The often over-looked and under-utilized Call to Action “CTA” is a crucial element in your marketing toolbox. So, let’s break it down into bite-sized pieces:
Who are they for?
Business owners and marketers must understand their importance and never fail to use CTA’s. It does not matter what business you are in. You could be a service industry such as a general contractor, or you could have an e-commerce store. If you are selling a product or service, you MUST utilize CTA’s on your website to generate more leads and sales.
What are they exactly?
A CTA is a short piece of text or graphic banner ad that encourages visitors to take some sort of action, which is VITAL to your business. Typically: to call, to click, or to fill out a form.
Here are some examples:
- Click here to download our Free DIY Guide
- Call us now at 555-5555 to get a Free quote
- Complete this form to get your Free e-book now
A CTA should be bold and stand out from the rest of the text on your website. It must NOT look the same as the rest of the words on the page. The goal is to entice them by offering something of value for Free. Everyone loves Free stuff!
Where do I put them?
- They can go anywhere but the best place is at the top and bottom of your website.
- Every web page must have a CTA on it.
- If you have a text CTA it is best to have two. One the bottom, and one at the top
Why should you use a CTA?
Guess what happens when visitors get to the bottom of a page? Answer: They are stuck at a fork in the road, there are too many options. They could click ‘back’, they could scroll up, they could click on some other link, they could close the browser, etc. If there is no clear direction or command, they could wind up doing anything.
We put the CTA there to prompt the visitors to do the next logical thing. You can never assume that visitors will just pick up the phone or fill out a form. They have to be told, and they have to be told multiple times. Also, the rebuttal “if a reader is interested he will contact, he doesn’t have to be told”, is completely incorrect. Even interested visitors still need direction.
Conclusion
Whatever the valuable action of a web page is, you need to tell visitors to do it, and tell them multiple times, and in bold medium-sized text or a graphical banner. Never let a web page on your website end without a CTA on it. This alone will dramatically increase the number of leads/sales your website generates.
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