We try not to toot our horn too often, but when a client thanks us for opening their eyes to digital marketing strategies they never considered or understood before - digital marketing strategies that produced real results for their business - we can't help but share. 

In our first installment of the Digital Success Series, take a look at what Dan Earle, the Marketing Director at Career Point College had to say about the expertise of our CMG Local Solutions team in San Antonio. 

When you're trying to build conversions, one of the most important aspects of your digital marketing strategy may be the smallest: your call-to-action. You've brought your customers all the way down the funnel, and now they only have to push the button. But what message should your button send? Here's a call-to-action checklist to make sure your CTA helps your customers across the finish line.

Both inbound marketing and paid search are important components of any digital strategy, but where and how they intersect with one another isn't always so clear. Inbound sometimes seems to function as its own campaign, separate from other strategies, whereas paid search often serves as the fraternal twin of search engine optimization (SEO).

But in the digital sphere, individual campaigns always get a boost when partnered with other distinct campaigns as a form of cross-channel marketing. A successful pairing of digital tools can bring significant gains, both in terms of leads and conversions. Here's a quick rundown of what paid search has to offer inbound marketing.

Paid Search Guarantees Visibility

Inbound marketing requires an audience, which is achieved through a number of marketing channels. Social, SEO, email and, yes, paid search all have a hand in driving traffic that creates sales opportunities, according to Search Engine Watch. When you attach paid search to an inbound strategy, you guarantee exposure for the content you're publishing while giving it viable prospects to work with. Paid ads also give you the flexibility to choose the type of content displayed.

Digital advertising is a powerful, actionable way to get your brand and message in front of your target audience. You can get started with a solid knowledge of your customer, a few choice keywords and a little know-how. Tools such as Google AdWords allow you to easily launch a campaign and let it run on autopilot, but letting your plan roll out automatically is just one of many ways you can create problems for yourself. Here are three other deadly digital advertising mistakes to avoid if you want to make your campaigns effective.

Mistake 1: Failure to Set Goals and Budgets

Before you set up any campaign, you need to define your goals and allocate an appropriate budget. With keyword bidding, pay-per-click and buy-ins, you could soon find yourself overspending — especially if you've automated your process and aren't tracking your metrics.

If your goal is building brand awareness, then success will be measured by exposure and traffic. But if you're looking to reach customers closer to the purchase decision, conversions matter — and quality matters more than quantity. Having clear goals will help you determine where to advertise and how to measure your return on investment (ROI), so you can focus on strategies that are meeting your targets.

To be successful, banner ads must be designed to complement website copy, must feature related material and, most of all, should entice consumers to click on them. However, if you want a banner ad to get more than just clicks and actually lead to conversions, it must feature a clear call-to-action (CTA) that prompts the reader to do something. All without being too pushy.

Here are three essential elements to keep in mind as you create your perfect call-to-action.

1. Use Actionable Verbs That Are Related to Your Business

When looking at banner ads, consumers probably won't notice copy that simply restates sales copy or is solely image-focused. Similarly, CTAs that use familiar sales verbs ("buy now" or "click here," for example) will also be ignored. However, if you can craft a call-to-action with a verb that's unique to your business, consumers will be more interested. For instance, a flooring business that offers free estimates could use a CTA like "Estimate the cost for my new floor now," which is stronger and more effective than the similar "Request a quote now," as it deals directly with the service being sold and, therefore, is more likely to catch the eye of a reader who is thinking about replacing their flooring.

Creating a call-to-action (CTA) seems like a simple proposition. However, choosing the right verb is essential for increasing conversions. This list of 20 verbs is certainly not exhaustive, but marketers can use it as a starting place when crafting their perfect call-to-action.