Your homepage content shows visitors everything they need to know about your business and why they should choose you. Eventually, every website visitor will make their way to your homepage. That said, it can’t just be thrown together. We’re going to reveal eight of the best-kept secrets to a successful homepage.
Quick Links:
Hero Message, Headline & Image
You can have the most creative design for your website homepage, but if your visitors don’t understand your business within seconds of entering the site, you’re going to lose them. So, how do you keep their attention? With a hero message, headline, and image.
Instead of loading your homepage with a bunch of text, focus on creating an engaging and concise hero message, headline, and image. If done correctly, your visitors will understand what you offer and continue through the buyer’s journey.
For the headline, make sure it’s clear, simple, and summarizes your business. For example, Dropbox’s headline says, “Everything you need for work, all in one place.” It gives you an idea of what the website offers, without too much text. Also, the hero image should assist by providing a visual explanation of what your business offers. If the image isn’t related to your business, don’t use it.
Value Proposition
Your value proposition is your statement that tells visitors why they should choose you. It should clearly communicate the benefits they’ll receive by selecting your product or service. Every value proposition statement should connect to the customer’s problem, showing them how you can provide the solution.
Though you should highlight what makes your business stand out among the rest, your real focus should be on how you provide value to customers. To help clarify your value proposition, on a piece of paper, explore these questions:
- What are the benefits of your product/service?
- Which customers is your product/service going to serve?
- What needs are going to be met?
- What price will provide value for customers?
Once you answer these questions, you’ll have a clear understanding of the areas you should focus on in your value proposition statement.
Show You Can Help Them
After reading your hero message and value proposition, your visitors will have a well-rounded idea of whether or not your product/service can help them. But your homepage content is not completed yet. They’ll most likely need more information to guide them through the buyer’s journey. For this, you can show them who your product/service can help. For example:
- Does your product/service help companies of their size?
- In their industry?
- In their position?
After going through your website homepage, if a potential customer sees your business can help them, then they’ll continue through the buyer’s journey. This part of your homepage content should be visible and straightforward.
Explain the Problem You Solve: Benefits
When it comes to what to put on the homepage of your website, it’s crucial you focus on showing potential customers what problems your product or service solve. Your homepage content should let the visitor know exactly how your product or service will help them. Naturally, you can create a benefit-driven headline, but your homepage content should go into depth by explaining the benefits.
For example, does your product/service help improve workflow productivity? Can it increase communication among team members? Reduce email overload in the workplace?
However, don’t make the mistake of simply listing out benefits. Instead, use your website homepage to highlight your customer’s biggest pain points and tell them how your business can solve them.
Knowing how to explain the problem you solve without being too wordy or pushy is an art. A marketing network can help you fine-tune the message you want to send across to customers to help push them through the buyer’s journey.
How You Do It Better: Features
It’s safe to say, regardless of the industry you’re in, you’re going to have fierce competition. Your homepage content should show visitors why you’re different from the rest. Potential customers need to see that by choosing you, they’re making the right decision.
Saying you have the best team or use the most advanced technology is fine, but it’s not enough. All companies can say that, so you need to take it a step further. Be specific with what makes you better than your competitors.
For example, discuss your team’s experience or show visitors how your product or service provides results. This part should be short but packs a punch. You want to provide them with the chance to learn more about your company.
Give Evidence it Works
Potential customers want to know they’re not throwing money into the wind. This is where you show them evidence of your product or service’s effectiveness.
1. Social Proof
Your product or service could be the best in the world, but unless other people need to support that claim, or else it won’t be seen as true. Social proof indicates trustworthiness among potential customers. It can be case studies, partnerships, positive statistics, press mentions, etc.
2. Testimonials
Testimonials are an amazing way to provide evidence that your product or service works. Adding a few testimonials from previous customers or having product/service ratings on your site can build trust among potential customers.
3. Success Indicators
Aside from social proof and testimonials, success indicators are another way to exemplify trust and effectiveness. Any awards, trust badges, honors, or certifications your company should include your homepage content.
Strong Call to Action
You’ve included the benefits, provided evidence, and have a strong hero message—what else do you need? The goal of any website homepage is to turn visitors into conversions, so it’ll need strong calls to action.
Your call-to-action (CTA) buttons should be visually striking and strategically placed throughout your homepage. CTAs will encourage visitors to make their way through the buyer’s journey.
The call-to-action buttons will take visitors to another page for more information, doing the work for them. So, it’s crucial your CTAs will take them to the right pages, providing them with the information they need to make a purchasing decision.
CTAs are action-oriented, usually saying, “Sign-up here,” “Learn more,” or “Try our free demo.”
Beyond Homepage Content
Creating engaging homepage content isn’t as easy as it looks. It can take weeks for your website content ideas to come together, creating a homepage that encapsulates your business and the value you provide. There are a few more components you need to be mindful of.
If you’re not sure how to take the next steps, a marketing network can help you create an engaging homepage. They have best in class digital marketing freelancers to maximise your success.
1. Logo
Your logo is the core of your business’ brand and identity. Therefore, it needs to be visible at the top of your website. Your logo represents your product or service, helping customers connect with your brand. The logo usually functions as a link to your homepage, so it’s important that it’s visible within the header.
2. Menu & Navigation
You want your visitors to have a smooth and effortless experience when navigating through your website. If not, they’ll simply leave. Your website should have clear and organized categories, so visitors don’t need to search for anything—everything they need will be achievable with one click.
The navigation menu should be easy to find and give the visitors an overview of the content. This is crucial as the proper navigation menu can reduce bounce rates.
3. Blog
A blog does more than just provide information for visitors. Aside from building industry credibility and humanizing your brand, it also increases your SEO performance.
Adding regular blog posts with effective keywords can bring in more targeted traffic. The best part of having a blog is that it’s a cost-effective inbound marketing method to increase traffic.
4. Keywords
Throughout your homepage content, you need to include keywords. You should focus on a group of keywords that naturally flow throughout your content. A common mistake made is using as many keywords as possible, shoving them into your content—this is known as keyword stuffing.
Avoid doing this, as it’ll create rigidness in your content. The best method is to sprinkle your keywords throughout your homepage to strengthen your overall SEO.
5. Footer
A crucial and overlooked part of your homepage content is the footer. It’s hands down as important as your header navigation. When your visitors reach the end of your homepage, your footer should provide them with three features: social media information, contact information, and links.
The contact information will encourage visitors to reach out to you. The links will persuade visitors to view interior pages, and the social media accounts will encourage them to engage with your media outlets.
6. Content Offers & Resources
To generate more leads and make yourself an authority in your industry, provide your visitors with content offers and resources. This can include ebooks, guides, or whitepapers. Most visitors aren’t ready to make an immediate purchase, so content offers and resources can help them learn more about your product or service.
Wrap Up
Creating a successful homepage is no easy task. There are many components to consider when developing a homepage that’s going to turn visitors into conversions. When creating homepage content, consider using a marketing network to help you generate a strategic plan for the best homepage content ideas for your brand.
