10 Click Inducing Call-to-Action Techniques

Calls-to-action (commonly referred to as CTAs) are some of the most important inbound marketing tools. The sole purpose of a CTA is to entice and motivate website visitors to convert and become leads. Whether the goal of your CTA is to get your visitor to download a piece of content, register for a webinar/event, or request a consultation or demonstration, your CTAs should be designed to compel your visitors to head further down the marketing funnel.

Here are 10 tips to ensure your website visitors are clicking and converting.

1. Use Your Verbs

Call-to-action buttons should contain compelling, action-oriented text. It’s all about the verbs—start, learn, build, stop, join, discover (just to name a few). Substitute boring text like “submit your request” for more exciting, detailed, and action-packed terms, such as:

• Download Your Copy
• Reserve Your Seat
• Get Your Free eBook
• Get Tickets
• Check Availability
• See The Pictures!

2. Make it Pop

Ensure your CTA is eye-catching by using vibrant colors that contrast with the background they appear on, or, alternatively, consider using a white background. According to a HubSpot study, orange and red have been found to be the highest converting CTA colors.

3. Shape it Up

Your CTA doesn’t have to be a rectangle (though most typically are). It’s perfectly OK to use shadow effects, rounded corners, bevels or hover effects. Just make sure it’s very obvious that your CTA it is, in fact, a clickable button containing text. Your visitors are used to CTAs, they are trained to look for them, and they know how to use them; because of this, going outside the box (no pun intended) is not recommended.

4. Keep it Simple

Your CTA text shouldn’t be too long and/or wordy. Visitor attention spans are short and the goal is to get those visitors to take action quickly and without hesitation—too much text may confuse them or turn them away. HubSpot best practices recommended that no more than five words be used in a CTA.

5. Speak In First Person

The text should speak directly to your user/visitor and their needs; after all, your visitor probably came to your landing page to solve a problem or obtain more information to help them solve their problem (not their neighbor’s problem). Be sure to use first person text—You/Your or Me/My. “Download YOUR free copy today” or “Start MY free trial now” are great examples.

6. Make It Urgent

Your CTA text should entice your visitor to take action the first time they lay eyes on it, and not later. Use terms like “right now,” “today,” “instantly,” “hurry.” or “right away.” The more urgent the language, the more likely action will be taken.

7. Keep It Sensical

It should be perfectly clear to your visitor what you are asking them to do and why they are doing it. The most efficient and sensical way to ensure this happens is to tie the CTA to the message/content that precedes it. For example, if your CTA is meant to entice a user to register for a webinar, then it should appear directly within the space (ideally after) an overview of said webinar.

8. Sell It

It’s natural for your visitors to look for value or incentive before taking action. They’ll want to have a pretty good idea of what they’re getting if they click on one of your CTAs. What underlying need will they be satisfying? Using words like “free,” “save,” “want,” or “need” in your CTA text will help you sell those clicks and get more conversions.

9. Test It

Don’t simply set it and forget it. CTAs need to be tested to ensure goals are being met. According to HubSpot, these are the baseline metrics to aim for:

• A click-through rate of 1-2%
• A conversion rate of 10-20%

Test your CTA button color, text, size, and location to determine how to best reach optimal conversion rates.

10. Size Matters

Not too big, not too small—make sure it’s noticeable and, even more importantly, ensure it’s mobile-friendly. Apple recommends a minimum size of 44 x 44 pixels.

According to HubSpot, “Calls-to-action should be used in each and every one of your marketing tactics”. Wow. If that doesn’t speak to their level of importance, then we aren’t Bluleadz and we don’t eat inbound marketing for breakfast (which we do, hence they are). The morale of the story folks? Take the time to learn how to master the creation of your calls-to-action and push your visitors down the funnel and into customers today.