What makes a call to action effective?

In 2025, calls to action (CTAs) remain a vital component of any successful marketing strategy. Whether you’re encouraging visitors to sign up for a service, download an app, or purchase a product, a well-crafted CTA is essential for converting leads into customers. CTAs can prompt a wide range of actions, from signing up for a free trial to submitting an inquiry about your services.

A CTA is more than just a button or link; it’s a strategic element that can make or break your website strategy. When done correctly, it seamlessly integrates with your content, acting as a natural next step in the user journey. However, if your CTAs are confusing or overly aggressive, they can deter potential customers and undermine your marketing efforts.

Here are some things to consider when you’re planning your calls to action:

The design

Good design is incredibly powerful, even for something as simple as a button. The size and colour of your CTA can influence whether someone clicks on it. Ideally, your button should be large enough to be noticeable without overwhelming your content. You want to catch people’s attention without feeling too forceful.

Matching your CTA with your brand’s visual identity is also important for maintaining consistent online branding. Avoid using colours that clash with your design or blend in so much that they don’t stand out. For instance, using a colour that complements your brand but still contrasts enough to be visible can make a big difference.

To illustrate the impact of design, let’s consider some examples based on insights from CXL. While specific colours may evoke certain associations, the most crucial factor is contrast. For example, orange radiates confidence and can create a sense of urgency, encouraging immediate action; Amazon uses this for its “Buy Now” button. Red is another high-energy colour tied to excitement and power, often used in CTAs to drive conversions. Netflix uses a bold red “Get Started” button, drawing users’ attention to start their membership. However, as CXL emphasises, the effectiveness of these colours depends on how well they create a visual hierarchy and make the CTA stand out from the surrounding page. Ultimately, it’s not about finding the best colour, but about using colour strategically to enhance visibility and guide users toward the desired action.

In 2025, with the rise of AI-driven design tools, it’s easier than ever to experiment with different design elements and find what works best for your audience. Maximising these tools and understanding the psychology behind colour and design can help you create CTAs that not only stand out but also drive real results.

The wording

When crafting the wording for your calls to action (CTAs), it’s essential to use action verbs and keep things simple. Your potential leads should be able to understand immediately what will happen once they click the button. Using clear language helps avoid confusion and increases the likelihood of conversion. If your CTA is unclear, you risk losing potential customers, who might exit your site due to uncertainty.

While creativity is important, it should not come at the expense of usability. Avoid using confusing language or overly complex phrases. Typically, CTAs should be concise, ideally no more than two to three words. Examples like “Sign Up Now” or “Get Started” are effective because they are direct and easy to understand.

In 2025, with the rise of AI-driven tools, you can test different wording variations to see what resonates best with your audience. This tactic allows you to strike a balance between creativity and clarity, ensuring that your CTAs are both engaging and effective.

The location

When it comes to placing your call to action (CTA), there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. It’s all about understanding your user’s journey and strategically positioning your CTA to maximise its impact. Think about where in your content or design a CTA would naturally fit and make sense to your audience.

You can place your CTA as part of your copy, ensuring it aligns with the flow of your content. Alternatively, you might choose to predict when a user is most likely to take action and place CTAs in multiple strategic locations throughout your website. For example, you could have one at the top of a page, another at the bottom, and perhaps one in the middle if it’s a longer piece of content.

The key is to experiment with different placements and test their effectiveness. By using analytics tools, you can see which locations drive the most conversions and adjust your strategy accordingly. In 2025, with the help of AI-driven analytics, you can refine your CTA placement more precisely than ever before, making it easier to find what works best for your audience.

How to create a compelling call to action

In 2025, creating a compelling call to action (CTA) is more crucial than ever for driving conversions and achieving your marketing goals. Let’s look at some of the most effective strategies:

Personalise your CTAs

Personalisation has become a game-changer in the world of CTAs. A 2025 report by WiserNotify confirms this trend, stating that “Personalised CTAs convert 42% more visitors into leads compared to generic CTAs”. These findings highlight the continued importance of tailoring CTAs to individual user preferences and behaviours for maximising conversion rates. That’s huge!

So, what does this mean for you? It means taking the time to really understand your target audience and creating different CTAs for each segment. This approach aligns perfectly with your online branding strategy and can significantly boost your conversion rates.

