Tracking Emotional Responses in Conversion Rate Optimisation
Galvanic Skin Response (GSR)—or, as it’s sometimes known, Skin Conductance (SC) or Electrodermal Activity (EDA)—is a measure of the intensity of emotional arousal in a person.
When you get aroused, your skin conducts electricity better. GSR machines, including the state-of-the-art equipment we use here at Endless Gain, work by measuring how easily an electric current (don’t worry – it’s too small a current to feel!) passes through the skin.
The higher your skin conductance, the sweatier you are, and therefore the more emotionally aroused you are.
Why Do We Use GSR to Measure Customers’ Emotional Responses on Your Website?
Why don’t we just ask customers how worked up they are?
For one thing, they might lie – particularly if they find their responses embarrassing, or think they’d be telling you something you don’t want to hear. And for another, they might not know. GSR can pick up on unconscious emotional responses that people can’t control and may not even be aware of.
So, when it’s paired up with facial expression recognition technology, which tells us which emotion your customers are feeling, GSR can tell us how strongly they’re feeling it.
- Do they like this product, or do they love it?
- Is the checkout process smooth, or is it sending your customers into fits of rage?
- Do they leave your site relaxed, or stressed out?
Once we have the answers to these questions, we can change the stimuli on your website that are getting your customers worked up.
At Endless Gain, we use evidence-based psychological techniques to encourage your customers to feel the right emotions: alleviate their negative emotions and enhance their positive emotions.
Read our in-depth blog post on GSR research in conversion optimisation.
