Most websites show every visitor the same call to action, no matter who they are or what they’ve done. That’s lazy, and it’s costing you conversions. If you want your site to actually work harder, personalizing your call-to-action (CTA) buttons is low-hanging fruit. This guide is for marketers, solopreneurs, or anyone running a website who wants to squeeze more out of every visit—without spending hours coding or fiddling with plugins.
We’re going to walk through how to use RightMessage to change your CTA buttons based on what your visitors do—pages they visit, actions they take, or even stuff you already know about them. I’ll show you what works, what doesn’t, and how to avoid burning time on bells and whistles that sound cool but don’t actually move the needle.
Why Bother Personalizing Your CTA Buttons?
Let’s cut to the chase: people ignore generic CTAs. They tune out “Subscribe” or “Buy Now” if it doesn’t feel like it’s for them. Personalizing your buttons—whether it’s the text, the color, or the link—makes them more relevant, gets more clicks, and bumps up conversions. The difference isn’t always dramatic, but it’s usually enough to justify the effort.
But don’t expect magic. If your offer stinks, personalizing the button won’t save you. Use this to amplify what’s working, not to fix what’s broken.
Step 1: Figure Out What (and Who) You Want to Personalize For
Before you touch RightMessage, decide what “personalization” actually means for your site. Otherwise, you’ll waste time tweaking things nobody notices.
Start with a clear goal. For example: - Show a different CTA to returning subscribers vs. new visitors. - Change the button if someone visits your pricing page, signaling they’re “warm.” - Swap out the text for visitors coming from a particular campaign or traffic source.
Pro tip: Don’t try to personalize for every possible visitor type right away. Pick your highest-traffic or highest-value segment and start there.
Step 2: Set Up RightMessage on Your Site
If you haven’t already, sign up for RightMessage and add their script to your site. This is basic, but it trips people up.
- Log into RightMessage and grab your unique script snippet.
- Paste it into your site’s
<head>tag. Most website builders or CMS platforms have a spot for this. - Check that it’s firing. RightMessage has a debug mode—use it to make sure the script is actually running.
If you run into trouble here, double-check ad blockers or caching plugins. Sometimes they block scripts like this.
Step 3: Map Out Your Visitor Segments
RightMessage works by letting you define “segments”—groups of visitors based on behavior, source, or other data. You get to decide what matters.
Common ways to segment: - Behavior: Visited certain pages, clicked certain links, spent X time on site. - Source: Came from a specific campaign, ad, or referral. - Profile data: Already on your email list, subscriber status, past purchases (if you integrate with your email provider or CRM).
Reality check: The more complex your segmentation, the more you have to test. Start simple. For example: “If the visitor has viewed the pricing page, show them a ‘Get Started’ button instead of ‘Learn More’.”
Step 4: Create Your Personalized CTA Variations
Now the fun part—actually changing your CTA buttons.
A. Decide What You Want to Change
Most people personalize one or more of: - Button text (“Start Free Trial” vs. “See Pricing”) - Button color (for branding or to stand out) - Button link (take warm leads straight to sign-up instead of a generic page)
What to ignore: Don’t waste time on tiny style tweaks. Focus on the change that matters most to your goal—usually the text or link.
B. Use RightMessage’s Visual Editor
- In RightMessage, open the Visual Editor. It lets you click on elements of your live site and set up variations.
- Click your CTA button. You’ll see options to change text, color, destination URL, etc.
- Create a version for each segment you mapped out. For example:
- Default: “Learn More”
- Viewed pricing page: “Start Your Free Trial”
- Returning subscriber: “Check Out What’s New”
Heads up: The visual editor is decent, but it can get weird with heavily scripted or custom-coded buttons. If it doesn’t work, you might have to use CSS selectors or manual targeting. It’s a pain, but doable.
Step 5: Set Up the Display Rules
This is where you tell RightMessage who should see which CTA.
- For each button variation, set up rules based on your segments.
- Example: If
Visited Pageequals/pricing, show the “Start Free Trial” button.
- Example: If
- You can stack rules (e.g., “If subscriber AND visited features page…”), but keep it simple at first.
- Preview changes to make sure the right people see the right button.
Don’t overthink it: The best rules are clear and easy to debug. If you end up with a flowchart from hell, dial it back.
Step 6: Test Your Personalizations (Don’t Skip!)
Testing is not optional. Here’s what tends to go wrong: - The wrong button shows up for the wrong segment. - The button reverts to default after a page reload. - Mobile visitors see something broken, or nothing at all.
How to test: - Open your site in an incognito window, trigger the behavior you want to segment, and see if the right button appears. - Use browser dev tools to clear cookies and try as a “new” visitor. - Test on mobile and desktop.
RightMessage’s preview tools help, but they don’t catch everything. Always check the live site.
Step 7: Measure What Actually Changes
If you don’t measure, you’re just guessing. Use analytics to track: - Button clicks by segment (RightMessage has some built-in reports, but you’ll want to cross-check with Google Analytics or similar). - Down-funnel actions: Did the personalized button actually get more signups, purchases, or whatever matters to you?
What’s worth tracking: Focus on the conversion rate of the personalized CTA vs. the default, not just total clicks.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and Common Pitfalls
What works: - Simple, obvious personalizations (like “Welcome back, [name]” or “Pick up where you left off”) almost always outperform generic CTAs. - Personalizing for intent (like showing an “Upgrade Now” button to free users who visit your pricing page) is a solid bet.
What doesn’t: - Over-personalization. If you try to make a unique button for every possible visitor, you’ll end up with a maintenance nightmare and no clear results. - Personalizing based on sketchy, unreliable data. If your segments are wrong, your messaging will be too.
Ignore: - “Dynamic everything.” Just because you can personalize a button for someone who visited your site from Cleveland on a Tuesday doesn’t mean you should.
Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Don’t Chase Shiny Objects
Personalizing your CTA buttons with RightMessage is one of those small wins that adds up over time. But don’t get lost chasing micro-optimizations or wild “AI-powered” promises. Start with a single, clear segment and button change. Watch what happens. Adjust if it works; scrap it if it doesn’t.
Keep things focused, test live, and remember: nobody cares about your buttons as much as you do. Make it easy for the right people to take the action you want—and move on to the next improvement.