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A week ago I was on a clothing website just browsing. I had no intention of buying anything, but as I scrolled through the pages of long-sleeve shirts, an offer jumped out at me. "Only 24 hours left! Buy 2 for $20!" There's a sale on the very shirts I'm looking at? I didn't need two of these shirts, but for $20 how could I pass up this short lived opportunity? I couldn't avoid it and I bought two shirts that day.
What made me buy these shirts? The website's crafty call to action did. As any SEO guru can tell you, your website's call to action is one of the most important elements on your site no matter what industry you're in. Here are some tips to creating effective calls to action on your website:
- Choose your words carefully: Visitors to your website shouldn't have to guess at what you want them to do and they most likely will bounce off your site if they can't figure it out. Make your calls to action clear and concise. There was no mistaking it; the clothing site really wanted me to buy those shirts.
- Make your call to action relevant: When I was looking at the long-sleeve page, their call to action was to purchase long-sleeve shirts. It wouldn't make much sense if they suggested I buy socks, since it was clear that wasn't what I was interested in.
- Determine your most important calls to action: A page on your website riddled with multiple calls to action can get confusing. Even though the clothing site had a "contact us" button on each page, the most prominent call to action was to buy the shirts.
- Make your calls to action visible: The clothing website offered their 2 for $20 deal at every page scroll. It didn't matter how far down the page I was, I could always find their call to action. You can also play with design elements to make your call to action stand out.
- Appeal to customer's wallets: This is where the clothing site got me. I have a really hard time passing up a great deal and I'm not the only one.
- Use deadlines where appropriate: Another way the clothing site reeled me in was by saying there were only 24 hours left of their offer. No one wants to miss out on a deal and I sure wasn't going to.
Although I didn't set out to buy new clothes, just a couple days ago I had two new shirts delivered to my doorstep all because of a well crafted call to action. An effective call to action increases your conversion rate and leads to more sales or leads. Contact Fathom to learn how we can help you create calls to action that work.
About the Author: Caroline BogartCaroline Bogart is a Senior Technical Copywriter / Online PR Strategist at Fathom. She is a graduate of Miami University and John Carroll University, with a Bachelor’s degree in journalism and a Master’s in communications management. Caroline’s marketing background in the manufacturing and software industries allows her to craft the conversion-friendly on-site and off-site copy for clients in these industries.
