Calls to Action: What Your Website Should Be Asking Visitors to Do

A call to action (CTA) is the instruction on your website that tells a visitor what to do next. “Call us,” “Get a quote,” “Book a free review” — that’s what a CTA is.

Most small business websites either don’t have them, have them in the wrong places, or use versions so vague they don’t prompt any action at all. Here’s what works.

Why calls to action matter

Visitors don’t automatically know what you want them to do. They arrive at your website with a problem and some curiosity, but without a prompt, many will read a page and leave without acting — even if they were genuinely interested.

A clear, specific call to action removes ambiguity. It tells the visitor: this is the next step. It gives them permission to act.

The businesses with the highest enquiry rates from their websites typically have a prominent, specific CTA on every page — not buried at the bottom, not vague, and not competing with five other equally prominent options.

What makes a CTA weak

“Contact us” — tells people nothing about what happens when they contact you, or why they should.

“Learn more” — sends people somewhere else without promising them anything.

“Submit” — a button label, not an instruction.

Multiple equally prominent CTAs on one page — when everything is equally important, nothing is. A visitor faced with “Call us,” “Get a quote,” “Book a review,” “Download our brochure,” and “Follow us on Instagram” all competing for attention often does nothing.

What makes a CTA strong

Specific about the action: “Call us on 0121 123 4567” is better than “Get in touch.” The visitor knows exactly what will happen.

Specific about the outcome: “Get a free quote” is better than “Call us” — it tells the visitor what they’ll receive from the action.

Reduces the perceived risk: “No obligation, no hard sell” or “Free, no commitment” reduces the anxiety of reaching out for the first time.

Uses first-person language for buttons: Research consistently shows that button copy in first person (“Get my free review”) outperforms second person (“Get your free review”). Small difference, measurable result.

The CTA hierarchy on a typical page

Every page should have one primary CTA — the most important action you want a visitor to take. Secondary CTAs can exist, but they should be visually subordinate.

For most local service businesses:

Primary CTA: “Call [phone number]” or “Get a free quote” — the action that directly generates an enquiry

Secondary CTA: “Find out more about [specific service]” or “See what’s included” — keeps an undecided visitor engaged rather than losing them entirely

On a homepage specifically, the primary CTA should be visible without scrolling on every device — desktop, tablet, and phone. If a visitor has to scroll to find out what they should do, a percentage of them won’t bother.

CTAs by page type

Homepage: Your strongest CTA, immediately visible. Specific about what a visitor gets: “Get a free website review — we’ll tell you exactly what’s holding your site back.”

Service pages: A CTA at the end of each service description, and again at the bottom of the page. Visitors who read a full service page are interested — give them an easy path to action.

About page: A CTA at the bottom. Visitors reading your About page are evaluating whether they trust you. Follow that with an invitation to take the next step.

Blog posts: A CTA at the end of every post. Someone who has read 700 words of your content is interested. Don’t let them leave without a prompt.

Contact page: The CTA on your contact page is the form or phone number itself — make sure it’s prominent, frictionless, and works.

What to test

If you have any traffic coming to your website, the simplest test is changing the CTA copy and observing whether enquiry rates change. Swap “Contact us” for “Get a free quote” on your homepage for a month and see if anything changes. Small improvements in CTA conversion compound significantly across all the visitors to your site.

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At mybitness, we write all CTAs for every page we build — specific, risk-reducing, and placed where they’ll convert.

See what a properly built website looks like — get a free review →