If you are like most internet based businesses, you are relentlessly trying to obtain more leads and increase sales through your website. If you feel that you’re not making the most of your site, the first thing you’ll want to review is the effectiveness of your Calls-to-Action (CTAs). Not only are they less time intensive to change than other pieces, such as the design or structure, but you’ll also notice a larger ROI in a shorter amount of time.
So, what is a CTA, exactly?
A call to action or a CTA, as referred to by most business entities, is a banner, button, graphic or text found on a website expected to prompt a visitor to click it and continue down an established sales funnel. It is one of the most important parts of inbound marketing as it strives to convert a visitor into a lead and eventually into a customer.
There are many factors that differentiate successful CTAs from unsuccessful CTAs. You’ll want to make sure that you’re able to exploit these success factors:
- Color/Shape
- Placement
- Value
- Messaging
Color/Shape
The three colors that perform best on a CTA are Red, Green and Orange. The three colors that perform worst when creating a CTA are black, white and brown. The shape is also a major component of enticing those visitors to click. We recommend rounded corners as they help to draw the user into the action. The CTA shouldn’t be so small that the visitor doesn’t notice it but it shouldn’t be so large that they don’t know that it is clickable.
Key Takeaway: The main optimization principle here is to separate the CTA from the rest of the page.
Placement
The placement of the CTA must match where it lives and where it leads to. For example: if the CTA is placed on a blog post having to do with social media, the CTA should lead to content regarding how to improve your social media. If there is too much disconnect between the content and the offer the visitor is more likely to leave then to turn into a lead.
Insider Tip: Studies have shown that CTAs below the blog post have the highest CTR and a very high click-to-submission rate.
Value
Before visitors will click on a CTA, they have to believe that what you are offering is of value to them. If your offer has no value, you’ll likely have a CTR of ZERO, Zilch, Nada. Think of the top 3 or 4 potential benefits of your offer. Now place emphasis on strengthening the benefit that offers the most value.
Expert Advice: On your CTA, give a quick description of what happens when they click on it.
Messaging
Does your CTA give the visitor a reason to act immediately? The word NOW is an example of a message that convinces the visitor to complete the desire action. The most effective and efficient calls-to-action tell give your visitors and idea of what to do (e.g. click now, download here, get XYZ). Use well placed verbs in order to get the results you want. When combined with the other factors, this result can be exploited further. Also keep in mind that vague language decreases the overall value of your CTA.
Our View: Clear copy with well-placed verbs builds the visitor’s confidence in your offer and guides them in the right direction.
Ultimately, through strong optimization and intelligent testing you’ll be able to pick out which practices work best for you and which don’t.
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Emmett Hughes is an account manager at Stratus Interactive in West Chester, PA. In his spare time he enjoys Philadelphia sports teams, collecting rare vinyl and spending time with his friends and family. Find Emmett on Google+