A call to action is an indication towards a goal. Like a sign indicating the path of a runner during a marathon, or an arrow pointing a hiker to the summit.
A call to action, or CTA, lets visitors know where they are and what they need to do. There are a million different ways to use CTAs to get your site visitors to take certain actions. You could probably find at least 10 different CTAs on this page alone. Download. Subscribe. To know more. Share.
Websites are always trying to get your attention and, later, your action. Here is an example of a call to action from Amazon. At a glance, it looks like Amazon just wants you to sign up for Amazon Prime. And that’s right – this call to action is indeed designed to generate Prime signups. But this CTA isn’t all about that.
Shipping options that don’t include Amazon Prime membership are definitely on the back burner than the first free shipping option with the Amazon Prime trial. Additionally, above the shipping options there is also a banner promoting not only free, but extremely fast delivery that the customer could have by selecting Amazon Prime.
There are several factors to consider when creating an effective call to action and creating CTA marketing strategies that are right for your store . This article will answer the question: “call to action, what is it?”, Will analyze 15 rules to keep in mind to create calls to action for your store , and you will also see examples of call to action that you can use to find the right inspiration.
Call to action: meaning
What is a call to action? What does call to action mean?
Calls to action, or calls to action, are used by websites and applications to trigger certain behaviors. Calls to action can be made in various formats, including buttons, images and text, and encourage people to take specific actions. In the field of ecommerce and dropshipping, they typically invite visitors to browse products, sign up for newsletters , and share content on social media.
1. Not all calls to action are about sales
In ecommerce, the ultimate goal is sales. That’s why so many examples of call to action on ecommerce sites are about sales – telling us to buy or shop or add something to our shopping cart. But there are several CTAs that have nothing to do with generating sales. Or at least the realtor email list texas have nothing to do with generating sales at that very moment. Conversely, many calls to action are designed to generate leads , inform buyers, and encourage sharing.
Let’s see some examples of call to action that encourage users to take other actions than those related to direct purchase.
Call to Action based on reviews
An entire section of Kiko ‘s website is devoted to reviews. A satisfied customer review is presented for each product, providing the potential buyer with the social proof they need to understand that they have a quality product in sight. If the review meets the criteria of the potential customer, he can click on the call to action “Find out more” to get more information about that product and, if necessary, make the purchase.
In many online store websites, calls to action are not just about sales but about sharing on social networks. These eCommerce, in fact, focus on sharing their products or blog articles to increase word of mouth and attract new customers to their store .
One of the most common call to action is the one that asks visitors to a website to subscribe to the newsletter to stay up to date on offers and news, in exchange for a particular offer or discount. Here are some examples:
2. Calls to action can appear anywhere
There are no rules for where to place CTAs. In this example you can see how Deliveroo has different calls to action on its homepage, and each of them invites visitors to perform different types of actions.
Furthermore, as you scroll down the page, there are other types of calls to action that refer to other actions:
We are big fans of call to action marketing with dynamic positioning. For example, if you want to try Oberlo, you can do it at the top of each page from the navigation menu.
A final example of a call to action comes from ASOS. The heart icon allows you to add an item to your wish list. Not only is the design eye-catching – a heart is definitely better than a rectangle that says Add to Wish List – but it doesn’t interfere with the image of the product itself. It is always present, but it is never in the way:
3. Adding text helps support CTAs
A call to action can’t say that much. Many CTAs are roughly the size of a button, so there’s not always room to brag about your product features or store offerings. These call to action examples demonstrate that you can make CTAs more clickable by adding text that supports them.
Here are some examples of the Tesla automaker’s call to action . First, Tesla lets visitors know that if you want to shop now, you can get a full refund in seven days or 1,000 miles. You can choose between PROMPT DELIVERY, CUSTOM ORDER, or Visit a store . Text is used to set expectations, explain options, and guide the visitor exactly where he wants to go.
In this CTA on the Audible site , the call to action itself is tantalizing and informative, with the word “free” reassuring and reinforcing the fact that there are no downsides here.
4. CTAs don’t have to be simple buttons
We’ve seen tons of different types of call to action buttons. But websites around the world are doing interesting and different things with the design of their CTAs. After all, there is no rule that calls to action must be colored rectangles.
Hugo Boss , for example, uses elegant bold text with a simple arrow that tells the visitor where to click for more information.
Never a step back when it comes to design, Apple has created a fantastic call to action for the iPhone X. Can’t figure out where to click? It does not matter. It’s all linked, so you can click anywhere on the screen with this new type of CTA.
5. CTAs attract the attention of visitors
If there are certain products you want to highlight more or certain offers you want shoppers to know about, you can tailor your calls to action to target people exactly where you want them.
In this example of the Unieuro website, the Browse by brand and Offers buttons are highlighted with respect to the rest of the menu. The visitor can still click on all the other items, but it is clear that the company wants to direct the attention of their customers towards those two CTAs.
