes Doubt!

If your site looks shabby you can bet its appearance is going to put off most of your visitors. You see most folks equate a shabby-looking site with one word...SCAM! Conversely though, people equate a neat well-designed site with professionalism, reliability and honesty...essential factors if you hope to get them to part with their cash.

In fact the visual component has such an impact online that even if you have the best copy in the world it means absolutely zilch if your website appears sloppy.

Bottom line...If Your Website Is Not Visually Appealing You're Losing Money!