{"id":789,"date":"2015-07-21T15:45:51","date_gmt":"2015-07-21T14:45:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/web\/?p=789"},"modified":"2015-12-17T14:52:55","modified_gmt":"2015-12-17T14:52:55","slug":"5-ways-to-improve-your-calls-to-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/web\/2015\/07\/21\/5-ways-to-improve-your-calls-to-action\/","title":{"rendered":"5 ways to improve your Calls to Action"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Call To Action (CTA) is a way to get your reader to complete a task or reach a business goal on your website.<\/p>\n

It might be as simple as a hyperlink<\/strong> or it could be an embedded form that you want them to fill in.<\/p>\n

The words you use and the placement of the content will all influence whether you get the results you want.<\/p>\n

Here are our top 5 tips to make sure a CTA works for you.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Think about where you place your link text<\/h2>\n

We recommend adding links to further content at the end of a page, paragraph or sentence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

That way your reader has understood what you had to say and can make a decision whether to follow your link or not.<\/p>\n

If you embed the link at the start of a section they don\u2019t know whether to click first and come back or read first then go back to follow the link. Either way, you\u2019re making them work harder.<\/p>\n

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Bad example:\u00a0<\/strong>We have a Conference Team<\/span> who provides help with managing and planning conferences.<\/p>\n

Good example:<\/strong> We provide help with managing and planning conferences: contact the Conference Team<\/u>.<\/p>\n

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2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Make your call to action stand out<\/h2>\n

You could also use a different style or design<\/strong> for CTAs. We use buttons to help highlight them on the University website:<\/p>\n

\"Example<\/a><\/p>\n

If you are using something that\u2019s designed like this, be consistent with its placement. Our link buttons could become intrusive if we used them everywhere.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Make sure your call to action is relevant to the page<\/h2>\n

Don\u2019t include lots of links \u2018just in case\u2019 someone might find them useful. Think about what you want your reader to do next<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

If you have a clear next step in mind and you add lots of extra links \u2013 you are reducing the effectiveness of your CTAs.<\/p>\n

For example, on a page about booking to attend an event, imagine if you included all these links:<\/p>\n