Effective call to action buttons perform actions across the web. Are your buttons performing the correct actions? Do you even have buttons or call-to-actions? Where do they go? Let's explore implementing these links / actions and where they should go.
While developing the new DigitalSherpa website, we needed to implement multiple call-to-actions, or CTAs, across the website without taking away from the content and experience. The biggest obstacle was presenting gentle "nudges" to get visitors engaged without seeming too "in-their-face" with CLICK HERE's or DO WHAT WE SAY!!!!!
We used a button format for most of our CTAs, because buttons prove to be the most effective (and they are awesome). A well-designed button stands out and presents a clear action to the user: 'Learn More', 'Let's Chat', 'Get a Free Consultation', etc. To get an idea of how we strategically placed these CTA's, let's run down the homepage of the site:
The First Button CTA a Visitor Sees When Visiting the DigitalSherpa Website
On our homepage, we used a large eye-popping green button that allows a user to 'Get Your Free Marketing Assessment.' Not interested yet? That's okay, above that are some of our services and beneath it there's an alternate route to our services page. As you scroll down you will see some of our featured client showcases with buttons leading to more of our "client successes" or to read that specific case study.
Still not sold?
That's fine, maybe you're on our website for careers, upcoming events, or just want to learn more about our team? "More", "More", and "More"! At the very bottom of our footer, you see the last CTA which actually does a slight bounce up and down to attract the visitor's attention.
What does all this accomplish? Hopefully, a clear path for your visitors to navigate your website and contact you to learn more about your product or service.
Taking it further, when you click our "contact" CTAs, it pops up a form to keep the visitor on the same page.
Most of Our Contact CTAs Do Not Force the Visitor to Leave the Page
A key factor to consider is how much information you want someone to initially give you. Consider this - do you enjoy giving away all your personal or business information on a whim? When asking for this level of information, your website has to establish some level of trust and or authority. How is this accomplished? Most of the time through real pictures of your team, a history of your company, past and current client case studies, and any pertinent information you feel your visitors should be able to learn about.
Don't limit your contact to only forms - people still enjoy options. Give them a phone number or general e-mail address to bookmark and contact you later. Presenting as much contact information and ease of use to do so allows multiple funnels for new leads to filter through.
Stay tuned for my next post on setting up your CTAs effectively and monitoring results to gauge their results.