Click Here Buttons

[John Scott]

http://blog.v7n.com/2006/07/10/big-s...ns-click-here/

I've found the same thing.

[JuggoPop]

click here always pulls more clicks.
it looks tacky most of the time, but it does work.
Here is something I said on the subject once...

The power of “click here�:

Those two little words used to be the gold mind on the internet. People didn’t totally understand links. There was (and still is) a rush to get online and be apart of the thing called the “net�. People from all walks of life and all age groups flocked to the internet in hopes of finding something. Everyone else was doing to, why not?

With that, came a group of people that had no clue what they were doing. You had to tell them “Click Here�. And guess what? It worked. “Click Here� was the phrase that paid for a long time. Now-a-days people mostly see that as a ploy to get you into one of those mine field type of websites. Some people avoid the words like it’s the plague. However, those words still have power. Don’t be afraid to use them. You still get the new users clicking and those of us that have been online for years have a deep desire inside of us that everything thing in the world will come together and be perfect once again, if only we click those words. (Ok… So it’s not that strong, but we still want to click).

My personal feeling is if you have space to fill and you have a quality product advertised on a quality banner, then those words are ok to put in that space. Just don’t over use it.

[BinkyMelnik]

John:

I've found the same thing

I've been using the web since 1994, and there are still pages where I sit there going "WTF do I do now?" If *I'm* confounded by a page, then think what the heck it must be like for the clueless, the not-so-smart, and the new!

I know a web designer who's a true genius; his Flash sites are things of beauty. They're also impossible to use. He doesn't wanna gunk up his beautiful designs with such nonsense as "navigation." So every single one of his sites, you hafta stare at it, scroll your mouse over everything watching the status bar to see whether anything's going on, and cross your fingers that you can locate what you're looking for.

If you're really hoping to get someone to read, sign up, buy, or log in, you hafta make it easy for *everyone*, even when it annoys you to do it.

None of this applies if you're building sites just to amuse yourself.

[Emperor]

We have to understand that for webmasters and web gurus alike clicking on those stupid looking things is a no-no but does this apply for the average web user? I think not… I think those buttons do work especially on sites that are visited by the common web surfer.

[BinkyMelnik]

Emperor:

clicking on those stupid looking things is a no-no

? Why? If you wanna (read more | order | sign up | etc), you need to click somewhere.

[vangogh]

Interesting. Any indication whether it's the button itself or the words 'click here'?

I'm wondering if a button with text like 'buy now' of 'learn more' or some other text would be more effective than 'click here'

[Lizzie O']

Hi Vangogh,

I was just reading something about the word portion of the question you're
asking... but not with "click here"; instead it was a study between "submit" and "sign up" ...

This might be a part of the anwer for you; but I don't know if there's a test comparing "click here" with "sign up"

You'll find the short article here:
http://www.jamesbrausch.com/?p=57

Maybe you could get him to test click here for you!

Good Luck
Lizzie

[Will.Spencer]

So how do I get a <Click Here> button into my AdSense blocks?

[SteveMurellis]

A while ago I did a little split test on one of my web sites. "Sign up" has beaten "Click here" by a small margin. "Sign up!" was even better.

On another site, there were no significant difference between the three. So it really depends...

The best bet is to test yourself.

Steve

[Bluecircle]

Originally Posted by Will.Spencer

So how do I get a <Click Here> button into my AdSense blocks?

You wish! That's a direct violation of the Adsense TOS!

[AverageGuy]

good to know this. just build a huge 'click here to buy now' button for my product.


Average

[John Scott]

I think it just goes back to "call to action"

This banner has been great for us.

[BinkyMelnik]

John:

This banner has been great for us

Just as a speriment, try the same banner without using opposite colors (ie, make the green text yellow) to see whether it gets more clicks.

Since to the colorblind, that's grey-on-grey, you might get even better clickthrough rates with yellow text (or some other color which'll pop from the grey).

[Casey Byshop]

Originally Posted by JohnScott

I think it just goes back to "call to action"

This banner has been great for us.

Hey it worked for me!!

[jackmotine]

Yep -

'Sign Up' works better than 'Click Here' and much better than "Subscribe' for me.

In plain black text. Remember a while back when flashing rainbow text flashed up on buttons everywhere? Haven't seen one for a long while. Wonder why?

Jack

[John Scott]

"Sign Up" and "Click Here" aren't mutually exclusive.

Example: Click Here to Sign Up.

[Emperor]

Let me just say this. I think you guys on v7n.com have some of the nicest banners and buttons I have ever seen. Every time I come to this forum one of the first things I do is look at the three banners on top of the page. It just goes to show that all you really need is a bit of creativity.

[John Scott]

Thank you.

[vangogh]

Thanks for the link Lizzie. I think that and subsequent posts here are confirming what I was thinking. At least for me. In the original link John posted to Peter's test it comes across that the 'click here' was the reason for the higher click through. While I have no proof my hunch it was the use of a button over a text link.

Something tells me there are better options to use for text than click here, though we do see an awful lot of 'click here' text and buttons online.

John do you think the banner you have above would work as well if you didn't mention the discount on the Kawasaki? Something tells me it wouldn't. My thought is that 'click here' can work well as long as it's clear what's on the other site of the link or button, but 'click here' in isolation isnt going to lead to high click throughs.

Again though that's just my gut feeling. Can't say I've ever tested that, though maybe I should.

[John Scott]

I found out long ago that "discount" in itself doesn't quite do it. Surfers need the idea implanted in their heads.

I almost feel like spelling it out to them would be the best, like: "Hey, you, want the guaranteed lowest price? With your right hand, take you mouse, place the cursor over this banner, and CLICK HERE!"