Improve Your Conversion Optimization Efforts with These Call to Action Tips

One of the most important elements of conversion optimization is the call to action. Without an effective one, the visitors’ action could be anything including hitting the back button. A good call to action not only makes it clear what they should do next, it gives them a good reason for doing so. It’s the magnet that compels them into a deeper level of engagement with your business. Here are some tips on creating an effective call to action:

It Must Be Seen

While this seems obvious, many landing pages never the less suffer from a nondescript call to action. Upon landing on a page, the eye should naturally gravitate to the call to action. This is accomplished by positioning it above the fold, making it large, and giving it contrast. Contrast does not necessarily mean a flashing red button. You can achieve similar contrast in more subtle ways such as good use of white space to make the call to action stand out.

It Must Use Active Language

A passive call to action lacks a verb. "Free forum membership" is passive. "Join our free forum" is an active call to action that uses a strong command verb. The language should be clear and simple.

Benefits Trump Features

People buy products and services because they are a means to an end. Benefits directly address the underlying reasons why someone buys something. Few people are interested in a "how to" book because they like its heft. They want to enjoy the benefits of its information. This is why digital products sell.

Limit Choices

When a landing page has multiple calls to action, they compete against each other for the visitor’s attention. They also try to compel the visitor to do different things and thus pull her in different directions. They effectively cancel each other out and the visitor regards them as noise to be tuned out. The ideal number of calls to action is one. This makes it possible to subordinate the page design around that single action.

It Must Be Tested

Except for limiting choices to one, the above tips contain many variables that can only be optimized through testing. These variables include the call to action’s position above the fold, its color, size, type of contrast, the actual language used, and which benefit/s to emphasize. This means developing alternate calls to action and testing them to determine which does the best job of conversion optimization.

Following these call to action tips will dramatically improve your conversion optimization efforts. If you’d like more conversion optimization tips, please contact us.