How to capture more clients on your Website's Homepage
Your homepage needs to make the right first impression of your business. Every time a new person lands on your website homepage, your business goes through a "job interview".
Your audience will be critiquing what they see, and they will be forming an opinion of you and determining if it’s worth going on to other pages of your website.
Your homepage is also the most visited page on your website, with that in mind here are some essential do’s & don’ts to consider:
❌ Don’t make your homepage too busy
Image and text ‘overload’ may mean your website audience may get overwhelmed or distracted and therefore will not fully consume the contents on your homepage. Your homepage needs ‘breathing’ space, so avoid cramming too much of information in a small space.
There needs to be a balance of images, space, and text. If your website was designed more than 2-3 years ago - you need to consider refreshing some content to make it look more modern and clean. If you have an outdated website - make sure you fill in the form and get me to critique your site & provide you with advice.
❌ Don’t simply rely on text with no images
There needs to be at least one image that resembles the ‘FACE’ of your brand and business. Having a photo of you or your team will enable your audience to start to get familiar with your brand. Remember that people generally like to do business with other people. Therefore your homepage should communicate the right message to your audience - that you are a real, professional, friendly and credible coach.
❌ DOn’t neglect the top of your homepage
How your homepage looks ‘above the fold’ is highly important. ‘Above the fold’ is the first ‘top’ section of your homepage, which is visible to the viewer without scrolling down. It’s important to get this section right because your audience will form an opinion of you within around 5 seconds of landing on your homepage.
Remember your audience will be looking to see if you are worth getting to know further and doing business with. So to ensure the ‘above the fold’ section is making the right impression - make sure to include a clear image (“hero image”), which represents your brand, along with a clear and effective heading & subheading. Use words and phrases that describe your brand and explain how you help your audience and clients. Follow with a clear call to action (i.e. a button).
If you want to see how a good above the fold section looks like - just check out some of my Fitness Website Templates!👌
❌ Don’t be scared to make your homepage too long
People LOVE scrolling - especially if they are scrolling engaging and interesting information (think about your Facebook and Instagram feeds). Think of your homepage as a mini sales page of your entire website!
If you have a lot of content on your website - this is the perfect opportunity to give your viewers a glimpse into the content you offer on your entire website.
Don’t make your audience have to go through every single different page on your website in order to find the information they are in search of.
There should be a small About fragment (section), Services section, Testimonials and/or Results section and of course, a contact form on your homepage - all linking to the relevant pages of your website. Of course, there should be at least 1 call to action!
✅ make your Homepage very informative
Put in as much effort as possible into making your homepage visually striking and informative, since this WILL be the most visited page of your website. People will typically spend the most amount of time there, as opposed to your other pages. So you want to present your viewers with plenty of opportunities to stay on your website.
✅ Make it very easy for people to get in touch
Remember - the fewer clicks - the better when it comes to your audience finding what they need and enquiring with you. If you want your website viewers to enquire or sign up with you - don’t make them have to go to a different page. Include a sign-up form directly on your Homepage.
If your ‘main goal’ is for them to download your free ‘lead-magnet’ then make sure you put this at the top of your homepage and ensure you have a ‘pop-up’ form for this too.
✅ Use keywords that are associated with your niche
Use keywords (that are associated with your niche) within your copywriting, your headings and subheadings of your homepage. This is another reason why your homepage should be thorough. If the headings you use across your website (H1) are descriptive and location-based - Search Engines like Google will pick up on this, which is highly valuable!
Therefore when someone is searching for a local business like yours (providing you are one) - there is a very high chance your website will come up in search results. Dear engines pick up H1 H2 H3 headings and ‘read’ these above all other paragraph text. So the ‘juicier’ you make these - the better.
A great free research tool for keywords is Keywordseverywhere.com. This is a Chrome/Firefox extension. It helps with the process of finding the exact keywords your audience is looking for.
✅ Give your audience a reason to like you & trust you
Have a ‘Free Lead Magnet’ on your homepage. This can be anything from a free consultation - to a free PDF guide. You need to give your website visitor a reason to like and trust you. And giving away something of value for free (in exchange for their email address /details) is a great way to start forming that relationship with your audience.
There are 7 things that your lead magnet should do:
1. Solve a problem
2. Be of high Value
3. Show your expertise
4. Be very specific
5. Be instantly accessible
6. Be easy to understand