What’s the average amount of time a person spends on a page on the Internet? Take a guess.
…
54 seconds (Contentsquare’s 2021 Benchmark Report).
Basically, that means you have less than one minute to convince visitors that they should stick around for a while instead of simply heading elsewhere. For this reason, it’s important that on your homepage (typically the page a person lands on first), you include some of your best stuff.
Below are five items that, if not currently on your homepage, I recommend you move there. These will give your homepage the “oomph” it needs to get visitors from the homepage … to the contact page.
Homepage Must-Have #1: What you do, who you do it for, and why.
My biggest website pet peeve of all time? Arriving at a website and having to figure out what its purpose is. Don’t make your visitors think. Tell them right away (i.e. at the top of your homepage) what you do, who you do it for, and why you do it. For example: “I create compelling, magnetic websites for business owners so they can forget about the tech stuff and go out and change the world.” 😉
Homepage Must-Have #2: Your promotional video.
If you’ve got a video that tells visitors your story and what you stand for as a business, bravo! You’ve got yourself one of the most valuable marketing assets a business can have. And now, make sure that video isn’t buried somewhere on your About Us page. Put it on the homepage where it belongs. PS: It’s OK to have your video in multiple places. You don’t want it to get missed.
Homepage Must-Have #3: Raving testimonials.
Got reviews? Feature them on your homepage with photos of the quoted if possible (just ask for permission, most people will say sure). It makes them more real. And include a link to your Google page for users who want to read more.
Don’t have reviews? Create a Google Business page (free) and start asking for them right away, from every (happy) client. It will boost your credibility AND your search engine ranking at the same time.
Homepage Must-Have #4: A photo of you, the business owner(s).
Many business owners don’t put a photo of themselves on the homepage for fear of being too “me! me! me!” about things. In reality, people WANT to see your face and learn about who you are. Even if you make it small, include a photo of yourself with a preview of your bio/about text with a link to keep reading.
Homepage Must-Have #5: Post(s) from your blog.
If you are investing the time and energy into blogging regularly, it’ll be worth putting either your latest or most popular posts on the homepage to get more eyeballs on them. Also, the word “blog” can come across as a bit boring, so here are 50 alternate ideas. I just changed mine to “Inspiration” instead!
Looking for more?
If you’re in “improve my website” mode, here are some other quick-read posts from Janelle (that’s me!) at Ellanyze that you might enjoy:
3 Things You Can Do RIGHT NOW to Improve Your Website’s SEO
Movement in Web Design: These 3 Effects Will “Fancify” Your Website
