In every part of digital marketing and web design, the call to action is king. This is what turns a vaguely interested visitor into a potential new customer.
For those unfamiliar with the call to action (CTA), it is a clickable link or button on your website, emails or social media content that drives visitors to take a specific action. It needs to be compelling enough to make them click, but how do you achieve this? What makes a fantastic call to action? Take a look at 8 of the best tips for crafting a genius CTA:
- Outline a clear goal. Before you do anything at all, you need to decide exactly what action you want the visitor to take. What is your goal for the CTA – to sign up new subscribers to your mailing list, send visitors through to your online store or get in touch? Only once you are crystal clear on the one action you want visitors to take can you articulate this in a strong CTA.
- Keep it short, snappy and simple. A long-winded sentence is not compelling, it doesn’t have the immediacy or sense of urgency that a good CTA should have. Limit yourself to 5 or 6 words.
- Be direct. Not everyone will be interested enough to click, but if your content and CTA is relevant to a visitor – then they will. You don’t need to be afraid of putting anyone off.
- Be relevant. A CTA that doesn’t relate to the content on the landing page, or the visitor’s expectations of what to do next, is confusing and annoying. The next step should feel natural, so make sure your CTA is highly relevant to the rest of the content on the page.
- Don’t be generic. Web users are bored of generic instructions using vague wording, like ‘submit’ and ‘find out more’. You need to be more specific and dynamic to catch their attention.
- Think about what the visitor needs. According to Boagworld.com, someone will only take the time to click on a link or button if they think it will somehow help them. Your job is to convey that a click will help to get them what they want or need. It’s all about offering value.
- Be personal. Using possessive language (i.e. ‘find your new home’ as opposed to ‘find a new home’) can help to make your CTAs more personal to the user, and help them get excited about clicking.
- Location is crucial. Where you put your CTA is so important for catching users’ attention. Most argue that ‘above the fold’ (at the very top of the page) is the best place, while others such as Kissmetrics argue that below the fold can be just as effective as visitors who read that far down are more likely to be engaged with your content. Multiple locations are recommended, but make sure you make it as visible as possible.
What are your top tips for creating compelling calls to action? Please feel free to share your thoughts.
