Here, at the LaLa Guru Show, we explore thought-provoking and fascinating information regarding matters of the body, the mind, business and beyond. 

We’ll dive deep into energy healing, quantum physics, the law of attraction, the power of the subconscious mind, longevity medicine, boosting your immune system, and so much more. Plus, for those of you who have a desire to grow your own business, we’ll be exploring cutting-edge strategies on how to best amplify your brand or messaging platform.

Today, we’re sitting down with Sam Morris, who, starting with a background in psychology and statistics, has over a decade of experience in search engine optimization, UX, and human web behavior analysis. He has worked as an expert in search engine optimization and search engine marketing across the United States and internationally. He is also head of digital marketing for my company, LaLaPow.

Due to his diverse clientele, Sam has acquired unique insights into the science behind user behavior and what end-users are saying with their clicks. He also happens to be one of the most brilliant people I know. 

The Science of Behavior

 Let me ask you a question: when you open your phone, your tablet, or your computer and begin surfing the web, what makes you do what you do? Why do you like certain websites better than others? What makes you buy certain products or like the things that you do?

When it comes to the web, you’re not as in control as you might think. The science of behavior and the web user experience is a highly sophisticated game. Sam agrees that the psychology of the web, “behavioral analysis and the psychology behind websites, and everybody’s interactions with these things on a daily basis, is an incredible topic to explore,” and we’ll start with Search Engine Optimization (SEO). 

“Search engine optimization, for people who don’t know, it’s the field of making changes to websites so that they rank better on search engines.”

One of the most well-known search engines is Google, but there are also others such as Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yahoo, and AOL, to name a few. These “optimizations” aren’t random, they’re highly targeted, using a methodology derived from “tons of studies in this industry [done] over the last 20 years or so…it’s really evolved.” Behavior analysis is a big part of SEO, which considers how users interact with websites and what they do on search engine results pages. Let’s take Google, for example.

“Google uses tools like Google Analytics, which evolved from Urchin tracking metrics when Google acquired those companies in 2004 and 2005. And then, they acquired DoubleClick Advertising, which uses cookies to track users’ behavior. All these things are tools that SEOs use to be able to determine which behavioral factors are impacting rankings the most.”

Sam’s background in psychology and statistics, along with his fascination with search engines, led him to explore his own behaviors on the web and how the way he “looks for information can greatly impact the results…and the knowledge that [he] can acquire.” Spurred by his curiosity, he wanted to know how those search engines run, learn more about consumer behavior, and understand “the facets of what makes people do the things that they do, what makes them make the decisions they do. All the way from a philosophical standpoint to a behavioral standpoint.”

When the web first opened up, we were diving in and exploring, surfing the web, and didn’t care very much about what was happening behind the scenes, but now, it’s so sophisticated. There are so many choices, and the quality of our user experience online has gotten to a point where we’re trained to like or dislike certain things due to heavy exposure. Simultaneously, we are training the search engines to display those things because our behavior has informed them to.

Google Analytics is a prime example of this as it’s on most websites, and “it allows the administrators of the website to be able to monitor the behavior of people on the website.” It will show when somebody visits a website and where they came from—in terms of other websites, search engines, an advertisement, or social media. 

“I can see how they’re interacting, what page they landed on, where they went, if they added items to their shopping cart, if they purchased these items, or if they just left.”

With Google Analytics, you can assess whether a customer is taking too long to make a purchase or find the information they’re searching for. “These tools are extremely valuable, and they really revolutionized the way that people build websites because they started listening to the users who landed on their site.”

User Experience

Most of us have had online shopping experiences, and in the beginning, our experience going online was limited, but “user experience (UX) encompasses a lot of different things.”

“User experience is, at the highest level, your experience when you’re interacting with a website or, really, any piece of software. It’s when you click through items, how you navigate them, how you find the information you’re looking for, how you accomplish the tasks that you set out to do when you get onto that website.”

When we, as consumers, buy things online, we develop expectations, “things like one-click purchases, which was a patent that Amazon got 20-something years ago in the late ‘90s…allowed them to revolutionize their product in the marketplace and allowed them to be able to set an expectation for people that that’s the way that their shopping experience should be, it should be that easy, one click.” It was a brilliant concept, and now, when we analyze the behavior, more clicks equals drop-offs.

“You can see when somebody buys and when they enter the website; you can watch people filing off every step of the way if they have too many steps.” 

Everything on a website contributes to the user experience, even something as simple as a video. If that video takes too long to load or play—and it’s something that’s supposed to motivate a visitor to purchase or sign up for something—they may get impatient and leave. 

“For things loading too long, you would see things like bounce rate, which means a user leaves within 30 seconds. So, a really high bounce rate is typically indicative of a long load time.”

