Why Your Website Needs Calls to Action

Written by: Ryan Flannagan
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In the online marketing world, there are many different approaches available to generate clicks and those all-important conversions. With that said, there are few which can match the effectiveness of a well-crafted call to action.

A call to action, commonly abbreviated as CTA, is a powerful design element incorporated into advertisement strategies. As the name suggests, they are used to trigger an instant response from viewers. Found in everything from banner posters to website copy and emails to social media, standard CTAs include:

  • Buy now
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • Sign up
  • Donate
  • Share
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As these examples demonstrate, a CTA is key for instructing your visitors or readers on what to do next. They can be that final influencing factor, that last push that turns the curious into customers. It’s not an exaggeration to say the CTA is often the most integral component of your advertising efforts.

5 Reasons Why Your Website Must Use Calls to Action

If you’re not quite sure why a call to action is so important, we’ll explain why. In fact, below, we list five reasons why your website must utilize this marketing tactic.

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1. They Remove Confusion

When a prospective client is on your website, the last thing you want to do is leave them confused. Your CTAs should help remove this confusion. They will tell your site visitors where to go and what to do, ensuring the user is clear on the journey they’re taking.

For example, say a potential customer is reading a page detailing one of your products. Without a “Buy now” button in a prominent position, they can quickly become puzzled in terms of what to do next to make a purchase. All it takes is a couple second of confusion for them to become frustrated, leave, and visit a competitor’s site for what they desire.

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2. They Boost Conversions

Simply put, a CTA significantly increases the chances of boosting your conversion numbers. It doesn’t matter if you’re trying to improve your sales figures, newsletter subscribers, or Twitter followers. A carefully placed CTA has the potential to become a powerful promotional tool.
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3. They Add Extra Meaning to Content

Every piece of website content you create has the potential to turn visitors into customers. As a result, incorporating CTAs into each content piece makes it more meaningful and ultimately serves a purpose. An informative blog post, for instance, might keep a reader engaged from start to finish, but they’re likely to leave your site – and leave you with a missed conversion opportunity – if there’s no CTA available at the bottom of the page.

With the right roadmap and use of CTAs, your company has a greater chance of succeeding with your content marketing plan. To ensure your success, enlist the help of a marketing agency.

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4. Customers Need Them

CTAs are important for your marketing efforts, yes, but they also play an integral role for your customers. No matter how much effort you put into crafting the best slice of sales copy on your website, there are going to be visitors that scan through the text before locating what they really want: a CTA that transports them to the next step.

With CTA buttons, customers have an easy way of knowing what to do next – whether it’s going onto another page or completing a sale.

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5. They Encourage Your Sales Funnel

In the buying journey, the customer will typically transition through different phases. When they’re taking this trip through your sales funnel, it’s important you supply them with some helpful directions. If a potential customer isn’t guided to the next part of the buying process, they can quickly become lost – and you, in turn, will lose their presence in the sales funnel.

This is where CTAs go hand-in-hand with sales funnels. With brightly colored, eye-catching buttons acting as road signs, those in the funnel will know exactly where to go and buy what you have to sell.

Crafting a Killer Call to Action

You’ve seen those basic examples above. While these absolutely work in certain situations, they’re also generally not the most effective use of a call to action. A general rule is the more information you can cram into a concise CTA, the better for both you and your customers. It ensures you attract the right people to click on your CTA, while the added info lets users know exactly what to expect.

To put together effective, persuasive CTAs, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

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Begin With a Strong Command

A strong CTA is one that is clear, concise, and uses the right language. Regarding the latter, it’s highly recommended you begin your CTA with a strong command. Ultimately, you don’t have many words or characters to get your point across, so you need to get straight to the point. By describing exactly what you want your audience to do from the start, there’s no confusion on their end.
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Provoke Enthusiasm or Emotion

The purpose of a CTA is to elicit a positive response from your target audience. You want them to click and continue their journey in your sales funnel. An effective way of doing this is by provoking them with your CTA. If you can generate enthusiasm or emotion, they’re much more likely to make an action.
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FOMO

FOMO, aka fear of missing out, is one of the best strategies you can incorporate into a successful CTA. It’s a strong motivator, as it makes people feel like they may miss out on an opportunity – the type that won’t pass them by again.

FOMO examples include “Buy today! Limited stock” and “Sales end Friday”. When a potential customer sees a prompt like this, they will find it difficult to ignore.

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Test & Tweak

It is important you don’t simply stick with the same CTAs. You should take the opportunity to test out different CTA types when possible. By doing this, you can keep your content fresh – and potentially increase conversion rates.

This is also a great opportunity to get a little creative. Test out what does and doesn’t work, make effective tweaks, and refine your CTAs to maximize their effectiveness.

Ryan Flannagan

Ryan Flannagan is the Founder & CEO of Nuanced Media, an international eCommerce marketing agency specializing in Amazon. Nuanced has sold $100s of Millions online and Ryan has built a client base representing a total revenue of over 1.5 billion dollars. Ryan is a published author and has been quoted by a number of media sources such as BuzzFeed, CNBC, and Modern Retail.

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