Writing a Call to Action

You know the goal that you have for your web page visitors — to make a purchase, sign up for your newsletter, subscribe to your RSS feed, sign a petition, become a member, or something else. Calls to action are the words that clearly give users that opportunity. “Buy your XJ-7 poles now,” and “Try out the new XJ-7 ski poles,” and “See the XJ-7’s new colors” all represent calls to action that can help convert a web site visitor into a customer.

For search engine optimization, include descriptive words in your calls to action. Notice that every example in the preceding paragraph mentions the name of the product (XJ-7) and something meaningful about it. If your call to action says only “Buy now” or “Add to cart,” you’re missing an opportunity to clearly specify (to the search engines) that this is the page where the XJ-7 can be purchased. Your web site design may have a standard interface that includes generic options under every product listing, but you could consider also including a more specific text link under the product description. Or for another example, if you have links in your copy to sign up for your newsletter, include a brief description in every link like “Car Resto....