9 replies to this topic

[SEOigloo]

Hey Guys,
Just an anecdote from my work day. As everyone here knows, the CTAs on your site are some of its more important elements. I'm working on an important form right now, and we'd created a very large red button with the word 'SUBMIT' on it, in large caps.

The more I looked at it, the more it made me think of a giant 1950s robot commanding, "Submit, earthlings; you have no choice."

I've never thought about this before, but the dual meanings of the word suddenly jumped off the screen at me (perhaps because of the bright red background of the button). People don't like to submit to others, typically. Maybe it's not the best word. I switched to 'Send It' and that immediately looked less domineering.

Maybe I've been working too much...

Edited by SEOigloo, 17 July 2011 - 01:44 PM.

[jonbey]

Don't forget to update us in a week or so, will be interesting to hear if it does make a big difference.

[iamlost]

Bloody do as you are told you common customers you :nanawhip:

I understand and agree, Miriam.

I like to use the best (tested ) verb (with implied time urgency) for what the form is for, i.e. buy now, order today, ship immediately/tomorrow/within 48 hours (script driven button label), etc.

Note: approximately 5% of males and 0.5% of females (in USA) are red/red-green/green colour blind. It can be worthwhile to test button colours. If wanting to stay red-ish, start test with orange.
Note: it is critical to know your primary audience (market segment) as gender, age, ethnicity, et al all have been shown in conversion tests to have differing responses to colour. As does the reason for the button. However, there are some general email response (USA) results you might find useful:
Purple: best at 64-75% response range.
Blue: 63-70%
Green: 46-73%
Red: 50-68%
As you can see there are some general colour differences but as shown by the ranges audience/market segment can shift relative values significantly.

[A.N.Onym]

"Submit, worthless earthlings!" - oh yes

I've always considered buttons to be a call to action, which is why I've always changed them to what they'd mean to the customer "contact us", "send the request", "download the whitepaper", etc).

There are a few posts on the topic that discuss this in more detail, and the post about Obama's campaign shows the difference between button text performance. I've also liked this 37 Signals test about landing page performance, though there should be countless a/b tests on http://marketingexperiments.com.

Edited by A.N.Onym, 18 July 2011 - 01:01 AM.

[cre8pc]

I've never liked that word for forms, just like I don't like "users" for site visitors or customers.

I think many people go with the default values, not realizing they can edit it. :frustration:

[SEOigloo]

Purple, Iamlost??? Who would have thought. Love studies like that.

Jon - the site is being developed right now, so I can't test anything as nothing is live.

Yura, great links. What do you think about 'send it' as text for a contact form button?

Kim, the happiness of being a designer is that you realize you can change EVERYTHING!

[DonnaFontenot]

Off Topic

I could have told you Purple is best. Of course it is! Purple is best in every life situation.

[AbleReach]

:whistling:

[SEOigloo]

Heh heh, Donna!

Nice buttons, Liz!

[A.N.Onym]

Miriam, "Send it" isn't too bad, but I've just recalled that I prefer "Get in touch" for contact forms.

Nice buttons, indeed, Elizabeth