Successfully selling online requires more than just posting your products on a WooCommerce site and hoping for the best. You also must increase your e-commerce site’s traffic with visitors that match your target market. This takes a considerable investment of time and money, so before that investment you need to make sure you are set up to convert all those visitors into customers. In this post, we will teach you how to create calls-to-action that convert for your WooCommerce store.
What is a Call-to-Action?
For e-commerce sites, a call-to-action (CTA) is a message that moves visitors toward your desired response. It can be a hyper-linked text or phrase, a button, a banner or any clickable element. Calls-to-action are usually seen in lead generation, sales funnels, trials and downloads. Its purpose is to help you achieve a goal or a conversion for your e-commerce store.
Why are Calls-to-Action Important for E-Commerce Stores?
Ever wonder why some e-commerce sites make it big online while some do not? A survey on website failings showed that 70% of websites that fail do not have a CTA on their home page. Good website design and high traffic is not enough to get higher conversion rates. CTAs tell your visitors or audience what actions they can take.
There are nearly a billion active websites today. People could easily switch to another website if you don’t get them to take action. Your CTA is your marketing tool to educate, engage, and capture your potential customers. It will help you increase your conversion rate as you guide visitors to complete your e-commerce goals.
How to Create Calls-to-Action that Convert for Online Sales?
Having a CTA is not as simple as putting a text over a button. A weak or an unclear call-to-action may impede the sales process and you could end up losing a client. 30,000 new consumer products are being launched every year. Unfortunately, Clayton Christensen of Harvard Business School found that 95% of them fail.
Businesses often fail because they don’t take the time to understand their customers. Try to understand reasons behind sales and use that knowledge to your advantage. It will not only increase your online sales but promote customer loyalty.
There are four things you need to know to be able to create calls-to-action that convert online sales for your e-commerce store.
The Copy
You are often limited to just a few words or a phrase but that does not mean you should take this lightly. A subtle word change can make a big difference. Here are a few tips that you should consider.
Determine your Outcome
What outcome and action do you want from your audience? Is it accessing your shop page, signing up on your email list, downloading a trial version of the software, or downloading your e-book? Being clear with your desired outcome will allow you to get the results you want. CTAs should use specific, understandable and concrete language to lead customers to your goal. Avoid using ‘cute’ and vague language. To be effective, a customer must know what’s going to happen when they click on your CTA.
Identify your Audience
A CTA that works wonders for another website may not work the same way for you. A generic or copied call-to-action will work but conversions sky-rocket more with optimized versions. You can use analytics data to help you decide. Know your audience. Create a customer persona. By understanding your audiences’ desires and needs, you can convert them to paying customers better.
Tailor to your Platform
Different platforms offer different methods of interaction so modify your call-to-action to the common responses for each medium. Requesting a comment or reaction is appropriate on a blog or social media post but not on a landing page.
Position is Key
Calls-to-action should be placed after informing your visitors of what they are getting at. It can either be above the fold or below. You can also consider following the F pattern. You can add it at the end of a video or set up your website to display them before your visitor exits.
Source: http://contentverve.com/10-call-to-action-case-studies-examples-from-button-tests/
Design is Important
Design should make your CTA noticeable but it should not interfere with your design. Don’t be too pushy with getting a sale as this might actually harm your online conversions. Your CTA needs to stand out from all the clutter. Try using white space to draw in more attention to it.
Colors help you increase your online conversion rates because colors have implied meanings. Your design needs balance. If you need a large button, choose a less prominent color that is relative to the elements around it. For smaller buttons, you may choose a brighter color. You can also make use of subtle hover animations.
Source: http://contentverve.com/10-call-to-action-case-studies-examples-from-button-tests/
Optimization
Your CTA may be converting but is it the best one? Getting a high converting CTA needs constant testing. Set up your analytics and tracking services first. Use Google Analytics or Crazy Egg’s heat-maps and scroll-maps. You can also use A/B test services like Split Button for optimization. Once you have the data, do not be afraid to experiment and use the data to your advantage. You can use these A/B test ideas to get you started or check out this guide from Neil Patel on how to do split testing.
Summary
Calls-to-action help you to have higher conversion rates and good ROI for your e-commerce store. Good strategy, monitoring and optimization are keys to good CTAs. What calls-to-action ideas, experience and online marketing tips would you like to share for other online store owners? Let us know in the comments.
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