With the business world becoming more digitized with each passing year, competition for consumer dollars is heating up. Now more than ever, marketers and online business owners must optimize their strategies to achieve a sustainable ROI across their marketing efforts, whether through channels such as blogs, SEO, PPC advertising, or email campaigns.
“If you don’t ask, you don’t get,” as the old adage goes, and this is certainly true when it comes to digital marketing. As a result, one of the most important aspects of any online marketing material is the humble CTA (call-to-action). This is made evident by the fact that the average CTR (click-through rate) for a self-curated CTA is around 4.23%. Surprisingly, this is significantly higher than the average CTR for Google Ads (1.91%).
With this in mind, we have created an article that will help demonstrate the best practices for CTAs so you can fine-tune your strategies and achieve better results. Let’s get into it.
In many ways, the call to action (CTA) is what will either make or break a marketing campaign. Even if you have created the best PPC ad with a bespoke image and killer copy, your ROI will suffer unless you have invested sufficient time and effort into the CTA.
Typically, a CTA consists of a word, phrase, or short sentence (usually in the form of a button), that prompts your audience to take a specific action. Generally, this action would be to click on a link so you can move the consumer further down your sales funnel and eventually lead them to a conversion, such as a purchase.
So, where should you position a CTA button? The short answer is EVERYWHERE. Every bit of marketing material you distribute and every page on your website should feature a compelling CTA. After all, if a customer is not making a purchase, you still need to steer them in the right direction to increase the probability of them converting into paying customers.
However, merely writing “Click Here” or “Buy Now” may not always cut the mustard. If you really want to outmaneuver your competitors, you need to be savvier with the way you word, position, and display your CTAs so that you can truly engage readers and encourage them to click on the link.
At this point, it’s no real secret that personalization is one of the most effective marketing tactics around. This is no different when it comes to CTAs. According to one HubSpot study that analyzed more than 330,000 CTAs, personalized CTAs convert 202% better than default versions. Depending on the type of digital media you are using, you may be able to use tools that automate the personalization process for you.
For instance, there are email marketing services out there that will automatically input the receiver’s name into the CTA, such as “Get Your Offer (Customer Name).” By speaking directly to the reader, you immediately make them feel more valued, increasing the probability of them clicking the link and converting.
Creating FOMO (fear of missing out) is an age-old marketing ploy. Convincing your customers that they should take immediate action is one of the best ways to secure quick conversion, and it’s much simpler to achieve than you may think. The most common way of creating FOMO is by announcing a time-limited sale or by offering a discount to a limited number of consumers. Some CTA examples would be:
Simply incorporating words like “Now” or “Soon” into your CTA will help to instill a sense of urgency that may compel your readers to click through and make that purchase.
By their very nature, CTAs are meant to convince the reader to click on the link quickly. Therefore, every CTA should be short, punchy, and straight to the point. There is a lot of debate around the ideal length for a CTA, and if the truth is told, it is entirely situation dependent. Therefore, try to keep the reader in mind and consider what would attract your attention if you were in their shoes.
These days, people are skeptical about clicking on links – and who could blame them? With so many scams and phishing emails going around, half of the battle with your digital marketing strategy will be to build trust with customers, so they feel confident interacting with your brand. With this in mind, you must be fully transparent about your CTA. Readers should know what the link is and where it is taking them. Even if you do not explicitly state the page they will be landing on; it should be made fairly obvious by the content of the email and the copy.
Perfecting your CTAs will undoubtedly have a profound impact on the overall effectiveness of your marketing campaigns. While it may not seem significant at first, simple tweaks to the copy, appearance, and location of your CTAs can make a huge difference, especially when it comes to click-through rates and your ROI. For this reason, try to keep these four tips in mind as you create your next piece of content so that you can finish it off with a powerful, succinct CTA that will entice readers into journeying further down your sales funnel.
