Driving quality traffic to your site is a challenge in itself, so it is important to have strong calls to action (CTA) on every page of your site once you get visitors there. CTAs have two purposes: grab attention and encourage an action. In previous posts I shared best practices for CTA design and tips for creating effective copy; here we will focus on the final piece of the puzzle—CTA placement.
Eye catching designs and compelling copy mean nothing if your CTA cannot be found. Remember, this is not a scavenger hunt—CTAs should be visible at first glance. Each page of your site should have at least one CTA to help the visitor understand what he or she should do next. In general, a CTA should be placed above the fold in a prominent location. That’s not to say they cannot be placed below the fold; if your page is long, it is a good idea to give your visitor multiple opportunities to take action as they scroll through your content.
At Kuno, we recommend having multiple calls to action on your homepage and product pages. Ideally, the homepage should have one call to action for each phase of the sales cycle: top, middle and bottom. As a best practice, keep top of the funnel offers above the fold. Product pages should have both middle-of-the-funnel and bottom-of-the-funnel offers to appeal to a wider audience. (Just a reminder, case Studies, whitepapers and product reviews are examples of middle-of-the-funnel offers, while requests to contact sales or for a product demo are examples of bottom-of-the-funnel offers.)
Blog articles are prime real estate for CTAs. Stack a few CTAs alongside your blog so readers will see them as they read through the post. If the majority of your posts are educational in nature (which we hope they are!), include one of your top-of-the-funnel offers at the end of each article. Even if you do not have this content available, use this space as an opportunity to encourage readers to subscribe to your blog or newsletter, or follow your company on social media.
Although this post has focused primarily on website placement, keep in mind CTAs should be used within your emails, paid search ads, social media, and email signatures, too.
I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record (does that even make sense anymore?), but the only way to truly know which locations are most effective with your audience is to test. Don’t forget to also experiment with different copy, colors and sizes.
Do you have any tips for CTA placement? Please share in the comment section below.
Shannon Fuldauer has a B2B and B2C eCommerce Marketing background including roles as Vice President of Marketing & Sales Support, and subsequently Vice President of Public Relations & SEO Services, for CareerBoard.com. She has expertise in digital marketing and advanced email communications.
photo credit: k.l.macke
