Your inbound marketing campaign is in full swing. You’ve optimized your website, you’re writing a blog and producing tons of other content, you’re active in social media, and yet your website isn’t generating the sales or leads you’d hoped.

It could be a problem with your calls to action that’s driving your visitors away. If you’re guilty of one of these common mistakes, resolving it can solve your problem and create real results for your online marketing efforts:

1. You Don’t Have a Call To Action

   Your website may be beautiful, your products may be great, and your Klout score might be 95, but if you don’t tell your visitors to do anything once they land on your site, it’s unlikely you’re generating very many leads. If you want potential customers to join your mailing list, download a free trial, or contact you, you need to let them know. Don’t just assume they’ll figure it out.

2. Your Call To Action is Invisible

   Calls to action should catch your visitor’s attention and guide them through to the next step in your lead generation process. If your visitor can’t find your call to action, it’s almost as bad as not having one:

   • It’s below the fold. If your visitors have to scroll to find your call to action, chances are you’ll lose a lot of them. Put it where visitors will see it as soon as they land on your page.
   • It blends in. Calls to action should pop out at your visitor as soon as they land on your site. Use contrasting colours and fonts and make it big enough so that it’s obvious to anyone looking at your page.

3. Your Call To Action is Unappealing

   There are many things about your call to action that may be turning your visitors off. Some of the most common offences include:

   • Passive Language. 
     If you aren’t excited about your offer, your visitors won’t be. Use action words and authoritative language to urge them to take the next step.
   • Clichés and Puns.
     It’s hard to be funny, and a failed attempt at humor will leave your audience cold. Stick with straightforward language to keep them interested.
   • Overselling.
     Unless it has won awards and acclamations in your field, your offer is probably not #1, unbeatable, phenomenal, etc. You’ll lose credibility with your visitors if it sounds like you’re putting them on.
   • Jargon.
     Be careful with industry buzzwords unless you are absolutely sure your customers will understand what you’re talking about. If your visitors are confused by your call to action, it’s unlikely they’ll follow through with it.

4. Your Visitors are Distracted

   If the goal of your page is to generate leads, don’t include other elements that can draw your audience away from what you want them to do. Avoid these common distractions to keep your visitors on the right track:

   • Long or Complex Calls To Action.
     If your instruction is too wordy, many visitors won’t bother reading through it. Calls to action should be simple and clear so that visitors know right away what you want them to do.
   • Multiple Calls To Action on One Page.
     If you have more than one CTA on the same page, you’ll split your audience. Provide clear paths to each action you want visitors to take and only include one per page.
   • Links to Other Content.
     If you want your customer to click your download button, don’t provide a link offsite to your Terms and Conditions. Post any relevant information or other materials in a sidebar so that visitors don’t leave the page.
   • Mismatched Landing Pages.
     Make sure that the language and style of your landing page match those of your call to action. If your customer clicks on one thing and thinks they’ve received another, they’re unlikely to follow through.

5. Your Visitors Don’t Care

   Most of your visitors are savvy enough to know that if they give you their information, you’re probably going to try to sell them something. That means you have to give them a reason to want your offer and be willing to hear more about your product or service.

   • Address Their Needs and Pain Points.
     Let your audience know that you understand their problem and your newsletter/download/product can help them solve it.
   • Tell Them the Benefits of Following Through.
     Tell your visitors exactly how your offer can help improve their lives to convince them to give it a try.
   • Give Them Proof.
     Provide testimonials, referrals, or social media proof (such as Facebook Likes or LinkedIn endorsements) on the page so that visitors know your offer is worth giving you their contact info.

Once you’ve resolved these common call to action errors, it’s important to test, test, and test again to see if you’ve solved your problem. By doing so, you’ll figure out the best call to action that guides visitors through your conversion process, turning them into warm leads and driving measurable results for your online marketing efforts.

Have questions about calls to action or other online marketing issues? Contact us or let us know in the comments.