Many times in this blog we have advocated the virtues of having a website to represent your business. We have discussed general reasons everyone should have a site. However, have you stopped to consider specifically why YOU should have a website of your own?
Your business is unique. You have your products, services, employees, and company culture that makes you uniquely your own. It’s because of this, that you must consider the purpose of your website in the context of how it can help your business.
As the title suggests, valuable sections of your website must have a clear and focused “call-to-action.”
What is a Call to Action?
Our friends over at Wikipedia define it as follows:
Call to Action is a marketing term for any design to prompt an immediate response or encourage an immediate sale.
Simply put, it is a way of visually prompting users to take the action you want them to take on a given web page. The way of prompting them should feel both intuitive and organic to achieve optimal success.
Call to Action Objectives
As I said earlier, your business is unique, and the objective for your call to action will be different as well. Below are a few common objectives for your call to action.
- Sale: If you sell products on your website, your goal is clear, to convert website visitors into paying customers. Depending on the number and variety of products you sell, make sure to include professional visuals, clear pricing, and above-the-fold links to your most profitable products throughout your website. Whatever online shop system you are using is secure and intuitive so customers can easily make their purchase.
- Lead Generation: If you sell a service or a product that requires a more personal touch it is important to gather contact information so you can follow up with a potential customer and sell them on what you have to offer. In this instance, your call to action would be a web form or phone number to prompt that user to follow up with you.
When it comes to web forms, less is more. Only require the minimum amount of information you need to then reach out to that customer. You can always gather more details when you are doing your customer follow-up. However, if you provide them with a time-consuming and detailed form to fill out right off the bat, you are giving them far too many opportunities to abandon the lead generation process.
- Event Promotion: Whether it is an in-store sale or a seminar, if your web page is promoting this you need to provide important information about the event. You should always lead with the what, when, and where - from there your call to action will vary. For a seminar, everything should lead towards registration (if that is required) at the end of the page once you have them hooked. If it is an in-store sale, you may consider including a Google map showing exactly where your business is located and re-iterate the date and time of the sale.
- Informational: If the purpose of specific sections of your website is to provide news or a blog, your call to action should exist to encourage users to read on. When listing the various news/blog entries it is recommended you include the title, an engaging image, and a snippet of content so users know whether what they are seeing is right for them. Visually you should style the heading and hyperlink both the image and the title to the full entry. That way users intuitively know to click to learn more. We practice this concept on our blog listing page. If you find your visual cues aren’t enough for your audience you can also include a “Read More” link below the snippet of content as a more “on the nose” call to action to encourage your visitors to not only read more but stay on your site longer.
There is additional "call to action" options out there that get even more specific. From social sharing to product discovery, to simple form submission (similar to lead generation). If the generalized information listed above hits certain notes but there are elements of your business that are uniquely your own, you may want to consider engaging with a UI/UX Designer to help achieve your goals.
We have years of experience in helping businesses with their online website needs. So if you need some help in this area and don’t quite know where to start you can contact us online or by phone at 1-800-232-3989.
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