SECRET TO CONVERSION: CREATION OF EFFECTIVE CALL-TO-ACTION BUTTONS

AIDA, which stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action, is an already proven effective online marketing strategy.   As implied, the aforementioned words describe the correct sequence of events you should follow when seeking clients.  First, you capture the viewers’ attention and once you do, you trigger their interest by giving them compelling and relevant information about your products and services.  You then proceed to turn that interest into desire by adding how beneficial your products could be for them.  After you make sure that all those steps are followed, it is time for the last and most important step, which is to drive them to act. In the past years, call-to-action buttons have proven to be very capable of accomplishing this task. 

Call-to-action buttons are designed for users to click on when they land on your page – these buttons are linked to actions that either: download, subscribe, buy, or contact.   Call-to-action buttons should be noticeable and therefore more effective action motivators than old-fashioned text links which are often subtle and passive.  Buttons should be larger, brighter, and obvious along with the other elements in the page.  They should be placed strategically where the viewers’ eyes would be easily drawn to them.  Also, no matter what the button’s function is, people should know that it is clickable.  Good call-to-action buttons should get users to drive you closer to your goal. 

Seth Godin, bestselling author, entrepreneur, and agent of change, compares call-to-action buttons to bananas and viewers to monkeys.  “Force yourself to design each and every page with one and only one primary objective. That’s the banana. Make it big. Make it blue (or red). Make it obvious.”  The ‘bananas’ must be spotted by the ‘monkeys’ in less than three seconds.    Listed are different ways to design the perfect call-to-action button:

Achieve the ‘Button Effect’.Do not content yourself with just changing the border and body colors of the button.  Explore other ways to make your button stand out.  You could design the button in such a way that when a user clicks on it, it actually looks ‘pressed’.    This could be done by using the ‘drop-shadow’ and ‘emboss’ techniques.  You could also use the ‘hover’ effect to increase the awareness of the user that the button is clickable.  

Use Bright and Contrasting Colors to Stand Out.Your button should complement and not blend with the colors of your page. 

 

 

Keep it Simple and Clean.It is important to be tasteful.  Be careful not to be too garish in terms of design and use fonts that are easy to read.

 

Size and Padding Matter.  A good button should be big enough to attract users instantly.  They should be easily distinguished from one another.  Also, avoid clutter when doing button layouts.  There should be adequate distance between the links on your page in order to make it easier for the users to click on the button they want.   Margins are important when it comes to text too - the wordings should be readable. 

 

 

Small Icons Further Illustrate the Function of the Button.This is especially true in cases where there is more than one button on the webpage and/or you need to put more emphasis on a particular button. 

Buttons should be Immediately Found.Do not make your viewers scroll down to the bottom of the page.  Place your buttons somewhere that would easily draw the attention of the user – beside a product, top right navigation, in the header, etc.

 

Be Concise.If your goal is to make the user sign up, then use ‘sign up’ as your button text.  It is better to be straight to the point than to use words that might not be understood.  It is recommendable to start with a verb to increase the chances of inciting action.   Certain words like ‘free trial’ are also good motivators.        

 

Be Considerate.Be as specific as possible for the sake of the users’ convenience.  If there is a button that would allow them to add to their order, consider adding another button that would allow them to change their order.   Also, keep in mind that your viewers come from different organizations and recognize words differently.  For example, Amazon UK would use ‘shopping basket’ instead of ‘shopping cart’. 

 

 

 

Too Many Buttons would Distract Users. Straighten out your priorities.  Having too many goals would just result to a cluttered and confusing site.  Use buttons only for your top goals.  Among those goals, you could also decide which one is the most important so you could focus on that. 

 

 

 

 

After designing and positioning good call-to-action buttons, measure their effectiveness.Monitor traffic regularly brought on by call-to-action buttons and do direct user testing.  Traffic reports show you which call-to-action buttons work best.  Direct user testing would show you how easily your buttons could be found and understood by viewers.  There are other ways to test effectiveness.  Check out your competitors’ websites to see what works for them.  Explore different call-to-action techniques and keep up with the latest trends.   It is always helpful to continuously get input from users.

In conclusion, it narrows down to sorting out your priorities.  Determine the most important functions of your website and give them the design emphasis they deserve.   Of course, while designing, do not forget to put yourself in the user’s shoes to increase effectiveness of your strategy. 

References:
9 Crucial UI Features of Social Media and Networking Sites
Design To Sell: 8 Useful Tips To Help Your Website Convert
Web Design Trends: Call To Action Buttons
How to Make an Effective Call to Action Button
Large Red Buttons? Oh My!
Call to Action Buttons: Does Size Matter?