When someone lands on your website, do you want them to buy a product, make a reservation, book a service online or follow you on social media? Whatever your goal is, the lingo for this element of savvy web design is CTA – or Call To Action.
Think of a CTA like the phone number and associated incentive at the end of a really slick infomercial. Call Now & We’ll Also Include The World’s Sharpest Knife Free of Charge! The content on your website tells the story about your business or products and the CTA motivates them to take the next step and interact with your site. Since you can’t put one of those slick talkers on your website (nor would you actually want to), here are some proven ideas for creating an effective Call to Action strategy:
ACTIVE LANGUAGE
Use active language that compels your visitor to take action. One of the most common CTAs on websites is the Click Here option. This originated when users were new to the web and needed instruction on how to actually follow the link. Since that’s not the case anymore, use the space to tell people why they should follow the link instead of how to follow the link.
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CLEVER DESIGN
Effective CTA buttons or graphics are highly visible and intuitively guide the visitors to the desired action. Make sure your CTA leads directly to the action, rather than to another series of links. Use contrasting colors, white space and placement to ensure that CTAs are visible, but be careful not to overwhelm with too many CTAs on one page.
You don’t need a designer to find engaging CTA graphics. There are plenty of free CTA graphics available online. Just search for “Call To Action Buttons” to find free downloads.
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
Your CTA is the bridge that converts visitors to customers and audiences vary wildly in what motivates them to take action. Is your demographic young and hip or mature and sophisticated? Are they impulse buyers or extensive researchers?
In addition to knowing your demographic, consider whether they are searching on a mobile device or a traditional computer. People searching for a business or product on their phone are much more likely to take immediate action. If your CTA isn’t easily visible on a phone or tablet, you’re losing business when mobile users don’t see an obvious way to call your business, book online or make a purchase.
TRACK YOUR SUCCESS
Once you’ve created a CTA, the only way to know if it’s generating the largest number of conversions possible is to track your audience’s behavior as they navigate through your website using a web analytics program. Since every business has unique variables, testing different CTAs and tracking your results is the only way to know if your CTAs are generating the best results possible.
Want to know more about creating effective CTAs? Email us at lorie@strategiccommunication.biz.