First, what is a call-to-action?
A call-to-action is an instruction to your audience, the visitors to your website for example, to provoke an immediate response.
Every website should have an objective it wants users to complete whether it is filling in a contact form, signup for a newsletter or signing up for an offer.
A call to action provides…
- Focus to your site
- A way to measure your sites success
- Direction to your users
6 Techniques to Create a Great Calls-To- Action
1. Tell People What They’ll Get
Before someone is going to respond, they will want to know what they are going to get. Identify a problem and your solution before asking people to respond. You also need to communicate the benefit of responding. What will the customer get by filling out your form?
2. Have a Focused Action
Have a small number of focused actions that can direct the user to what you want them to do. Having too many actions and the user becomes overwhelmed and will likely not do anything on your site.
3. Design and Position
Another important factor is the position of your call to action on the page. Ideally it should be placed high on the page and in the central column.
Colour is an effective way of drawing attention to elements, especially if the rest of the site has a fairly limited palette.Your call to action should be stand out against the rest of the colours on your site.
4. Start Your Call to Action with a Verb
Prompt readers to take action by starting your call to action with a verb. Use words like:
- Call
- Buy
- Register
- Subscribe
- Donate
Or be creative and write copy that shows your company’s personality.
5. Have a Call to Action on Every Page
A call to action should not just be limited to the homepage. Every page of your site should have some form of call to action that leads the user on. If the user reaches a dead-end they will leave without responding to your call.
Your call to action does not need to be the same for each page. Instead you can use smaller actions that lead the user towards your ultimate goal.
6. Direct people to A Specific Page (Ideally a Landing Page)
A CTA is most effective if people are taken to a dedicated landing page after clicking it, rather than a random page on your website. For example, a CTA is still a CTA if it points to a “contact us” page (which isn’t a landing page), but it won’t be as effective driving leads and customers as a specific, focused landing page for a free ebook download.
To see some great Call to Action examples, check out this blog by Wordstream.
