It is undoubtable that every single website exists to convert a site visitor to a consumer. Whether that be into a business enquiry, a sign-up or a sale, a good website aims to capture user attention enough to get them to do something positive toward a business. Conversions are the goal, and well placed and optimised CTA wordings are one of the things that can help you get them.
But, what’s the CTA meaning? What do these letters stand for? In this article, the expert KIJO team will unveil the CTA meaning for you and further explain why they should be one of your site’s absolute priorities.
The CTA meaning is relatively simple; CTA stands for Call To Action.
CTAs are exactly what they say on the tin; they are an ask of the user to act. On websites, they’re usually strategically placed digital assets that are persuasive and guide the user to perform a desired task. There are two types of CTA, direct and indirect.
Direct: Direct CTAs are things like buttons, sentences or pop-ups that ask the user to ‘Sign-up to Our Newsletter’, or ‘Book a Call’, or ‘Shop Now’. If they click on these CTAs, they will be taken to the page that will allow them to convert into a consumer of your brand, product or service!
Indirect: Indirect CTAs are more subtle. These might be hyperlinked words within a blog or an additional perk to push for a conversion like ‘Free Gift with Every Purchase’. These CTAs are less clear for the user. However, don’t dismiss an indirect CTA because of that. They’re very valuable for building trust and encouraging loyalty, and thus can help bolster conversion rates.
CTAs hold so much more power than they’re given credit for. Any savvy marketer knows this. We’ve given a few examples of why CTAs are vital for your website below:
In order to ensure your calls to action are as strong as possible, they should be:
There are several ways you can judge whether your CTA is working in an optimal way.
By using a platform like Google Analytics, you can establish your click-through rate. A CTR figure is given as a percentage. This percentage is derived from the number of clicks your CTA receives, measured against the total number of users who saw it. So if 100 users saw your CTA but only 11 people clicked on it, the CTR would be 11%. The higher your CTR percentage, the better your CTA is performing.
KIJO PRO TIP: Did you know that you can establish better CTRs via A/B testing? A/B Testing (or “split testing”) is a randomised experimentation process where two versions of a variable of your site (like a CTA) are shown to different website visitors at the same time. This way you can establish whether users respond better to a CTA like “Try a Free Trial” or a variable like “Try Today!”
Again, using Google Analytics, you can uncover your conversion rate. This metric measures the percentage of users who’ve completed the call to action asked of them. This is calculated by the number of goal conversions (perhaps this is a completed purchase or a newsletter sign-up) divided by the number of sessions times, then multiplied by 100.
Google Analytics can also reveal your Cost Per Click. This metric will tell you how much each click is costing you. The figure is derived from the total cost of your clicks divided by the total number of clicks. The lower this number is, the better. Alongside your conversion rate percentages, this will help you understand whether your CTA efforts are impacting your business goals in an effective, desired way.
Want to improve your conversion rates, CPCs and CTRs? Why not read our article on Conversion Rate Optimisation Tips here?
“Nik Klemenc is a UI/UX designer, like myself, and a Front-End Developer. As CTA examples go, this one really is great. It involves large, full-screen typography with an absolute, clear, concise yet emotive message: “Let’s Connect”. Then, there are 4 simple links offering alternative ways to contact Nik. It’s so simple, yet completely compelling.”
“NORR11 is a Danish furniture design brand. What I like about this CTA example is its confidence. It uses minimal typography and a short and sweet sentence that purposefully acts as a complementary accompaniment to the product’s video. It ultimately lets the full-screen video speak for itself which oozes that assuredness, and is thus compelling. You can’t help but click! Very smart.”
“Fear of God is an American luxury clothing brand. This product-focused CTA example establishes the three main areas the site wants the users to visit. The imagery is of high-quality and is coherent across all three, large cards. Impressively, a single line of text or word is clear enough for the user to understand exactly where they’ll be taken if they click. This CTA is not only inviting, it feels well thought out and very brand appropriate.”
We hope it’s now clear why CTAs are a vital tool in your marketing arsenal and prioritising them is the opposite of a waste of time!
For more Conversion Rate Optimisation tips, check out this complementary article also put together by the expert KIJO team here.
For further, in-depth support in optimising your CTAs and other elements of your site, check out our KIJO Optimise package. By looking at 113 data points, including CTAs, our expert team will pinpoint exactly how to make your site rank higher on Google, boost traffic, and increase conversion volume and ratio.
KIJO Optimise will transform your website into one that delivers. All you have to do is contact us.
