Call to Action: How to Convert Visitors

What is a call to action? Putting it simply, in marketing it is how you persuade customers to do something. It is the portion of your advertisement that tells members of your target audience what they should be doing once they click on your advertisement and hit your website or landing page. On the landing page, this is where you convert visitors.

The best calls to actions trigger mental or emotional responses from your users, creating a sense of urgency that they should act or purchase in a timely manner. They are a great idea for your business because they provide you with ways to measure your website’s success and give a specific direction to your users.

How Do They Actually Work?

A call to action should clearly tell users what you want them to do. The more information you can provide to your potential customers, the better it will be for everyone involved. At their best, calls to action include active language that provoke enthusiasm and elicit a strong response from your audience. Often, they begin with command verbs such as: buy, register, subscribe, donate, and call now.

It’s also important to think about the ways your customers will benefit from what you are offering or what you want them to do. When crafting CTAs, give your audience a legitimate reason to follow through with the desired action. This is where your unique selling point (USP) comes into play — the element of your CTA that shows your individuality and ability to innovatively serve your customers‘ needs. To create a sense of urgency, these words can be used to accompany phrases such as:

• Offer expires this Friday
• Available for a short time only
• Order now and receive a free gift

It’s also wise to include other types of text, such as numbers and informative pricing information. Looking at it from a small business owner’s perspective, this could look something like, “Book today for 15% off your next visit!“

How Can I Get the Most Out of My Call to Action?

• Placement is Key
  Pay close attention to the position of a call to action on your page. Ideally, it should be placed high on your page and in a clearly visible position. Calls to action can be placed on more than one page on your website — this is a good way to ensure that users don’t encounter “dead ends“ while responding to your call. You can differentiate each page’s CTA to help users navigate through your website in a simple, straightforward way.

Taking placement a step further, you can also include calls to action on places outside of your website. Newsletters, blogs, and social networks are also ideal locations for a call to action. Keep in mind that mobile devices tend to have varying user behavior and will display CTAs differently than that of a laptop or PC.

• Tidy It Up
  It’s a good idea to use attractive colors in your design that are different to the ones featured in the main color scheme of your website. This contrast leaves customers with no doubt about the next step they should take. The presence of images and/or graphics can also help it to stand out and attract clicks.
• Make It Yours
  Most importantly, always tailor to your individual goals and needs. Think about what you’d like your customers to be doing on your site in order to craft calls to action that will successfully resonate with your audience.

Originally published at www.growthlabs.marketing.