4 CTA Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make!

Ever wonder why your call-to-action (CTA) is like a ghost town and nobody passes by? Most people disregard the importance of this step as they believe that their landing page is the best thing that happened to mankind. But, here’s something to think about: If your CTA is not enticing, no one will ever see that beautiful work of art landing page you created. These little guys can cause serious harm to your click-through rates! They have to jump out to your visitors, convince them of the value of your offer, and get them clicking!

For those who may be unfamilair with the term “Call-to-Action – it is an advertising and marketing concept that directs someone to ‘do something’. They are words that urge the reader of a sales promotion message to take an immediate action, such as “Download Now,” “Call Now,” or “Click Here.” As well, with inbound marketing, a CTA provides a link to your landing page where the goal is to convert the visitor to a lead.

Here are 4 common mistakes with CTAs:

1)      Uhh…where is it?

Maybe the simplest thing to overlook is your CTAs size. There is nothing worse than trying to find something you know is there, but can’t seem to find it. You want your CTAs to be in prominent places on your website. However, keep in mind that a large call-to-action is less effective if it appears below the fold (i.e. visitors have to scroll down on the page to see it). However, the exception is if the CTA lies at the end of a blog post. In this case, the reader will notice it once they finish reading the blog. For every other case, before publishing a new page, test different browsers to ensure the CTA appears above the fold.

2)      So what?

It’s easy to place your offer – but what if it doesn’t convey any value to the visitor? If you can’t explain to a visitor why your offer is going to help them, why would they click through? For example, if your CTA is a Free eBook for 42 Blog Post Ideas, have copy in the CTA that explains why the content is valuable — readers will learn how to generate more leads through their website by creating blogs with interesting and engaging titles!

3)      Something doesn’t match up…

Don’t you hate it when you click on something that appeals to you and it brings you to a page that has no relation whatsoever? This sort of confusion happens when the copy in your CTA appears to say something totally different than the copy on your landing page, leading visitors to believe that filling out your landing page form will not truly yield the offer your call-to-action promised. Ensure that your CTA matches the information provided on your landing page (use the exact same words, phrases, and even images so the visitor enjoys a consistent experience from CTA to your landing page).

4)      What was all the hype about?!

Your CTA sets certain expectations with your visitor — the language you use tells them what they’re going to get if they redeem your offer. The thing is, sometimes calls-to-action promise an arm and a leg to ensure they capture a click, but then don’t actually deliver on those exaggerated promises. If you have a CTA to download like an eBook for Creating Inbound Marketing Content: 20 Facebook Ideas AND a promise that these clickthroughs will receive follow-up email updates of other relevant inbound marketing content, that’s what visitors will expect. Now, your visitors may be able to download that eBook, but what if they never receive the additional inbound marketing content? They may feel that they were tricked or lied to if they don’t end up getting what that CTA promised. This may deter people from your brand or make them lose a significant amount of trust.

Want to learn more about how inbound marketing can help your business? Get in touch with us and we’ll be more than happy to asisst you!