Jun
What Makes a Call to Action Effective?
One of the most common mistakes made by web designers is the failure to present a clear call to action to viewers. A call to action asks the viewer to act on what he has seen or read and shows him how to do so. Your website may have excellent design, content, and graphics and it may be SEO optimized to draw in the greatest number of viewers, but without a clear call to action, your hard work will not produce the results you’re looking for. Pay attention to these aspects when creating your call to action:
- Placement
There should be a call to action after every major component of your website. That means each article, each video, and each product page should have a link inviting the viewer to sign up for a newsletter, make a purchase, send in a donation, or schedule an appointment. Don’t put too many calls to action on a single page, however. Multiple links requesting action in close proximity to one another can leave the viewer confused and even cause them to leave your site for one that’s easier to navigate.
- Visibility
Since your homepage is the most visited page of your website, its call to action should be prominently displayed, allowing the viewer to see immediately where to click in order to take the next step. Make sure the viewer doesn’t have to scroll down in order to see the call to action button and use techniques such as color contrast, large size, and surrounding white space to draw the reader’s eye. Don’t hide the call to action in a list of similar looking links or place it only within the body of an article.
- Content
Your call to action should clearly state what you’re asking the viewer to do. Use active words such as “Buy Now,” “Donate Today,” “Sign Up for Our Newsletter,” or “Schedule an Appointment.” Avoid vague statements such as “Click Here” which leave a reader wondering what he’s clicking on. Also, don’t create links that automatically sign a viewer up for an email without his knowledge. Doing so will create frustration with your company and drive away potential customers.
- Effectiveness
Test your call to action buttons regularly to make sure they work. Using analytics tools will give you an idea of what people look at on your site and which links they click on. If your call to action isn’t producing the desired effect, change one of the aspects above or consult a web designer who can give your ideas on optimizing your strategy.
Your call to action is one of the most important features of your website. Without it, you’ll lose customers who become frustrated with their inability to take the action you’re encouraging. By contrast, a well-written call to action can increase conversion rates by several percentage points and will ensure that the effort you’ve put into designing an effective website pays off.
Justin McGill is a web marketing professional and runs a successful Small Business SEO Firm. He is the founder and CEO of SEORCHERS (read: [surch-ers]) - a local web marketing firm specializing in organic search engine optimization (SEO) with a focus on converting visitors into clients. He is available for SEO Consulting and now you can connect with him on Google+!.
