Having an effective call to action is a crucial part of any website. Most people think calls to action should be reserved for ecommerce sites. However that is not the case. Every website should have an objective it wants visitors to complete while on the site; signing up for a newsletter, filling in a contact form, or entering to win a giveaway.
How do you create an effective call to action? Here are 7 techniques to help you achieve that.
1. Laying the groundwork
Before you can expect a visitor on your site to complete a call to action, they have to recognize they have a need. Think of all the infomercials you see touting the latest and greatest home gym or workout secret. They first identify a problem, and present their product that solves that problem. In your call to action you will need to show the benefits of responding, what will the user get out of completing the call to action? If you visit our website,
www.bluefrogdm.com, you will see the various calls to action we offer and what you get by completing them.
2. Sweeten the deal
You may have to give the visitor a little something extra to complete your call to action, or 'sweeten the deal' for them. An example of some incentives you could offer include; enter to win, a free gift, or discounts on products/services you offer.
3. Use active/urgent language
Your call to action should clearly tell visitors what you want them to do. Some examples of good active words to use are; buy, call, donate, register and subscribe. Each of these words encourages the visitor to take action. To create a sense of urgency you can use variations of these; for a limited time only, offer expires June 30, order now and receive a free gift. Often times you will see companies offer discounts to people that sign up early for workshops, or other offerings they have. A good example of using the urgency approach.
4. Position of your call to action
Placement on the page is critical for your call to action. It should sit near the top of the page so the visitor can see it without having to scroll down the page. You may also hear the placement referred to as 'above the fold'. If your website visitor has to scroll down the find your call to action, you run the risk of losing them before they can engage in your call to action.
5. Use white space
As important as the position of your call to action is, the space around it is equally important. The more space around a call to action, the more attention is drawn to it. If you clutter up your call to action with surrounding content, it will be lost in the noise of the page. It should also be highlighted with color to make it stand out.
6. Make it big
Now that we have established the importance of positioning on the page and white space, we can't forgot that size of your call to action plays an important role as well. The bigger your call to action, the better chance it will get noticed. Use a relatively large font as well in your call to action.
7. Have a call to action on every page
A call to action should be on every page on your website, not just your homepage. Each page of your site should have some form of call to action that leads the visitor on. The call to action does not need to be the same for each page, you can use smaller actions that lead the visitor towards your ultimate goal.
When building your own calls to action remember this helpful acronymn courtesy of Hubspot; VEPA. Make sure your call to action is
Valuable,
Easy to use,
Prominent and
Action oriented.
An effective call to action is the linchpin of a successful website. The difference between a weak call to action and a compelling one can mean the difference between a .5% visitor to lead conversion rate and a 5% visitor to lead conversion rate. On a site with 2,000 visitors a day, that is the difference between 10 qualified leads per day and 100 qualified leads per day.
Need help crafting your calls to action? Drop us a line, we would be glad to help!
sales@bluefrogdm.com.