Defined specifically as a link intended to entice users to engage in specific behaviors, the call to action (CTA) button is an indispensable aspect of an e-commerce site. To get the most from yours, consider implementing these call to action best practices at your online store.
Prominent Appearance
Bold colors should be employed for these buttons to make them catch a user’s eye. If you leave a white space around the button it will stand out even more. So, rather than burying it in a paragraph of text, let it exist as a standalone line of copy—or even better, as a button off to the side of the copy.
The button should also be placed where it can be seen without scrolling down after reading the product description or seeing an image of the product. This is especially important in mobile environments.
Use Succinct Benefit and Action-Oriented Language
Copy should be limited to six words or less, describe a benefit and use a strong verb.
Examples include:
- “Get My Free Assessment Now!”
- “Start My Free Trial Today!”
- “Give Me My Instant Discount!”
Tired old tropes like “Click Here”, “Request Your…” or “View The…”, do in fact employ action-oriented verbs. But they do nothing to tell the user what’s in it for them. And remember, that’s the first question on every shopper’s mind.
Create a Sense of Urgency
The copy that leads into your call-to-action button should also say what’s going to happen when a person clicks the button in a convincing way.
With that said, people are also more likely to move quickly to take advantage of an offer when they think there’s a possibility of missing out on something good.
Coupling your call to action button with information that makes the offer seem extremely attractive and indicates it is limited in scope will motivate them to click through more quickly.
Location is Hugely Important
You have to consider the nature of your offer and the layout of your page to determine the best placement for the call to action. Free e-commerce website templates like those offered by Shopify usually take this into consideration and position them accordingly.
Ideally, the CTA will fall right after the product description so a shopper will encounter it right after reading the benefits of the offering. Your goal is to position the button so it becomes apparent at the exact moment the shopper is suitably enthused about the idea of taking advantage of it.
Use More Than One
Sometimes people will want to get more information before clicking through to get the offer. With this in mind, it never hurts to include a supplemental CTA on the same page. Just make sure it’s consistent with the nature of the copy on the rest of the page as well as the previous CTA button.
This can be particularly useful when you need to continue a product description below the fold. Always try to include enough information above the fold to help the customer decide without scrolling. When this isn’t possible, place the first CTA just above the fold and provide another one at the end of the description.
Ideally, these tips will set your wheels to turning for the best way to incorporate them on your site. Within that, these call to action best practices will ensure your enticements are visible, compelling and placed properly. If you have some additional ideas that have proven effective for you, please feel free to share them in the comments section below.
