Want to increase visitor response on your website? Then give them a reason to do something and connect with you!
If your website is simply a brochure for your company products and services, you are missing an opportunity to encourage your visitors to take some action that benefits them and you. Maybe it’s time for a website marketing makeover that includes an effective call-to-action strategy.

A “call-to-action” refers to active copy that compels a user to do something such as watch a video demo, download a useful tool or sign up for your mailing list. Visitors that find your website by searching may find what they are looking for, but don’t let that opportunity to capture their attention slip away by not providing them with an offer.

On the other hand, if you drive a visitor to your website through a marketing campaign and don’t provide a clear call-to-action, you run the risk of them getting confused, frustrated and leaving without connecting with you. Offer your visitors compelling content and something that benefits them and they will do what you want them to do.

But like other marketing activities, you need a strategy to focus you on what you are trying to accomplish.

Define the purpose of your Website

Do you want to:

• Develop your expert reputation? Encourage visitors to subscribe to your blog, connect with you on Twitter and LinkedIn or “like” your Facebook page.
• Build your email list? Offer a valuable free tool in exchange for their email address and name.
• Generate leads? Provide a free 30 minute consultation or a whitepaper that discusses one of their challenges and how to overcome them.
• Sell a product or service? Offer a free trial (software), a free chapter of your information product or provide valuable free “stuff” if you register for an event.

Once you have your goals and their priority, you can now design the call-to-action copy and buttons into your website so that they can be easily found.

Tips to make your call-to-action attractive to your visitors

Once you have your goals and understand which ones are the most important, create your offer and use creative website design techniques to make it visible.

• Put them on every page.
• Use colorful buttons to draw attention to your offers.
• Place them above the fold and at the top of your sidebar.
• Keep them simple and limit the number on any one page (it can paralyze people into making no decision)
• Use action oriented verbs and avoid “click here” whenever possible.
• Create short forms and ask only for the information you need.
• Use multiple offers that help those who aren’t ready to commit still take an action (watch a video vs. download)

An often overlooked opportunity

Put the same call-to-action as you have on the page into your meta description tag that is used to describe your page in search engine listings. When searchers see your description, a good call-to-action will encourage them to click through to your website from the major search engines.

What’s your strategy?

Think through how you want to weave an effective call-to-action strategy into your website structure. Don’t leave it to chance that the visitor will figure out what they are suppose to do and actually do it. Understand the goal of your website, create compelling offers for your visitors and convert new visitors into followers, repeat visitors and potentially new customers.

What ideas have you used to get your visitors to take action? Share your successes!

©2012 Masterful Marketing. All Rights Reserved.

Website Call-to-Action Strategy is an original post from Debra Murphy, Small Business Marketing Coach: Masterful Marketing - Marketing in the New Media World. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Debra on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.

Many web sites I visit are great to look at and have a lot of interesting information. But what is it you really want your visitor to do when they are at your site? Do you want them to sign up for a webcast, download information or ask you to call them? Do you help your visitor make a decision or do you leave them with too much information?

Your web site needs to lead your visitors through the site with the purpose of helping them decide what action to take depending on where they are in the sales cycle. If you let the visitor wander aimlessly without a clear path, you run the risk of them getting confused, frustrated and leaving before they tell you who they are. Web site visitors are amazingly impatient. If they don’t see exactly what they are looking for in a few seconds, they will leave. However, once they find something that interests them (like your blog for example), they will stay for a while and come back for more.

When planning your web site, ask yourself the following questions:

• Why do people visit your site? Can you provide them with what they need so that they are satisfied?
• Are you holding their interest and making them want more?
• Is everything they are looking for easy to find and presented in terms they understand?
• Are you wasting their time with elements on the page that don’t add value?

Asking the Visitor to Take Action

A “call to action” in marketing refers to active copy that compels a user to take action. When developing your web site, think through how you want to weave effective calls to action into its structure. You want to do this because if you don’t, you are leaving it up to chance that they will figure out what they are suppose to do and actually do it. The obvious ones are “register for this seminar”, “subscribe to our newsletter”, “buy now”, or “add to shopping cart”.

Other more subtle or non-invasive calls to action are those used to move the visitor through the site on an information gathering process. Hyperlinks that help the visitor walk through a set of pages, next and back buttons, or hyperlinked phrases such as “read our success story” are all considered calls to action that get your visitor to stay at your site longer.

Use a clear call to action on every page of your web site and interspersed in the copy. Don’t leave the path to success up to the visitor – guide them through the process with a flow that takes them to a decision. Understand the process you use to get new clients and develop your site to mimic the process as best as you can. You still need the great design, clear content and a professional image for your web site, but don’t forget to tell your visitor exactly what you want them to do.

©2012 Masterful Marketing. All Rights Reserved.

Help Your Web Visitors Take Action is an original post from Debra Murphy, Small Business Marketing Coach: Masterful Marketing - Marketing in the New Media World. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Debra on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.