No one likes to be told what to do. Or do they? In reality, marketers tell us what to do all the time, and it’s incredibly effective. Buy this, go here, eat that. These are simple calls to action – simple directions that tell us what we should do. And for anyone trying to get results online, a call to action is vital to success.
Why Bother With A Call To Action?
A Call To Action (CTA) helps get a website visitor to take an action we want them to take. We get to prioritize an action and lead them to it. We may want a newsletter signup. Or maybe they should call for a consultation. Or we might go right for the sale. But they’re waiting for us to tell them what the next step is.
Yes – they’re waiting for us! No one wants to hunt around a website to find out what the next step is. They don’t want to hunt down a way to get in touch. They don’t want confusing or conflicting directions.
Instead, they want you to lead them. What should they do next? How should they proceed? And that’s where a CTA comes in. It’s your chance to set the direction and get your desired result.
Ultimately, a CTA is a road sign indicating what visitors should do next.
Now that the importance of a CTA is a bit clearer (we hope), let’s look at some important things to keep in mind when creating one.
Keep It Singular
Every page of your website should have a CTA. They don’t have to all be the same, but there should always be one. And there should be ONE and only one CTA per page.
Remember what we said above about avoiding confusion? If you give people multiple paths they could follow, they may not choose the one that’s most important to you. Or they might choose nothing, because, let’s face it, making decisions takes energy.
But you have to decide. What’s the one specific action you want a user to take from a given page? Once you’ve chosen, make that your one and only CTA.
Keep It Clear
You also want your call to action to be clear. Make sure the user will understand what they’re about to do. If they click this link, what will the results be?
The words in your CTA should be simple – keep it to as few words as possible. We can’t think of any time more than five words should be necessary, but that many should be rare.
Make sure it also expresses what will happen. Of course, this might be in the context of the webpage. For instance, if the page is talking about your newsletter, it could be enough to use “Sign Up” as your CTA. But if it’s not obvious what they’re signing up for, make it clear: “Sign Up For Our Newsletter”, for instance.
Keep It Powerful
Bland writing doesn’t win converts. As far as possible, use strong words that denote action. That can be tough with so few words, but it’s worth trying when possible.
For instance, “Call Now” adds a sense of urgency that “Call Us” doesn’t have. “Download Our E-book” could be more tempting than simply “Get Our Book.” “Schedule An Appoint” can yield more results than “Get In Touch.”
Even though it’s a short piece of text, it’s worthwhile to try a few versions on yourself and on your friends. Of course, if you can do A/B testing on your live site, that’s even better.
Keep It Obvious
Your CTA should be easy to spot. Again, don’t make your site visitors go hunting for it!
On your main landing pages, it should almost always be near the top of the page where it can be found without scrolling.
It should be clearly recognizable as a link that will lead the user somewhere. Most often that takes the form of a button. That also means you need to avoid anything else that could be mistaken for a call to action – so no other text in boxes that look like buttons!
Be sure the font size, color, and other elements make it stand out.
Keep It Pretty
Finally, make your CTA really stand out and look great. The colors, font, size, and overall design should be attractive.
That might go without saying – after all, your whole page should look great! But your CTA is a focal point so it should be a special spot in the midst of the page. That being said, don’t overdo it. Often, the best designs are the simplest.
Conclusion
A Call To Action is a vital part of a web page. It makes life easier for you and your page visitor by letting them know what they should do next. Keep it to one CTA per page. Make sure it’s clear, easy to find, strong, and well-designed. It’s a key to conversions, so be sure to spend time developing it!