What makes a great call to action?

Your website has (or should have) one or more goals to convert your website visitors into leads or paying customers. All your visitors need to do is take a specific action. But can your visitors easily figure out how they can take action? Let’s take a look at how to strengthen these “calls to action” so that you will turn more potential customers into paying customers.

Figure out the action.

You first need to determine what actions you would like your visitors to take. Would you like them to purchase something? Download a file? Subscribe to a newsletter? Leave their contact information? Join a community? There are many different possibilities, but make sure that you know which options are right for your website.

Prepare to convert!

Once you’ve identified the actions you want your visitors to take, it’s time to figure out how you’ll convince your potential customers to become paying customers. You should have a specific web page dedicated to the action already in place, for example, a sign up form, a store checkout, or a contact form. These are sometimes called conversion pages. We just need to move your visitors to that spot.

If you don’t already have these pages in place, now is the time to do so! Conversion pages are what drive your website; they are the purpose for the site in the first place. Make sure that you have a page (or at least an area) for each conversion you want visitors to make, and see to it that they are compelling, uncluttered (you don’t need visitors clicking onto something else), and simple to use.

Make the call!

Now it’s time to move visitors over to the conversion pages. That’s what a call to action actually does. It’s a mechanism that makes it easy for visitors to reach your conversion area, and it also does its best to convince them that this is action they need to take. It’s usually a well-designed visual cue that is obvious and compelling to visitors.

So where should this call to action go? It may not be a bad idea to include some call to action on each page of your site. You don’t want visitors to run into a dead end, not knowing what to do next. However, at the very least, you want your call to action featured on a web page devoted to the need or desire your potential customer is trying to satisfy. If your goal is to have people subscribe to your accounting newsletter, then you may want to attract people who are perusing, for example, information about maximizing tax deductions. Whatever need that your potential customers are trying to solve should be met on your website and then with the action you’d like them to take. “Get tax deduction tips delivered to your inbox monthly” is great for a link (call to action) pointing to your newsletter subscription form (conversion).

See how they work hand-in-hand? The idea is simple: Use the call to action as a billboard to encourage people to take the right exit.

Keep it simple.

Now that we have the basics on how calls to action work, keep it simple. There’s no need to unnecessarily complicate a call to action. You don’t want to distract your visitors from getting to the conversion. So here are some tips on emphasizing a call to action while keeping it simple.

1. Use white space. A beginner’s mistake is to fill as much of the empty space, known as white space, as possible in a website. But white space can be used very effectively to emphasize certain elements, especially around calls to action. White space around an element makes the element stand out more.
2. Put it front and center. Think of positioning your call to action in a conspicuous place. After all, you want it easily found! Keep it near the top of a web page so that it’s one of the first things someone sees.
3. Think size, color, and font. Get creative here! Calls to action should be bold, so think about making them large, potentially with bigger fonts and a unique, bold color. The idea is that the call to action should stand out. So you may want to try to experiment with how to achieve that while not disturbing the overall look of the website. Make them larger than other buttons or elements, and you’ll be well on your way!
4. Get active. As a call to action, it needs active language. Use strong verbs, and create a sense of urgency. “Register,” “sign up,” “buy now” are all examples of strong verbs to use. Why not combine them with time sensitive words, such as “expires March 31,” or “only available to the first 100 customers”? Use your powers of persuasion!

Turn your website visitors from prospects into genuine leads or customers. Help meet their needs, and call them to take specific action, quickly and easily, and you’ll see your website soar with success!