5 Best Practices for Creating Effective CTAs that Incentivize Conversions

Some people choose to buy, but most just hop right back where they came from, unconvinced that you truly have the solution to their problems.

Don’t worry, it’s probably not that your products are bad or that your services are not innovative or functional enough, instead, it most likely has to do with your lead generation strategy. Concretely, it’s probably the CTAs that are underperforming. Again, not to worry, creating amazing CTAs with a high conversion potential is a difficult task, and a problem that just keeps evolving with time. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some great practices that can maximize their potential.

In fact, you stand to gain plenty by simply making some key changes to your CTAs and the surrounding content, in order to guide the visitor on a compelling journey and inspire them to take action right then and there. Let’s take a look at the five best practices that will help you create high-converting CTAs.

Inspire action through benefits and rewards

The only reason why a potential customer would agree to click on that button (whether it leads to a product page or a download link for an eBook) is for personal gain, obviously, so it’s important that you use the adequate language and the right keywords that will create a clear value proposition. This means that you need to be more descriptive with your CTA buttons, in order to inspire visitors to take action immediately.

If you simply write something generic like “download”, “click here”, “enter”, or “submit”, you’re more likely to lose their interest and drive them away, simply because there is no clear value proposition. On the other hand, if you were to enrich your CTAs with descriptive keywords such as “stay in the loop”, “let’s connect”, “get my eBook”, “tell me more”, or “check out the products”, you will elevate your chances of grabbing their attention and improving that click-through rate. 

Leverage the entire narrative

CTA buttons carry little value on their own if they’re not supported by quality content. It’s important to keep in mind that a CTA is the culmination of a story, the grand finale to an inspiring narrative, and everything you write before it serves to add value and a purpose to that little button. This means that you need to prioritize content creation and leverage the entire narrative to incentivize website visitors to click on your CTAs. And the best way to do that is to create a landing page with a personalized experience and connect with your visitors on a deeper level.

Depending on your target demographic, you need to optimize the language, tone of voice, as well as the personality of your content to truly resonate with your audience. You can’t expect Gen Z-ers to click on your CTAs if the content uses Boomer language, nor will the millennials stick around if you’re using too much Gen-Z slang. What’s more, make sure to address your audience personally, and research their pain-points thoroughly to make the content that much more relevant.

Improve CTR with reputable domains

The modern online world is full of scammers, hackers, and just bad people, really. And the customers know it, which makes this one of the primary reasons why people are reluctant to click on links and CTAs in general. This is why improving your reputation and trustworthiness should be one of your top priorities if you want your CTAs to actually work.

To do achieve this, you have to have a trustworthy domain. It’s imperative to enhance your CTAs with reputable URL structures the likes of .me TLD in order to show your customers that you can be trusted, that Google trusts you and prioritizes your site, and that their personal information is safe with your brand. Domains play many vital roles in digital marketing, and they have the power and potential to influence the success of your CTAs in a positive way.

Use the best visuals and placement strategies

So, what makes a good-looking CTA and where do you put it? Do you just slap a giant red flashing button in the middle of the screen that says “buy now” and hope for the best? Sure, if you’re stuck in 1998. Nowadays, though, this type of design is not only highly outdated, it can actually be disastrous for your brand’s reputation. So what should you focus on?

For one, your CTA should follow the artistic style of your brand’s overall visual identity. The color scheme needs to match the theme of the website, and while it should contrast the background to make it stand out a bit, it shouldn’t be assertive or aggressive by any means. As for placement, it will depend on what you’re trying to sell and where the customer is in their buying cycle. Typically, though, you should place your CTA at the bottom of the page, once the customer has had enough time to explore the content.  

Monitor performance and improve

Finally, understand that there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to CTAs. It’s important that you put your CTAs to the test, monitor their performance for a few weeks, and see how they’re holding up in the competitive market. If you’re not reaching your desired CTR, then you should try positioning your CTAs in different places, making them stand out with brighter colors, or revisit the language and story to see where it fails to keep the reader’s attention.

Wrapping up

Calls to action are a critical element in every digital marketing strategy, and they have the power to boost your entire sales strategy if you use them the right way. Be sure to implement these best practices in order to create some truly inspirational CTAs and incentivize potential customers to take the plunge.