How to craft the perfect call to action that will cut through

A call to action or CTA is an essential part of the conversion path and lead generation process. To put it simply, a call to action is part of a webpage, advertisement, or piece of content that encourages your audience to take a desired action.

In most marketing cases, CTAs drive a behaviour, for instance, guiding users towards a form where they fill out their details in exchange for a premium offer. In return for this, and following consent, the contact then enters your CRM database for further marketing activity which can be key in nurturing that lead into a customer. CTAs, when executed effectively can be utilised across all marketing channels to drive conversions and convert visitors into marketing qualified leads.

Defining your goal

Before you create your CTA, you must determine your conversion goal. The way you structure your CTA and its supporting content should focus on how to persuade prospects to take a desired action. Do you want them to download a piece of high-value content, register for a webinar or read a case study? Whatever your CTA, ensure you have clearly defined your goal before you begin crafting your call to action.

Next, consider your call to action buttons as these are the most important elements on your website, landing pages, and wider marketing collateral. They need to visually guide your visitors through the buying journey, clearly showing them what they can do next. CTAs provide direction and help your visitors take the next step with their decision-making process. Without a CTA in place, users are less likely to engage with your content and more likely to leave your website without finding a way to contact you (or vice versa).

Cut through the noise

Creating CTAs that generate high click-through rates is a practice that requires a lot of testing and learning to master and get right. Follow our key best practices below and you’ll soon be on the way to crafting CTAs that truly cut through to your target audience.

Stand out from the crowd

Ensure the path to conversion is as clear as possible. Make sure your CTA is striking, clear and easy to find so it stands out to your readers. You can do this by using bold colours that contrast from background colours, and also by leaving plenty of white space around the CTA button.

Effective placement

The location of your CTA is a crucial factor that can make or break a prospect’s decision to convert. On your website or campaign landing page, place your CTA button above the fold (the part of the page that is visible without scrolling) to ensure your visitors can visibly see the button when they first land on the page without having to scroll further down.

Actionable language

Less is certainly more. Your CTA should be no more than five words. Incorporate compelling and exciting language into your CTA, alongside actionable verbs to drive conversion. Use verbs such as; ‘discover’, ‘request’ and ‘download’, to empower your readers to click through.

The three c’s – concise, consistent and clear

Don’t be afraid to get specific. When visitors know what they will get out of the proposition, they will be more likely to click on your CTA. Your call to action should have a clear meaning, and the copy in your CTA should be representative of the action your visitors are taking. Don’t give your visitors the opportunity to second guess the value of your offer, the less guesswork your prospects have to do, the more likely they are to convert. Brevity and directness of a clear, well-written call to action will put the focus on what is most important and remove any distractions.

Messaging alignment

The name of the item you are promoting, whether it is a white paper, case study or a webinar should be consistent on your CTA button in order to help seamlessly move the user through the buying journey quickly and easily. If you mention that people can download a webinar on LinkedIn advertising, make sure you don’t refer to it as a presentation on the landing page. These details really do matter.

Test, measure, learn and refine

It’s always best practice to test different variations of your CTAs to see what works well and what doesn’t. From copy and size to colour and placement, all aspects can affect the performance of your CTAs and the only way you will know which combination will deliver the highest conversations is by trying different variations and adapting them based on the results.

It is a good idea to A/B test to find the best performer, so keep adjusting the copy, design, size and placement until you find a CTA that performs above all the rest.