For example, if you’re a software company targeting both small businesses and large corporations, you might create two different CTAs. For small businesses, your CTA could be “Start Your Free Trial”, emphasising the low-risk opportunity to try your product. For larger corporations, you might use “Schedule a Demo”, acknowledging their need for a more in-depth look before making a decision.

Remember, personalisation isn’t just about changing the text. It can also involve adjusting the design, placement, or even the offer itself based on what you know about each audience segment. The key is to make your CTA feel tailored to the specific needs and interests of each group.

By personalising your CTAs, you’re showing your audience that you understand their unique needs and challenges. This not only improves your conversion rates but also helps build trust and loyalty with your potential customers.

Justify your offer

Before you ask people to click on your CTA button, you need to give them a good reason why they should. Your CTA should come after text that reinforces the value of your product or service. It’s like setting the stage before the big performance.

Think about it this way: you’re not just selling a product or service; you’re selling a solution to a problem or a way to improve someone’s life or business. So, before you say “Buy Now” or “Sign Up”, tell your audience why they should. What’s in it for them?

For example, if you’re selling a productivity app, you might say something like: “Our app has helped businesses increase their efficiency by 30% on average. Ready to boost your productivity?” Then follow with your CTA button saying “Start Your Free Trial”.

You don’t need to do this for every single CTA on your site – that could get repetitive. But for your main offers or on key pages, it’s a good idea to remind people of the benefits just before you ask them to take action.

Remember, in 2025, people will be bombarded with offers all day long. To stand out, you need to clearly communicate why your offer is worth their time and money. Justifying your offer before presenting your CTA gives your audience the information they need to make a confident decision.

This approach aligns with what experts at WordStream suggest: “A good example of a call to action here would be something like ‘call us to start saving money today!’ Not only have you stated the action you want the user to take (call today), but you have also provided them with a reason why they should take that action (save money).”

So, take a look at your website. Are you clearly stating the benefits of your products or services before asking people to take action? If not, it might be time for a little rewrite to make your CTAs more compelling.

Create a sense of urgency

Creating a sense of urgency in your CTAs is a super effective way to get people to take action right away.

You know how we all tend to procrastinate, right? Well, adding a bit of time pressure to your CTAs can really light a fire under people. It’s all about tapping into that fear of missing out – FOMO, as the cool kids say.

So, how do you do it? It’s pretty simple. You just need to sprinkle in some time-sensitive language. Think phrases like “Limited Time Offer”, “Sign Up Today”, or “Offer Ends Soon”. These little nuggets of urgency can work wonders.

For example, instead of just saying “Download our ebook”, try “Download our ebook – Available for the next 24 hours only!”. See the difference? It makes people think, “Oh snap, I better grab this now before it’s gone!”

But here’s the thing – you’ve got to be careful not to overdo it. If everything on your site is “urgent”, nothing really is. Use this tactic sparingly and make sure it’s genuine. If you say it’s a limited time offer, it better actually be limited!

Also, in 2025, people are pretty savvy. They can smell fake urgency a mile away. So make sure your offers are real and valuable. That way, when you do create that sense of urgency, it’ll pack a real punch.

Remember, the goal here is to give your audience a little nudge to act now rather than later. It’s not about pressuring them, but about helping them see the value in taking immediate action.

Use strong action verbs

You know how sometimes you see a button that just says “Click Here”? Yawn, right? That’s not going to get anyone excited. But when you use strong, action-packed verbs, it’s like giving your CTA a shot of espresso.

Think about words like “Get”, “Start”, “Join”, “Create”, or “Discover”. These words pack a punch! They’re like little motivators that make people want to do something right away.

For example, instead of saying “Sample Available”, try “Get Your Free Sample”. See how that feels more exciting? It’s like you’re telling people, “Hey, there’s something awesome waiting for you – come and grab it!”

Or how about “Join Our Community” instead of “Sign Up”? It sounds more inviting. Like you’re not just filling out a form; you’re becoming part of something special.

Here’s the thing: in 2025, people’s attention spans will be shorter than ever. You’ve got to grab them quick, and these power words can help you do that. They create a sense of action and excitement that can be really compelling.

