WHY WE CLICK
THE SIMPLE PSYCHOLOGY BEHIND
A GREAT CALL TO ACTION
1
PICK
THE
RIGHT
COLOR.
There’s no magic color that conver ts bet ter than others
(sadly, not even periwinkle), so pick one that contrasts
(think orange on blue) or promotes a cer tain feeling.
85%
of people say
color
is the
1
2
3
5
4
ORANGE
1Encourage immediate action.
Consider orange if you want people to sign up, buy or join right away. It’s also the color most associated with cheap or inexpensive things.
RED
2Increase energy and a sense
of urgency.
Tr y re d i f yo u’re r u n n i n g a s a l e, a l i m i te d -time offer or selling tickets to an event that ’s close to selling out .
YELLOW
3Get attention and create
low-level anxiety.
Yellow both promotes positive feelings and causes just enough anxiet y to move people to action without stopping them in their tracks.
BLUE
4Build trust and security.
I t ’s t h e m o s t p o p u l a r f a v o r i t e c o l o r i n t h e world and is the choice for brands who want t heir cus tomer s to feel safe and secure.
GREEN
5Promote growth and
relaxation.
We all know green means go, which is pretty handy when it comes to CTAs. It’s also easiest for the eyes to process, so it’s of ten used to relax t he mind.
2
WRITE
THE MOST
CLICKABLE
COPY.
The w ho le p oint of a C TA is to move some one to t ake
action right away, so write copy that’s irresistible to click.
90%
One recent study found a
USE ACTIVE VERBS
Try words like “Download,” “Get,”
“Start,” and “Conf lagrate.”
(Ok, maybe not that last one.)
P a s s i v e w o r d s c r e a t e c o m p u t e r c o u c h p o t a t o e s . Lead with an active verb to get them up and clicking.
BE SPECIFIC
“Download the guide” is better
than “Click here.”
H e l p yo u r a u d i e n ce u n d e r s t a n d exa c t l y w h a t yo u want them to do and what will happen when they click.
KEEP IT SHORT
There’s not a lot of space, so don’t
cram in a lot of words.
T h e C TA s h o u l d n’ t re q u i re C l i f f ’s N o te s . I t n e e d s to be easil y read and under s tood at a glance.
TRY USING 1
STPERSON
“Start my free trial” conver ts
better than “Start your free trial.”
This is an eas y A / B tes t to t r y w it h your audience to see w het her 1 s t or 2nd p er son work s bes t .
CREATE URGENCY
Simply adding “Now” to your
button can boost conversions.
M a ke i t c l e a r w i t h t h e c o p y t h a t y o u r o f f e r w o n’ t b e around forever and watch click rates soar.
3
FIND THE
BEST
SHAPE
AND SIZE.
Rec t angular bu t tons are by f ar t he mos t p op ular, bu t
don’t be afraid to test other shapes and sizes if they’ll
f it your design.
Apple recommends a button size of
at least
Round the corners of rectangular
buttons. Our brains seek to avoid
pointy corners.
Bigger is better. It should stand
out, but not be so obnoxious that it
ruins your design.
Make sure it’s large enough to be
easily tappable on mobile phones.
Test out a circular button. It just
looks like it’s begging to be
pushed.
ROUND
BIG
TAPPABLE
4
MAKE IT
THE STAR
OF THE
SHOW.
The C TA bu t ton shoul dn’ t comp ete w i t h ot her bu t tons
o r c o n t e n t . I t s h o u l d b e c l e a r a t a g l a n c e w h a t y o u
w a n t v i s i t o r s t o d o .
Eye-tracking studies show we’ll follow images of faces
and
look
where they’re
looking
.
Choose images of people looking
in the direction of your CTA.
Place it in the most logical place on the
page where people will expect to see it.
Surround it with white space
to make it stand out.
G i v e y o u r C TA p l e n t y o f r o o m t o m a ke i t p o p , b u t n o t s o m u c h s p a c e t h a t i t doesn’t feel a par t of the overall design. It should at trac t the eye, not look lost in t he deser t .
Place it above the fold. Visitors spend almost
80% of their time there.
This ensures your audience w ill see i t even if t hey ’re jus t scanning your email or page. Plus, you’ll catch t hose folk s w ho are read y to act right away without forcing them to sift through content to get there.
APPLY NOW
APPLY
NOW
5
TEST IT.
AND THEN
TEST IT
AGAIN.
Disclaimer alert!
All of these tips are just recommendations.
Ever y audience is dif ferent , so you’ll have to tes t out
dif ferent colors, copy, shapes and placement to f ind the
r i g h t b u t to n co m b i n a t i o n t h a t s e n d s yo u r co n ve r s i o n
rate soaring. After all,
A/B tests can improve conversion
rates by as much as 49%!
Sources:
Choose images of people looking
in the direction of your CTA.
Place it in the most logical place on the page where people will expect to see it.
Surround it with white space to make it stand out.
G i v e y o u r C TA p l e n t y o f r o o m t o m a k e i t p o p , b u t n o t s o m u c h s p a c e t h a t i t doesn’ t feel a par t of t he overall design. I t should at t rac t t he eye, not look los t i n t h e d e s e r t .
Place it above the fold. Visitors spend almost 80% of their time there.
T h i s e n s u re s yo u r a u d i e n ce w i l l s e e i t eve n i f t h ey ’re j u s t s c a n n i n g yo u r e m a i l o r p a g e. P l u s , yo u’l l c a tc h t h o s e fo l k s w h o a re re a d y to act right away without forcing them to sif t through content to get there.
APPLY NOW
APPLY
NOW
You can also test different copy
and images around your CTA.
Place it in the most logical place on the
page where people will expect to see it.
Surround it with white space to
make it stand out.
G i v e y o u r C TA p l e n t y o f r o o m t o m a k e i t p o p , b u t n o t s o m u c h s p a c e t h a t i t doesn’t fe e l a p a r t o f t h e ove r a l l d e s i g n . I t s h o u l d at trac t the eye, not look lost in t he deser t .
Place it above the fold. Visitors spend almost
80% of their time there.
This ensures your audience w ill see i t even if t hey ’re jus t scanning your email or page. Plus , you’ll catch t hose folk s w ho are read y to act right away without forcing them to sift through content to get there.
