The homepage that you have created for your company is the most important tool that you have to get more leads to check out your website.  With HubSpot recently reporting that over ¾ of people in the United States conduct product searches online, it’s imperative that you optimize your homepage to the point that those who visit it will be able to decide whether or not its worth staying on within a matter of seconds.  So how can you get more leads to stay on your homepage and check you out after only a matter of seconds?

If you’re wondering how well your homepage is stacking up, here are a few questions that you should be asking yourself:

Does your Homepage have a Clear Statement?

Here’s a scary stat for all inbound marketing companies out there:  Microsoft has released data that proves that you only have a maximum of 10 seconds to make a good impression on a visitor.  In those first 10 seconds you have to try to convince your visitor that you’re the page they want and that they shouldn’t be clicking on the “back” button.

We go into greater detail in our Ebook “Website Redesign 101”, but the best way to get people to stay on your page is to reassure them that they’ve come to the right place.  Make sure that your page features large, bold text that explains the purpose of your business and how you can solve your visitors’ pain points.

Be Different

Another way to really capture the attention of visitors is to tell them that they “aren’t like the other guys”.  Tell your story in a unique or remarkable way.  Tell them how you do things differently, and why you’re better.

Use Great Images

A “ThinkVitamin” study released two years ago stated that the use of pictures featuring people can more then double conversion rates of homepages with other types of images.  This still proves to be true today, and the reasoning behind it makes sense:  Wouldn’t you trust and relate to a webpage that features the picture of a person who works for the business over a picture of, say, a unicorn?

If you want to get more leads, then you have to create an emotional connection with your company within those first 10 seconds.  You want them to trust you. Without that, you’ll have a hard time converting them.

Validate Their Trust

Remember that people are pretty skeptical when it comes to dealing with companies, especially if they find you online and haven’t heard of you before.  One of the best ways to both get more leads to trust you and to keep their trust is to have a testimonial or more on your homepage from another customer.  If you feature one testimonial on your homepage, be sure to offer a link for them to find more testimonials for them to read.

Customize your Content

Once you have people interested enough to stick around for a few seconds, make sure that the content that you’re offering is personalized.  Take Netflix, for example.  Now when you hop onto Netflix you can see that they not only provide you with a list of all of your recently viewed videos, but they will actually personalize and tailor categories and videos to your personal tastes.

Of course, that kind of personalization can be pretty difficult for a small business. But if you provide a link to something – a quiz or a survey, for example – that will allow for them to receive a more personalized email or web page from you, they’ll be more likely to stick around and stick with your company.

Be Easy to Share

The use of social media buttons will go a long way in helping bring more awareness to your brand.  Add those “share” buttons to all pages of your inbound marketing campaign, whether it be on your homepage, blog pages, landing pages or email marketing campaign emails.

Be Mobile-Friendly

Last but not least, in a world where mobile phones and smartphones are becoming increasingly popular, you want to make sure that your homepage is mobile friendly.  50% of cell phone users in the USA have smartphones (Nielsen, 2012), with an estimated 81% of people having a smartphone by 2015 (Goldman Sachs, 2011). More and more people are using smartphones to help them with both making purchase decisions, and completing purchases online.

Key Takeaways:

Your homepage is the hub where you’ll be converting the most visitors into leads, so you have to make sure that it is properly optimized.  To do so, you need to:

  • Provide a clear statement
  • Tell them why you’re different and better
  • Use great images and testimonials to help build up their trust
  • Tailor your content to suit their needsOffer social media “share” buttons on all pages
  • Be mobile and smartphone friendly

Need Help?

If you’re interested in generating more leads from your website, contact us today to schedule your free marketing analysis.

Photo courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net