An ideal CTA:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Should be easy to spot.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The CTA text should come across as as a simple and actionable phrase.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The goal of taking that action should be compelling enough.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Are you doing it right? Data driven analysis suggest that there are high chances of you messing it up. 53% of fortune 500 companies don\u2019t go by the CTA 1o1 on their homepage, 70% of the small businesses have websites with no CTAs on the homepage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your copy and images are meant for the user to clearly understand the proposition. If the users can\u2019t make sense of it, your CTAs (the desired action expected of a user) will be rendered ineffectual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are the seven common pitfalls impeding Call To Actions<\/a> on your landing page:<\/p>\n\n\n
#1 Button Blindness and Missed CTAs<\/h2>\n\n\n
If the user doesn\u2019t see a CTA how likely is he to click it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not very.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blink and miss buttons that are too small or are lost in the noise of graphics and text are what lead to Button Blindness. No one has the time to find one to click.<\/p>\n\n\n
Where Should You Put the Button?<\/h3>\n\n\n
Earlier, best practices would suggest putting it on the top, above the fold<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is a little catch here. Placing a button above the fold<\/a> won\u2019t help if the critical information that helps the user decide is below the fold<\/a>. As the user scrolls down the CTA button<\/a> inadvertently goes out of his sight. Out of sight is out of mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fitts law<\/a>: The time required to rapidly move to a target area is a function of the ratio between the distance to the target and the width of the target.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Depending on this scientific law that tracks user movement and ergonomics you can decide where you should place the button and the width it should be allotted.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
An ideal CTA button will click with the user and would be clicked by the user.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
What Should It Look Like?<\/h3>\n\n\n
Would green be more inviting<\/a>? Would blue look better and soothing? Would red not build enough trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are a bazillion colors to choose from. Ask yourself the right questions about the color of the button. One of them is the visibility of the button against the background. While the Big Orange Button theory worked well for many, it is not a \u2018one solution fits all\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The psychological aspects of button color is trivial when pitted against the larger backdrop of visibility and accessibility. With the transparent ghost icons on web pages being an emerging trend the color debate has become less of a consideration. The bottom line is if it’s easy to spot, chances for getting a click is high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Get the basics right. Whatever the button color or no color at all, it should be distinguishable.<\/p>\n\n\n
#2 Vague Button Text or No Text at All<\/h2>\n\n\n
Even though we have become instinctively aware of the red power button on a remote control for gadgets, most of them would have a sign or a subtext below that says \u2019pwr\u2019. Labels save us the trouble of guessing and second guessing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most CTA buttons will be powered by text but don\u2019t just add it for the heck of it. Either a clear statement of purpose or an obvious result should precede them or the button text should define the resulting event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like how Amazon does it:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Amazon](\"https:\/\/static.wingify.com\/vwo\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/11\/ShoppingCartBadge.png\")
Self Explanatory CTA Buttons
Image Source: Amazon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nThe button text has to be self-explanatory. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Create An Account.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Get A Free Trial.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Add Me to The Network.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n
#3 Too Many Call To Actions for One Page<\/h2>\n\n\n
Don\u2019t put the user in a situation where they have to choose between two primary CTAs, just give them a text link to the other choice. A secondary CTA<\/a> like a text link works but it shouldn\u2019t compete with the primary Call To Action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
See how the secondary ‘Sign in’ doesn’t compete with the primary CTA button here:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Evernote](\"https:\/\/static.wingify.com\/vwo\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/11\/Evernote1.jpg\")
Secondary CTA ‘Sign In’ in Text
Image Source: Evernote<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nLet\u2019s say you run a SaaS business and have dedicated a single landing page to both paid and free trials. What do you think will score more with the user? The free plan or the paid one?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the SMB users are more likely to click on the free plan, the cash-rich enterprises may want to go for the paid features. Cluttering one landing page with too much information to cater to both audiences can lead to indecision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scanitto reaped benefits from<\/a> adopting the one CTA per page theory.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Scanitto](\"https:\/\/static.wingify.com\/vwo\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/11\/Scanitto_Comparison1.png\")
When Removing ‘Buy More’ Sells More<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n Doing away with \u2018Buy Now\u2019 helped them sell more. Dan Ariely’s blog where he writes about how too many options can deter people from making decisions explain the possible reason. Don’t let Call to Action options perplex the customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Be clear about what you want to achieve from a page and try not to create too many choices, sometimes the users may end up making none.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
You shouldn’t be losing conversions in the war between two clashing CTAs.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
#4 Copywriting Woes and Call to Action Misses<\/h2>\n\n\n
Making sales is not only about offering great discounts and offers it\u2019s about showing the customer why they need<\/em> to buy from you. The emotional and rational appeal that can be achieved using content surrounding CTAs makes all the difference to your pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Copywriting errors could be as simple as using the wrong font, excessive adjectives or even the visibility of the text. If the user can\u2019t read it, the page won\u2019t be useful. They\u2019ll bounce off and you will lose your chances even before the CTA is spotted. Writing vague adjectives and making a flowery copy for rational decisions backfires<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remind the user of the problem (emotional appeal) and how you will solve it (rational appeal). When you tell the problem they relate and when you give them a solution they respect you. This establishes Likability and Authority of the six principles of influence by professor Cialdini. Only after establishing authority ask them to click on the CTA button and it would give better results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, for emails, images and icons can help induce curiosity and effect higher conversions. Add a phrase like \u2019Would you like to know more?\u2019 Then complete that with a link or a button that takes users to a page that delivers exactly what is promised in the email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are specific words that trigger favorable response from the users, identify them. What you are looking for is words that prompt emotional identification. Here’s a list<\/a> of 380 trigger words as such, use them with restraint lest it sounds too cheesy, remember what we discussed about an excess of emotional appeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
A CTA copy with excess emotional appeal is like a play overshadowed by melodrama.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes changing the CTA copy to better suit your users can turn tables as it did for ADT. Changing the text type and tweaking their CTA copy led to 62% increase in conversions. Little changes, big difference.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"ADT](\"https:\/\/static.wingify.com\/vwo\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/11\/comparison-image-e1447139132577.png\")
ADT’s Variation in Text<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n #5 Image Clutter<\/h2>\n\n\n
A lot of studies will tell you that adding relevant images upped the conversion by a double digit in percentage. Here\u2019s a VWO success story<\/a> that points you to the same. Images do increase engagement on a page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Caution: You should know where to stop. A clutter of images can\u2019t make up for all that it will distract the user from. Users may stay to look at them and when they can’t spot relevant information they will bounce off without acknowledging the CTA. Like in the following example:<\/p>\n\n\n
![\"Yankees](\"https:\/\/static.wingify.com\/gcp\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/11\/yankees-website1.jpg\")
![\"Outreach](\"https:\/\/static.wingify.com\/vwo\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/11\/The-outreach-mail-hiccup.png\")