SEO Copywriting “Call To Action” Tips

You have done everything you can think of to your brand’s online presence: your marketing brochures and catalogs are awesome, your website is designed, built and optimized professionally, and your content is simple, compelling and highly relevant. But the one thing you haven’t done is make any sales from the site. Before calling upon the powers of black hat, take a moment to analyze one important feature that you may or may not be missing: your “Call To Action Statement”.

A call to action statement is copy that instructs your reader on what you want them to do. In copywriting speak, it can be in the form of a declarative, imperative and a command statement. If you are a little less assertive, you can serve up your call to action as a suggestion. What most marketing experts will tell you, however, is that your customers need to act NOW! Here are some tips to make your call to action more effective towards your sales.

The first step is to do your research for the correct words or terms for the call to action. They need to be appropriate to your business and very clear. It is also imperative that any terms or phrases you are considering aren’t being used by other companies.

The second step is to adjust your content to lead directly to your call to action. The content should be straight to the point and lead your visitors on a natural journey through your business. The journey should end with a clear call to action statement, telling them what to do next. For example: “Register Now”, “Click Here to Sign Up” or “Call Now” on a button or link to a check-out, sign-up sheet or toll-free, working number.

The third step is to make sure your call to action is seen... frequently. It should appear at several locations throughout your website, allowing any wandering visitor the means to the end. This should especially be implemented on a content-heavy website. The call to action statement should come right after an introductory paragraph, the top of the page, and other parts of the site that record heavy traffic. Call to action statements should be on the screen at all times. This ensures that irregular visitors have a chance to see it.

Call to action statements that are clear, simple and effective are considered an art in copywriting circles. A straightforward, strong and smooth call to action will make a difference to your content and conversions. The message you put out there can have a major impact on the conversion performance of your website. Just remember that great content includes an effective call to action, but great content without a call to action is just information. For an efficient search engine optimization campaign, great content with a clear call to action is important for successful results.