The importance of Call to Actions

The Nitty Gritty on Calls to Action: Why the Best Website Design Always Includes Effective Calls to Action -

If there's one thing we've learned, in all our years of providing web design services to businesses throughout northern Alberta and B.C., it's that even the best website design, complete with the the flashiest logo, coolest graphics, and most cutting-edge content management system, isn't enough to encourage site visitors to make contact for more information or to purchase a product online if there isn't a clear call to action.

'What's a call to action,' you ask? It's the magic tool that drives site visitors to call you, visit your location or buy your goods and services.

Okay, it ain't magic, and it actually isn't all that difficult to master good call to action writing skills. You just need to first understand the importance of the call to action and learn a few proven tips with regards to writing powerfully persuasive copy.

The Call to Action - In a Nutshell
A call to action is a way to encourage or tell a site visitor to do something. Like a teenager,  you can't assume that your visitors are going to take action on their own, and so you use the call to action to give them direction. What it is that you tell them to do will depend on the business goals you seek to achieve via your website.

Take us, Saltmedia, for example. We want people to call us for more information on our web design services, and so we tell them to do just that. Business owners often fear that they'll come off sounding pushy, but the long and short of it is that site visitors won't act unless you ask them to -- kinda like your kids and doing the dishes.

Call to Action Fundamentals
Use these points as your guide when thinking about and then crafting the calls to action that appear on  your business' site. Remember, when it comes to converting site browsers into prospective and new customers, the best website design is one where the calls to action are obvious, so this isn't the place for subtlety. Say it loud!   

1. The Goal:
Start by first deciding what it is that you want to accomplish, either with your site as a whole or each individual page of your site. Do you want visitors to go to your products page to browse your inventory? Are you interested in getting more sign-ups to your email newsletter? Do you need your visitors to pick up the phone and call you to book an appointment?

2. Consistency is Key:
A clear call to action needs to appear in the copy on each and every single page of your website...no ifs ands or buts. The catch is that there should be one predominant call to action on every page - such as telling your readers to pick up the phone and call. That's not to say that you can't have secondary, more page-specific calls to action, like telling them to click for more information on a product or to 'like'  your Facebook page, but keep that one key call to action consistent.

By using that main call to action in roughly the same place on every page, you keep what it is that you want people to do at the forefront of their minds. If you tell your teen, over and over, that they don't get the keys to the family car unless the dishes are done, it's bound to sink in, right?

This is just skimming the surface of why it is that your site needs calls to action and how it is that you should craft them. This month, stay tuned for additional posts on using calls to action to get what your business wants and needs from site visitors. I'll share more information on how to convert website visitors into your customers through some proven call to action and other website conversion tactics. Interested? I bet you are!

If you're ready to harness the power of a highly effective online presence, complete with the best website design for achieving your specific business goals, call us at (780) 539-SALT. See what I just did there? Now call us! :)