One of the things you need to remember is that a CTA cannot exist in isolation. It’s the focused point for decision-making, such as to click or not to click, but it’s always in the context of value.
You need to create a reason for visitors to click on a button or link. Keep that in mind when creating your CTA.
Key takeaways:
- A CTA makes it easy for e-commerce site visitors to take the desired action
- CTAs cannot exist in isolation as e-commerce site owners must create CTAs within a context that addresses the needs of their buyers
- An e-commerce site should provide CTAs that address all sales cycle stages
- An irresistible CTA can significantly impact the conversion rates of e-commerce sites
Why Do You Need a CTA on Your E-Commerce Site?
People visit a site for a reason. Their goal may be to find a product or service they need or information about something.
You need a CTA on your e-commerce site to advance your site visitors to the correct pages to reach their goal. It tells your visitor what to do and where to go. E-commerce sites typically use CTAs to guide users on what to buy and why.
CTAs can benefit an e-commerce business at all stages of the sales cycle. It can generate and qualify leads, gather customer information, give information about the site or offering, address any issues and objections, close a sale, and retain customers.
Think of CTAs as shortcuts to the sweet spots on your site and triggers to conversions. E-commerce sites need CTAs so visitors can buy a product or service, register an account, or access information.
Of course, you first need to get people to visit. You need to exert much effort to do that, including SEO and other inbound marketing tasks.
Choosing one of the best e-commerce website builders to make those tasks easier can help. Zyro, for instance, has a simple interface with a complete set of customizable and straightforward features that any e-commerce site owner needs to promote and sell their products and services.
A good website builder can also ensure you have no user-experience (UX) design problems, such as page loading and navigation. Before getting on to anything else, revamp your site to address any issues that might cause your visitors to leave in disgust.
But the work doesn’t stop there. Once you get people on the site, you want them to stay and do something concrete to benefit them and your e-commerce business. Fortunately, that’s relatively simple. All you need is a persuasive CTA.
7 Tips for Creating an Engaging CTA
- Choose attention-grabbing call-to-action (CTA) elements
- Segment your audience
- Create contextual copy
- Instill a sense of urgency
- Show that your offer is awesome
- Be transparent
- Test, test, test
The CTA is one of the things on your site that you can control completely. You can design your UX and navigation, hoping that users behave as expected, but there’s no guarantee they’ll like it.
Meanwhile, a carefully thought-out CTA phrase reflects why visitors are on the site in the first place, compelling them to move towards their goal.
Because a CTA involves decision-making, it needs to focus on the main point of everything else on the page. Your visitor should feel that the logical next step is to click on the button or link to get what they want in one step.
Use the following tips to guide you in creating an irresistible CTA.
What’s the Difference Between a CMS and Website Builder?
How To Optimize Your E-Commerce Website’s Checkout and Shopping Cart
1. Choose Attention-grabbing CTA Elements
CTAs need to stand out, so your choice of image and color should contrast with the rest of the page. Don’t worry if that means going against design rules because you don’t want your CTA to blend in. The font and color could still align with your brand style and image, but it should pop.
2. Segment Your Audience
You need a CTA on all pages of your e-commerce site, but the flavor and purpose of each one varies according to the expected stage of the sales cycle. For example, the CTA on a landing page for a social media link to a product discount could be “Get the Promo Code” or “Activate Promo” and should send the user to the product page with the appropriate promo, such as 50% off. The assumption is that the person clicking on the link is ready to buy the discounted product.
Meanwhile, the CTA on a product home page might cater to a new visitor during the presenting your offer stage of the sales cycle. In that case, the CTA might be “Learn More” or something similar. The idea is that the visitor is new to the site and might want to know more about the product before buying.
3. Create Contextual Copy
The beauty and challenge of CTA copy are in their brevity. You need to convey all the value you described in the entire page’s content and the action you want users to take, all in three or four words.
You need to set up your CTA by providing the context of the action you want site visitors to take. Make your prep content so comprehensive and persuasive that they’re ready and eager to click on it by the time they get to the CTA.
Generally, you want to start your copy with an action word, such as “Get,” “Download,” or “Enter,” followed by your value statement, such as “Discount,” “White Paper,” or “Success.” When choosing your value statement, ensure you can deliver on it.
For example, if you use “Download White Paper” as your CTA, it should link to content that explains a complex issue and helps the reader solve a problem, not just a lengthy sales pitch.
4. Instill a Sense of Urgency
Most people have a fear of missing out, or FOMO, as it’s popularly called. You can make your CTA irresistible by telling them your product is in short supply or the promo you’re offering is time-limited.
One thing to keep in mind, however: if you tell your users that the item or promo is only available for that day, then you should stick to that. Otherwise, the next time you urge them to “Buy Now” because it’s only available for 24 hours, they won’t believe you.
Instilling a sense of urgency is effective in a CTA for truly urgent offers. If you have that, make sure to let your customers know.
5. Show That Your Offer Is Awesome
An excellent advice for salespeople is to smile when talking on the phone with a prospect because that comes across in the voice. The same applies when creating your CTA. If you sincerely believe your product or service can benefit your customers, you need to ensure it comes across in your content, including the phrasing of your CTA.
That doesn’t mean hiding your light under a bushel. Make it clear in your content and CTA that your offer is awesome and provide your target audience with information that convinces them about the awesomeness of your offer too. If you do this, the CTA practically writes itself.
6. Be Transparent
While you want to highlight the benefits of your products or services, you shouldn’t gloss over the limitations of your offering. People appreciate straight talk from their suppliers, which also works to build trust. Be upfront with your site visitors and create content accordingly so that your CTA becomes that much more attractive.
7. Test, Test, Test
An engaging CTA is highly subjective, so there’s no one-size-fits-all. You won’t know for sure if your CTA is irresistible until you test it. Use one version for a week and another the following week and compare the results. You can change the colors, buttons, fonts, and phrases in turn. Experimenting with your CTAs is an excellent way to find the right balance of elements that yield the best results.
What Should You Do Next?
Creating a CTA is easy, but building one that converts, not so much. Follow the above seven tips to make your e-commerce call to action irresistible to improve your conversion rates at the earliest.