Enhancing your Website? Don't Forget a Rousing Call To Action!

We’ve seen it happen:  A business launches a gorgeous, brand-new website, but instead of the expected rush of new business, there are crickets. Often, this is because of a simple-yet-vital oversight. No Call To Action. 

When someone arrives at your website, It’s up to you to guide them through the customer journey you have planned. Work with your web designer to develop what this journey will look like and decide what you want your prospective customer to do at each turn in the road. Each choice should be a Call To Action. (CTA)

What kind of CTAs are there? “Buy now” is common for e-commerce sites, but it’s not necessarily right for service businesses. Here are some other frequently-used calls-to-action:

• Download our whitepaper
• Sign up for our newsletter
• Call us 
• Print the coupon
• Order now
• Make a reservation
• Get directions
• Ask a question
• Request a quote
• Have an agent call you

“Buy now” might be the most direct route to putting money in your pocket, but it’s not the only way or even the best way.  For branding or awareness-building, your calls-to-action might be “read this post” or “watch this video” with the measure of your success being how many times web visitors do what you asked. For many small businesses and organizations, the call-to-action is more often used to generate leads for sales associates, which means you need to get contact information.

The rest of the world is just as wary as you. People don’t easily share contact information anymore. One way is to offer something in exchange like a discount, a coupon, or a white paper. Just make sure to offer something people actually want! If you aren’t getting the response you expected, you might have to tweak your offer until you find one that works.

Also, don’t push your visitor too far. It might make perfect sense to you to have them fill out a lengthy questionnaire in exchange for a free evaluation, but many studies show people simply won’t do it. Consider this initial CTA as the first step in a longer relationship. Be grateful for an email address and then use it wisely in your sales process.

Finally, put your Call To Action in the appropriate places. If a website visitor has to scroll too far down to see it, you’ve already lost a good portion of your audience. Put it “above the fold,” as they say, so it’s immediately visible. Put one near the bottom as well for those visitors who are reading all of your content and scrolling down the page. 

Some folks are afraid that a Call To Action is too “sales-y,” but if you don’t guide your website visitors, they are just looking at your page, saying “That’s nice” and leaving without knowing there was a decision to be made. Prospective customers do want your product or service – sometimes they just need a reminder to take action.

Take a look at your website now and evaluate the Calls To Action along your customer’s journey. If there’s room for improvement, contact us and we’ll work with you to find a better solution. 

Act Now by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images

This article is an update to “What’s Your Call to Action?” dated 8/17/2014.

Kate GingoldKate Gingold

I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.

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I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.

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