Make a Good Impression: How to Write Copy for a Home Page

Did you know that you only have between 10 and 20 seconds to grab your reader’s attention before they click off your homepage?

That’s right. Only 10 to 20 seconds.

That means you have to say what you need to say — fast! This may seem like an easy task when you consider it at face value, but when it’s something you’re super passionate about (like your business), it can actually be much harder.

Here are some tips to make writing your homepage a bit easier.

Do Your Keyword Research

Before you sit down to write, you need to know what you’re writing about. And I don’t mean what YOU want to say. I mean, what your audience wants to hear.

If you want people to end up on your page in the first place, you need to know how to get them there. That’s where keywords come in. Using the right ones will guide your preferred audience directly to you. fter all, who cares what your home page says if no one ever finds it?

If you have the budget, I would highly suggest hiring an SEO specialist for this, but don’t worry if your funds are a bit limited. There are plenty of free tools to help you with this step. Here are some of my favorites:

• WordStream’s free tool is incredibly user-friendly.

• If you want to get specific to your location, Moz Keyword Explorer is another really good option.

• Ahrefs has a decent keyword generator that allows you to check the difficulty and change your platform to see what people are searching for on YouTube, Bing, and Amazon.

• Although designed for Google Ads use, the Google Keyword Planner is another great free option.

Avoid Keyword Stuffing

As passionate as I am about including keywords, do not keyword stuff!

By this, I mean copy that reads like this: “the best soccer program in Delaware. Delaware’s best soccer program for youth in Delaware. The most competitive soccer program in Delaware that competes in Delaware.” … Honestly, what are you even trying to say? Don’t do that.

Not only does this read poorly, which is a huge turn off for readers, but it can also get you marked as spam and keep you off the search engine results pages that you want to be on.

Keep it Simple

Your homepage is not the place to go on and on about yourself. Instead, use it as an introduction to your product or service.

Rather than focusing on why you’re the best in the world, explain how your skills apply to your reader’s life. Once you’ve hooked them, you’ll have plenty of time to prove your authority.

My biggest advice here: Don’t use technical jargon! You might think it makes you look more knowledgeable, but for someone new to your industry, it’s going to confuse them.

Focus on the Benefits

While it’s important to explain what you do or offer, it’s also important to explain how it benefits your audience. When they can see themselves using your services to solve their problem, they are more likely to make the purchase.

Don’t be afraid to use examples or testimonials to show concrete examples of how other people have benefited from working with or purchasing from you.

Write Scannable Copy

As much as this pains me to say, as a writer and reader at heart, people aren’t reading your walls of text.

If you just wrote out your homepage and you’re staring at walls of text, look at them as just that: walls. Your readers are going to run into them and stop. No matter how badly they need your product or service, they aren’t going to get to that point.

Instead, break your text up. Make it scannable with smaller paragraphs or bullet points.

Embrace Headings and Subheadings

Headings and subheadings will go a long way in helping to break your copy down into scannable copy. They also help highlight important information, which may, in turn, make it easier for your readers to find exactly what they’re looking for.

In addition to helping your reader, search engine crawlers love when writers use headings and subheadings. Just like they make it easier for a human to scan, they make a crawler’s job easier, too.

Include Clear Calls to Action

Okay, so now that your homepage has convinced your audience that they need you, how can you convert them into paying customers or clients? With clear calls to action!

Be sure to put easy-to-see buttons throughout your homepage so that they know exactly how to take their next step.

Update Often

A homepage is not a set-it-and-forget-it thing. Just like the rest of your website, it should be a living, breathing thing.

I recommend doing a light upgrade of your copy or your graphics every 6 months. Heavier lifts, like full overhauls, should be done once every few years.

Bring in a Pro

Do you need to update your home page? Want to write a landing page for a new product? Not sure how you’re losing customers with your current copy? Schedule a free consultation with me! Whether you need a one-time copy strategy session or a full website overhaul, I can help you cut through the noise, showcase your work in the best light, and find the audience that you need.