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A Call-to-Action (CTA for short) is an image or text that prompts your visitors, prospects or end customers to take action. Literally, it is a call to action.
The action you want people to take can be anything: downloading an eBook, signing up for a webinar, receiving a coupon, attending an offline event, etc. The call-to-action phrase can be placed anywhere in your marketing: on your website, in your eBook, in an email, or even at the end of a blog post.
Still not sure what it is? Here is an example of a Shopify landing page.
In most places in marketing, you only have one call-to-action phrase, but sometimes it can contain more than one.
One of the starter issues is that you can't just set the text of the button to click here! and then place it on the page and wait for visitors to click and convert. There are a few key elements to keep in mind if you want people to follow your cues and take action.
Essential elements of high-quality call-to-action phrases
When you create your first call-to-action phrase, it's easy for everyone to turn away and end up not generating any clicks. To save you time and effort, here's a brief checklist for the basics of a quality CTA.
- Eye-catching design.
- To get clicks, it must first be noticeable. the color of the CTA should contrast with the page design, look large enough, and be easily recognizable. If you don't know what size is appropriate for a button, a proven reference is 225 x 45px.
- Text that makes people want to act.
- It's not enough to just use the text submitted as a CTA; you need a concise, easy-to-understand description that doesn't contain any jargon; use actionable verbs to get people's attention.
- Clear information cues.
- People should know exactly what happens when they click on a CTA. Do they want to download an eBook or design template? Get a product demo or sign up for a weekly newsletter? Make sure the CTA clearly tells visitors what they will get in exchange for their click.
- A specific page (ideally a landing page) corresponds to a stage in the sales cycle.
- CTAs are most effective if visitors go to a dedicated target page (rather than a random page on the site) after a click. For example, if the CTA points to a contact us page (not a landing page), then it will not convert leads as well as a specific focused page. In addition, CTAs should be created at specific stages of the sales cycle; for example, you shouldn't include a product demo button on a page facing a new visitor, which can cause click-through rates to plummet.
- That's the basics of call-to-action language (CTA), and hopefully it will solve any problems you may have!