Do or do not. There is no try. Only do.
Web Design and Call to Actions
The Importance of a Call to Action
Every website needs a call to action. The call to action is a response you want your users or potential customers to complete. In the business to business world, it’s usually an attempt to get contact information from someone so you can put them into a lead nurturing process. Business to consumer sites will be more geared to buy now, and customer service calls to action. A call to action can also provide valuable analytics for your marketing program. You can see how effective your marketing strategy is and where improvements are needed. Tracking conversion (how many times someone enters your website and completes your call to action) for example is the foundation of analytics tracking for a marketing campaign. Here’s a guide to a better understanding how to build a call to action and put it to work on your website.
Repetition
Your call to action needs to be on every page of your website. This is more about numbers and accessibility than anything. The more avenues you have available, the more likely you will see the conversion on your website go up.
Sell Your Call to Action
Placing your selling points right above or around your call to action can pay huge dividends to your conversion. Typically you see this on the front page of a website listing the features and benefits of what they are selling and having a call to action right below that. This approach draws the focus of the user in to your site and makes the call to action flow like reading a book and turning the page.
Stand Out
The use of bright colors or white space to draw attention to your call to action is a smart way to get users to interact with your site. Not only does it add some flare to your website but it makes it visible to every user who enters the site making sure no will leave your site without first seeing an opportunity to interact with your website. White space can outline a call to action on a solid color background. If you’re looking to keep a clean design on your website, this will be a way to go. Flash animation is also another creative to make your call to action stand out.
Clear and Concise
Don’t leave the imagination to wonder for the users. Make it clear “buy now” “schedule a demo” “download a white paper”. Don’t over complicate the call to action, give people something easy to do and understand options for them to interact with your website.
Positioning is Key
Many times I see websites have their calls to action stuffed off into the corner of the website and make it blend in with the header of the site. Put your call to action where people are looking at where clicks are happening. Aligning your call to action centrally on your homepage is visually appealing. You leave no chances that your call to action ill be missed either by the user.
Have Multiple Calls to Actions
Having multiple calls to action will give users more ways to interact with your site. For example, a SAAS company can easily offer a “view Demo” “Contact Sales” and “download whitepaper” as their calls to action on their website. As long as you keep the options simple you can give users more ways to contact which will lead to higher conversion rates.
Conclusions
Calls to action can make or break a website and marketing strategy. The tips above can help you define and create a call to action that is sure to increase conversion rates on your website. Now I’m going to take a stab at creating a call to action.
