Anatomy of an Effective Call to Action (C2A)

Tuesday, 10 July 2012 13:36

Hoyt

Long gone are the days of free or home-grown websites. Internet users are becoming more savvy, and they have grown accustomed to great interface designs provided by the big players such as Google, Facebook, and Microsoft.

Without providing your visitors a simple interface built for their experience, they will become frustrated and bored, and then leave without the information they desire from you.

Your website must provide visitors with a very simple path forward. Your Call-To-Action (also referred to as C2A) must be shown prominently on the website, and should be a simple action-oriented message that anyone can understand. For small businesses leveraging the Internet to generate new sales, the following C2A’s could be used:

• Use Our Contact Form
• Continue to Checkout
• Call Now

Many times, your call-to-action will direct the user to an online contact form. If your website’s home page doesn’t put the next step front and center in front of the visitor, you’re putting them on a wild goose chase, and they will quickly lose interest. Within five seconds of first visiting your website, the visitor should be able to identify the following traits of your company: