Call to Action Examples

Call-to-action buttons can incorporate two words like “Buy Now” or sentences like “Love Marketing and Want to Know More? Subscribe now so you never post!”. Also, CTA’s can be plain text with a hyperlink or clickable.

How long does a Call to Action need to be?

Definitely, yeah. A call for action can be longer than a sentence. It’s not uncommon to see CTAs, which are only a few words long. Although short clickable CTA buttons can be a call to action, often longer CTAs may work in your favor. Your call for action will generally be clear but not incredibly short. The key is conciseness. A well-written call to action’s brevity and directness should concentrate on what’s important and eliminate distractions.

You’ll see plenty of “long-form CTAs” and how and when to use them as you browse a range of great call-to-action examples. Let’s look at everything from placements to formatting, but we will pay special attention to the language used and why it has been used.

Good CTA Examples

Sometimes learning from others is the best way to become very good. Especially when writing a killer call to action. Now, look at some great calls for action examples from different corners of the digital marketing environment.

Netflix CTA

CTA: Join Free for a Month

A big fear of users having to sign up for something before committing. Because it will be a hassle to cancel your subscription if they don’t like it, Netflix pinches that fear with a copy of “Cancel anytime” just above the CTA “Join Free for a Month.” Again, you will find that the primary and secondary CTAs’ red color here matches the Netflix logo’s color. I would guess that reassurance has improved signups by itself.

Evernote CTA

CTA: Get started for free

“Remember Everything.” Evernote’s website’s interface allows it super easy for consumers to see the simple advantages of using the software and how they should sign up for it. After landing on this website, visitors will instantly understand the message. Furthermore, the primary and secondary CTA buttons’ green color is green as the headline, and the Evernote emblem spring off the screen.

Square CTA

CTA: Get Started

You must remember more than just the button to achieve a successful CTA design. Considering background color, surrounding pictures, and surrounding text are also supercritical.

The Square folks used a single image to demonstrate their product’s ease, where the “Get Started” CTA hovering awaits your press. If you look closely, the credit card color in the picture corresponds with the CTA button’s tone, which helps the viewer connect the dots on what to expect if / when they press.

Treehouse CTA

CTA: Claim Your Free Trial

 Many company websites out there are giving users a chance to start a free trial. But the CTA does not just say “Launch a Free Trial” on Treehouse’s website; it means “Claim Your Free Trial.”

The wording difference may seem slight but remember how personal “Claim Your Free Trial” is. However, the word “bid” implies that it may not be available for long, giving consumers a sense of urgency while getting the free trial.

Full Bundle Call to Action

CTA: Our Work

Complete Package is another organization that uses negative space to pop the primary CTA. The call-to-action white “Our Work” stands out against the dark grey background. Its choice of CTA is also strategic. Since they mainly exist to build up consumers’ online presence, they must highlight their work because most people visit their websites.

Uber CTA

CTA: Sign up to drive

I love the CTA driver’s copy at the top: “You’re moving what matters” doesn’t get any simpler. Now that’s the language of people. Uber searches for two distinct categories of people to register on their website: drivers and passengers. These users are searching for very different things. Yet, the app links them with the extensive video playing in the background showing Uber riders and drivers enjoying a lovely time in locations worldwide.

Slack

CTA: Learn More | Contact sales

I like this example since Slack has two separate audiences and CTA buttons. Slack uses an elegant, simple design to entice visitors to click on one of the two CTA buttons on its homepage. You can click “Learn More” if you’re starting your study. But if you’re a repeat user and want to speak to a salesperson, you can click “Contact Us.”

It is a brilliant example of using the CTAs on the homepage to support two audiences.

Amazon Music Call to Action

CTA: Try it Free

This is a perfect example of a couple of the elements we’ve been thinking about in one CTA. Amazon uses two strategically placed CTAs, colorful yet simple in design, offering free products.

Through this CTA, Amazon promotes its homepage as one of its goods and services instead of other products offered on the web.

The only message that they want to convey? Amazon Music so that you can try their offering for three whole months free of charge. This CTA fulfills that purpose with a simple design.

Barkbox

CTA: Get Started | Give a Gift

The two CTAs on the homepage of Barkbox show that the team knows their customers: while many people visit their site signing up for themselves, many like to give Barkbox as a gift. Two identically sized CTAs on the page give those people an easy path to buy: “Get Started” and “Give a Gift.”

As a bonus, an adorable pop-up call-to-action on the right side of the screen encourages users to leave a message. Click on it, and a tiny dialog box pops up that says, “Woof! I’m afraid our pack isn’t online. Please send us a message, and we’ll bark at you as soon as possible.”

Instagram

CTA: Get it on Google Play | Download on the Apple Store

Because Instagram is primarily a smartphone app, you can see two black CTAs of similar size: one for downloading Instagram in Apple’s App Store and another for downloading it on Google Play.

These CTAs are equal caliber because it doesn’t matter whether anyone installs the App Store or Google Play app. A download is just what Instagram is aiming for. Since you already have Instagram, you can press the “Sign In” button on the CTA if you prefer.

Because Instagram is primarily a smartphone app, you can see two black CTAs of similar size: one for downloading Instagram in Apple’s App Store and another for downloading it on Google Play.

These CTAs are equal caliber because it doesn’t matter whether anyone installs the App Store or Google Play app. A download is just what Instagram is aiming for. Since you already have Instagram, you can press the “Sign In” button on the CTA if you prefer.

 

Some Bad CTAs

 

PaleoLeap

CTA: Read more about our mission here

I’m a massive Paleo Leap fan, but I’m not a major CTAs fan. There are tens of them on the homepage (where does one start?), so the most significant desired action is hard to understand.

The explanations below of call-to-action are barely visible at a glance. They blend in the white background right in.

TaxJar

CTA: Sign up for free

You should not have the word “free.” It’s often apparent from the context of the setup or the website. (Pro tip: Also, about the meaning of the page.)

TaxJar, which provides a free trial but uses the vaguer “Get Started” as the primary CTA, is the case. The “free” aspect is implied — you are prompted for a username and password (but no information about credit cards).

 

Travel Wisconsin

CTA: Our family vacation | Trip ideas for you

Travel Wisconsin divides its homepage calls for action into two ways: “Our Family Vacation” and “Trip Ideas for You.” I don’t know their audience well, but I would imagine those trip ideas are a more persuasive deal, far more in line with the visitor’s purpose.

It’s hard to merge the two CTAs, and “Our Family Vacation” is ambiguous. Everything above the fold is pretty vague.

When we first checked their homepage, they changed it to a single (and far clearer) call to action: “Plan your getaway.” If they hadn’t only concealed it by selecting a color that almost fits the image.

 

Final Thoughts on Call To Action

The call to action is integral in developing websites and maximizing sales, marketing, or persuasion. Invest some time and energy in producing good copies of CTA. Making sure the concept is right and designing with the page’s background will help conversions. Also, many free graphics, web development, and free development tools help produce a great CTA.

This post outlined many examples of calls to action, probably too many — some bad, some inexistent. You shouldn’t copy any of them outright; instead, use them as inspiration to create your compelling call to action.

Let’s finish this article with a Call to Action from our website’s SEO page. What do you see right or wrong with this? What do you think our web developers could have done differently here?