CTA: How to Create a Successful Call to Action
CTA is an abbreviation for Call to Action and means that you want to encourage visitors to perform an action. This can be by clicking on a button, a link or by signing up for a newsletter, for example. Using CTA on your site is important to encourage your visitors to take the action you want them to take.
In inbound marketing and content marketing, it is common for a CTA to encourage the visitor to download some content, such as an e-book or a guide. It can also be about registering for a webinar or signing up for your blog. In this article, we will go into depth about CTAs – what they are, the benefits of using Call to Actions and what different types there are.
- What is a CTA – Call to Action?
- A good CTA should simplify for the visitor
- Location of CTA
- CTA that stands out
- Relevant CTA
- CTA in different formats
- CTA in the form of buttons
- CTA in text format
- CTA as image banners
- CTA in videos
- Sliders and popups
- Chat bots like CTA’s
What is a CTA – Call to Action?
First of all, what is a CTA? A Call to Action is available to capture the visitor’s attention and get them to complete an action. There are CTAs in several different shapes and colors. Later in this article, we will go through several different formats that a Call to Action can be. The most common formats on a CTA are as follows:
Links in text format
- Buttons
- Image banners
- Video banners
- Why use Call to Actions?
Then why use CTAs? Call to Actions are important in helping visitors take the next step and can be crucial for them to do so. Many visitors probably do not do what you want them to do on your site, the reason for this can be many. For example, they may not understand what the next step is or they may be distracted by something else. To avoid interrupted visits to your site or to lose sales, you as the owner of your site can guide and urge your visitors to take the natural next step. By clicking on your CTA.
A good CTA should simplify for the visitor
The basic principle with CTA is to simplify for the visitor. Part of this is not to use too many Call to Actions, why? If there are far too many options, it will be more difficult for the visitor to decide what to do next, which may result in the visitor not doing anything and canceling the visit to your site.
A tip is therefore to limit the number of choices and decisions with the help of clear and natural Call to Actions.
Location of CTA
Although you should be careful about having too many prompts on one page, you can still use the same CTA in different formats. Just remember not to show too many different Call to Actions in the same view.
The location of your Call to Actions should be where it feels natural for your visitors. It can, for example, be in a side panel, after a preface or at the bottom of the page, so when the visitor has finished reading the content, he or she is ready to take the next step. If you place your CTAs in different places on the page, you can get valuable information about which Call to Actions your visitors click on the most.
CTA that stands out
The visibility and excellence of your Call to Actions can be crucial. A common mistake can be to choose a color or size that does not stand out from the crowd. For example, a gray button may appear inactive, which prevents your visitor from noticing your Call to Action and leaving your site without performing the next step.
It is therefore important to choose a color that stands out on your website. Use a protruding color that matches the profile of your business. In our case, we have chosen our corporate color, a shade of purple. We also use it for links so that visitors can understand that that color often shows something “important” and clickable.
Another tip is that your button should feel like a button, so if you rest your mouse on the button, it should show that it can be clicked. You can do this either through a small animation, such as the button getting smaller or larger when the mouse rests on it. Or you can use a hover color, we have chosen to use black hover color to show that it is possible to click on our buttons!
Relevant CTA
In order to create relevant Call to Actions, it is essential that you get to know your visitor. For example, if you sell products or services to companies, it can be a longer decision journey compared to consumer-oriented websites such as an online store. Think about where in the purchase price your visitors are.
Presenting the right CTA to the right visitors in the right context can be difficult, but it can be crucial to a successful web presence. This is especially important when it comes to generating leads and B2B sales.
CTA in different formats
CTA and Call to Actions can come in many different formats, colors and styles. We therefore intend to include several of these formats and also in which contexts they fit better and worse. We start with the most common format of a CTA buttons.
CTA in the form of buttons
As previously mentioned, buttons are most commonly used as a CTA. You can use buttons anywhere on your website – in the middle of the page, in a sidebar, in the menu or at the bottom of an article. A CTA in the form of a button is usually clear because we are used to pressing buttons, quite simply. If, for example, we take mobile phones today, then buttons are often easier to press instead of a link in a text. This is because it is a finger that is used instead of a mouse pointer.
CTA buttons are often characterized by:
- They have a clear edge or shape
- They have a color that is different from the background
- They have text or symbols
- There is something hanging with the button when you rest the mouse over it
It’s all about the buttons being eye-catching, clear and sticking out. It should also be crystal clear to the visitor what happens when you press the button.
CTA in text format
CTA in text format also works very well when they are placed naturally in the text. It is often possible to use more CTAs when they are in text format, because they do not have as much attention and space in an article. A good tip is to use a distinctive style on your CTA in text format. For example, a different link color or a larger font.
CTA as image banners
CTAs that are in image format are something that is also commonly used as Call to Action. We often see it on news sites, on blogs and in apps. There are both pros and cons to this. The benefit of using CTA as an image banner is to become a natural part of your website. The downside is that it becomes easy for a visitor to avoid a banner with their eyes. It can be more difficult to catch the attention, then it is extra important with the design and the message with it.
If you want to use image banners like CTA is a tip to use different formats, that way it looks great on different devices!
CTA in videos
When it comes to CTA in videos, there are several different varieties, but we have chosen to include two:
The first is a CTA image banner, but instead of an image it is a video. It can work really well, especially if the rest of the page is not animated. It can really attract extra attention, however, keep in mind that they are often large in file size which can make your site slower. This affects both the user experience and is negative for SEO.
The second type of CTA in videos is to use a built-in Call to Action in the video itself. There are services you can use that allow you to request the visitor’s contact information after a certain time in the video. It may also be that the visitor needs to register to access the rest of the video content.
Sliders and popups
Sliders are small images or forms that appear on a website along with a discreet animation. These can be used in different ways, for example when you have been on a page for a certain amount of time or when you have scrolled down a number of pixels.
The good thing about sliders or popups is that you can control who gets to see them. You can customize a lot like messages, looks and placement based on your website or blog.
Chat bots like CTA’s
In the past, chatbots have been used mostly as support or for visitors to be able to ask questions directly to the company. They are still used for this, but there are also smarter chatbots that can be an effective tool for converting visitors into leads.
Today it is possible to customize and create different chatbots depending on visitors. If it is a returning visitor you get a certain message and if it is a new visitor he can get another message. A chatbot is not specifically a CTA but they can help visitors take a desirable next step. This gives the opportunity to produce the right Call to Action for the right person.
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