Wednesday, April 13, 2011

8 Features of a Great Call to Action Button

The best way to get visitors to do what you want them to do on your website is to create an effective call to action button.

A call to action button is simply a button people click on that says something like:
  • Sign up now
  • Call us today
  • Get a free quote
  • Download our brochure
  • Read more
A good call to action button has several characteristics. Here are a few:

1. Color contrast

The color of the button should stand out from the surrounding elements on your website. So if you have a white background, don't have a light button. Make it a dark color.

Contrast


The Chincoteague Chamber of Commerce uses purple for this image to make the important Visitor Guide button stand out.

2. Give a few details

Some users want to know a little more information before they click on something. Keep it brief, but give them a few more details if it fits on your button and looks good.

If you'll look at our buttons on the right, you'll notice that we have the call to action statement in bold type, followed by a short explanation.

3. Don't make it scary
Free Report

There are some terms that people seem to shy away from. If a web user thinks they're making a long term commitment that will be hard to get out of they're less likely to click it.

Don't say: "Register" or "Sign up"
Instead, say: "Receive Updates" or "Stay Connected"

These friendly terms are more inviting and people are more likely to click on it.

Defy the Bad Guy uses the phrase "Free Safety Tips Newsletter" rather than something like "Sign up to receive our newsletter". After all, who doesn't want to be safe? And who doesn't like free?

4. Keep distractions to a minimum

It's very easy to make a website too cluttered. But by adding a lot of stuff, we end up losing the effectiveness of what we started with.

Farm Museum


Sometimes less is more. The Northern Neck Farm Museum keeps their home page very simple to emphasize the buttons on the left to make sure that the important items are easy to see and there are no unnecessary distractions.

5. Use white space

White space, as mentioned in our article on How to Make Your Web Content Look Amazing is the blank or empty space surrounding elements on your web page. White space can really make your call to action button stand out and get noticed.

white space


6. Put it at the top of the page

The "above the fold" principle is what the user sees on their screen without scrolling down. If feasible, put your important call to action buttons "above the fold".

A lot of times it's not practical to put your call to actions at the top. Maybe it's not how you want your website styled, or you have something else at the top that you want to highlight. That's OK...this is just one way to do it.

foodbank


The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank uses two techniques for their call to action button - positioning it at the top of the page, and high contrast. They have a dark green button on a white background.

7. Give more than just one option

We always want people to "Buy Now" but what if they're not ready? They don't want to "Buy Now", but they do want to "Learn More". Give them the option to do that.

A cautious customer will take baby steps towards the ultimate goal. In baseball, a walk, stolen base and a base hit scores 1 run...same as a 450 foot home run. Let them go at their own pace.

2 Options


Constant Contact wants people to sign up for their free trial...but maybe people just want to "See how it works".

8. Give the button a "hover" feature

Users like it when a button lights up when they hover the mouse over it. Our buttons on the right do this as well...they turn a slightly brighter yellow. It's just an attractive, simple way to let your users know that it is in fact a button that you can click on.

Creating a good call to action button can really help you reach your website goals. We hope you can incorporate these ideas into your website and improve the effectiveness of your online presence!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Your Website and How to Get Your Point Across

Ever feel like your website just sort of...sits there? It's great to have a website to promote your business but without a specific goal and plan to achieve that goal, you're not going to get much out of it.

Your website may have several goals in mind, but most likely a couple of them are more important than the rest. You don't have to exclude the secondary goals, but SOMETHING has to stand out.

The first thing to do is figure out specifically what it is you want your web visitors to do. Here are some ideas of actions you want your web visitors to take right from your website:
  • Request a price quote straight from the website
  • Receive online donations via credit card
  • Find out about a specific product or service
  • Stay updated on local events or attractions
OK so you have your goals figured out. How to you get your web visitors to do anything?

Here is the 3 step process to get results on your site:
  1. Web user sees something interesting
  2. Web user clicks a link to find out more
  3. You tell them how to take action

Web user sees something interesting

So how do you make sure your web user sees something interesting? Here's how - repetition. Don't just mention it once and hope they get the message. You should list it in 3 different places:
  1. Main navigation - on our website, the main navigation is the blue menu bar at the very top. Anything important should be accessible through the main navigation.

    We utilize the drop down menus for secondary pages and we recommend that you do the same. It makes it much easier on your web users.

  2. Buttons or graphics - we have a couple buttons on the right side of our page that we REALLY want our web users to click on. It's in the menu at the top also, but we repeat it on the side as a button because we want to make sure people visit it.

  3. In the main content area of your text - most people will click on a button like in #2 long before they read the text on your website. But you should still mention important things in the body of your text.


3 places


If you emphasize your key points in these 3 places than you your web users should notice it.

Web user clicks a link to find out more

How do you get them to actually click that button? That's another topic by itself, but you need to use a good call to action button. Here's one of our articles that describes how to create a good call to action button.

After your user clicks a call to action button you only have one more step to take.

You tell them how to take action

There are 2 good ways to make a conversion on a website. You want your web visitor to either call you, or fill out a contact form. Make these two options very easy to do. Some people are more likely to fill out a form, others want to call. Give options and keep it simple.

Here's a couple examples of sites which have a nice and simple Contact Us page with phone number and a contact form:
  • http://themasterstouchpainting.com/contact/
  • http://seashellmotel.org/contact/
  • http://www.haleyesgenerators.com/about-us/contact-us
We hope these tips helps you get your point across on your website, and helps give you a more effective online presence.

Don't forget to contact us if you need a free consultation on your website or internet marketing.