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Journal · The Clarity Series · Convert visitors

What is a CTA?

By Nicholas Cabel The 60-second version lives on Instagram

CTA stands for Call To Action. It is the one button you want every visitor to click: book, buy, call, sign up. "Click here" is the CTA everyone settles for, and it quietly costs them customers.

In plain English

A good CTA is a clear door with a sign that tells you exactly where it leads. A weak one is an unmarked door most people walk right past. The words on the button, and how easy it is to spot, do a lot of the selling.

Three things make it work

01

Be clear

Say exactly what happens next, like "Get my free audit," not a vague "Submit."

02

Lead with a verb

Start with the action so the button reads as a thing to do, not a thing to think about.

03

Make it pop

Use color and placement so the button is impossible to miss on the page.

Worth remembering

HubSpot found a personalized CTA converts 202% better than a generic one.

Same traffic, a better button, and more than double the results. The call to action is one of the highest-leverage things on your whole site.

What to do about it

Rewrite your main buttons to name the exact next step, then make them the boldest thing on the page. Want a review of the CTAs across your site? Get a free website audit.

About the author

  • Nicholas Cabel

    Written by

    Nicholas Cabel

    Founder of MakeAndUpdate, a one-person web studio in West Chester, PA. Hand-codes fast websites for local businesses and builds in public.

    @makeandupdate