To become a web designer or web marketer, you need to learn many skills and knowledge. At the same time, there are many specialized terms in the IT industry, so it is important to remember them.
In this article, we will provide an easy-to-understand explanation of the basic knowledge and how to use “CTA”, which is one of the important terms for those aiming to become web designers and web marketers.
By reading this article, you will not only understand the meaning and role of CTAs but also learn how to use them in practice.
table of contents
What is CTA?
What is the effect of setting up a CTA?
CTA example
Tips for improving CTA
position
design
text/wording
Repeat hypothesis → analysis → improvement to increase CTA effectiveness
make a hypothesis
Analysis/verification
improvement
CTA summary
What is CTA?
CTA is an abbreviation for Call to Action, which generally means a call to action. In the world of websites, this is a necessary way of thinking to encourage the next action.
Generally, a click button is an item required to perform the next action on a website. By getting the viewer to click the click button, you have accomplished your initial goal.
In addition to click buttons, we may also use text links, image links, etc. to guide users to other pages. By making good use of these, you can expect to be called to action.
introduced
click button
Text link
image link
These are all included in the CTA.
What is the effect of setting up a CTA?
CTAs have the effect of lowering the psychological hurdles for users to take action.
The hurdles for people viewing your site to take the next step are high. Therefore, in order to increase the conversion rate, if you lower the psychological hurdle by preparing a button that people want to click, you can move on to the next action without feeling stressed.
The meaning of establishing a CTA
CTA example
From here, we will introduce specific examples and types of CTAs. When installing a CTA, it is necessary to consider the installation location and guidance method depending on the purpose. Please consider the examples listed here to be general usage examples only.
Document request
It is often used to introduce companies, services, and request information. Guidance in text format, including buttons, is also effective.
inquiry
The conversion rate for inquiries also changes depending on the installation location and design. In addition to buttons and images, text formats are also effective.
Register as a member, blog, follow SNS, etc.
Registering as a member or following up on SNS etc. may be a little more difficult than making an inquiry or requesting information. It is important to be aware of the benefits for your viewers.
Purchase products, apply for services
Purchasing a product or applying for a service is where CTA is most important on a website. The key is to induce the viewer to want to purchase a product or apply for a service.
When setting up a CTA, there are many other possible scenarios in addition to the examples listed above. Although the type and position of the optimal CTA differs depending on the purpose, the basic mechanism and idea are the same, so it is essential knowledge for website creators.
Also, if you are unsure about the type of CTA, one option is to use conversion points with low hurdles as a CTA.
For example, downloading materials should be much easier than contacting a company directly. In addition to this, you can expect to improve the number of conversions by improving the position, design, and text.
Tips for improving CTA
When improving CTAs in website production, you need to be aware of the following three points.
・Clarification of target
Even if the product is for all generations, it is necessary to segment it by age, gender, etc., and clarify the target in order to increase the conversion rate. It is said that the more specific the target, the better.
・Create a design that takes the viewer’s path into consideration
You need to be aware of “How do viewers read your site?” Check the design and location of the CTA, as well as the text before and after the CTA, to ensure that users do not feel uncomfortable when reading it.
-Choose a CTA that conveys a sense of urgency and necessity to prompt the next action.
The most important thing when setting up a CTA is to guide viewers to take action. By using wording and design that conveys a sense of urgency and necessity, you can expect to have the effect of encouraging the next action.
In order to reflect the three points explained above on your site, it is important to be creative with the position, design, and words (text) of your CTA.
Here are some tips for thinking about the location, design, and text of your CTA.
position
In order to increase the number of conversions on your website, it is important to place CTAs in effective positions. In general, we will introduce the most effective places to place CTAs.
top of page
When a viewer opens a web page, the first thing they see is the top of the page, which includes the title and other information. Therefore, placing a CTA at the top of the page is the basic method.
Placing a CTA with easy-to-understand content, such as contacting the company, can be effective.
