Every website has a homepage. Yet what makes one website amazingly more powerful and successful than another?
While design plays a small role in the grand scheme of things…
The strategy you apply behind this critical webpage will make a world of difference for your online success.
One of the areas that I look out for when it comes to website copywriting is the business strategy behind the site. Unfortunately, too many small business owners, in their attempt to build an online presence fast… they skip a critical and important step.
Their Web Strategy.
So instead of a well-thought out online business system… you find yourself on a page which doesn’t tell you anything. It’s messy, it’s disturbing, and it affects sales.
From my experience talking to and advising business owners, I discovered that most of them were simply trying to jump onto the bandwagon and hope to get some residual sales from the internet.
It’s not their fault really…
Most of them came from time where you business was all about location. Get yourself a good location and customers will start pouring in. Then as the business grows, they started receiving more and more referrals. This in turn helps them scale up operation and slowly grow their team. Then they expand their business and repeat the process all over again.
Nothing wrong with this model… except you don’t have full control of your customer acquisition process. And this in turn will affect your sales funnel strategy. (Which you should already have one thought out)
But instead of focusing on the entire internet marketing framework and strategy, I’m going to focus today on the single most important page for your website…
Why Your Homepage is the Main Cornerstone for Your Online Success
Think of your favourite landmark. It could be a park or a mall or even your neighbourhood.
Because you are so familiar with this landmark, you know the layout, its unique features and specialties much better than anyone else. Why, you could blindfold yourself and you’ll be able to walk around perfectly fine. (Alright, I may be exaggerating this but you get the point)
The problem is… your friends may not know the layout as well as you. They find themselves lost.
So the best option for them is to find a directory or a map.
From there, they can search for their destination and plot the best route there.
(See where I’m going with this?)
Now instead of your landmark, think about your website. You know the in and out of your website. (At least I hope you do)
But your audience don’t know it as well as you do.
Depending on how they actually landed on your site, your homepage is usually going to be the first or second page they visit. Followed by your about page.
They’re looking for directions and want to know if they’re in the right place. If your “directory” is confusing and doesn’t solve their immediate problem… they’re going to leave. And that’s a big No-No for your business.
This is why you’ll find many business owners willing to invest huge sum of money to develop a strong homepage for their businesses. They know how important this one page holds for their long term success.
So if you’re currently planning your homepage and need some marketing inspiration, I’m going to share with you 2 main strategies for you to consider…
Uncovering the True Purpose of Homepages and the Content to Write About
The first thing you have to think about is your traffic source.
Strange isn’t it that writing your homepage depends so heavily on your traffic source?
Well the truth is… when it comes to online marketing strategies, you always need to think about how you’re getting your traffic and where they’re coming from.
In fact that will determine which of the following 2 homepage models you should be using for your business.
1. The Shop Front
If you’re actively advertising through any of the different mediums, this first model will work well. Your goal here is to create a webpage that helps your reader confirm within a matter seconds that they’re on the right page.
Some businesses use a one-page website. (You know those where you click on a link and all it does is bring further down to a section on that page, it doesn’t bring you to a different URL)
Most would have a standard design where it starts with an image, some content about your business and most importantly, your key services.
Your goal is to direct them as quickly as possible to your sales pages and explain what your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is.
Picture a retail store, the products you display in the window will help someone walking past decide whether to step into your shop or not. Likewise, your homepage needs to do the same thing. They have to decide that your website is the right one to solve a problem for them.
2. The Traffic Generator
If you don’t already have a traffic strategy in place, then your website is going to be slightly different. Your first priority is to generate traffic.
My guess is you’re just starting out on the internet and you don’t want to burst a hole in your wallet testing different mediums finding the best source of quality traffic. In such instances, you may want to consider search engine optimisation for your business.
Your homepage will have to bring in local SEO strategies to rank on the search engine for your targeted keyword or phrase. Naturally, your content has to be properly crafted as it is playing both the roles of traffic and conversion.
The page needs good structure and layout as well since the search engines do like structured data to help them understand what your page and website is about.
Which of the Homepage Writing Strategies Should You Use?
While there are many different designs and styles of homepages…
Generally, most websites will use either one of the 2 models I mentioned above. To reap maximum results, you should combine both strategies together to win at both the long and short-term online customer game.
At the end of the day, if you want an online system that will increase sales for your business, you really should invest some time and resources building it up.
To get started… think about your best customer… what challenges are you solving for this customer?
Then think about how your homepage can help this customer find the right page or answer to solve that perplexing challenge.