6. Being deceptive with CTAs is unprofessional
From time to time you will find calls to action that are misleading. Not particularly funny.
Instead of using the strategy we just talked about – creating compelling CTAs to direct visitors to the best offers and services – some calls to action do the opposite. They use colors and positioning to guide users to items or choices they don’t want, often to prevent the customer from abandoning them.
This type of thing has all kinds of drawbacks. The best guess is that the subscriber who is trying to leave the service – who is presumably already less than 100% satisfied with the service – will be able to cancel the service. The worst case is that CTAs confuse the user to the point that deletion fails. This would mean (a) that the customer will have to repeat the cancellation steps, or (b) that he will be surprised the following month when he is charged for a service that he thought he had canceled.
7. Using more than one call to action is fine
With calls to action, sometimes you have to repeat yourself. And that’s fine. Most sites do this. In fact, there is an average of 2.68 calls to action per web page.
If your CTAs are tastefully designed and create value for buyers – for example, by bringing them to the best deals or the latest offers – then they won’t mind seeing them more than once. Or more than twice.
8. Beware of calls to action that need external apps
In the beginning, CTAs were mostly intra-site. In other words, the “action” of the “call to action” kept the visitor within the website they were already on – visit a page, checkout, add something to the cart.
Then we saw an explosion of social CTAs . In addition to browsing products or making purchases, calls to action have begun to encourage users to post images on Pinterest, share articles on Twitter, etc.
The next evolution: using calls to action to allow people to share things on external apps.
CTAs that encourage sharing are great. But when you incorporate apps like WhatsApp into your calls to action, you need technology integration that’s not just off-site, but off-browser as well. And even in 2020, these integrations aren’t always smooth.
Instead of sharing an article via WhatsApp, you may be asked to sign up for WhatsApp – even if you are logged into the desktop application.
Calls to action are great navigation tools – you can take advantage of them to guide your visitors exactly where you want them to go, and your visitors take advantage of them because they will have a clean browsing experience on your site.
On sites with endless options, CTAs like these can save your shoppers time and effort searching for products. And we want to do everything we can to reduce the time it takes to get to checkout.
10. Be consistent
Over time, your goal is to accustom returning users to perform specific actions on your site. If you have several calls to action that link to the same page, don’t use different buttons that say “FIND OUT MORE”, “BUY” and “BUY NOW”. This can be confusing and the user won’t be so sure where the link will take them.
Maintaining consistency across your site will create a sense of familiarity and make the experience easier for returning users.
11. Choose clear and direct CTAs
If consistency within your site is important to customers , choosing clear and direct calls to action is essential. While it’s certainly tempting to use clever and creative puns, it’s best to be direct.
Call to action text should be easy to read and understand – keep creative material for other parts of your site or other channels.
In this example of the Adidas site , for example, all the calls to action are extremely clear and it is easy for the visitor to immediately understand where they will be directed.
12. Be careful where you place your CTAs
Is there a place where you need to have a call to action? Above the fold .
“Above the fold” is an expression originally used to indicate the most important part of a newspaper. In our case, it refers to the topmost part of a site, the one you see before scrolling down.
Here’s what the call to action looks like on Oberlo’s homepage, for example:
This way users can click without having to scroll.
Also, you have to keep the hierarchy in mind. You will likely have a primary call to action, which is the one thing you really want users to do on your site. But if a user isn’t ready to convert yet , you’ll want to direct them somewhere else. This gives you the ability to nurture the user and convince them to buy when they’re ready.
13. Always push for action
Calls to action are intended to induce your customers to take a certain action. There are two main ways to do this: through text and through design.
How do you write a call to action?
When it comes to content , try to create a sense of urgency and focus on action-oriented language. In an analysis of call-to-action sentences and examples, 94% of websites used action-oriented verbs such as “discover”, “begin”, “read” and “ask”.
How do you draw a call to action?
Color psychology states that red creates excitement, yellow inspires confidence, and orange gives a sense of security. Use this psychology as a guide, depending on how you want customers to feel when they buy your product or service and the aesthetics of your brand .
14. Summary is your best friend
When a user sees your call to action, you want them to instantly recognize what they’ll get by clicking on it. Long and laborious calls to action can be easily ignored because they are too long, and the user might even mistake them for a banner or title instead of a clickable call to action.
If the call to action is too long, use it as text. This could work great to support the actual call to action above, below, or next to the button. Highlight the verb closest to the action you want the user to perform. Use it for your call to action.
15. Test, analyze and optimize your CTAs
Ultimately, as much as you can read all the existing advice and rules on call to action, examples and ways to optimize your ecommerce site, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Each website is different, selling different products and services to different audiences and at different prices .
The one thing that’s universally true is that the only way to find out what works best on your website is by looking at the metrics. Start setting benchmarks. Once you have them, look at the analyzes periodically and compare them to different time periods.
Run A / B tests, watch user session replays, analyze heat maps and clickthrough rates, and other related KPIs to see what works for your audience. In summary, never stop testing and analyzing your site.