Inconspicuous, but crucial: This is how decisive the Call-To-Action is.

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In online marketing, call-to-action (CTA) refers to a Call to action which is aimed at a specific target group. The user should be prompted to perform a certain action. This can be a simple mouse click on a button, for the registration in a webshop, webinar or newsletter or the visit of a landing page.

The aim of the Call-to-Actions is often, but by no means always, conversion. The objectives can be of different kinds, which is why the focus is often, for example, on the Generation of leads the collection of personal data.

The CTA is also important because it can be used to measure how successful an advertising campaign actually is. For this purpose, the so-called Response rates determined. Especially in the Inbound Marketing the call-to-action is an important indicator in this respect.

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Why is the call-to-action so important?

Websites and other digital advertising that don't use a CTA run the risk that the user will look at the content and get value from it, but subsequently does not act in a desired manner. A typical example is a consumer who reads through information about a product on a website, but then buys the same or a very similar product from another retailer due to the lack of a CTA.

Through the call-to-action, the User independently active and moves towards the company's offer. It is therefore a fundamentally important element of any advertising campaign, so that visitors can interact with the website.

Motivate your users to act with a call-to-action.
Motivate your users to act with a call-to-action. (Image: internetworld.com)

The many manifestations of the call-to-action

The call-to-action is always a direct call to the visitor or user of a web site, a perform certain action. In online marketing, the "action" in the vast majority of cases consists of clicking a button. The CTA can be placed on your own website as well as on social networks. Especially on landing pages, the call-to-action takes on a central importance, since in principle the entire page is built around it. Other typical examples of a CTA are:

  • Button on your own website
  • Download a free e-book
  • Newsletter subscription
  • Registration on a portal or in a web store
  • Ordering an item
  • Start a video
  • Appointment for consultation
  • Call for further reading
Skillfully build your website around appropriate and animating CTAs.
Skillfully build your website around appropriate and animating CTAs. (Image: vivamedia.se)

However, the CTA does not necessarily have to be found only on websites. The following examples are also conceivable and practicable:

  • CTA in the email signature
  • CTA in an e-book
  • CTA in a video or under the video description
  • CTA in an image description
  • CTA in a tweet

In social media, the CTA can already consist of subscribing to a channel, sharing its content, or simply giving a Like. These examples show not only how diverse the manifestations of the call-to-action are, but also that on the Internet it is nearly omnipresent is. Sometimes inconspicuous and subtly presented, sometimes loud and downright obtrusive.

It is precisely this diversity that illustrates the potential. The call-to-action can be tailored precisely and literally to the pixel to the desired target group be adjusted.

If you know the addressees of your advertising well, you also know how to optimally design a call-to-action.

Call-to-action before and during the digital age

The call-to-action is not even an invention that only saw the light of day in the digital age. Even in older media such as television and magazines, there were calls to perform a certain action. Even the loudly recited request of the salesman at the fish market to strike now in order to buy two trout for the price of one is a call-to-action. In most cases, the goal of the call-to-action was to encourage the Purchase of a specific product to push, take out a subscription to a magazine or even make a donation.

The big difference to the CTA in online marketing is that the Action immediately and not staggered can be carried out. You don't have to go to the store first, you can do the mouse click immediately or fill in the form fields directly. Today's inbound marketing is more about engaging the visitor through a Funnel to guide. He should go from being a visitor to an interested party, from an interested party to a customer and then perhaps even a regular customer.

The selected CTA performs the desired action without any time delay.
The selected CTA performs the desired action without a time delay. (Image: vertus.co)

Then as now, certain phrases are used to force the action of the visitor or customer, to encourage him to take the desired action. "Learn more here", "Compare now" or "Free download" are typical examples of the call-to-action often found on the web. If the offer is then also limited in time or quantity, this can be seen as a additional incentive serve.

Brand Analysis Template: The Foundation for Your Digital Marketing Strategy - Download Template

Placement of the CTA

When placing a call-to-action, care must be taken to ensure that the message is recognized as such by the recipient of the advertisement. Basically, there are two possible types of positioning. Either at the Beginning of the advertising medium or at the top of the website or only at the endas is often the case with landing pages.

Placement towards the end of the web page is significantly more common. The assumption is that by then the customer will have fully informed has and ideally from the benefit of the Product convinced has been made. The chance that he will actually use the call-to-action is therefore much higher at this position.

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