If your business has an online presence, then you likely spend a lot of time and effort driving traffic to your site. But it is not enough for visitors to find their way to your site. You want them to do something when they arrive there. Whether it is to sign up for a newsletter, download a report or set up a free consultation, you want your visitors to convert to leads and customers. Having an effective call-to-action is important to accomplish this goal. If you do not let your visitors know what you want them to do and clearly invite them to do it, then they will likely not do anything. Here are four mistakes that you want avoid when designing your CTAs. By avoiding these common errors, the conversion rate of your website will improve dramatically.
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Asking for the Wrong Action
Sometimes CTAs ask for the wrong action. A new visitor to your site may not respond to a request to buy now. Visitors are at different points in their buying cycle, and it may be too soon to attempt a sale. You want to include a number of CTAs that are relevant to different parts of the sales funnel. People at the beginning of the sales funnel need awareness. Asking them to subscribe to a newsletter is more appropriate. Visitors in the middle of the sales funnel are looking for more information. Inviting them to download a report or watch a webinar might be the most attractive option. Finally, those at the end of the sales funnel are close to a decision. They may want a consultation or demonstration before making the final decision to purchase. Your CTAs should reflect the different places within the sales funnel.
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Mismatched CTAs and Landing Pages
When visitors responds to your CTA, there needs to be an immediate connection between the language of the CTA and the copy on the landing page. If the landing page does not fulfill the promise of the CTA, then visitors are going to click away. If you promise a free report, do not send your visitors to a long sales letter. When visitors get what they expect, your conversions will increase.
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Hidden CTAs
If visitors do not see your CTA, they cannot respond to it. CTAs that are below the fold cannot be seen immediately when a visitor arrives at your page. The visitor must scroll down to see the CTA. Make sure there are CTAs that are visible above the fold. These can be placed in the sidebar of your blog or in the header. Visible CTAs give every visitor to your site a chance to respond.
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Assume You Do Not Need to Test Your CTAs
Often times our first attempt is not the best one. Our gut feelings about what our audience will respond to are often off the mark. Not testing the effectiveness of your CTAs is a mistake. Instead, constantly test your CTAs in order to find out the best way to phrase them in order elicit the best response from your audience. A/B split testing is an excellent methodology to do this. This method allows you to compare the results of two different CTAs. Then you keep the winner and test it against another CTA. As you repeat this process, you can hone in on a CTA that will generate the best response.
Avoiding these four mistakes are the first step to developing stronger CTAs. Powerful CTAs will enhance the conversion rate of your website and allow you to make the most of the traffic that your marketing efforts generate.
Do you have any additional tips to avoid or tricks to try for creating storng CTA’s? Share your comments below.
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Robb Bailey
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