As consumers, we’re a fickle bunch, and when it comes to shopping for goods or services only being prompted to act through various tactics has been proven to drive conversions. One of the easiest ways to turn browsers into customers and get these individuals to the checkout is to include calls to action throughout your website. But just how effective are calls to action? And what can you do to improve yours?

According to recent research, 9 out of 10 visitors who read a headline of a web page or blog post also read the call to action. It’s not just websites and blog rolls where refining your call to action writing skills comes in handy; implementing calls to action into email marketing materials results in a 371% increase in clicks and a 1,617% boost in sales. In the social media world, CTAs used on Facebook pages have led to a 285% increase in click throughs. As specialists in online marketing and web copywriting, we have written tons of killer calls to action over the years, and whilst trends evolve and consumers change their habits, the golden rules of crafting clear and engaging CTAs remain.

Keep it valuable to the customer

Customers are always looking for value and your CTA offers the perfect opportunity to shout about what’s great about your business, remedy a problem on behalf of your treasured customer, or both! Get to know your target market and your target audience’s wants and needs to generate engaging CTAs that get results. A great structure that works almost every time is using your call to action to identify a problem then finishing with a solution (i.e. one of your amazing products or services). As well as solving a problem on your potential customer’s behalf, communicate the benefits that go hand-in-hand with responding.

Here’s a long-form example suitable for a blog post:

“Great calls to action go hand-in-hand with engaging copy and high conversion rates, but not everyone is cut out to create killer CTAs. Let us help you craft calls to action that work for your customers, and enjoy the conversions, revenue, business and profit that comes with it.”

Answering a user’s question is also a worthy objective that often leads to the creation of an effective and engaging call to action.

Be selective with your CTAs

Having a small pool of distinct calls to action has been proven to be more effective than a large number of wishy-washy ones. Just like the wider user experience of your website, browsers want options but not too many. Striking the right balance between offering choice and limiting the number of options is difficult but achieving this will make your website easier to digest and the customer journey more defined. Don’t focus too much on counting the number of CTAs you have at your disposal however, instead make sure each one is as distinct and interesting as the last.

Position is key

It’s not just the content of your call to action that matters, the position of the CTA on the page can affect its success. Many businesses choose to stick to the tried and tested method of putting CTAs towards the end of a page, but studies have shown that they are in fact more effective when positioned high or centrally. Juxtapositioning your CTA with an image however has been found to be less effective with browsers drawn to the image instead of the text. Timing is also important so consider the position of your calls to action within the wider customer journey, especially if your CTAs are appearing as pop-ups.

I suppose it would be wrong not to finish our piece about writing CTAs with our very own. Here it goes…

Is your website bogged down with lack lustre calls to action? Let us help you hit refresh on your CTAs and profit from a more succinct and successful customer journey.