A website call to action (CTA) usually refers to elements on your website that urges a visitor to take action. One of the first steps when you are in the process of planning your website is to establish a clear call to action. What do you want to achieve with your website? What action do you want your website visitors to take when they are browsing your website? If you have an e-commerce website, you most likely want your visitors to purchase now.
When you are busy planning your website, think about the three most important things your visitors can do. Always choose one of these as your primary call to action and the other two, secondary actions. This will help you establishing focus and clarity on your website and then your visitors can easily follow the path (eg: sales funnel) you create.
Choosing the best call to action
This is the central and main purpose for your website. Examples that are most used are call us now, email us, get a free quote, buy now, apply now, subscribe and donate now. These “actions” can be used with phrases that adds importance such as for a short while only, offer expires end of the month or get a free copy of our latest ebook when you sign up today.
Implementing the best call to action
Your call to action on your website should always be visible on the home page. It should also be above the fold, in the center of the page and in a different colour so that it stands out. With Web 2.0 becomingv more used for online marketing methods, use big buttons. Write compelling and interesting content that will drive your visitors to take action.
Measurement
Analyze and examine your website analytics to check your visitors behaviour. What pages did they first arrived on? What other pages did they go to? What is your conversion rate? What pages were the top exit pages? This will help you see where you need to make changes to get the results that you want.