How to Use the Book Now CTA and More on Your Website

The goal of any tourism website design is to move visitors down the booking funnel and get them to check out as quickly as possible. To do this you need calls-to-action (CTA’s).

CTA’s are text or buttons that tell visitors the action you want them to take next. They act as virtual signposts telling people what to do, where to click, and what to book.

CTA’s are what convert visitors into customers.

Some common CTA’s for booking sites include Search, Check Availability, See Listings, and of course Book Now.

Here are 4 CTA best practices to increase your bookings:

1. Make it clear what action you want them to take

CTA’s should be descriptive and action based. “Click Here” doesn’t always lead to as many clicks as something like “Start Your Next Adventure.” The design of the CTA should be functional and yet unnoticeable. Clearly focus on the text, not the design.

2. Keep your CTA’s consistent

Your homepage should have one or two logical next steps. So you should only have one or two CTA’s. Don’t distract visitors with any more than that. You can have more than two places where the CTA’s appear but keep your messaging consistent.

3. Remember the booking funnel

Consider the point in the booking funnel visitors are at when they come to your homepage. Some of them might be returning visitors but for most this will be their first interaction. The first action they take on your site might not be making a booking. First, you need to warm them up and help them get to know you better. Test out exploratory CTA’s to see if they work better for your site.

Some ideas include Check Availability, See Listings, and Find a Tour.

You can add a secondary CTA such as Book Now for returning visitors lower on the page.

4. Match your CTA’s to your booking flow

Since your number one goal is to turn your visitors into booked travelers, allowing them to immediately start trip planning from the homepage is a must. Adding a noticeable search widget into your hero CTA quickly helps visitors find what they are looking for and gets them one step closer to booking with you.

You can help visitors further by adding an interactive drop down menus to the search boxes. This reduces confusion and adds to a seamless travel booking process.

Tours & Rentals

Visitors will be looking for your daily availability and tours by destination. They might also be searching for tours by the number of guests. Add this information in your search widget to help them narrow the search.

Accommodations

Visitors are looking for availability from their start to end date. If you have more than one location, they will also be searching for a destination. Add these parameters to your search box to help visitors find rooms available during their trip.

P.S. Your homepage must also be optimized to increase travel conversion rates.