I got to catch 15 minutes of Susan Weinschenk, Ph.D. speak about her book Neuro Web Design: What Makes Them Click at the SXSW 2009 Interactive conference this week. I found the insights she has discovered through her neurological research and application of that knowledge to web design (usability) very interesting. Very briefly, I wanted to touch on some of the points she makes in the book. The following are elements that have proven success to "making them click."

• Danger
• Food
• Sex
• Scarcity - The idea that there are only a few of the item still available
• Social validation - The idea that we seek approval from others. So, informing us of what others are doing can influence our decision. Examples of this are polls, rating system, etc.
• Immediacy - Give the user something to do immediately. Calls-to-action ("buy now") are the example here.
• Placement - If you are first on the list, you get selected most often. Placement, order or sequence matters.

And lastly, the one stand-out that she mentioned as something not to do was to give the user too many options. She says fewer options helps and guides the user. Homepages are typically the best examples of what not to do.