Attract your ideal client with the right website headline

Small Biz Tips

Aug 1

Having a beautiful website homepage isn’t enough to get a potential customer to stick around.

You have fleeting moments to convince them with your words to stay. That’s why a strong headline or business bio (also called a tagline) is so important.

What’s a headline? Very simply put, a headline is a short summary of what you do, or what your business offers, that gets straight to the point.

A headline should be short utilizing just one or two sentences, and include keywords that hit the sweet spots about your business and what kind of client you want to attract.

It should be front and center on the home page of your website, giving viewers the immediate understanding of what it is you do.

Why is a website headline or business bio important?

When a visitor navigates to your website and views your homepage, you have precious little time to convince them that they’re in the right place, and that your services are a good fit. You WANT them to stick around.

But research shows that you have an average of 8 seconds to convince them to stay… 8 seconds! We have incredibly short attention spans.

If you haven’t piqued their interest in that time, chances are they’re moving on to the next search result. And you likely won’t get a second chance to make a good first impression.

We human website browsers are very busy, and we don’t have a lot of time to dig through large amounts of text on a website to determine whether or not we’ve found what we’re looking for. The information must be clear, concise, and right up front.

That’s where the headline or business bio comes into play.

A well-written headline will immediately laser focus your business offering in a succinct manner, and increase the chance of the user sticking around to browse other important pages and information within your website.

How do I write a successful website headline?

There are a few things to consider when writing your headline, so here’s a great simple recipe to follow and keep you on track. The items don’t have to be in this order, but it’s important that the statement flow well.

And of course, don’t forget to add a strong Call-to-Action (CTA) after your headline in the form of a button or link, leading the visitor to the next thing you want them to do (ie. fill out a form, review your services, schedule an appointment).