Does your business thrive on online campaigns?

Maybe you’ve tried social media, email marketing, and online ads to get your message across. But no matter how well-crafted your online campaign is, your business won’t do well unless your online visitors …click.

Without a powerful call-to-action (CTA) button getting your online visitors to do just that might be a little tricky. A call-to-action or more commonly known as CTA is a line of text that prompts your audience to take a particular action. That way you can steer their behaviour in the direction you want them to go, whether it’s purchasing, subscribing or signing up for a newsletter.

You can read more about how to better understand your website user’s behaviour here.

Improving and implementing CTAs can also have a significant impact on your bottom line. In fact, it has been shown that adding CTA buttons to your blog posts can increase your business revenue by up to 83 percent.

Here’s a list of top things to do to ensure you maximise your conversion rate by creating the perfect CTA button.

1.Powerful and Action-Oriented Copy

The heart of your CTA is the copy. It should be action-oriented so readers will feel the need to “click now” or to “learn more.”  It will speak to their needs and stir them to feel a sense of urgency.

One trick is to speak to your audience in the first person which makes the message feel a lot more personal. Also ensure that the button is never too long and should only entail two to three words.

It should have power words like subscribe, download, buy, try, or win, so it drives action for those who read it. Words like submit or enter should be substituted with something better, as they could be boring for the reader.

Action words should also be followed by words that are related to what your business offers.  A good conversion-generating CTA button usually has this formula:

Action verb + text related to the offer, here are examples of good CTA buttons that you can use:

•      Subscribe For A 14-day Free Trial
•      Download Your Free E-Book
•      Win Big Today
•      Change Your Body FAST

2.Testing and optimising

You’ll know your CTA button is effective when you get a good conversion rate. Start by knowing your baseline—what is your conversion rate with your current CTA button?

Then, try changing your copy, colours, and button placements. Monitor the changes vis a vis your previous conversions. You can also conduct split tests to find out which version of your buttons will perform better. This way, you’ll find out what works and what doesn’t.

Read more about how to make usability testing a habit here.

3.Consider playing with your Design

It is the designer’s job to make a visually attractive CTA button. According to a study entitled “Impact of colour on marketing” 90% of judgments made by consumers about products are usually based on colour so choose wisely and according to your brand.

Another way to make your CTA button more attractive is to defy the usual cylindrical button and give it a kick by using unusual shapes:

•      Geometric – Rectangles, squares, triangles
•      Abstract – Graphic representations, symbols, outlines
•      Natural – Trees, animals, leaves

Creating buttons in shapes that people do not normally see will immediately attract attention. Some of these can even give off a creative, youthful, and attractive vibe.

You can also read about the impact of UX design on your conversion rate here.

4.Strategic Placement

Make your CTA button more effective by placing it strategically.  It can be placed above the fold (on top of the landing page) or below the fold (at the bottom of the page) for greater efficiency.

Placing your CTA button above the fold calls for an urgent action. You want your readers to do it now. But placing your CTA below the fold calls your audience to know more about the product or service before they hit the button. While the UI and UX of a site play a big part in how this works, your marketing intentions are also to be considered.

The button should be impossible to miss and must be recognizable from a distance.

5.Avoid competing CTA buttons

Some marketers make the mistake of giving more than one offer on a page. Site visitors may feel confused which action to take, thereby adding friction to the buying journey. They might think one offer is better than the other when your intention is for them to take both offers. Make the choice easy for your customers.

CTA buttons, when strategically used, will guide your users towards conversions. Although there is a myriad of case studies online, keep testing your CTAs to find out what works for your business.

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Have you tried testing your CTA buttons? I would love to hear about your successes and failures of testing different options, drop me a comment below.

Author Bio:

Vincent Sevilla is a professional Web Designer and inbound strategist for Credible. What’s his goal? To generate innovative ideas, create good music and to travel to all the best places in the Philippines. You can follow him on twitter under the @easyvince.