When it comes to generating numerous qualified leads and sales for your business, your call to action, or CTA, can be considered the “final hurdle” or “rite of passage” to seeing these results. Also, without a high-quality CTA, your business runs the risk of experiencing little to no inquiries at all, making it one of the most beneficial steps in your marketing pipeline.
With that in mind, we have compiled a list of ten key statistics you need to know about CTAs. We hope these results can help reshape your company’s CTA strategy and help your website visitors cross the threshold to becoming qualified leads!
1. The Average Conversion Rate of a Page is 2.4%
Doesn’t seem like a lot, right? WordStream reports the average conversion rate is approximately 2.4%, with the top 10% of websites converting at a rate of 11.5% or higher.
Definitely do not be discouraged if you are not hitting the conversion rates of the top 10%, as the average is exactly that – an average. If you are looking to increase your overall conversions and grow your business, though, here are some specific tactics that will boost your results.
2. Forget Banner Ads: CTAs as Anchor Text in Your Blogs Increase Conversion by 121%
Banner advertisements were the most prevalent back in the 1990s, with the first banner ad appearing in 1996. Since then, digital marketing has evolved to anchor text CTAs, which are CTAs that are embedded into the copy of a given landing page.
As of 2023, our team highly recommends embedding CTAs in your blog posts, as HubSpot has reported a 121% increase in conversion over the once-popular banner advertisements.
3. 70% of Small Business B2B Websites Lack a CTA
Small Business Trends reports that a whopping 70% of small companies are leaving out the CTA in their digital marketing initiatives. The last thing you want to do is lose customers because they do not have the push to reach out to your business.
Some simple, yet effective, CTAs that you can include on your B2B website to convert these potential customers into inquisitive leads include:
- Get a free quote today
- Talk to our team
- Sign up for our newsletter
- Request a sample or demo
- Schedule a meeting or consultation
Take advantage of any opportunity you have to build rapport with your potential customers, as you never know who you might be doing business with down the road.
4. Customized CTAs Are Known to Convert 42% More Visitors
Personalized CTAs convert 42% more visitors compared to generic or vague CTAs. This is also an effective strategy to moving potential customers through the sales funnel efficiently and quickly.
One of the key aspects in creating a personalized CTA is tailoring the ad copy to appeal to your specific target audience. Additionally, it is important to add strong, attention-grabbing words that drive individuals to want to “answer the call.”
Just some of those action words or phrases include the following:
- Get started
- Join now
- Sign up for free
- Create an account
- Book a demo
- Learn more
- Shop now
- Discover
- Add to bag/cart
- Subscribe
Try using some of these action verbs in your copy or buttons and track the increase in engagement and leads you receive for your business!
5. CTAs That Are Shaped Like Buttons Saw a 45% Increase in Clicks
Though we established earlier that embedded CTAs are guaranteed to drive more leads for your business than banner advertisements in 2023, Copyblogger reports that CTAs that are in the shape of a button can also generate clicks, as they saw a 45% increase in the number of clicks they received.
You may be wondering, “Why does the style of your CTA matter?” Well, you are going to want a CTA that attracts and entices visitors to contact you. If your contact is in the form of a hyperlink, potential customers may skip over it because they simply don’t recognize it as your CTA.
On the other hand, CTAs in the form of buttons can allow you to customize the color, style, and size of the button, making it easier to identify.
6. Buttons That Include an Arrow Icon at the End of the Button Saw a 26% Increase
Originally a case study by Helzberg Diamonds, Freshworks reports that there was a 26% increase in clicks with CTAs that had an arrow at the end of the button.
As we discussed above with the CTA button, it is important to use visual design elements to attract the reader to contact your business. What this does not mean is to oversaturate your buttons with too many visuals, graphics, text, and colors. Even though the audience likes elements that attract their eye, they also enjoy simplicity and direction, which can be overshadowed by a messy CTA button.
7. CTAs That Are in a Video Receive 380% More Clicks
KISSmetric reports that you can receive 380% more clicks if you embed your CTA into a video over making your CTA a button. Though we have established that CTA buttons, depending on their style and presentation, can also be successful in gaining leads, trying the video CTA could be an efficient way to use a creative medium for conversion purposes.
If your company is looking to experiment with informational or educational video content, putting your CTA into the videos as well is highly recommended.
8. Email Marketing With Just One CTA Increases Sales by Approximately 1,617%
Increase sales by 1,617% through just one CTA in your emails? Now this is a statistic we like to hear!
Structuring your email marketing initiatives to align with the marketing funnel is a good idea when strategizing your upcoming campaign. Whether you are writing a string of newsletters for your customers, or even making an announcement, check the chronological order of the copy itself.
Does it follow a singular thought, or “funnel?” Does it include one clear and singular call to action, such as signing up for an upcoming event, visiting a page on the website, or even preordering an upcoming product? Adding more than one in your email campaigns can confuse your audience, leading them to do nothing at all.
9. Keyword-Optimized CTAs Increased Overall Conversion Rates by Up to 87%
If you are looking to try and increase the overall conversion rates of your business by approximately 87%, your company should invest in keyword research.
Keyword research will allow your company to gain some insight into what specific words or phrases people are using in their queries. Some platforms we recommend to conduct keyword research include:
- Google Keyword Planner
- SpyFu
- Ahrefs and SEMrush
- BuzzSumo
- Answer the Public
- Google Search Console
10. Red CTAs Will Boost Your Conversion Rates by 21%
HubSpot reports that red CTAs outperform green CTAs by 21%. This could be because, based on general color psychology, red can encourage a sense of urgency or incentivize action, but that cannot be confirmed.
Since there is no definitive answer as to why this occurred, it cannot be guaranteed that switching all your CTAs to red will automatically boost your sales. Due to the lack of certainty that comes with this specific case study, our company recommends that you test an array of colors to see which one works best for you, whether it is red for the urgency or even a color that better coincides with your company’s overall color scheme.