Read This Article: The Value of Calls-To-Action

They’re everywhere—on billboards, on social media, and on every brand’s website. They’re meant to be seen (and sometimes heard). With people spending more time online, they’re exposed to a greater number of advertisements nudging them to sign up for a free trial, learn more about a product, or request a demo. From start to finish, the online experience is rife with these calls-to-action. 

What are calls-to-action (CTAs) and what role do they play in marketing? Why are some CTAs more effective than others? How can marketers better employ CTAs to reach potential customers? Let’s take a look at these questions. 

What are Calls-To-Action?

A call-to-action is fittingly named—it is a directive phrase or statement, usually built around an action verb, that seeks to catalyze specific customer behavior. Most common CTAs are action buttons: “join now,” “sign up,” and “learn more,” but there are many variations that play with wording, length, and numbers. Customers encounter CTAs in the first few interactions with a brand and in the final moments leading up to a purchase, making CTAs an important part of sales and marketing strategies. 

Simply put, CTAs are crafted to get more visits and clicks to landing pages, blog posts, or any other destination intended by a given author.

And CTAs are everywhere: websites, Facebook ads, Google results, media platforms, print material... anywhere prospects interact with a conversion funnel (i.e. a brand interaction), you should be thinking about CTAs.

This means that some CTAs are more effective than others. Like with every other aspect of the consumer experience, success lies in personalization. The HubSpot team analyzed more than 330,000 CTAs, comparing basic ones that every customer sees to smart ones that are tailored to the individual. Their analysis revealed a few important points: 

• Personalized CTA buttons convert 202% better than basic CTAs. 
• Most CTAs have conversion rates between 1% and 7%, but a few smart CTAs have as high as a 25% to 45% conversion rate. 
• Button-based CTAs convert twice as well compared to their image counterparts.  

Also, be mindful of action words. A CTA of "free consultation" might sound compelling, however that verbiage by itself doesn't actually call anyone to do anything. As obvious as it may sound, the field of conversion rate optimization proves time and time again that website visitors and offline customers alike respond to explicit action words embedded in CTAs.