Craft better CTAs. Get better conversions.

Do I have your attention?

If I do, it won’t be for long: According to Statisticbrain.com, the average person's attention span is eight seconds and most of us read only 28 percent of the words on a webpage. As marketers, that makes it challenging to engage and convert readers.

This is where strong calls to action (CTAs) come in: These buttons or links—on websites, landing pages, emails—are compelling, persuasive statements that move your visitors to act, guiding them through the sales funnel: Maybe you want them to watch a video, schedule a demo, sign up for a subscription, or learn more about your product/service. The right CTA can help you make those connections.

Here are a few tips to make sure your CTAs are fine-tuned to help you net the desired action-activated response:

1. Be direct. Simple and effective is what you’re looking to accomplish, so craft your message using words that make it clear what you want the reader to do and/or why it’s of value. (Five words or less is ideal)
2. Use multiple CTAs strategically placed throughout your site or landing page to attract and convert visitors at all stages of the buyer journey.
3. Make it relevant. Your CTA should be specific to the content on the page—don’t use the same CTA throughout your website.
4. Optimize for mobile. Remember that many of your readers will be accessing your website or email via their mobile devices, so not only do CTAs need to be brief, they also need to be formatted to make a visual impact on a mobile screen.   
5. Keep it simple. By keeping graphics clean and uncluttered, your visitors will find your message easier. (Don’t make them search for it!) Hubspot offers a great example of a sleek, well-designed webpage with a CTA that stands out clearly:
   
6. Offer a time-sensitive special. Most of us don’t want to miss out on a good deal or deep discount. So, instead of directing your readers to check out your new product, consider adding a “deal of the day” pop-up CTA that prompts the reader to check out your special offer before it goes away.
7. Provide options. One way to get visitors to spend more time on your site is to offer multiple CTAs that lead them down different paths. Here is a great example from Humboldt County (source: Hubspot).
   
8. Test your CTA. A small change in your CTA can make a big difference. You might not expect higher click-through rates as a result of moving your call to action above the fold, or changing the color, or swapping the word “my” for “your” but those subtle changes can greatly affect your conversion rates. Test and then redeploy to keep your content fresh and effective.

I’m always on the lookout for examples of CTAs that work for me. Can you think of any that have caught your attention or compelled you to act? Share your thoughts with us on Facebook.

Ellen Moriarty

Website Lead Generation Tips You Need to Know

You wouldn’t meet with a prospective customer without being prepared to discuss the value you bring to the table; that would be an opportunity missed.

Similarly, you don’t want visitors to log on to your website without providing them with essential information and a means for continued dialogue. Website lead generation tools do just that: They engage the visitor and provide them with important information, while allowing you to gather valuable data about them, as you nurture the lead and prompt continued conversation surrounding your brand.  

According to Forrester Research, companies that nurture their leads see 50% more sales-ready leads than non-nurturers, and at 33% lower cost. So, it makes good business sense to prime your website for lead generation. Following are tips and tools to help you convert visitors:

1.  Use forms (more than one) – Make it easy for visitors to contact you using content forms that are brief and to-the-point (you can gather more details later).

Use multiple forms throughout your site based on page content and site placement; and follow up with A/B testing to see which form(s) are getting best results.

2.  Include basic CTAs throughout your site, including on the homepage – Consider your end goal and then work backwards with thoughtful calls to action: Offer a perceived “value” with each, such as a free demo, a whitepaper, a free trial, special promotion, etc. Next, route these recipients into specific nurturing funnels and conduct A/B testing and then modify, as needed.

Make your CTAs command attention by using “power words” such as: Get, Overcome, Boost, and Join.

3.  Offer live chat – Today, people are starting to expect this customer service benefit on websites that offer services/vendors. Be prepared to answer questions about products/services. And use the live chat as an opportunity to actively guide a visitor through your site to a specific end goal.

4.  Provide social proof – Prove that you can do what you say you can do by sharing videos of customer testimonials, social media reposts or online reviews. These social moments are great opportunities for making brand connections and allow you to further customer engagement on social media channels.

5.  Build trust by being authentic – Tell your story using photos—provide faces with names to help customers make connections; and speak to visitors, not at them using 1-to-1 videos. Provide evidence of your skills/quality/capacity by promoting awards, certifications, ratings, etc.

6.  Blog – Use your blog to generate website traffic and drive SEO (not necessarily to drive leads). Be useful in your posts and people will come back for more. A few tips:

•     Consider solutions-based posts
•     Develop groups of posts covering industry-relevant topic(s)
•     Incorporate keyword research into posts
•     Include videos and graphics to drive interest
•     Provide offers within the blog – free whitepaper, ebook, etc.
•     Add CTAs when relevant
•     Add links to specific pages in website – drive traffic back to site
•     Include social sharing links

As we prepare to revamp our Shamrock website, these are some of the guidelines we’ll be using to optimize our new site. Are there any that you’d add to the list? Share your feedback at emoriarty@shamrockcompanies.net.

Ellen Moriarty