A call to action is, in marketing terms, content intended to prompt a specific action - "buy now," "click here." Get it wrong, and you risk losing leads who were genuinely interested but never quite took the next step.
Key findings
- Avoid friction words that make an action sound like effort, rather than something easy and immediate.
- Stick to one clear click point - too much choice, or conflicting instructions, distracts from the message.
- Make the click point obvious - never make a visitor hunt for how to take the action you want.
1. Using Friction Words
Friction words make an action sound like effort - exactly the wrong impression to give someone already busy. Choose words that prompt action rather than ones that suggest extra work on the reader's part.
2. Multiple, Conflicting Click Points
Too much choice distracts from the message. Worse is outright conflict - simultaneously pushing "download a free trial" and "buy now" sends mixed signals that confuse rather than convert.
3. No Obvious Click Point
If you want someone to click through, tell them clearly where to do it. A simple, unambiguous "Shop now" link consistently outperforms a vague invitation buried in body copy.
The remaining seven mistakes follow the same theme: weak visual contrast that makes a button easy to miss, CTAs placed below the point a reader's attention has already faded, vague value propositions that don't answer "what's in it for me," inconsistent CTA wording across a single page, CTAs that don't match the stage of the buyer's journey, forgetting mobile-friendly button sizing, and never testing variations to see what actually performs better for your specific audience.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are 'friction words' in a call to action?
Words that suggest the reader needs to do extra work to get what they want - they put people off taking action during an already busy day, rather than making the action feel easy and immediate.
Why is having multiple competing CTAs on one page a mistake?
Too much choice distracts from the core message, and conflicting instructions - like promoting a free trial and a 'buy now' button simultaneously - confuse rather than convert.
Esther Jackson
Head of Client Success at Kulea, leading onboarding, support, and the team's proprietary ETL integrations.