But remember, it’s not just about using any old action verb. You want to choose words that fit your brand and what you’re offering. If you’re a fun, quirky company, maybe you use “Snag” or “Grab”. If you’re more professional, “Secure” or “Access” might be better fits.

The key is to experiment and see what resonates with your audience. Try different action verbs and track which ones get the most clicks. You might be surprised at what works best!

Avoid a cluttered design

When it comes to your calls to action (CTAs), less is often more. The space around your CTAs is just as important as the buttons themselves. In fact, a recent case study by VWO in 2024 provides compelling evidence for this approach.

Open Mile (now acquired by Echo Global Logistics) conducted an A/B test on their lead generation page. By redesigning the page to reduce clutter around their call-to-action button, they saw a dramatic increase in conversions. The lead generation rate jumped from 3.95% to 13.11%, representing a whopping 232% increase. This test had a statistical confidence of 99.99%.

The key changes that led to this impressive improvement included:

• simplifying the masthead design,
• removing distractions like social media buttons,
• making the CTA button more prominent,
• improving the headline to better communicate the value proposition.

So, what does this mean for you in 2025? It’s simple – keep it clean. When you’re designing your website or marketing materials, resist the urge to cram every inch with photos, graphics, or text. Give your CTAs some breathing room. This doesn’t mean your design should be boring – far from it! But it does mean being strategic about what you place near your CTAs.

Think of it like this: it’s hard to focus on any conversation if you’re at a party and everyone’s talking at once. The same goes for your website. If too much is happening around your CTA, your potential customers might miss it entirely.

Remember, simplicity isn’t just about aesthetics – it’s about results. A clean, uncluttered design can significantly boost your conversion rates. And isn’t that what we’re all after?

This approach aligns perfectly with modern online branding trends. In 2025, users appreciate clean, intuitive designs that make it easy for them to take action. So, take a look at your CTAs. Are they surrounded by unnecessary clutter? If so, it might be time for a little spring cleaning!

By keeping your design simple and focused, you’re not just making your site look better – you’re making it easier for your customers to say “yes” to your offer. And that’s what an effective CTA is all about.

Optimise for mobile users

It’s 2025, and guess what? More people than ever are browsing on their phones and tablets. So, we’ve got to make sure our CTAs are mobile-friendly.

First things first, size matters! Do you know how frustrating it is when you’re trying to tap a tiny button on your phone, and you keep missing it? Yeah, we don’t want that for our CTAs. Make those buttons big enough for even the clumsiest fingers to tap easily. Think about it like this: if you can’t comfortably tap it with your thumb, it’s probably too small.

Now, let’s talk about placement. You want your CTA to be easy to reach but not where someone might accidentally tap it while scrolling. Nobody likes ending up on a page they didn’t mean to visit, right? A good rule of thumb is to keep your main CTA in the middle or bottom of the screen, where it’s natural for a thumb to reach.

Oh, and here’s a cool trick: use white space around your CTA. It’s like giving your button some breathing room. This makes it stand out more and reduces the chance of accidental taps on nearby elements.

Remember, mobile users are often on the go. They might be standing in line at a coffee shop or riding the bus. So keep your CTA simple and to the point. “Buy Now” or “Sign Up” works better than a long sentence.

And here’s something to think about: in 2025, we’re seeing a lot more voice commands and gestures. Maybe your CTA could be activated by a simple voice command or a swipe? It’s worth testing out!

Lastly, don’t forget about loading times. Mobile users often have slower connections, so make sure your CTA loads quickly. There’s nothing worse than tapping a button and waiting… and waiting…and waiting for something to happen.

So there you have it! Make it big, make it easy to tap, put it in the right place, keep it simple, and make it quick. Do all that, and your mobile users will thank you with more clicks and conversions.

Ask the experts

CTAs can really be a bit of a challenge. It often takes a lot of trial and error to find the right ones that actually work.

What was successful a while ago might need a bit of a refresh to keep delivering good results or even to improve.

It can feel pretty overwhelming, especially if you’re not quite sure what you’re doing.

That’s why it’s smart to team up with a marketing company. They can take the guesswork out of it by testing different calls to action and keeping an eye on what clicks and what falls flat based on your analytics.

From there, they can help fine-tune your marketing copy and improve how you turn potential customers into actual ones.