5 ways to increase your Click-through Rate (CTR)
A Click-through Rate (CTR) is a well-known KPI in the digital marketing world and if you’re not familiar with it, here’s why you should be.
Click-through rates are how we measure and pay for advertising, and how we know which content our target audience is engaging with most. Click-through rates are normally measured by how many ‘clicks’ you receive in relation to Impressions and/or Views. The variable in relation to the number of clicks will depend on the platform of distribution and the type of content you’re analysing.
Any content you distribute that involves a CTA (which should be every piece of content) will have key performance indicators (KPIs), including a CTR. From email marketing to your homepage and social media posts - each platform displays click-through rates to identify which content performed best. As an industry benchmark, a good CTR is anything between 2% - 5% and above.
Here are 5 ways to increase your Click-through Rate no matter what platform you’re working on.
Use clear copy - The words we use matter and especially when it comes to marketing. Clear copy means keeping words concise and straightforward, no need to ramble, avoiding too much jargon, and - most importantly - clearly highlighting the problem you’re solving for your customers. Put yourself in your audience’s shoes when copywriting. After you’ve finished writing a first draft, read it back, only this time, through the lens of your customer, and ask yourself, “Would this truly grab my attention enough to click?” If the answer is yes, you’re on the right track - and don’t be afraid to A/B test.
Use appropriate Call-to-Actions (CTAs) - A Call-to-Action (CTA) is any time you ask your customer to do something. Some examples are Shop Now, Buy Now, Read More, Listen Here, Sign Up, etc. the list goes on. When it comes to CTAs, always consider where your customer is on their journey when interacting with the content at hand. Consider what CTA is most appropriate for the context; whether the viewer is a new or returning user can make a big difference as to what cue is used.
For email marketing, you’ll want a consistent CTA throughout the campaign to fit the concept, but it’s okay to add a few others within the template where deemed appropriate (i.e. social icons, links to blogs, and/or ongoing collaborations).
For landing pages, you’ll most likely be dealing with a number of CTAs, so the customer journey is even more important in this case. Asking someone to Sign Up before you’ve made the pitch might not work as well as Learn More would when it comes to lead acquisition. The point is, to build trust with soft CTAs before you ask someone to commit with a heavy CTA and try to give them one action at a time.
Follow-through - So, you’ve created some catchy copy, the perfect Call-to-Action, and people are interested enough to click-through. Brilliant; now it’s time to deliver exactly what you promised in the offer that drew them in. If you’ve sent an email that tells readers there’s a discount code inside or a special sale they don’t want to miss - give it to them.
If you’ve told them a product they’ve wanted was back in stock, but when they click-through it’s still on pre-order, or out of stock again, you’ve just lost their attention and their sale. The same goes for any type of campaign; make sure the content your audience lands on aligns with the promise of the CTA and copy that lead before it.
Research SEO keywords - This will be a BAU (business as usual) task as SEO keywords feed into all aspects of digital marketing. You’ll have done keyword research when planning your strategies and content, but this should be done on a granular scale when planning daily posts, writing blogs, and copy.
For example, if something is trending and you can put a spin on words, somehow tieing it into your brand persona and strategy, this can produce epic click-through rates. Remember when, “Thank you, Next” came out? I recall that phrase being in TONS of marketing copy and rightfully so - the song was a hit and it made sense for brands to use it. Again, this only works when the keyword and/or phrase aligns with your brand and its strategy, so write wisely.
Add drop shadows to your buttons - This is a simple trick of graphic design that can go very far. You can never be too clear with call-to-actions and adding a drop shadow can clear any doubt from your customer’s mind about whether or not a button is clickable. What may seem like an obvious button to you, may not be to everyone. Adding a drop shadow highly increases the chance of people knowing it’s a call-to-action and clicking on it.
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