Call to action; meaning, examples and more

A call to action (CTA) is a call to action. You have a website brimming with good content. Your target audience knows how to find your website. But when these website visitors do not proceed to the desired action, it does not yield anything for your business.

A Call To Action comes in many different shapes, colors and sizes. However, each Call To Action does have the same purpose. After all, with a Call To Action, you want your website visitor to literally proceed to a particular action.

Call to action meaning

Freely translated, Call to action means: call to action. This is also what you want from your visitor. It’s great that your website is attracting visitors, but the results for your business only become truly tangible when those visitors move on to action.

CTA text link

The simplest and least creative form of the call to action method is the CTA text link. The text link is less noticeable than grand Call to action expressions, but is certainly not negligible for that reason. Indeed, the text link can actually be very effective.

The great advantage of text links is that you can fit them precisely into your running text. That way, you avoid screaming Call to actions and the visitor doesn’t get the feeling that you’re trying to shove something in the proverbial face. For example, by placing a text link in the last sentence of a paragraph, you entice the reader to click on the text link. They have just read an entire text on a topic and are given the opportunity to delve even further into the subject matter with a catchy CTA. In an ideal scenario, readers take action after clicking on the text link.

Another advantage of a text link is that it is not detected by virus scanners. Many companies have strict virus scanners for security reasons that sound the alarm at the slightest thing. When you use an image as a Call to action tool, they can be blocked by the virus scanner. You avoid this risk with a text link.

Call to action button

The most common call to action is the button. This is a button that guides readers to another web page. The idea is then to move readers to action on the next web page. Examples of good Call to actions include an order or contact button. If necessary, add a second button if there are multiple actions the visitor can perform.

With a button, you can also give your creativity much more freedom than with a text link. You can have a button developed entirely to your personal style. Always make sure your CTA button stands out among the other images or links on the website. After all, the button needs to be seen since behind it is probably a large part of your revenue model. Here are some examples of proper call to actions examples:

Website banner

We have now discussed the text link and the button. But do you think big and therefore want to go big? Then consider a website banner. Where do we know the website banner from? Well, actually from almost every website. You often see website banners at the bottom of a website. Therefore, the website banner is frequently used as a final Call to action. However, this does not make the website banner any less important than, say, the text link or button. It ensures that visitors get to the main purpose of the page in question. Take an example from the Amber Alert EU Foundation.

You can completely blend the clickable button in the website banner into the design. This makes the website banner ideal for many websites. In addition, it has one more big advantage; you simply cannot avoid the website banner.

5 tips for a good call to action

1. Eye-catching button color
   As mentioned above, your button should be distinctive from other statements on your site. Using an eye-catching button color will get you far. Always make sure the button color contrasts with the background. Your button color can be as
   bright orange, when your background is also bright orange the button does not stand out.
2. Be instant
   Your button or banner is appropriately sized. So make sure your message is clear with one look. Readers should not have to digest entire texts before they can proceed to action. Therefore, direct text yields more conversions. Using imperative may seem a bit blunt, but it really is the best tactic.
3. Make a promise
   With your Call to action , you are asking something of your visitor. It is therefore neat to give something back. An example: ‘Get on the Resultsmatter® trackand receive 50% off the first three months’. Some products also lend themselves well to a free trial.
4. Use first person in the message
   Address your visitors in first person. This way, readers will recognize your Call to action better. You thereby reduce the distance between your message and the consumer who must proceed to action. An example of a first-person message is, “I would like to participate in the Resultsmatter® program.
5. Give your visitors a choice
   By giving your reader a choice, you can still direct them to the button you would like to see clicked. Create an eye-catching button for the action you would like to see made and place a less creative expression of a Call to action underneath it. This makes the visitor more likely to click the attractive button. And that was your intention all along!

Use powerful action words

A picture says more than a thousand words. The old adage holds true in many cases. Unless you use powerful action words. Above all, don’t make your CTA texts too long but make sure you always include a powerful action word. Examples of action words are:

• Dear
• New
• Warranty
• Save
• Result
• Download

To measure is to know

Call to actions are also ideal for measuring through. You can see exactly to what extent certain pages are visited via the Call to action. This allows you to measure exactly whether your Call to action is doing its job or if it needs improvement. By creating different types of Call to actions, you can also measure which CTA works best with your target audience.

Do you want converting buttons on your website?

After this blog, are you convinced that your website should have a Call to action button, text link or banner? Contact 2manydots. We have implemented numerous Call to actions for various companies. We develop the Call to action in collaboration with you, so your style is not lost.