Creating calls to action that work is key to increasing your conversion rates. Getting visitors to do something you want, whether to buy a product, subscribe to your emails, click on your ad or read a blog post you need an enticing call to action that they just cant resist.
Whilst there is not a ‘one rule for all’ when it comes to a good call to action (CTA), there are a number of best practices that can increase your success rate. Designing simple yet effectual call to action buttons that are click worthy is central when it comes to encouraging click throughs.
1. Size Matters
An effective CTA should be larger than the surrounding content in order for visitors to see it as something separate. It needs to be easy to read when you are scanning the page. The larger the call to action the easier it will be found, but this needs to be balanced with informative page or ad copy to communicate to the reader about the particular service or product being offered.
2. Colour & Contrast
A call to action needs to stand out from your design, using a contrasting colour to the background to draw the visitors eye. To create a sense of urgency a bright colour such as red or orange is effective. Although you don’t want a colour that is going to clash with your overall design.
3. Wording
The words and language you use will have a massive impact, again simplicity works best for straightforward actions such Sign Up, Find Out More, Book Here, View Products, Add to Bag etc. Don’t be to pushy as the hard sell can turn buyers away. If you want to try something different, you can try a question as a call to action to see if this works for your business for example ‘Want to save money on your heating bills?’. Getting creative with wording also helps, if you’ve got a promotion running why not try ‘Add to Basket – Save 50% Today’ to make a product even more irresistible to buyers.
4. Position
Never overcrowd or squeeze in your call to action, leave plenty of space around the CTA to draw the readers eye. You can use a call to action across all your digital marketing from your website and newsletter to your social media networks and blog, and this will make a difference where you position the call to action.
5. Multiple Calls to Action
Offering multiple calls to action on a page is not necessarily a negative but will have an impact on conversion rates. A good tip if you are displaying two CTAs is to make the one you’d prefer users to click on to stand out more using colour and contrast. Whilst this gives visitors a choice it also lets you entice them to the better option for your business.
6. Test, Test, Test
Small tweaks in calls to action can make all the difference to your conversion rate, just changing the colour or a word can have an impact so testing is essential. Try various options to see which get the best results, but make sure you only test one thing at a time otherwise you wont know which element is working.
Whether we notice or not we are all faced with many CTAs every day. Are you nudging your customers in the right direction with your calls to action? If you have any examples that have worked well, we’ve love to hear them, after all if you don’t ask you don’t get!