Eye catching call to action buttons combined with the right phrasing and text can increase your conversion rate. A call to action is simply a request for visitor to do something; buy, contact, sign-up, join, or whatever meets your objectives.

The best call to action will not be the same for every industry or company. It's one of those things that every company really has to test for themselves. Here are some tips that should steer you in the right direction.

Size Matters
In web pages, the size of an element relative to its surroundings indicates its importance. Decide how vital certain site actions are, and size your call to action buttons accordingly.

Prominent Positioning
The placement of call to action buttons on a web page is critical to drawing the eyes of visitors. Prominent placement can lead to higher landing page conversions.

• Distinguished Area, putting a call to action button on a distinguished area, like a menu bar or a page boarder is one way of making it stand out in a web layout.
• Top of Page, by putting the call to action at the top in a prominent area, it is more likely that the user will notice it or remember it later, after they have looked at the site’s content.
• Center of Page, locating a call to action button in the middle of a web layout with no or little surrounding elements can be effective at drawing attention and enticing an action.

Whitespace
The use of whitespace around a call to action button is an effective way of making it stand out in areas where there are many elements. Whitespace may be better described as dead space meaning there are no other graphical elements or text surrounding a button.

Contrasting Colors
Use colors in your call to action button and text that have a high contrast relative to surrounding elements and the background. This ensures that users will take notice.

Options and Alternatives
Sometimes it’s necessary to offer a secondary action in order to convince the user to later take your desired primary call for action. “Buy Now” maybe your primary call to action, while, “Watch Our Demo” is your secondary call to action.

Convey Urgency
Phrasing the action by using bold, confident, and commanding words can alter the user’s perception in such a way as to convince them that they shouldn’t wait any longer. Waiting to take action could result in a penalty or a missed opportunity.

Action is Easy
Often, a user’s hesitation to take action stems from thinking that an action will be difficult, costly, or time consuming. By taking care of these concerns, your call to action buttons can lead to more conversions. Defines the time need, remind them it’s free, tell them there is no SPAM involved. Do some research and find out why users aren’t signing up and then dispel that myth on your call to action.

What to Expect
Most web users are hesitant to take things they’re presented on the web at face value. To increase click conversion and to build trust, anticipate users’ skepticism and tell them what they will gain by taking the action you’ve presented to them.

To see samples and a broader explanation of all these tips and suggestions see the full article from Jacob Gube at Smashing Magazine.