Your homepage is the new shopfront. Even customers that walk through your physical door (if your business has one) have probably checked you out online first.

But is your homepage working as hard as it should for your business? These seven tips can help you optimise what may well be the most valuable real estate you occupy.

1. Limit your text

People are busy, attention spans are short, the one thing your homepage does not need is lots of text. But being minimal with words isn't always as easy as it seems, as every word needs to work hard to get your key messages across.

About 300 words is the sweet spot to tick the search engine optimisation (SEO) boxes that Google requires while still holding the attention of your reader.

2. Incorporate SEO keywords

As difficult as it can sometimes be, it’s important to make sure that your homepage features all of your SEO keywords to boost your site’s ranking in Google searches.

But incorporating your keywords can’t seem forced (known as keyword stuffing), the content still needs to be coherent and captivating.

3. Tell your brand story

Aside from communicating the key offering of your business (for example, copywriting, or insurance, or financial advice), your homepage isn’t the place to go into detail about the specifics of what your business does or who works there (save that for the About Us or Services page).

Instead, give your reader a sense of what your brand stands for. Are you all about having industry-leading expertise, the best customer service, the quickest turnaround times? Whatever your key brand value, your readers should understand it from your homepage, without having to click any further.

4. Focus on your audience

What your reader really wants to know is what’s in it for them, so focus on the benefits of doing business with you, not on the features you offer. This can be a subtle, but important, shift in language.

Testimonials that provide a proof point of how you’ve helped other businesses can also be a great asset to your homepage, as they help prospective customers truly understand the benefits of working with you.

5. Add calls to action

Getting people to your website is a win, but what then? Once they’ve arrived you need to lead them further down the sales funnel. Do this by incorporating calls to action (CTAs), which point people to other places on your website you’d like them to visit, or direct them to take an action.

Besides your site menu, your homepage should also feature at least three calls to action in the form of buttons or hyperlinked words that direct your customers. Think CTAs such as ‘read more’, ‘learn more’, ‘subscribe’ or ‘contact us’.

6. Consider a lead magnet

In order to strengthen your relationship with a prospective customer right from the get-go, you could consider having a pop-up on your homepage offering to give your visitor access to something valuable (a lead magnet, sometimes also called a bribe-to-subscribe) in return for their email address.

Pop-ups can be a bit divisive, so if you'd rather not go there you can always feature your lead magnet CTA in a banner instead.

7. Seek expert help

If you’d like help in planning and creating a winning homepage for your business, you can contact me for a free, no-obligation discussion of your needs, email me at michelle@michellebowes.com.au or call me on 0418243711 to learn how my expertise and experience can help your business.