An effective call to action (CTA) is much more than a pop-up on a landing page or a tired “Click here!” prompt tacked to the end of a blog post. Today’s consumers are savvy and creating a CTA that gets their attention – and their conversion – involves understanding what they’re looking for.
Goal-oriented search and CTA
Let’s examine one common consumer search motivation and how it can lead you to the perfect CTA.
Goal-oriented searches happen when someone is looking for a way to accomplish a goal. Simple enough. Your CTA should provide the next logical step in achieving that goal, creating a situation where a goal-oriented searcher is more likely to click your link.
Adjust your CTA to match different levels of urgency in goal-oriented searches:
- Low-urgency
Keywords like “free” are usually a no-go in terms of ROI for paid search marketing schemes. However, when you understand that people who search for “free” products or services are simply looking to minimise risk, you can create a low-key CTA like “Try us free for 7 days” or “Click here for your trial subscription” to address that need.
- Medium-urgency
More specific keywords like “best” or “reviews” indicate that a searcher is likely conducting research that places them further down the marketing funnel. To grab the attention of these searchers, use a CTA that offers them the information they’re looking for. Think “Chat with our experts” or “See what our happy customers are saying”.
- Urgent
These are the keywords that indicate a searcher is looking to buy, including “open now”, “near me” or even “emergency”. Tailor your CTA to reflect this same level of urgency and remember that most urgent searches happen on mobile so be sure your site is already optimised to catch these conversions. For urgent searches, a click-to-call button tends to be an effective CTA strategy.
Conclusion
Even the most perfect CTA cannot guarantee a closed sale or even a customer click, but creating a CTA that meets a need by providing customers with a next natural step can get you much closer to the leads and conversions that you’re after.
