What Is a Call to Action & How Are They Used?

What Is a Call to Action & How Are They Used?

A call to action is exactly what it sounds like: you tell someone what action they should do next. Read to the end of this article. Buy my products now. Look through my art gallery. A call to action or CTA, is a statement to get someone to make an immediate action which will benefit both you and your business. 

Why would you need to use a CTA? Because it gets website visitors doing something you want them to do, and it makes life easier for them. Yes, this sounds weird. But by removing the need to think, you are reducing the likelihood of them doing something you don't want: like leaving your site and visiting your competitor's site instead.

Common calls to action include:

  • Sign up for our newsletter
  • Buy now
  • Checkout
  • Share on social media

But having a CTA like one of these doesn't guarantee that it will be followed. There are many components to a good call to action, including:

  • use an action verb first to tell the reader what to do, using words such as download, find out how or buy
  • a brightly coloured button to get attention
  • a clearly stated benefit to the reader
  • short in length, no more than five words
  • easily noticeable on the page
  • use FOMO to entice
  • use numbers, as these are responded to well

Where Should a Call to Action Be Used?

Each page on your website should contain a CTA. It may be in a text form with a hyperlink, or as a call to action button, which is the most common. Knowing that it needs to be easily noticed, it's best to incorporate it into the design of your page. This means positioning the other page features around it and using plenty of white space to ensure it is prominent. For its position on the page, you have a few options. Often website owners add it to the first half of the screen, so that when people visit the page, they see it without scrolling. Others add it halfway down, or at the end. Many use a combination of all. The best way to determine the most effective page position for your CTA is to test a range of positions on different pages of your site, and find out which one gets the most clicks.

High Performing Calls to Action

There are plenty of examples of high performing CTAs out there. But just because it works for them, doesn't necessarily mean it will work for you. It's best to try out a range of CTAs on your target audience first, as well as checking out what others are doing in your industry. Here is a list of effective CTA wording you may want to consider:

  • Create account                                             
  • Sign up free
  • Book a demo
  • Get % off
  • Get started
  • Learn more
  • Try for free
  • Enter now
  • Contact
  • Discover
  • Explore
  • Book a demo

So what call to action will we be using? 

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Tags: ecommerce  marketing  

Posted: Monday 4 March 2019