How Effective Is Your Call to Action?

Your Call to Action Explained by Web Hosting Provider

Click here.

Really. Just click here. Even though you see click here everywhere you go. Just do it, okay?

Please?

Click here is probably the most common but least effective call to action. Were you persuaded to click when you read the first line in this article?

Not likely. With a more effective call to action, however, readers are much more likely to want to click.

What is a call to action? Web hosting provider explains...

In marketing, a call to action is an invitation to readers to click on a link or banner or image to take the action that you want them to take - let your web hosting provider explain. For example:

• Make a purchase
• Read a product description or article
• Contact you
• Subscribe to your mailing list
• Donate money
• Join your organization or forum
• Enter a contest

Calls to action are on web pages, in emails, in newsletters, and in advertisements. Whenever you send out or publish content, you want your readers to do something. How you tell them what you want them to do is your call to action. While calls to action are usually discussed for e-commerce sites, they're applicable for almost every website. If you have content online, you want your readers to do something, even if it's just to read another page.

How to write a call to action

A call to action needs to tell readers what the purpose of the page or email or advertisement is, and it needs to motivate them to click on the link or image. They want to know what they'll gain from clicking, and you need to convey that information in a few words. As illustrated at the start of this article, click here doesn't accomplish that.

Let's say that you want readers to read the rest of the article after presenting the introduction in an email or on a web page. Which call to action would generate the most clicks?

• Read more.
• Read the rest of this article.
• Free! Sign up here to gain access to all of our articles.
• Read the rest of "How to Prevent Diabetes."
• Learn how to prevent diabetes.
• What do you need to do to prevent diabetes?

The first two tell readers what they'll gain from clicking, but the information is still vague. They'll get the rest of the article, but what will they get from the article?

The third one stops readers. You may gain some conversions, and you may have a reason for asking readers to stop reading and sign up at this point. But you'll inevitably lose many readers who'd rather go to the next site that has relevant information.

The fourth one gives more information and repeats the article title. The fifth and sixth ones are a variation of the title but make it more pertinent — learn something, and find the answer to the question. Of the above examples, these two will probably have the highest click-through rates.

Where to place calls to action

Calls to action should be throughout your site and throughout each page. Each web page should end with a call to action, but don't limit your calls to action to the end of the page or email. On web pages, have the first call to action above the fold.

Consider the visual path that readers take on each page. Is there a call to action near the top left corner, near images, and on the way to the end of the page?

Each page can have calls to action for different actions. For example, you may have a call to action to read more about a product, to compare products side by side, and to add a product to the cart, all on one page. Have the primary call to action prominent and viewable when visitors land on the page.

Some calls to action may be not be obvious as such. A Contact link on every page can serve as a call to action, as can a toll-free phone number in the page header. Anchor text for links to information on other pages at your site is a call to read other pages. Each link in your navigation can serve as a call to action too.

With email newsletters, one of your goals is to get readers from the newsletter to your website. Make headlines, logos, and images clickable.

How to format calls to action

Bold makes calls to action stand out. So do strong colors. Choose colors that contrast with their background but that go well with the rest of the site or the newsletter template. You want to get readers' attention, not give them a jarring reaction. Secondary calls to action, such as your navigation, should blend in with the color scheme.

How to test calls to action

After trying out different wording, locations, and colors for your calls to action, do you know if your changes have increased the numbers of click-throughs? Note your traffic stats before and after each change, and note the differences between the time periods. If you make one change at a time, wait before making another change so that you can see the effect of that one change. The same applies if you redo your web pages and then want to tweak them. A pattern will emerge showing which changes resulted in more people responding to each call to action.

Related blog articles

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• The New Art of Persuasion: What Worked Before Won’t Work Now
• Motivate Website Visitors to Buy
• How Do Your Landing Pages Work?
• Simple Steps to Improve Conversion: It’s Not About Money, It’s About Design
• Subliminal Messaging on Your Website: You Don’t Have to Hit Them over the Head
• Tips From a Web Copy Professional
• What's In It For Me?

Email marketing

• E-Mail Campaigns: Don’t End Up in the Trash Bin
• Email Marketing That Works: Subject Lines, Short Messages and No Jokes

Online advertising

• How to Write Successful Pay-Per-Click Ads
• How to Get Your Banner Ad Noticed

Web hosting blog

Visit the web hosting blog again soon for more business-related webmaster articles.