What is a "Call to Action"?

A call-to-action (CTA) is an image or line of text that prompts your visitors, leads, and customers to take action. It is, quite literally, a "call" to take an "action."

An example of a CTA is "click here" banner or button on your page.

Why is it important to my blog or website?

CTA buttons are just as important to your site as the posted content. The purpose of having a website or a blog is to capture and engage readers or potential clients. CTA buttons tell the user what to do in order to contact someone, utilize a coupon, "read more", or "buy now". In other words, in the absence of a customer service agent, it's a virtual sales pitch.

What are the different types of Call-to-Action Buttons I could use?

Readers and customers arrive to your site for a variety of reasons which is why you need to use a variety of CTAs to capture the different audiences and bring them down your marketing funnel, ending in completed action. Here are my top 5 CTAs to use, regardless of the business type.

  1. Lead Generation-This button should be eye-catching, easy to read, easy to see, and utilized best when it's placed in a side bar.
  2. Form Submission- Nearly all sites and blogs use a form somewhere. Forms should be simple to use (avoid fancy text, hard to see colors and backgrounds, and animation). Collect only what you have to in order and nothing more. Do not ask for confidential information-you will lose your lead.
  3. "Read More" button. Bloggers always use this button to utilize page space, entice readers to stay captured and engaged and to keep the readers on their site as long as possible. Using this button with Google Tags will allow you to deep dive into analytics.
  4. Offers and Promotions-This is a button you will end up tweaking often. Utilize analytics to test out fonts, location of button, colors, and verbiage until you find a button that is working.
  5. Sharing-This button is a must if you have social medial pages for your business.

Tips for the best outcome of your CTAs:

  1. Use a strong command verb to start all your CTAs. Such as "Buy Now", "Reserve Today"
  2. Be prepared to make changes to your buttons until you find one that works.
  3. When using coupons or promotions, use words that drive excitement. Such as, "Buy today and get 50% off". Also use urgency when appropriate, "Nearly sold out!"
  4. Use CTAs to upsell to more products and services
  5. Test all your CTAs on ALL devices. Don't miss out on a sale or lead due to an issue that is preventable.

Don't be afraid to be creative. Thinking outside of the box is never a bad thing.

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