Websites 101: Part 5 – Calls to action, your customers next steps on your website

Are your customers doing what you would like them to do on your website? Are they downloading a brochure, signing up or making an enquiry for your product or service? If not, you are probably missing out on a very powerful weapon that can actually make your prospects and customers act.

What is a call to action?

A call to action is a phrase or a clear statement usually used at specific areas of content that tell your prospects about the action you want them to take. It is important that every web page includes effective call to action buttons guiding your customers about the next steps and prompting them to act.

It is important to carry out a research on the terms that are most effective. You also need to focus on the language and tone that you would like to use while getting the message across.

Using appropriate call to action phrases, you can tell your customers about the action you want them to take, how to go about that and last but not the least; create a sense of urgency by asking them to act fast.

Analyse your existing website content and ask yourself the following questions.

• Do you have a call to action at the end of each fold of your content?
• Is your call to action simple and clear to understand?
• Is it appropriate for your target audience and business goals?
• Where are users directed to when clicking on the call to action button?

What if I do not want to have a hard sell?

Every piece of content that you publish on your website should have call to actions. You may often ask “why do I have to add a call to action to every page if I do not want to hard sell?”

Call to actions do not just aim at asking your customers to make a purchase. They guide your users about the step you want your customers to take while they go through your webpage. Try using a soft and more subtle tone when designing your call to actions if you do not want to hard sell.

Remember, your conversion is not a sale at all times. Getting a customer’s email address or making a prospect download your app or sign up for a newsletter can also count as a conversion for your business. Keep all this in mind when designing call to action phrases for your business website.

Designing your call to actions

Apart from the content, it is also important to focus on the design part of your call to action. Make sure your call to action looks prominent, catches the eye of the viewer and is optimised for a range of devices from laptops, tablets to smartphones.

Never forget to test your call to action

Split testing is a great way to test out how a specific call to action is working and its effect on your website’s conversion rates. Try using different call to action and tweaking the language and tone of your call to actions to find out the one that works best for your business and website content.
Revamp your website by including effective and catchy call to action phrases as Sign Up, Order Now, Enquire Now, Ask for a Free Quote and more. Remember it’s crucial to make your customers sit up and take that action!

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