The last issue of Time Magazine has a whole lot of people buzzing. The cover has the iconic photo of US Marines at the battle of Iwo Jima but rather than holding up a flag, they are holding up a tree signifying the importance of global warming. Now, I found many things about the controversy rather interesting, but two points have to do with conversion optimization.

This is one out of two times that Time, in its 85 years of publication, has had a border that is not red. The conclusion is that in order for them to allude to the importance of this issue, or any issue, they change the border. How can you catch the eye of your visitor? In order to avoid confusion and anxiety build up within a site visitor, keeping the website consistent is crucial. However, from time to time, if you want something to pop out consider altering an element, color, etc. on that page to draw the visitor’s attention to something remarkable you are offering.

Another aspect you can take from this is the importance of choosing the right image(s) for your blogs, site, pages, etc. Of course, you don’t want to necessarily cause controversy, but you want people to buzz about your site. An image alone won’t do that, but a killer image paired with excellent content and a user friendly site is something worth talking about.

People will remember something that stands out, and through innovation and offering a unique perspective through site design, images, videos, etc. you’re presenting an edge, and something different to your users. Time has always been passionate about Global Warming, but this latest issue stepped it up a notch and made them gain stronger supporters or enemies. What do you offer on your site that is memorable?