Tips that will assist in your efforts to reach the right audience and keep them thanks to the content on your homepage
The key to how much content should be on your homepage is striking the balance between being succinct and to the point while also providing enough information to have your website be found. In other words, a lot of content helps rank keywords. But too much may push away potential visitors. Therefore, you should strive to be as direct as possible while providing as much content as necessary.
This battle can be difficult to win if you are not careful. Plus, there is no one answer that will fit all websites. But there are some general guidelines that will help you find the right balance to maximise the potential of your site.
300 Words Minimum
While there is no exact number of words that will work for everyone, having at least 300 will at least provide enough to inform audiences. The fewer number of words below 300 means that greater the risk that fewer people will find your site. Plus, you provide less information about your site which may turn away potential customers.
300 words is a good baseline. It should provide enough “meat” to inform potential visitors of what your site is all about. Plus, if you cannot come anywhere close to 300 words, it may mean that your site needs more research on your part.
1500 Words Minimum for Pushing a Competitive Keyword
It’s a big leap from 300 words to 1500. But if you have a competitive keyword in mind, then 1500 should be the goal. Getting your competitive keyword ranked requires good, meaty content that offers plenty of information. However, you want to avoid fluff to keep the information lean and readable.
Plus, and this is a mistake made by many website owners, you do not want to overstuff the keyword in the content. Maintain about a 2% to 5% ratio at the highest. Once you pass 5%, your content may be viewed as overstuffing the keyword and it will drop the ranking of your website. It is a balancing act and better to err on the side of being conservative at 2% or 3% while offering good, solid content on your homepage.
Now that you have a competitive keyword and want to meet the minimum standards for elevating your site on search results, the next step is to gear the content to capture and grow your audience.
Pursue Multiple Keywords
While your homepage should be built around a single competitive keyword, it is important to remember that others may be using the same keyword as well. If you put your eggs in one basket, you may find that your basket is not getting noticed. Therefore, you should include secondary keywords as well to help separate your site from the competition.
Find alternate keywords and sprinkle them into the content of your homepage. When you differentiate your content, it is more likely that your site will rank higher. You will need to carefully choose the other keywords, but it can be accomplished when you do the research.
Brevity is the Soul of Wit
This old saying still carries plenty of meaning, especially online. And while it may seem out of place when trying to push 1500 words on your homepage, there are ways to keep things simple and brief while still pushing a competitive keyword.
Break up your content into easily readable paragraphs. Put the most important information first so readers can quickly digest what your website is all about. A good tactic is to use the first two to three paragraphs to inform visitors what your site is about. Then the remaining paragraphs to provide more detailed information. By getting straight to the point, you will not only be appreciated you may earn new customers as a result.
Understand Your Audience
Knowing who your audience is becomes most of the battle in building up interest in your website. Remember that if you are trying to go after all audiences, you are pursuing no one. Instead, identify the type of audience that is most likely to view your content and craft your homepage to pursue them. This means understanding the use of language, terms, and focusing on the interests that your audience has not only for what you offer, but what they are interested in as well.
Audience types are generally separated by age, gender, and interests. So, when you write the content on your homepage, you should keep that in mind. Plus, by going after those who are most likely to enjoy your site, that effort may bring others along as well.
Keep Navigation Simple
The homepage is more than just the introduction to your site. It is the gateway for visitors to find pages relevant to their interest. If your website is only one page, then you have it easy. But the more pages your website has, the more difficult it will be for visitors to find what they want.
Make it easy for your audience to navigate to the pages that they want to visit. Bright, bold words for the menu makes it simple for visitors to find the different pages on your site. And while being repetitive can be detrimental in terms of content information, it can also be a blessing to repeat important navigational items on different parts of the homepage.
Backlinks
It may seem odd at first to put backlinks on the homepage, but they are quite effective in terms of helping your site rank higher. The key is to use backlinks judiciously, so they are noticed, but they do not overwhelm the reader. You will need to select authoritative sources for your backlinks to ensure they are most effective.
Be sure that the backlinks you use go to sources that are relevant to the content of your homepage. Otherwise, you might confuse readers along with search engines about what your homepage is all about.
Answer Questions
If you are still having difficulty shaping the content of your homepage, an easy way to correct this issue is to answer the questions your audience will have about your site.
- What is the purpose of your site?
- How does it benefit those who visit your site?
- What separates your site from the competition?
Answering these three questions alone will help create solid content for your homepage. It will answer the most basic questions and provide a roadmap to how the rest of the content will be formed.
Be Prominent with the Contact Information
Interaction with your audience is crucial for maintaining visitors. That is why your contact information should be easy to find. Most websites will have a page dedicated for contact information, so be sure it is highlighted in your menu.
If you are running a business that has walk-in customers, then your phone number and address should be prominently displayed on the homepage. Plus, have contact information links on every page of your website. It sounds simple enough, but you may be surprised how many people want to ask questions via email or chat.
Shaping the content of your homepage is a continual task. As your site changes, so too must you add, subtract, or do both with the homepage content. By updating the content on a regular basis, you can keep the homepage fresh and relevant. Plus, it will be reevaluated by search engines and ranked accordingly.