One way to improve user experience is by testing it using A/B testing or using programs like Hotjar or Microsoft’s Clarity, which have lots of features, including recording user sessions and generating heat maps. Heat maps show you where the most clicks and scrolls are, whether they scroll to the bottom of the page or engage (or ignore) a Call To Action (CTA) button. These analytic tools watch behavior and how people are responding when they’re visiting a web page. “This allows the people who are running these websites [to] provide a better experience for the end-user.”

User Interface

User Interface (UI) varies from UX in that UI refers to “actual, visual elements, typically, on websites.”

“Visual elements are extremely important because there’s been tons of research, even dating back half a century, where people are looking at things like color theory…looking at how do colors drive people’s decisions to do certain things.”

When it comes to color, studies have shown the most liked color to be blue across gender and age demographics, while brown is the least liked color. Color plays an important role in web-building, especially with consideration to culture sensitivity, CTAs, and branding. Having gleaned information through his international clientele, Sam says that “in some Asian countries, red is considered a very harsh color” to use in communication, “whereas, in other places, red might be a color that symbolizes passion.”

Consider the brand Coca-Cola and its trademark red and white color scheme. What would Coke be like if it was chartreuse and white? It wouldn’t be the same thing, and perhaps, would not hold the same power or brand recognition. When we think about what Coca-Cola sells, most  people might say they sell cola. Sam says, “no, they sell Coke, they sell Coca-Cola–the brand. The brand, I want to feel that way.” He goes on to say that “Nike doesn’t sell sneakers, they sell Nikes.” 

“The brand becomes more powerful than the sum of all the products underneath the brand. These kinds of things are brand consistency and brand message…it ties into the UI thing, too, where people are looking at: do we have a consistent brand across the entire site. It’s a design element, but it also influences people’s behavior.” 

One design element that influences people’s behavior are buttons. That’s right, the shape and color of your CTA button has influence over your consumer. Studies have shown that “red buttons perform better than green buttons on websites; so they have a higher conversion rate…and that’s been demonstrated across tons of different studies, different industries, different countries, even when red is not a popular color for these things, it just has a higher conversion rate,” Sam says.

Site speed is another important factor when considering user interface and user experience. “If your site takes three seconds to load, you’re losing over half of your visitors.” Three seconds. That’s not a long time, but the cost is great, with studies showing a bounce rate of 53 percent. Previously, Sam worked on one website with around one million visitors per month, but because their site took nine seconds to load, they lost 90 percent of their visitors. For perspective, “a typical desktop site actually takes 10.3 seconds to load, and a typical mobile site takes 22 seconds to load.” Most people find that “intolerably slow and leave.” According to the data, most people will leave the site. 

The only exception to this rule seems to be government websites. Despite a lack of user-friendly interfaces, poor user experiences, and long load times, people are more willing to endure these negatives to accomplish their end-goal because the importance of that task is typically great.

Google’s PageSpeed Insights is a tool that can measure how fast your site loads, both on mobile and desktop. This speed is also how Google views your site and “is directly related to your ranking.” 

“Google’s product is high-quality, relevant results, and they control 70 percent of the search market, so it could not be overstated how important it is to rank on Google and be at the top and provide relevant, high-quality information for people who are looking for either goods or services or whatever you’re providing on your website.”

Google also indexes videos in the search engine results, and they have statistics linked to them, which contributes to a website’s ranking. “A page with a video is 53 times more likely to rank number one in the search engine results page.”

So, when it comes to user experience, user interface, and visuals, there are plenty of tools available to refine your site, increase your ranking, and enhance user experience for website visitors. Employ AB testing, which measures a user’s interaction (clicks) against two separate design (UI) elements, to find which garners the most interaction from your visitors. Lastly, since “Google is King,” take advantage of their free programs to improve your site and put it front and center on Google’s radar.

Discomfort and resistance to change go hand in hand. Resisting change may cause one to become unhealthy, both in mind and body, due to an elevation of stress. And as a result, not going with the flow may even cause folks to dive off their health and fitness tracks, to gain weight, to experience lowered self-esteem, to become more stressed out about relationships — thus the spiral begins. flowersIf you are like me, you need tips and tools for navigating change so you won’t go down with the ship. So here are eight tips and tools just for you.

8 Ways to Cope Healthfully with Change:

Chill Out. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, two-thirds of doctor visits are prompted by stress-related symptoms. Practicing meditation or simply quieting your mind for at least 10 minutes each day can help lower stress hormones throughout the day. When stress is lowered, you may feel more in control in the face of change. And you will be less likely to indulge in foods and beverages that are not good for you or your waistline.

