Call-To-Action Examples and Best Practices

What is a call-to-action?

A call-to-action, or CTA, is an online marketing technique that combines words and imagery in a centralized location to urge a reader to take immediate action or receive an offer. CTA’s are often found on company websites presented on a banner, on a clickable button or on some other type of graphic that grabs a reader’s attention. An example would be our very own CTA on our homepage.

Homepage Slider CTA Example

We use three different types of calls-to-action throughout our website:

1. Homepage slider CTA’s
2. Single CTA’s at the bottom of our blog posts
3. Sidebar CTA’s

What are the benefits of a call-to-action?

• CTA’s can be tracked.
• CTA’s help convert visitors into leads.
• CTA’s drive traffic to your landing pages.
• CTA’s encourage visitors to stay on your website.

According to Full Media, the most important benefit of a call-to-action is that they can be tracked. Having a CTA on your website means you can gain valuable information from your potential customers. Many times CTA’s act as online sales reps, motivating visitors to take the next step towards purchasing your product or service. CTA’s also encourage people to stay on your website longer by linking them to the landing page associated with that offering.

CTA Best Practices

To create a lead-generating CTA button, remember to:

• Write Using Action Language – Tell the reader exactly what it is you want them to do. An example would be: “Download Free E-Book”.
• Include a Clickable Button – Place the action language on a noticeable button for your viewers to click on.
• Strategically Position Content – According to HubSpot, the best location for a CTA is within the visitor’s eye path. You also want to make sure the CTA is large enough to not get lost among other content on the website.
• Use Contrasting Colors – Working hand-in-hand with size, it is important to make sure the color(s) of your CTA are attention-grabbing. Using colors that pop-out at the viewer helps to increase the chances of the CTA catching your viewer’s eye, inviting them to take action.
• Include the Price – If the offer you’re promoting with the CTA is free, let your viewers know that. If you’re promoting an e-book that costs $19.99 to download, your viewers should have that information upfront instead of waiting to find out once they’ve already clicked.

7 Call-To-Action Examples

Below you’ll find examples of 7 great CTA’s that follow CTA best practices. Consider jotting down a few notes about what you like from the examples below for inspiration when creating your own CTA’s.

1. Redbooth

Screenshot from Redbooth website.

2. Adobe

Screenshot from Adobe website.

3. FitBit

CTA’s are crawling all over the FitBit website.

4. Storybird

Screenshot from Storybird website.

5. Appcelerator 

The Appcelerator website features multiple CTA’s on the homepage.

6. HubSpot

Screenshot of HubSpot blog post. The CTA used here encourages their blog post readers to learn more about their marketing software.

7. Addison’s 

Screenshot from Addison’s website. They use a CTA on their homepage to encourage visitors to sign up for their email newsletter.

Hopefully these fun and innovative examples have allowed the creative juices to start flowing. Visualize. Think. Go forth artistic minds and create a great call-to-action!