Engage a wider audience on your website with different calls-to-actions

Engage a wider audience on your website with different calls-to-actions

Did you know that having customised calls-to-action (CTAs) on every page of your website can significantly increase leads? This month, we’re diving into the power of tailored CTAs and how they can help you engage visitors more effectively.?

We’ll showcase two real-life examples that highlight the impact that CTAs can have on a website:

  1. The marginal overlap of users between different CTA concepts on the same website(s)
  2. The increase in leads by adding one additional CTA?


Case 1: Two CTAs on Different Pages of the Same Website

A school had been using the CTA “Is this programme right for you? Take the 4-minute quiz to find out” on their programme page for a couple of years. While this had successfully brought in a good number of leads, they still felt that some visitors were being overlooked. Therefore, they decided to add another CTA—“Do you meet the entry requirements for this programme?”—to their admissions page as well.

The result? Their total number of leads doubled!

Even though the programme and admissions pages were closely linked, the new CTA captured a completely different audience, in a different stage of their research journey. These visitors already knew which programme interested them, and were therefore browsing the admissions page, researching their eligibility.?

Below is the lead increase from adding a second CTA:

Monthly lead volumes from a website

To show the wider audience reach, we looked at the overlap—the percentage of users who took both quizzes. Despite the two Advisor quizzes “living” very close to each other on the same website, only 6.65% did so.


Illustration of audience overlap for two "Advisor" concepts on the same website

Case 2: Three CTAs in Different Places on the Same Website

Case 2, involving a different client, underscores our findings above. This school used three different versions of our Advisor product for their Master’s programmes, each tailored to a specific audience need:

  • “Which Master’s programme is right for me?” on the main page
  • “Do I meet the entry criteria for a Master’s at this school?” on the admissions page
  • “Is this study format right for me?” on the detailed programme information page

All three CTAs focused on the same topic but targeted different stages of the user journey. This strategy ensured that they engaged visitors regardless of which page they explored, addressing their specific questions directly and logically.?


Illustration of audience overlap for three "Advisors" on the same website

As you can see, the overlap between these three CTAs was even smaller. This shows that a larger number of users got their questions answered by engaging directly with the content they were most interested in – and by casting a wider net, the school was able to significantly increase their leads. What a win-win!


Summary: All of your website pages are potential conversion pages

The two examples above show how powerful it can be to use multiple, customised calls-to-action (CTAs) across your website. By tailoring CTAs to different user needs—like programme suitability, entry requirements, or specific programme details—you can engage visitors at every stage of their journey.

So, when considering whether to add a “brochure download” CTA to every page, the answer is simple: go for it! It will garner engagement. However, if you really want to optimise your website’s user experience, and increase the number of leads you capture, rather customise the user journey by creating new CTA formats that meet their needs. A generic CTA won’t appeal to everyone, while a well-placed, relevant one can make all the difference.

For example, adding a brochure download to your admissions page works best when it directly answers a specific visitor question. If it feels too vague, rethink the wording or try a different approach – perhaps a handy get a profile assessment CTA could work wonders here instead.

Exploring the power of diverse CTAs to capture and engage more visitors is effective. We’re biased, of course, because we specialise in crafting tailored CTAs, but the data proves it works!

Monthly tip!???

“Genuinely Helpful: A practical guide to effective university websites”

Keen to explore how to make your website a candidate magnet and truly support your marketing investment? Get hands-on tips in the book “Genuinely Helpful: A practical guide to effective university websites” by Guus Goorts.

If your university website is genuinely helpful to prospective students, it makes a big difference to all your marketing efforts!?

Order the book or download the free PDF here!



Guus Goorts

Author of 'Genuinely Helpful' | Online Marketing Trainer & Consultant for (Higher) Education Institutions | Europe, Asia & Africa | For effective student recruitment & engagement

3 个月

This is great hard data to prove that calls to action work best when they fit in with the context of the page. On the programme page 'Is this programme right for me?' feels just right, whereas 'Do I meet the entry criteria?' is perfect when the visitor is looking at the admissions page. Unfortunately, a lot of times what will show on university websites in both cases (if anything) is an 'apply now' or 'download brochure' button instead of something that takes the conversation further... ... and that's a huge missed opportunity to achieve more without spending a euro extra on getting more people to visit your website.

Irina Makarchuk

SAS Education Nordics | Business development | Data & AI

3 个月

Makes sense! As different people will be triggered by different CTAs.

Pernilla Carlstrom

CEO at House of Education | Innovating higher ed marketing

3 个月

I'm surprised by the small user overlap - I would think same people engage in general. Apparently not! Also - good book by Guus Goorts, definitely worth a read! ??

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