Marketing 101 – The ABCs of a Homepage

Christian HenningConsultant
I've been involved in Web Hosting since 1997 and love it. Cloud computing, marketing, sales, infrastructure are passions of mine.
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There’s a good reason for why it’s called a homepage – it closely resembles that of a physical house and the only real difference is that it’s online. Your website’s homepage is where people come to visit you. It’s the family room of your website where everyone meets.
What is a Homepage?
Before we dive into the marketing strategies involved with creating an effective homepage, it’s crucial that everyone understands what a homepage is. In essence, a homepage is the introductory, or default page, of a website that typically highlights the site’s table of contents.

There’s a good reason for why it’s called a homepage – it closely resembles that of a physical house and the only real difference is that it’s online. Think of it like this. Your website’s homepage is where people come to visit you. It’s the family room of your website where everyone meets to hang out, get comfortable, before they actually move further inside to see the remaining parts of the website.
 
Why is a Homepage Important?
Everyone who owns an ecommerce business understands that their website’s homepage is inevitably the most important page of the entire site.
 
Like they say, you never get a second chance to make a good first impression. Therefore, you want to ensure that your homepage is clean, tidy, and clutter-free so that visitors can easily navigate to see what your website is all about – similar to how you want to keep your house clean when having visitors.
 
The main goal of any ecommerce homepage is to make a great first impression. Reason being is that you want to turn your visitors into leads, and your leads into customers by driving them down your sales funnel.
 
Always Remember the ABCs of a Homepage
Since your website’s homepage receives most of your site’s traffic, it’s vital that your homepage is optimized to “Always Be Converting (ABC)” visitors into customers. If you’re failing to convert visitors into clients, it probably means that your homepage is missing some critical elements.

To help you achieve this never-ending feat, here are five helpful tips to elevate your homepage to the next level for maximum conversions:
 
  1. Headline:
  • Within 3-5 seconds, visitors should know exactly what your site is about, what it has to offer, and how you can help customers. Leave out the fluff and do your best to keep things clear and simple.
  1. Subheadline:
  • This section should state a brief summary of what you can offer and your competitive advantages. Don’t brag about yourself, avoid jargon by speaking the language of your target audience, and do your best to zero in on the problems of your customers and how you can help to alleviate their pain points.
  1. Call-to-Action (CTA):
  • Every homepage should have call-to-actions (CTAs) since the goal is to always turn your leads into customers by not only having them stay on your website longer but also to move them through your sales funnel. We recommend having a minimum of 3 CTAs above the fold to direct visitors to the different stages of the buying cycle.
  1. Eye Candy:
  • Make sure that you use images / videos to support your main points. Since most people are visual by nature, it helps to draw out their emotions so that they can connect with you better. Remember, the visual images must support what you have to offer, along with highlighting how you can help your visitors resolve their concerns.
  1. Copy / Content:
  • Ensure that the copy and content on your homepage highlights the benefits and competitive advantages of your business. Describe what you do, what you offer, how you can help, and make sure that your copy is lightweight, simple, and avoid jargon by speaking the language of your customers.

By following the guidelines listed above, ecommerce sites can improve their odds of converting visitors into customers. And since every business is dynamic, you must continually optimize your homepage as your business needs change.

Only then will you have a successfully dynamic homepage that truly engages your target audience to not only show them what your business is about, along with your competitive advantages but also how you’re able to help them troubleshoot their problems and improve their lives.
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Christian HenningConsultant
I've been involved in Web Hosting since 1997 and love it. Cloud computing, marketing, sales, infrastructure are passions of mine.

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