What makes a good call to action?
A call to action or CTA is the one thing you want to “call” your website visitors to do, or take action on prior to leaving your website. A good call to action is easy for the user and narrowed down to what fuels your business.
What is a good call to action for an e-commerce company?
If you are trying to sell a product through your website, having a CTA such as the ones below can help guide your users to your Shop page.
- Shop Now
- Featured/Hot/New products
- Offering Discounts to shop now or sign up to newsletter
However, if you are trying to generate new clients, this wouldn’t be effective.
What is a good call to action for a service based company?
- Get a Free Consultation (Form)
- Get a Free Quote (Form)
- Sign Up Now
- Book an Appointment
What are common mistakes with call to actions?
The biggest mistake we see small businesses make with their website is not including a call to action, or not having a prominent call to action displayed effectively. If you want to generate leads, offer consultations and quotes or sell products through your website, it should be immediately evident with some form of CTA.
If your website does not have a direct call to action, this can be fixed in many ways depending on what your business offers.
- Adding a button that stands out and draws attention
- Add a new home page header section with relevant information CTA information
- Adding a form to encourage users to exchange information for your services
- Showcase products or services you offer with direct ways to purchase or discuss further with you
Why Contact Us does NOT work as a call to action
Oftentimes on a website, you will see a Contact Us button in the main header or menu utilized as the call to action. There are some cases where this works, but most often it is generally too weak. Encouraging your website visitors to contact you does not drive your business forward by generating revenue or helping them learn more about your services, it simply asks them to speak with you. Sometimes, clients won’t need to contact you before they know they want to utilize your service or buy your product and therefore, having a CTA of Contact Us, does not do them or you any good.
If your call to action is “Contact Us” ask yourself Why?, and how often do visitors actually call or contact you. Does that truly help you generate leads or sales? If it’s not driving your business forward through some form of benefit then ask yourself what does. Incorporating that framework and question into the structure of your website can turn your expensive site into a conversion machine.
What are some examples of good Call To Actions for my website?
Your Call To Action Based on your business’s industry, its operations, and your overall goal to grow your business. Below are a few examples of strong call to action why they work.
Sign Up CTA: This finance company does an excellent job of funneling users with exactly what they want them to do before leaving the website. The main section of the website features a sign up offer and allows users to immediately sign up with their telephone number. The website also featured the same call to action of “Sign Up” if they are a new user, or Log In if someone is already an existing user.
This is an effective call to action because it is blatantly obvious within two-three seconds of visiting the website, that the company would like you to sign up for their service. Notice, the company still provides access to the other informational pages in the top left, but it is with text that is smaller and not as bold or prominent.
Finding Qualified Leads through Contacting The Firm: The call to action is more simplified being Reach Out Today. While similar to Contact Us, having the website user reach out to this law firm allows them to better understand the individual’s case, thus assisting in helping the firm find qualified cases (leads) to take on.
Free Quote Form CTA: When searching for home remodeling services, price is often a heavy factor in consumers’ minds. This remodeling company has simplified one of the more complex issues of price for customers, offering a free quote and pricing assessment of their remodel in the main section of the home page with a form, and a button in the menu. The menu stays with the user as they scroll down the page, so at any point, they can be directed to “Get a Quote”.
This is a fantastic CTA as it not only answers a huge question on the consumer’s mind (pricing), but it also generates leads for the company through the form. This website also utilizes a sub-CTA (which we will discuss later down the page) of “Get a Virtual Consultation”. This offers users a more personalized customer service experience if they so choose.
Book an appointment CTA: Doctors and Dentist offices are fueled by generating new patients and retaining existing ones. The Book an Appointment CTA makes it easy for both to accomplish their objectives, the user can easily book their appointment, and the company can generate new patients and leads through their site. There is a clear purpose for this call to action, to book new appointments for patients and generate more revenue.
The website provides easy access for users to book at any point by including it in the ever-present menu as the user scrolls down the page. Additionally, there is a sub-CTA of “Make a Payment”, allowing previous or recurring customers to easily pay bills online, simplifying payments and allowing the company to collect the money that is owed to them. This is a tool for not only generating new patients, but caring and maintaining existing ones, making it an extremely effective call to action.
Order Now CTA: This well-known food service company makes their call to action extremely prominent on their website. Not only is it the first section of the website (square button), but the images below (designated by the arrows) take you directly to the order system when clicked as well. The company makes it extremely easy for users to order, thus satisfying their customer and generating new business through online ordering. Their obvious call to action showcases the main objective they want users to accomplish when visiting their website, order food. They also support their physical locations with a sub-CTA in the menu of “Find a Chipotle”, so if the user is not ordering online, they hope to guide them to an in-store experience.
What is a Sub-CTA?
A sub-call to action is a secondary CTA. If a visitor to your website is not going to request a free quote, or buy a product (convert on your main call to action), what is the next most important thing you would want them to do. Oftentimes, this is to join a newsletter or sign up for a blog. This is because it allows you, as a small business owner, to see who is interested in your content, services, or products. Email Sign Ups are often used as Lead Magnets.
What is a Lead Magnet?
According to Investopedia, A lead magnet is a service or offering that is given in exchange for a visitor’s contact information. You want to provide your website visitors some form of value in exchange for their information. As previously mentioned, newsletters are a common lead magnet. Visitors will provide their email, and potentially name and other contact information in exchange for the information that is on your newsletter (or lead magnet in general). Lead magnets aren’t limited to your sub-CTA though. Your main call to action can act as a lead magnet, and that is awesome.
A few great examples of lead magnets are:
- Newsletters
- Papers/Documents or educational material
- Coupon code (like 10% off)
- Exclusive content
- Webinars
- Trials or samples
- Templates
Conclusion
All of the call to actions we reviewed are extremely evident immediately upon accessing the website. They also seek to serve their target customers’ needs while also generating business for themselves. Finding a CTA that accomplishes both of these objectives will benefit your customers, giving you an immediate advantage and opportunity to generate potential new or repeat business. In general, if you’d like to make sure you have all the boxes covered, check out our small business website checklist.
Having a prominent call to action on your website is the key to utilizing your website as a tool for powering your business, rather than an additional expense the business needs to pay for. With a clear, visible call to action you can offset the cost of your website, generating far more reach, leads, and revenue than ever before. If you need help with understanding what your CTA should be, need a website maintenance plan, and deciphering how to effectively communicate and display it, reach out to us! For more info on keeping up with the latest and greatest in web design, check out our Top 10 Web Design Trends In 2023.
