7 Rules to Designing a Call to Action that Converts

Last time, I wrote about the importance of having strong call to actions (CTAs) on your website.

When done correctly, CTAs can have an immediate impact when it comes to improving conversion rates on your website (something you want).

I realize for most of you, this is common sense, but when it comes to Internet marketing, I’m still surprised at how many websites lack the basics (like a strong call to action on the home page).

That said, designing and optimizing CTAs that convert is a both an art and a science.

It’s not easy, but if you’re serious about using Internet marketing to grow your business, there are some general rules you need to follow when designing a good CTA.

First, here’s a quick recap of what a call to action is:

Call to actions (CTAs) are clickable images, buttons or hyperlinked text on a website page that instructs or prompts a visitor to do something next.

The 7 Rules of Designing a Call to Action That Converts

The following is a list of 7 rules you should consider when designing a CTA for your website.  There are more, but these rules cover the basic essentials:

Rule #1: Try to Keep It Above the Fold

Make sure your website visitors can see your really important CTAs right away without having to scroll down the page. When you make CTAs easy to spot that usually helps your conversion rates.

Rule #2: Clearly Describe Your Offer

If you’re an accountant and you offer a free ebook on how people can legally maximize their refund they receive from their next Tax Return, then say so right in the CTA.

Rule #3: Make it Action-Oriented

Each CTA should have an action verb like “download” or “sign up” that makes it very clear what action you want visitors to take on the subsequent landing page.

Rule #4: Include CTAs for Different Stages of the Buying Cycle

In my opinion, this rule is probably the most important. As outlined in my last blog post, different offers appeal to different segments of the traffic visiting your site.  We suggest designing and experimenting with 2-3 CTAs on your website: one for early, one for mid, and one for late sales cycle visitors.

Rule #5: Place CTAs on other Relevant Website Pages

Aside from your homepage, include CTAs on other relevant website pages and blog posts, and remember, keep them above the fold.

Rule #6: Make Sure the CTA Matches the Offer on your Landing Page

Every CTA should match up with the offer on your landing page.  Especially the headline.  The more consistent you can keep the two, the higher your landing page conversion rate.

Rule #7: Make Sure the CTA Stands Out

If your CTA blends in with the rest of the website page, you might not get much traffic to your landing page offer. Make it contrast with your website’s colour scheme so it stands out on the page.

How to Double the Effectiveness of a Call to Action in Seconds (Example of Rule #7)

To prove just how important rule #7 can be, I’m sharing the results of an optimization test we recently ran for a new client.

The purpose of the test was to help identify conversion optimization opportunities on design concepts our team came up with for the client’s new website.

Below are two screen shots. The first shows a CTA with a semi-transparent black background.  The second screen shot shows the same CTA with a semi-transparent white background.  The percentage value indicates how much more “visible” this CTA is to a visitor when compared to the rest of the website.

Screen Shot 1

Screen Shot 2

By using an eye-tracking tool that predicts with over 90% accuracy what visitors look at when they first come to a website the results indicated that when we switched the background colour of the CTA from semi-transparent black to semi-transparent white we almost doubled its immediate visibility, which is huge.  The sooner people see the CTA, the more likely that are to take action.

Small things really do make a big impact.

This is why you need to conduct your own CTA experiments as best as you can to find out what resonates with your audience. Test varied messages, colours, and even placement on your pages.

Just remember, keep it above the fold.

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