Most businesses want to attract more traffic to their website and convert that traffic into leads, but they don’t know what to do. An effective call-to-action (CTA) can accomplish both. A call-to-action is a hyperlinked image or text that prompts visitors to take action, such as "Download This Free eBook" or "Subscribe to Our Blog". The call-to-action directs visitors to a landing page where contact information can be collected in exchange for valuable content, a free consultation, etc.
When done properly, a call-to-action will result in more leads and conversions for your website. It sounds simple, but a successful call-to-action requires proper planning, set-up and testing.
1.) Write a Clear and Compelling Message: The goal of a call-to-action is to get your visitors to click on the hyperlinked image or text you’ve provided. In order to entice them to do so, it must be clear and compelling. While the call-to-action can only be a few words, simply using “click here” is not enough. Instead tell your visitor exactly what they’re getting when they click on your call-to-action and use action verbs to grab their attention.
2.) Consider the Call-to-Action Size: When designing the call-to-action, it’s important to consider the size. Larger elements on a page typically draw more attention from visitors in relation to surrounding elements. You want to make sure that your visitors can easily see your offer. As a rule of thumb, make sure that your call-to-action is larger than your company logo, but not too big so that it doesn’t take away from surrounding content. Leaving some white space will also help the call-to-action to stand out.
3.) Consider Your Call-to-Action Placement: Deciding where to place your call-to-action is just as important as the size when trying to get your visitor’s attention. To grab your visitor’s attention, it has been recommended that the call-to-action be placed “above the fold” where it can be easily found. While this holds a lot of truth, you should also consider placing the call-to-action “below the fold.” For instance, when writing a blog or email, you want your visitor to read your content before clicking on the call-to-action. Make sure the user can view the call-to-action without having to scroll down the page when choosing to place it “below the fold.”
RELATED: 7 Powerful Call-to-Action Examples & Tips
4.) Optimize Your Call-to-Action for SEO: When creating your call-to-action, be sure to optimize your image or button for SEO. Adding an <img> alt tag that contains keywords will improve your visibility in an image search for that specific call-to-action.
Many different factors affect the overall success of a call-to-action on lead generation and conversion, but following these 4 steps will help improve your success moving forward.
Topics: Marketing Automation
