Call-To-Action (CTA): The Smart Move To Rapidly Grow Conversions
What Is Call-To-Action (CTA)?
Call-to-action (CTA) is a prompt that encourages visitors to perform a specific action on your website. Different CTAs have different objectives, but the ultimate purpose for CTAs is to really bring users down the marketing funnel to drive conversions and sales. Common CTA examples include ‘sign up now’, ‘try it now’, ‘click here to learn more’ and ‘redeem your coupon now’. It usually appears in the form of a button, but it can also appear in the form of an image or words. Essentially, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for CTAs, so as a website owner, you will have to determine the objectives and decide on the most appropriate one to use.
For example, a design company selling a design software might include a CTA that states ‘click here for a free trial’ to encourage free trial sign-ups. This would immediately bring to the users’ attention that they have an option of a free trial, which otherwise they might be unaware of and the company would miss the opportunity of getting the users to experience their software.
Why Is CTA Important?
CTAs can greatly help to boost conversions and sales. Having CTAs on your website displays ‘proactiveness’, whereby instead of having the customers to search for the available options themselves, you make the first move by anticipating their actions and providing them with the options instead.
Without a proper CTA, visitors who may be keen to find out more about your products or services may be lost and unsure about how to proceed to the next step, and you most certainly do not want to let your users spend extra time trying to navigate their way around. This makes it a very poor user experience and will lead to drop-offs. Hence, CTAs are important in helping to guide users to take the next steps.
Tips For An Effective CTA
1) Position
There have been debates about where to place the CTA: above or below the fold. In fact, both have their benefits.
Above the fold – Placing the CTA above the fold is useful as many people only read the headlines and skip the content, hence they might not notice the CTA if it’s placed below the fold. Some might also have read about your products or services elsewhere and entered your website just to find out the next steps they can take, hence putting the CTA above the fold would capture their attention immediately and make navigation easier for them.
Below the fold – Many users, especially first-time visitors, may need to read more content to find out more about your products or services before they are convinced and willing to click on the CTA. Furthermore, if users have read more content on your webpage, it indicates a higher interest in your products or services, and hence a higher chance of them clicking on the CTA.
Open Mile’s conversion rate increased by 232% when they reduced clutter around their CTA.
It is also important not to place the CTA in a position surrounded by many other images or texts as it would be messy and would make the CTA less obvious. As it is crucial for the CTA to stand out and be recognized immediately, leaving negative space around it would definitely help to improve its visibility.
2) Frequency
Multiple Call to Actions Increased Conversions by 20%
Source: Invesp
Ideally, every page should have at least one CTA. Placing a CTA on every page of your website allows users to know what actions they can take after reading the content on each page.
There is no harm in putting multiple CTAs per page, but be careful not to include excessively as this might overwhelm the readers and confuse them. You should avoid the situation in which they have to spend quite some time deciding between the multiple CTAs or even being confused and unsure about the differences between them. Poor user experience is definitely not something that you would want for them.
3) Design
The CTA should be attention-grabbing and stand out from the rest of the content. It has to be immediately recognizable with one clear look, without the user having to spend time searching for it or even worse, being unable to find it.
Color – The color of the CTA button should have a good contrast from the other colors used on the website. Avoid using a color that is already used by the other words on your website as it may blend in and make it less obvious that it is a CTA. Brighter colors should preferably be used instead of dull ones to make the CTA stand out.
Size – The size of the text in the CTA should be bigger than the size of the other text on the page so as to draw the user’s attention to it, and to highlight its importance.
Font – The font used should be easy to read, and not too complicated. The user needs to be able to make sense of the words at first glance.
4) Copy
The CTA and its copy come hand-in-hand. Not only does the CTA need to be visually outstanding, but the copy also needs to be convincing and compelling enough such that the user will find the need to click on it. No matter how attractive your CTA is, if the users are not convinced, they ultimately will not click on it.
The copy should preferably state the benefits users get by taking that action, its importance as well as highlight the need and urgency to take the action. It should make the users feel that they are missing out on something possibly beneficial to them if they do not click on it. Hence, a well-designed CTA button should always be accompanied by a compelling copy for maximum effectiveness.
Choosing and using the right words for your CTA is really important. There are several points that you should take note of:
Be Clear – The CTA needs to state clearly what the action is about, and exactly what to expect after clicking on it. The action must be exactly the same as described, and should not be a bait to lead the user to a different link to perform another action. This would result in you losing your customer’s trust and it may also deter them from further exploring your website.
Get straight to the point – Don’t beat around the bush and get straight to the point. The text on the CTA button should be concise, simply stating the main purpose of it. Any elaborations should be placed in the text leading to the CTA button, and not on the button itself.
Use simple yet powerful words – Use words that are easy to comprehend yet powerful in getting the user to click on the CTA. Examples of effective words frequently used are: Learn, Free, Get, Start, Now, and Try. Also, creating a sense of urgency among users can be highly effective due to the fear of missing out (FOMO) mentality among people. You can do this by using words such as ‘Limited Time Only’, ‘Only For This Week’ and ‘Offer Ends Soon’ to tell users that they would need to act fast if they want to claim the offer.
5) A/B Testing
Different people may react to a particular CTA differently, and the same CTA button can also have different effects when placed on different websites. There is no single ‘perfect CTA’ button for all to use. Hence, it is crucial for you to conduct A/B testing to determine the preferences of your audience. You can do this by changing the color, positioning, and text of the CTA. Even making the slightest changes that you thought didn’t matter may result in a drastic change in click-through rates (CTR). Never assume that a CTA is the best CTA, as you will never know until you test more options.
For example, Humana, an insurance healthcare provider, achieved a 433% increase in CTR by altering its CTA such as changing its color, text, and text length.
This example shows exactly how crucial and effective A/B testing is in creating wonders for your click-through rates. You will never know how making changes to your CTA can impact your business until you try it out.
Looking To Increase Your Conversions?
Paying attention to your CTA is indeed essential if you want to boost sales and conversions. However, improving your CTA is just one of many other aspects that you can work on to boost your conversions. Another key aspect that you should focus on is Social Proof.
Social Proof has a huge impact on a consumer’s decision-making process. When done right, it can be a very effective method to increase conversions and drive up sales. However, for it to be effective, choosing the right tools is important as well. That’s why at Ping Proof, we provide you with just the platform to get it done.
With Ping Proof, you can create and customize notifications to your website visitors in a matter of minutes.
|
Emoji Feedback An interactive way for users to give feedback about your site
|
Informational Feedback Fully customizable informational message for your users
|
|
Countdown Collector Create urgency/FOMO with a countdown timer and an input for lead generation.
|
Coupon The best way to let your users know that you are running a sale.
|
Many competitors out there have already implemented Social Proof on their websites. You simply can’t afford to miss this step. Want to convert your website visitors to customers? Start your journey now with Ping Proof! Request for a 14-day free trial with us today!
