88 Call-to-Action Phrases for Your Website Visitors

You might have the most attractive and functional website in the world, but when it comes to encouraging users to take actions that you desire, your site may just not be very effective. Since the whole point of having a website is to convert visitors into purchasing customers, this can amount to a total failure of purpose. Granted, not all websites are seeking to increase sales or to secure potential customers as leads for future conversion, but apart from those sites which are purely informative, most sites are set up to encourage users to take some kind of action.

The terminology that you use in order to prompt these actions is critical toward making users actually perform the intended action, and that's why some sites are much more successful in getting users to perform the desired action. The 88 phrases which have been proven to be the most successful at encouraging this kind of response from a user are listed below, and are broken down into four different categories: power words, words that imply scarcity, words that relate lower risk, and words that imply exclusivity. Before getting around to the list of those 88 phrases, let's take a look at the most common kinds of call-to-action currently in use.

What is a call to action?

Rather than just allowing website visitors to read information on your site and then leave, you will generally want to provide a call to action which encourages your site visitors to perform some kind of action. If you don't ask users to do this, it's very possible that you'll never hear from them again, and that the visit to your site will have been wasted. Every page of your website should be informative and should have a single subtle purpose, which is to encourage visitors to perform the action you want from them.This action might be to phone you for a quote, or it might be something which causes them to give you their email address, so they can be contacted in the future. Whatever this action may be, it should be something that increases your engagement with potential customers, and allows you to progress them along through the purchasing cycle. Here are some of the best ways to install calls to action on your website.

Request a call back

Sometimes customers are viewing your website on their phones while they are in-transit somewhere, and simply can't call you back right away. For these situations, you can install a pop-up box which allows them to enter phone or email information so you can get in touch with them at a designated time in the future. This will also capture their information so they can become a lead in your database, even though it represents no more commitment from a visitor than to have a conversation with you in the future.

Call for a free quote

Another very popular call to action is to encourage people to call or email for a free quote of your services, which automatically progresses them a step further along in the purchasing cycle. For this to work effectively, your phone number and email address should be highly visible and completely accurate. Ideally, you may even want to allow users to click on your email address, so they can send you a message immediately, or you can do the same with your phone number. The point is to make it as easy as possible for users to get in touch with you.

Offer a free tool

One of the best ways of encouraging users to perform actions you desire is to provide them with a tool like a free mortgage calculator, so they can determine whether or not it's affordable to purchase a specific home. By providing your potential customers with a tool which is extremely useful to them, it not only demonstrates that you care about their situation, but it will encourage them to carry out the steps of your call to action.

Offer a free review

By offering a free review to potential customers, you are providing them with a taste of your business and of what it would be like to work with you before making any kind of commitment. This review should be short and uncomplicated, so that neither you nor the customer is required to invest serious effort, but at the same time it must provide them with value so they are willing to become involved.One way you could do this would be to provide a review of their particular services, so that you could identify any gaps, which would then provide an opening for you to fill those gaps, and help your potential customer resolve their issues. This establishes a relationship of trust between you and a potential customer before they ever commit to doing business with you.

Phrases which imply exclusivity

Here are the proven phrases which imply exclusivity, and which will encourage users to perform your call to action:

• members only
• login required
• class full
• applications closed
• VIP
• competitive
• request invitation
• become an insider
• exclusive
• get it before anyone else
• be the first
• only available to subscribers
• wanted
• selective.

Phrases which imply scarcity

Phrases that imply scarcity convey the notion to users that there is a limited supply, and that they should act now:

• this month only
• only 10 available!
• Spots running out
• last chance
• only available here
• get them while they last
• just three spots left
• limited offer.

Words implying lower risk

Many users like to feel safe in having made a selection, so words which imply lower risk can be effective at inducing them to take action:

• verify
• endorsed
• best-selling
• happiness guarantee
• no questions asked
• refundable
• reliable
• expert
• certified
• cancel any time
• best-selling
• money back guarantee
• tried-and-true
• battle tested
• backed
• secure
• endorsed
• try before you buy
• popular
• professional
• crowd favorite.

Words considered to be power words

Words and phrases in this category are thought to be power words, which have proven to be very effective at encouraging call to action results from users:

• grow
• secret
• win
• develop
• fundamentals
• ultimate
• introducing
• premier
• save
• bonus
• immediately
• understand
• prophet
• inspires
• promote
• pioneer
• complete
• bonus
• signature
• improve
• prophet
• hot
• develop
• unlock
• learn