Fixed header, footer
CTAs used in fixed headers and footers are generally banners and buttons that follow from the top of the screen to the bottom of the screen. This type of CTA is tracking, so you can expect it to catch the viewer’s attention anywhere on the page.
Note that fixed header/footer CTAs can be effective for PC users with large screens, but some mobile users may find them distracting from the content, so be careful.
In the middle of the article
Another common practice is to place a CTA in the middle of an article. It plays an important role in increasing the number of conversions. It serves as the main CTA on the page, and at the same time makes it easy for viewers to follow a clear path.
Placing a CTA in the middle of an article may increase the conversion rate, but placing it more than necessary can have the opposite effect, so you need to be careful.
Sidebar
On a PC, placing the CTA in the sidebar has the advantage of being visible no matter where the viewer is looking on the page. This CTA is easy to use as it does not interfere with the main text of the article.
pop-up
A pop-up is a type of call-to-action that appears depending on the situation. However, there are many people who dislike the presence of pop-ups, so be careful. Also, as with the sidebar, depending on how you use it, it can often have the opposite effect.
bottom of page
The bottom of the page is the most promising location for CTA conversion rates. If it’s at the bottom of the page, we can assume that the viewer is “highly interested” and has read the page to the end.
CTA placed at the bottom of the page tends to have a high conversion rate, even if the actual number of conversions is low. You can expect to be guided to products and services.
design
The second point to improve your CTA is its design. Of course, the overall design of the site is important, but you also need to be creative with the location, color, size, and shape of your CTA.
Here, we will introduce tips on color, size, and shape that you should keep in mind to improve your CTA conversion rate.
color
We recommend that you be especially conscious of the colors you choose for buttons and links, as they have a big impact on the industry and viewers.
●Red type
Red colors are characterized by a lively and aggressive impression. You can expect this to have the effect of boosting the purchase intent of your target customers.
Red-type usage examples and industries
- Products on sale etc.
- Document request
●Blue type
Blue can give a sense of trust to your target customers.
Blue-type usage examples and industries
- BtoB system
- Financial institution system
●Green type
Green is a color that gives the impression of health and nature. This will give your target customers a sense of security.
Green usage examples and industries
- Health food
- Environmental system
The same thing can be said about the use of colors throughout the site, but the impression that colors give in CTA also affects the conversion rate. Effective improvement methods will be explained later, so please refer to them.
button size
There are no specific rules regarding the size of the button. However, when using a PC, you click with a mouse, but when using a mobile device such as a smartphone, you need to assume that you tap with your finger.
One way to determine button size is to understand the devices your target audience uses.
shape
Although not as important as color or size, the shape of your CTA can also have an impact. Basically, something simple is considered ideal.
Sometimes we see buttons with shapes that are too particular to make them stand out, but we don’t recommend shapes that make it difficult to click.
text/wording
You also need to be creative with the text you include in your CTA. Here I will list and explain three typical points, so please use them as a reference when thinking about the text.
Put an effective word CTA
Specifically, the key is to use words that help the target customer understand the benefits at a glance.
It is effective to use text and wording that is conscious of the target’s behavior, and to use easy-to-understand and simple wording for text inside buttons.
It is best to avoid using long text, prickly wording, or overly simplified wording that makes the target feel uneasy, as they can create psychological resistance in the target and have the opposite effect.
Encourage your target to take action by using words with urgency.
Urgent words include words such as “for XX days” and “within today.” By placing these words, you can expect the effect of encouraging the target to take action.
There are advantages to using words with urgency, but there are also disadvantages, so be careful. Please refer to the following.
●Advantages of using words with urgency
- It can be expected to be effective when used on sales-related sites or when you want to make an immediate appeal.
- It can be expected to provide psychological guidance to target customers.
●Disadvantages of using urgent words
- The wording tends to be offensive.
