The Rhoad Less Traveled

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Don’t Ignore the CTA: How to Choose the Right Call-to-Action

Posted 12.22.2025

Most home builder websites are losing leads due to weak CTAs that ask visitors to take action without clearly explaining why.

You’ve invested in building your SEO presence, but you’re greeting website visitors with buttons that say “Click here” or “Learn more.” These CTAs are boring and interchangeable with any other builder’s website. There is no difference, no strong reason to choose your site over another, and definitely no sign that clicking will solve their problem or answer their question.

Your call to action may be the most significant conversion opportunity on your entire website. It’s the moment when someone decides whether to take the next step with you or click back to Google and explore other builders. That button or link plays a crucial role, but most builders tend to treat it as an afterthought.

Make the Click Worth It

Every CTA that actually converts answers a critical question before the visitor clicks: “What do I get for my click?” When your CTA quickly communicates the value someone gets in exchange for their click, you decrease the chances of them hesitating.

Vague CTAs force your visitors to guess what happens next, and people don’t convert when they’re confused. If your button says “Learn More,” you’re not answering; you’re just inviting more questions. Learn more about what? Will this take them to a PDF download, a contact form, a video, or another page with more reading? When you make people work to figure out what they’re signing up for, most just won’t bother.

Vague Ctas vs Clear CTAs

The difference between weak and strong CTAs comes down to being specific and clear:

  • Weak: “Learn more.” Learn more about what? Why should I care?
  • Strong: “See Available Floor Plans.” Says exactly what you’ll find after the click.
  • Weak: “Get Started.” Get started with what? How long will this take?
  • Strong: “Schedule Your 30-Minute Design Consultation.” Specifies the action, benefit, and time commitment.
  • Strong: “Contact Us.” This may seem vague at its surface, but its familiarity makes it clear and trustworthy. We’ll dive a little deeper into this coming up.

The value exchange needs to be so clear that a visitor could explain it to someone else without needing to click first. When you remove all uncertainty about what happens after that click, you eliminate the most significant barrier between you and the lead.

CTA Copy That Actually Gets Clicked

Strong CTAs start with specific verbs that tell visitors exactly what action they’re about to take and what outcome they can expect:

  • “Customize Your Home Design”
  • “Reserve Your Preferred Lot”
  • “Download the 2025 Buyer’s Guide”
  • “Tour Move-In Ready Homes”

The best CTAs also create a sense of immediate action without making visitors feel pressured into something:

  • “Start Your Custom Design Today”
  • “See What’s Available Now”
  • “Get Your Personalized Quote”

Your CTA language should shift based on where someone is in their buying journey, not just default to the same generic phrase everywhere:

  • Early stage: “Explore Home Styles”
  • Mid stage: “Compare Our Communities”
  • Late stage: “Schedule Your Walk-Through”

Generic action words are conversion killers because they describe the action without communicating the benefit:

  • Replace “Submit” with “Get My Free Consultation”
  • Replace “Sign Up” with “Join the VIP Home Buyer List”

Why “Boring” CTAs Usually Win

You might think that creative, unique CTAs will always outperform ones like “Contact Us.” However, when you actually test and analyze the results, “Contact Us” usually performs better than most unique options.

Users prefer familiar language because it reduces uncertainty about what will happen next. “Contact Us” is clear, expected, and recognized on almost every website, so users don’t have to think hard to understand what clicking that button does. It means they will receive a form or a phone number, and someone will respond, initiating a conversation. This clarity and familiarity usually work better than fancy alternatives that make users figure out what you want them to do.

Data shows that clever CTAs can actually lower your conversion rates when they create unnecessary confusion. “Ask a Question” may seem friendlier than “Contact Us.” Still, it can add to some uncertainty about whether it’s only for questions or if it can also be used for scheduling or other requests.

Being creative with your CTAs isn’t automatically bad, but trying to be clever just to stand out can backfire if you sacrifice clarity. Testing and clear intent are the most critical factors here.

CTA Performance Metrics

7 CTA Mistakes That Quietly Kill Conversions

You’ve spent so much time on your website and ads, so you can’t let the wrong CTA ruin it for you. Here are 7 common mistakes that home builders make while creating their CTA strategy.

1. Guessing Instead of Testing

One of the biggest mistakes home builders make is using creative CTAs without first testing them. If you haven’t conducted a proper A/B test, you’re relying on intuition and what sounds good to you and your team.

