You have great content with solid SEO and a nice hook to get eyes on your page, but that’s not translating to conversions. What gives?
Before you scratch your head and go back to the drawing board – or give up completely – take a critical look at your conversion points and how clear your intentions really are at each. One of the most common culprits is sometimes the smallest: your Call to Action (CTA).
Why Customers Aren’t Hearing Your CTA
Ideally, you should have a CTA prominently placed at each critical contact point, such as on your landing page, at the end of a video introduction, on each email, and within the content itself. In fact, your content creation should proceed with the CTA in mind.
The problem with some calls to action is that there’s no clearly defined action involved. Customers aren’t mind readers, and they don’t have time for guessing games.
When someone visits your website or landing page, they want a clear, actionable directive for what you want them to do next.
So, what can you do to strengthen your CTA?
Use Your Words
For most B2C customers, emotion is a strong motivator. Use words that convey emotion or illicit enthusiasm so that your visitors are more compelled to act. Make sure to accompany the words with punctuation that makes the point.
“Buy Now!”
“Learn more”
“Ready to change your Life?”
Any added value, like discounts or freebies, should be included in the CTA.
Start With a Strong Command Word
Notice what each of the above examples has in common? They begin with a strong action word.
The verbiage should also fit the desired action. If you’re selling a product, use words like “Buy” or “Shop”. Looking to increase your subscribers? Label your CTA button with words like “Enroll Here” and “Subscribe now”. When you want them to get more information, use words like “Learn more” or “Find out how”.
Such terminology subconsciously creates an imperative that compels people to act.
Understand and Leverage Devices
The rules about how many CTAs to add to a page or where to place them change from time to time. I remember some rather annoying and lengthy landing pages and marketing emails that went on and on and included a CTA button or action phrase between every other paragraph.
How many CTAs per page depends on length and purpose of the content. Most of the time, they should be near the end of the page in order to avoid breaking up the flow. The content itself should be compelling enough to lead them there. However, don’t be afraid to A/B test placement at the beginning or middle.
The exception is if it is a product page with individual images, which should have a CTA below or next to each.
With the rise of mobile devices, the consideration now should be placement, appearance, and functionality across multiple devices. When designing the platform that will contain your CTA, consider how it will look on a PC, tablet, and smartphone screen. Many page builders will give you a preview by device type.
As a rule of thumb, optimize everything for mobile, which will still look good on other types of screen. The reverse is not true. That means checking button placement and size on a mobile device as well as topography and other considerations that you’d overlook when creating a CTA for a PC monitor.
Leverage the Power of FOMO
If you really want to compel someone to act, make them think they’re going to lose something important by not acting. This is a principle in marketing known as FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).
You don’t necessarily need to come out and say “Buy my stuff or you’ll regret it” or “Everybody else is doing it, why shouldn’t you?” A more subtle and effective way is through lifestyle-oriented or user-generated images or video content that demonstrate your brand in action, accompanied by text that invites your audience to join the fun, get relief, or whatever pain point you’re addressing. If the offer is time-sensitive. make sure to highlight that point to lend a sense of immediacy.
However, it’s important to be authentic when applying this suggestion. High-pressure tactics that are false or misleading do nothing to promote brand trust or loyalty.
Don’t be Afraid to Be Creative or Brash
Savvy consumers are sometimes immune to traditional, sales-y language. Sometimes you have to be more subtle or creative, even bold. Experiment with different phrasing and language, and A/B test to see which wording gets the best results.
In order for this to be effective rather than offensive, you need to …
Know Your Audience
In order to compel your audience to act, you have to know what motivates them. More conservative or older visitors will be more likely to respond better to more traditional, direct CTAs. Younger audiences or customers responding to a more trendy product will respond well when you’re more casual or speak their language. Just make sure that it comes off as authentic rather than pandering.
Give Them a Reason to Act
If you want someone to act in a certain way, make sure to tell them why they should. In other words, customers want to know “What’s in it for me?”
Create CTAs that combine your unique selling point with a value proposition they can;t resist. Tell them in language they’ll understand “This is what you’ll gain by taking this action”.
Final Thoughts
You can lead a customer to your website, but you need to tell them what you want them to do when they arrive. Unless your website is purely for entertainment purposes, you need a clear call to action that will motivate them to act.
It doesn’t need to be huge or scream “Buy Me Now” to get their attention. But, your content should clearly lead the way like breadcrumbs to a place where they can act on the information you provide in no uncertain terms.
Need some help to devise an effective marketing or SEO strategy? Talk to a digital marketing professional today.