Do you need a Call to Action?

Starting at the very basics, a “Call to Action” is a highly visible prompt that encourages your website visitors to engage in further interaction with your business.

This action can take many forms: a “Click Me” button, a newsletter sign-up, a Shopping Cart or a Free Quote enquiry form.

These are just a few options that are available to the site operator – there are many more. Anything that can generate that all important sales lead can be used as a “Call to Action”.

Why should I have a “Call to Action”?

This question can only be answered by you as the site owner. What is the whole purpose of the site? Is it there to boost or promote your business or organisation? Does the site play an important part in generating your source of income? Do you want it to push visitors towards other aspects of your business?

Maybe you just want more details about the site visitor to initiate further interaction with them.

If your site is designed to interact in any way with its visitors, you need to have a distinct and easy to use “Call to Action.”

Where should I put my Call to Action?

Wherever you decide to put it, your “Call to Action” must be highly visible whenever a visitor comes to your site. This usually means that it needs to be seen straight away after the page loads, “above the fold” or visible without any scrolling. On your site, this might mean placing a large Call to Action at the top of the front page allowing instant access to contact information. On another site, it could float along the right edge of the screen, accessible at any stage.

The idea is to make the interaction between yourself and your potential customers as easy as possible. Despite their level of interest, most people are impatient and will not search through your site looking for a way to contact you. If they can’t see the “Call to Action” immediately or in the first 10 seconds (at most), you risk losing them to another site. And if that happens, your website loses its effectiveness as a marketing tool for your business.

Take a quick look at your site and pretend to be a potential customer – Does your site have a “Call to Action?”