2. Competing CTAs on the Same Page

Including too many CTAs on a single page reduces your conversion potential by forcing visitors to choose between different actions instead of guiding them toward a clear next step. This can lead to decision paralysis, where some visitors might simply leave instead of committing to any of the options you’ve presented to them.

3. Too Many Choices, No Clear Path

Even worse than competing CTAs is overwhelming visitors with five, six, or more CTAs visible at once. When users see that many options in view, they have no clue what to do next. Limit yourself to no more than three options per page so visitors can make a clear decision without analysis paralysis.

4. CTAs That Don’t Match the Page

Your CTAs should also align perfectly with both the content on the page and the intent that brought visitors there in the first place. A visitor reading about your move-in ready homes wants a CTA like “See Available Homes” or “Schedule a Showing,” not something generic that could apply to any page on your site.

5. Asking for Too Much, Too Soon

Asking for too much information before establishing trust is another conversion killer that frequently appears on builder websites. Someone who just discovered your company a few minutes ago isn’t ready for a CTA that says “Schedule Your Design Consultation.” You need to match the level of commitment to where users are in their journey.

6. Forgetting the Mobile User

Many builder sites overlook the mobile user experience, despite a significant portion of traffic originating from phones and tablets. If your site visitors have to zoom in and carefully aim their finger at a tiny spot to hit your CTA button, most of them will simply move on to a competitor whose site works better on their device.

Forgetting the Mobile CTA

7. Launching CTAs and Walking Away

The “set it and forget it” approach to CTAs means you’re leaving conversions on the table after launch. Your website is a living marketing tool that should be continuously tested and improved based on real performance data.

A Simple Framework for Choosing the Right CTA

Picking the proper CTA shouldn’t be a guessing game. Follow these steps to create a CTA strategy that is data-driven and aligns with your audience’s needs.

Step 1: Start with a Proven Baseline CTA

Building an effective CTA strategy begins with creating a solid baseline, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. Use something straightforward like “Contact Us,” “Schedule a Tour,” or “Get More Information” as your starting point, as these phrases have been tested millions of times across thousands of websites and have proven effective.

Step 2: Make the Value Crystal Clear

“Submit Form” tells people what button they’re pressing, but “Get Your Free Home Buying Guide” tells them what they’re actually getting out of that click.

Step 3: Match the CTA to the Buyer’s Stage

Match your CTA to where visitors are in their buying journey, so you’re not asking for too much too soon. Someone reading blog posts needs “Explore Our Floor Plans.” Someone viewing your currently available homes is ready to “Request a Showing.”

Step 4: Make Your Primary CTA Impossible to Miss

Visuals matter because even perfectly crafted copy is worthless if people don’t see it. Your main CTA should stand out with size, color, contrast, and positioning so visitors immediately know where to look when they’re ready to take action.

Step 5: Let A/B Tests Pick the Winner

Test variations to determine what truly works, rather than relying on assumptions. Run A/B tests to let real data tell you what works best.

Step 6: Keep Refining Based on Real Results

Continuous optimization means treating your CTAs as an ongoing project, rather than a one-time task. Review CTA performance regularly and continue testing new variations as you gather more data about your audience and how their behavior evolves.

Stop Guessing. Test Every CTA.

Your CTA strategy should be based on choices backed by testing, not just something you set up once at the website launch and then forget about.

A/B testing shows which CTA elements really influence your audience’s behavior compared to those you think should work. Test different wordings, such as “Contact Us” versus “Talk to Our Team,” to see if personalizing the language increases clicks. Try different button colors and sizes to determine which one grabs attention.

Keep track of the right metrics to see if your CTA changes are improving results. Watch conversion rates, form submission rates, and click-through rates to understand what works. Minor adjustments can lead to surprisingly significant results when you test the right things.

Click heat map of a website

Most importantly, be sure to track lead quality and lead quantity. A CTA that gets a lot of visitors might be attracting more casual users, while another version brings in fewer people, but they’re serious buyers who genuinely want to work with you.

Your Best CTA Is the One the Data Proves

The right CTA isn’t about being clever; it’s about being clear and intentional.

Data consistently shows that familiar, straightforward calls to action usually perform better than alternatives that try too hard to be unique.

But the main takeaway isn’t that boring always wins or that creativity always loses; it’s that the only way to know what actually works for your specific audience is to run tests with your own traffic.

Your best call to action is the one that converts your specific audience, backed by your own data, not by what worked for another builder in a different market.

Start with what’s been working across the industry, test different options to see if you can improve performance, and let the data decide what stays and what goes.

Are your CTAs leaving revenue on the table? Contact us today to stop guessing and start converting more qualified leads.

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