Written by: Elaine Bennett
A beautiful, performance-driven website that’s responsive and intuitive to use is paramount to increase sales and business success. Your website is the face of your brand in the online world, and it’s your portfolio, your social proof, and your digital storefront.
If you don’t have a website, you’re severely limiting your company’s potential. That said, it’s no longer enough only to have a friendly website. You also need to incorporate many small details into the design and the copy to unlock its true potential.
Among the more essential elements of a fantastic website, we have CTAs, or calls to action. CTAs allow us to guide the visitor down a specific path to conversion and a positive outcome. In the grand scheme of things, CTAs are essential for business growth and to increase sales. in the digital realm, which is why you need to optimize them for maximum impact.
With all of that in mind, let’s go over the five key tips you can implement right now to create CTAs that generate qualified leads and improve conversions.
Capitalize on the FOMO effect
In marketing psychology, there is a compelling concept called the FOMO effect. FOMO stands for Fear Of Missing Out. Business leaders are using this concept to drive their sales, marketing, and support processes forward.
But FOMO can be applied to any area of business. Why is this so? If there is anything that people hate, it’s missing out on a good deal – whether it’s a special promotion, a time-limited product, or just a chance to participate in your online event.
You can use FOMO to inspire action and interaction on your website in many ways and create more impactful CTAs. Whether your goal is to convert, lead people to different parts of your website, or motivate them to join your mailing list, you should use FOMO statements as your clickable CTAs.
You can tell people that there is limited room for your events or within your online community. You can use a FOMO CTA to motivate them to snag a limited-edition product and achieve almost anything else. Use FOMO periodically, and don’t make it a habit to have it in your CTAs all the time, though, because that will produce a counter effect.
Concise but powerful statements
Your CTAs should pack a punch in the form of short, powerful statements. They don’t take up a lot of real estate on your site. So you shouldn’t try to squeeze entire sentences into these small buttons.
Instead, strive to make them short and to the point, with a clear value proposition to improve the chance of making a sale.
Typically, you’d want to keep the word count for CTAs to five words to make sure that the statement fits nicely onto the screen. You can go shorter than that, or you can put two or three words more. Keep in mind that the longer the CTA, the higher the chances that people will skip them entirely.
Turn your domain name into a powerful CTA
You can generate CTAs for every page on your site and scatter them around, but you can also turn your website into a powerful CTA. By optimizing your domain name, you can improve website stickiness and leverage your domain name extension to create a more personalized experience.
For example, using a .me top-level domain instead of a traditional extension, you can personalize the user experience or use it to create a personal website if you’re a solo-preneur.
The possibilities here are numerous, but the takeaway is that choosing a memorable domain name and the right extension can help turn your entire website into a powerful CTA that will inspire people to get in touch or make the decision to buy.
Create more personalized CTAs
Speaking of the importance of personalization, you always have to know whom you’re speaking and what your audience likes to see. CTAs need to be personal and impactful. While you can’t name every CTA by the person scrolling through your website, there are still many ways you can personalize them to achieve a positive outcome.
Be sure to do your audience research and segment your demographics to know what type of CTA works for a specific audience group. Optimize all CTAs on your website with the wording that your audience prefers, and be sure to localize your CTAs to make a more significant impact on your local demographic.
Use visual design to make CTAs more tempting
Last but not least, use visuals to your advantage. Visual design can make all the difference in how the user experiences your website, and it can help you guide them on the right path. By using contrasting colors for your CTAs, you can make them pop and capture the user’s attention.
That said, you should use visual design in a smart way. Don’t just put up a bright red, flashing CTA in the middle of the page because that will scare people off. Instead, use subtle contrasts like a yellow CTA button on a white backdrop to capture their attention without imposing it on their eyes.
What’s more, make sure that your CTAs are interactive. People can’t resist clicking on a button, so make sure that it interacts with their mouse cursor’s movement and adds subtle sound cues to interact with the user.
Wrapping up
Calls to action have the power to transform the user experience and help you achieve your sales and marketing goals. Be sure to use these tips to create better CTAs for your site and inspire people to become your customers and loyal followers. Be motivated to increase sales!
Related: When to Accept That Change Is in Order
Elaine Bennett is a digital marketing specialist focused on helping startups and small businesses grow. She’s a regular contributor for Bizzmark Blog and writes hands-on articles about business and marketing.