- This may give the impression of a commercial purpose or be overly expressive.
use specific words
Specific words include direct phrases such as “request information” and “buy now.”
●Benefits of using specific words
- By using specific language such as “Free Diagnosis” in the “Contact Us” section, you can make it easier for your target customers to understand your purpose after clicking.
- It can be expected to reduce psychological resistance.
●Disadvantages of using specific words
- Compared to other CTAs, it tends to be less likely to lead to strong leads.
Repeat hypothesis → analysis → improvement to increase CTA effectiveness
The first goal of a website is to attract a large number of visitors, but unless the number of conversions and conversion rate increase, the ultimate goal cannot be said to have been achieved.
As introduced above, to increase conversion rates, you need to create and place CTAs effectively. Rather than leaving the CTA you have created as is, you can increase its effectiveness by analyzing it based on temporary assumptions, repeating tests, and improving it.
Here, we will explain the basics of hypothesis, analysis, and improvement necessary for CTA improvement. We will also introduce testing methods that are important points, so please use them in practice.
make a hypothesis
Each website has its own purpose. If your website promotes the sale of your own products, the purpose is to purchase the product, but depending on the type and price of the product, you may also need to make effective use of CTAs such as requesting information or making inquiries.
After understanding the overall design of the website, make a clear hypothesis about the intent and wording to place the CTA.
We will also make assumptions about the text and wording we will use. By repeating verification and testing based on several hypotheses, you will be able to find the appropriate CTA placement.
Analysis/verification
To improve your CTAs, test your hypotheses. At this time, you can efficiently verify the effectiveness by using AB tests and heat maps.
Utilization of AB testing
AB testing is a test method that prepares two test patterns that differ in some parts, such as the location and design of the CTA and compares and verifies them. The advantage of AB testing is that it allows verification and improvement while minimizing risks.
By tentatively adopting an improvement plan that has a high click rate in an AB test, and then comparing it with a new page design through an AB test, you can determine the optimal CTA.
When conducting AB tests, the results will be clearer if you compare wording, button design, etc. for each item separately. The flow is similar to running an AB test with different text, then changing the color or design without changing the text and running the AB test again.
heat map
A heat map tool is a tool that allows you to visually analyze the behavior and viewpoints of visitors on your site. General access analysis tools can determine “which page”, but they cannot determine “where on the page”.
By using a heatmap tool, you can understand where users interact with your website, as well as where they leave the page.
If you know where users are interested and where they leave, you can place appropriate CTAs in the appropriate places, and you can also consider changing the text and wording at the places where users leave.
Testing and verification using AB tests and heat maps has the advantage of making it easier to analyze highly specialized websites. This is one of the improvements that can be implemented immediately to increase the CTA click rate.
improvement
After verifying based on tests using AB tests and heat maps, the series of processes will be completed by making appropriate improvements. Of course, we are sure to find further improvements, so we aim to complete a good web page by constantly repeating “hypothesis → analysis/verification → improvement”.
The point of improvement is from the user’s perspective. If you determine that there are problems with the text or wording based on the test results, please make corrections to the text. When doing so, always keep in mind the benefits for users. Another point of improvement is to use wording that is easy to guide them to the next action.
For example, it is necessary to use the phrase “free trial” rather than “trial,” and there are many writing techniques to increase conversion rates.
In addition to the text and wording, you may also need to improve the design and colors of your site and CTA. In this case, you should pay attention to the verification period and verification points, and further pursue improvements through AB testing.
CTA summary
I explained CTA, which is one of the important terms for those aiming to become web designers and web marketers. It carefully explains not only the basic meaning of CTA but also knowledge that is useful in practice.
For commercial websites, the goal is to have a high conversion rate. In order to increase the conversion rate, we have introduced specific test formats and improvement methods, so please put them into practice.
If you have any problems regarding web marketing in general, including CTA improvement, please feel free to contact Pantograph (free of charge).
