“Call to Action”, or  CTA,  is a catch-all term used for any element  in a web page- graphic, video, text or animation-  that solicits an action from the site visitor.  Visitors need a little direction if you want them to take action — specifically, if you want them to perform a behavior you’ve earmarked as a  ’goal’ for your site. If you don’t give people a reason to engage and interact with your goal, they may just ignore it completely. To avoid that pitfall, you should employ a ‘call to action’.

The most common CTA  items are clickable buttons that perform an action- for instance, opening a form, downloading a pdf file or opening a web page with additional interactions or information pertinent to the call to action. For example: “Buy this now!”, “Join Our Mailing List”, “Like us on facebook” or “Learn more…” buttons might open a shopping cart, navigate to an opt-in form or download a white paper pdf file.

CTA Item: Your call to action should be a clear offer, presented in a compelling way and completed in a few easy steps. Does your call to action encourage customers, clients, and supporters to behave in a way that produces results?  For example, will they be compelled to email your business, ask for a quote, learn more about your services or offerings, tell friends about you or share your content?

Goal: Determine what your webpage goal is. Then identify the steps you want your website visitor to take – from the landing page to the goal. State your offer clearly, using active and engaging words to excite them about what’s going to  happen (i.e. “Free Trial – start working in 30 seconds”).

Design: Place your button or language where it has plenty of “white space” around it. Make sure it’s attention-getting! Graphically designed buttons with bright colors or large interesting graphics will get your visitors attention!

Secondary CTA’s: You can also include secondary CTA items such as  linked & highlighted text or icons. For example your main CTA might be “BUY NOW!” but your secondary CTA’s may include “Like us on fb”, “Join our Mailing list” or “Contact Us”.

It is important to prioritize your CTA’s; the more calls to action you add to your website, the more you’ll dilute the strength of each individual element. Therefore when adding CTAs  to your website, think carefully about which one or two actions you most want visitors to take, then use your calls to action to encourage these activities over lesser priorities.

Overall, an effective call to action should inspire your website’s visitors to click and perform the desired behavior. By making the CTA compelling and easy to execute, you’ll be well on the way to turning visitors into customers.

If you’d like to learn more about converting your website visitors to customers, eMail the Elwood Studio, Call 908-543-3410 or visit us online at www.elwoodstudio.com. We’d love to help.

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