Stop Negative Talk. Feeding the “beast” of negativity is simply not productive. Think about it. Continuing to harp on the unfairness of life, how much you dislike another person or complaining, in general, will only bring you more negativity. I have no doubt about that. So as my Grandma Ruby used to say, “If you don’t have something good to say, then keep it to yourself.” I’ll take that one step farther and ask you to stop that negative self-talk too! Changing the way you think can change your life.

Go with the Flow. “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” Author unknown. Letting go and going with the flow is challenging, especially if we feel our survival is threatened in some way. But then again, if we let go of the oars in our rowboat of life and see where the current takes us, letting go of resistance to the flow of life, we might just be surprised by the gifts that lie at the end of what seems to be a tumultuous journey.

Keep the Faith. Getting online with the divine, as I like to say, can help you to stay balanced in an uncertain world. Louis Ferman, a University of Michigan researcher investigating the unemployed, found one fellow who had been laid off by the Studebaker corporation in 1962, another time in the 70′s by a truck manufacturer, and then later by the Chrysler corporation. He said this guy, by all accounts, should have been a basket case — but he was one of the most well-adjusted folks he had ever met. When asked his secret, the unemployed fellow replied, “I have a loving wife and go to church every Sunday.” Now that is food for thought.

Focus On You. Your fitness. Your diet. Your sleep. Your fun. In the face of change, it is more important than ever before to stick to your workout routine, eat healthy foods, get adequate sleep, and build fun into your life. By doing this, you can face change with a clear head and a healthy, fit body.

Get Present. Instead of focusing on the past or future, focus on the good things in the moment. As I walked my dog this morning, I focused on the budding flowers, the sounds of birds chirping, the feeling of my muscles as I moved silently alongside my faithful friend as we both breathed in the crisp morning air. Connecting with the essence of what is happening right now can be magical in helping you to stay in the flow of life.

Explore Creativity. How long has it been since you listened to music, visited an art gallery, squished some clay between your fingers, contemplated writing a book? In the face of change, you may find you have more free time on your hands — and what better time to reawaken the creative parts of you?

Reach Out. Change can be challenging when you are all by yourself. Join a group. Find a therapist. Volunteer to help out at a food pantry or join others who are building homes for those in need through Habitat for Humanity. Reaching out can help bring a fresh and positive perspective to your life in transition.

Living a passionate, healthy life requires you to become a “master of change.” I believe you can become that expert by making conscious and courageous decisions along your path in life. You are in control of the most important asset you have — and that asset, your most valuable possession, is YOU!

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” Victor Frankl

How stressed out are you?

Remember that gym teacher who called you lazy? How about the “ex” who called you fat and not worthy? A boss who fired you? Or perhaps you can’t forgive yourself. As we live our lives, hurtful memories are inevitable. But the act of forgiving can be a powerful technique for decreasing stress and improving your overall health and well-being.

Personally, I’ve been though an extensive forgiveness process, and the relief I felt was unexpected. I honestly felt as if someone lifted a huge burden off of my shoulders. The stress we experience by holding on to feelings of anger, resentment, hatred and negativity can weigh us down in many ways, and in some cases, can lead to self-destructive behaviors, such as overeating, excessive drinking and other not-so-good-for-you activities.

Decreasing stress might help you lose weight, no doubt about that. Carrying the burden of not forgiving for past hurts has been shown to cause chronic stress, the type that nags at our very core without our even realizing it is happening. And researchers in various studies, including this one, show that chronic stress is related to obesity.

Dr. Fred Luskin, forgiveness researcher and author of “Forgive for Good” and star of the PBS program of the same name, shares his “9 Steps of Forgiveness” and has found that individuals who forgive experience significant stress reduction levels and health benefits. Luskin tells That’s Fit, “In my work I have seen practicing forgiveness help people make all sorts of positive lifestyle changes. That means that when people are angry and carrying grudges, they tend to eat more, they make poorer food choices and they usually get less exercise. When they let the grudge go they have more energy to give to their health and less obsession with the person who hurt them.”

Forgiving yourself and others might just be the key to unlocking your ability to lose weight. Are you ready to forgive? Try these strategies.

1. Write a forgiveness letter to the person who hurt you. You don’t need to mail it, just write it. Elaborate on what happened and how it makes you feel. Then express what you will gain by letting go and forgiving.

2. Write a forgiveness letter to yourself using a similar template as this one.
   Read your letter aloud to someone you trust. If you don’t want to read the letter, at least share your intention to forgive. Verbalizing helps to make the action real.

3. Practice stress management techniques when your mind begins to return to the moments of hurt. Realize you are reacting to something in the past and not the present.

Mahatma Gandhi once said “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”

In the next few days, think about who you need to forgive. And then forgive. Living your life now in the best possible way, including forgiving others, can cause changes in your life you could never have imagined, including losing what may be pounds of “unforgiveness.”