Resource: http://boagworld.com/design/10-techniques-for-an-effective-call-to-action/ 

Last time I gave you 5 steps to organize your website for maximum Google ranking. But now that you have more website visitors, why haven't your website responses increased?

This article discusses how to get people to respond to your website once they land on your home page. We call it a "call to action".

Having an effective call to action is the most important part of any website. Every website should have an objective it wants users to complete whether it is buying something, filling in a contact form, or signing up for a newsletter.

A call to action provides...

• Direction to your users
• Focus to your site
• A way to measure your sites success

How do you create an effective call to action? Here are 10 techniques which help you achieve this.

1. Lay the groundwork
Before a user is willing to complete a call to action they have to recognize the need. Infomercials do this very well. Before they ask people to respond, they first identify a problem and present a product that solves that problem.

You also need to communicate the benefits of responding. What will the user get out of completing the call to action?

Take for example Skype.com. Immediately above their call to action (a download button) they have the following text:

"Make calls from your computer - free to other people on Skype and cheap to phones and mobiles around the world."

That clearly explains what the user will get by downloading Skype.

2. Offer a little extra
Sometimes you may have to sweeten the deal to encourage users to complete a call to action.

Incentives could include discounts, entry into a competition or a free gift. This is the approach Barack Obama used on his fund raising website. If you made a donation of $30 or more you got a free t-shirt.

Of course the beauty of this offer was that not only did he get you to donate, he also turned you into an advertising billboard!

3. Have a very small number of distinct actions
It is also important to be focused in your calls to action. Too many and the user becomes overwhelmed. Studies in supermarkets have shown that if the shopper is presented with too many varieties they are less likely to make a purchase.

By limiting the number of choices a user has to make we reduce the amount of mental effort. Effectively you guide the user step by step.

The number of appropriate actions will vary from site to site. However, it is not so much the number of actions as the distinctiveness of each.

Take for example pbwiki.com. They want people to buy their wiki software. They have three calls to action:

• Create a wiki
• View Demo
• Buy wiki now

Although three choices is an acceptable number, there is not a clear distinction between ‘create a wiki' and ‘buy wiki now'. What should I do first - buy a wiki or create one? A better approach would be to push the buy option later in the process once the user has committed to building a wiki.

4. Use active urgent language
A call to action should clearly tell users what you want them to do. They should include active words such as:

• Call
• Buy
• Register
• Subscribe
• Donate

All of these encourage users to take an action.

To create a sense of urgency and a need to act now, these types of phrases can be used alongside:

• Offer expires March 31st
• For a short time only
• Order now to receive a free gift

5. Get the position right
Another important factor is the position of your call to action on the page. Ideally it should be placed high on the page and in the center, above the fold (seen before they scroll down).

6. Use white space
It is not just the position of your call to action that matters. It is also the space around it. The more space around a call to action the more attention is drawn to it. Clutter up your call to action with surrounding content and it will be lost in the overall noise of the page.

When you go to Google.com you see their search bar, front and center. It is the only thing on the page - that's a lot of white space! There is no question as to what they want you to do when you get there.

7. Use a contrasting color
Color is an effective way of drawing attention to web page elements, especially if the rest of the site has a fairly limited color palette.
For example, if the rest of your site is predominately muted blues and grey, make your calls to action in a highlighted orange. This extreme contrast leaves you in no doubt as to the next thing you should do.
Never rely solely on color because many users are color blind and will not see the contrast.

8. Size matters
Size isn't everything. We have already established that position, color and white space are equally important. However size does play a role.
The bigger your call to action, the more chance it will be noticed.
You can use this approach by letting your call to action dominate the page. But note that if it is too large, it might be taken only for a content area to read and not as a clickable button or link.

9. Have a call to action on every page
A call to action should not just be limited to the homepage. Every page of your site should have some form of call to action that leads the user on. If the user reaches a dead-end they will leave without responding.
Your call to action does not need to be the same for each page. Instead you can use smaller actions that lead the user toward your ultimate goal.

One idea is o place prominent links to your goal actions on the footer of every page.

10. Have a backup plan
Finally, consider what happens when a user does respond to your call to action. The rest of the process needs to be as carefully thought out as the call to action itself.

One particular word of warning - if you require users to provide personal data about themselves, resist the temptation to collect any non-critical information.

Marketing people in particular like to build up demographic information. Although there is value in this, it brings a real danger that users will drop out of the process.

In general, try to get them committed first by asking only for name and email address. Then once the user is committed by giving this information, you can methodically gain other necessary information through additional (short and easy) steps in the process.

Conclusion
An effective call to action is the cornerstone of a successful site and involves drawing together best practice in usability, creative visual design and powerful copy writing.

If it is done right it can generate measurable return on investment.