Do CTAs, contact forms, and manipulative nudges still work?
Hey button-bashers—
We’ve all been told that CTAs are the lifeblood of digital marketing.
Add a big red button.
Put “Buy now” everywhere.
Make the form impossible to ignore. But are people still falling for it? Or have we clicked so many “Download the free guide” buttons that our eyes skim over them like potholes on an old road?
The uncomfortable answer: yes, CTAs and manipulative design still generate results. Not because users are gullible, but because human psychology hasn’t evolved as fast as the web.
Why CTAs still work (and the numbers behind it)
- Conversion rates: HubSpot’s 2023 benchmark report shows that landing pages with a clear, visible CTA convert 202% more often than those without. Even minimal friction—like hiding the button—kills momentum.
- Email campaigns: Campaign Monitor (2022) found that adding a single, well-placed CTA button in an email increased click-through rates by 371% compared to text-only links.
- Color and clarity: Nielsen Norman Group’s UX studies show that users are still highly responsive to visual cues like contrast and size. “Buy Now” continues to outperform “Learn More” because clarity trumps creativity.
Manipulative tactics—scarcity timers, “only 2 seats left,” or fake urgency—aren’t dead either.
A Baymard Institute meta-analysis (2022) confirmed that scarcity cues improve e-commerce conversions by 5–15%on average.
That’s not a marginal gain—that’s millions in revenue at scale.Who profits the most
Direct-response marketers treat every click as money in the bank. For them, CTAs are oxygen—the lifeline that keeps campaigns alive and measurable. SaaS and subscription businesses lean on them too: auto-renewals, free trials, and frictionless signups mean that even a small increase in conversion cascades into recurring revenue. Think Netflix, Spotify, or Adobe locking users into monthly payments. And of course, the platforms themselves take a cut. Google and Meta reward ads with higher click-through rates, so CTAs aren’t just a tactic—they’re fuel for algorithms.
Meanwhile, the consumer profits the least. At best, they buy something they wanted anyway. At worst, they wake up paying for another subscription they forgot to cancel. At best, they buy something they wanted anyway. At worst, they wake up paying for another subscription they forgot to cancel.Who profits the most
Direct-response marketers treat every click as money in the bank. For them, CTAs are oxygen—the lifeline that keeps campaigns alive and measurable. SaaS and subscription businesses lean on them too: auto-renewals, free trials, and frictionless signups mean that even a small increase in conversion cascades into recurring revenue. Think Netflix, Spotify, or Adobe locking users into monthly payments. And of course, the platforms themselves take a cut. Google and Meta reward ads with higher click-through rates, so CTAs aren’t just a tactic—they’re fuel for algorithms.
Meanwhile, the consumer profits the least. At best, they buy something they wanted anyway. At worst, they wake up paying for another subscription they forgot to cancel. At best, they buy something they wanted anyway. At worst, they wake up paying for another subscription they forgot to cancel.
Who profits the most
Direct-response marketers treat every click as money in the bank.
For them, CTAs are oxygen—the lifeline that keeps campaigns alive and measurable.
SaaS and subscription businesses lean on them too: auto-renewals, free trials, and frictionless signups mean that even a small increase in conversion cascades into recurring revenue.
Think Netflix, Spotify, or Adobe locking users into monthly payments. And of course, the platforms themselves take a cut. Google and Meta reward ads with higher click-through rates, so CTAs aren’t just a tactic—they’re fuel for algorithms.
Meanwhile, the consumer profits the least.
At best, they buy something they wanted anyway. At worst, they wake up paying for another subscription they forgot to cancel.
Why they still work in 2024
It isn’t rocket science: CTAs keep working because they tap into habits we can’t shake.
People scroll fast, think less, and default to the easiest action. The smoother the path, the more likely we are to take it. Platforms have trained us to live by buttons—like, follow, subscribe—and the rhythm of clicking feels natural.
In other words, people are on cognitive autopilot:in the infinite scroll luna park, we skim and click without much thought, and the easiest option usually wins. That’s where friction economics kicks in—strip away steps and doubts, and conversion rates climb.
Amazon’s one-click purchase isn’t just convenience; it’s a weaponized CTA.
Over time, this behavior has been normalized. Every interaction on social media is itself a CTA, conditioning us to act on prompts without hesitation.
And clarity always beats novelty:“Buy Now” or “Get Started” consistently outperforms the fluffy metaphors. Data from Unbounce shows that these blunt imperatives outperform phrases like “Explore Your Journey” by 30–50%.
The lesson? We’re wired to respond to simple cues, even when we think we’ve outgrown them.
The cracks in the system
But here’s the catch: they work less reliably than before.
- Banner blindness → button blindness: As early as 2019, studies showed users subconsciously filtering out design elements that look like ads or CTAs.
- Ad fatigue: Click-through rates for display ads have fallen to 0.35% globally (Statista, 2023). Users see CTAs as noise.
- Legal risk: Dark patterns are under fire. The EU’s Digital Services Act (2024) and California’s CPRA explicitly ban manipulative consent flows and “roach motel” subscription traps.
- Generational skepticism: Gen Z, raised on ads, is less responsive to “Sign up now” funnels. Surveys by Deloitte show they value authenticity over urgency, and trust peer reviews more than buttons.
Let’s not forget the math.
If an e-commerce store gets 100,000 monthly visits and a CTA tweak raises conversion by 2%, that’s 2,000 more sales. At an average order value of €60, that’s €120,000 in extra monthly revenue—from one button change.
Multiply that across industries and you see why CTAs remain central despite fatigue.
But it’s also why manipulation persists. A fake scarcity banner might be legally risky, but if it increases quarterly revenue by 8%, many businesses roll the dice.
Here’s the line worth drawing: persuasion respects agency, manipulation erodes it. A clear CTA—“Book your call now”—is not inherently unethical. A hidden auto-renewal, a countdown timer that resets every hour, or a form that makes cancellation impossible?
That’s manipulation.
Both still “work,” but one builds trust, the other burns it.
The bigger lesson
The future isn’t buttonless.
The future is honest buttons. CTAs will remain necessary—humans need cues to act. But the way they’re used will decide whether brands are remembered for trust or for trickery.
So yes, CTAs and nudges still drive clicks in 2025. But the businesses that last will be those who use them transparently, not those who weaponize them until the law—or the audience—strikes back.
Until next time, stay discerning.
Alex
At Kredo Marketing, we build growth strategies that work without trickery. Clear design, transparent funnels, real results.
