12 Headline Tips to Draw Customers to Your Homepage — and Keep Them There

The headline on your company’s homepage is the first thing site visitors will see, so it needs to be engaging to capture their interest and keep them on the page. From making visitors laugh with a funny title to emphasizing the value you have to offer, there are many tips and tricks you can employ to draw in potential customers. To find the best ones, we asked 12 entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) this question:

“What is your best tip for writing a homepage headline that catches the customer’s eye and makes them want to stay on the page?”

Homepage Headline Tips

Here’s what YEC community members had to say:

1. State the Customer’s End Goal

“Start with the customer’s end goal, then use the rest of the content on your homepage (especially the space below the fold) to introduce a narrative that supports your business’s ability to help your customers reach their goals. People visit your website with specific needs in mind; to capture their attention, you must clearly show that you can provide a solution.” ~ Firas Kittaneh, Amerisleep

2. Hire an Experienced Copywriter

“If you want a well-written, attention-grabbing homepage, hire someone who is experienced at writing well-written web copy. Investing in a skilled copywriter is worth every penny: They will help you get your message across eloquently and effectively. If you want to keep your customers on your webpage for as long as possible, leave it in the hands of someone who knows how to do just that.” ~ Jared Brown, Hubstaff Talent

3. Avoid Generic and Subjective Descriptors

“Avoid generic and subjective descriptors like ‘best,’ ‘amazing,’ ‘service,’ ‘tool’ or ‘product.’ Put a stake in the ground and clearly describe your offering in a way that people can instantly connect to (or opt out entirely — this isn’t a bad thing!). People have actual pain points and want actual solutions, not some generic fix that may or may not work or be relevant to them.” ~ Roger Lee, Captain401

4. Use Humor

“I believe humor is a universal marketing tool that goes unused, but would do more to attract a customer than saying anything shocking or dramatic. With so much negativity, it’s good to have a homepage headline designed to make someone laugh and smile. They will want to read on to hopefully laugh again, and feel good about what they are reading and what you are offering.” ~ Murray Newlands, Sighted

5. Tell Them Where They Are

“One of the golden rules of homepage headlines is answering three questions going on in the mind of the visitor: ‘Where am I?’ ‘What can I do here?’ and ‘Why shouldn’t I go somewhere else?’ We often make the mistake of thinking our customers know as much as we do, and fail to answer simple questions that can significantly increase your conversion rates. Don’t get fancy: Make it clear to them where they are.” ~ Diego Orjuela, Cables & Sensors

6. Emphasize a Common Pain Point

“The best way to write a homepage headline that catches the customer’s eye and makes them want to stay on the page is to address the most common pain point shared by your customers. Conduct a customer survey and find out what obstacles, frustrations and pain points they are trying to solve by using your product or service. Analyze the feedback and extract the most common issue.” ~ Nick Chasinov, Teknicks

7. Showcase the Value You Offer

“When a homepage loads, the first copy should show the value a company offers. Everybody provides features, but what really resonates is the value you provide to your customers, such as saving time or saving money.” ~ Shalyn Dever, Chatter Buzz

8. Make It Short, Memorable and Easily Relayed

“You need to come up with one sentence that says exactly what you want your customers to say when they tell their friends about you. The simplicity and clarity of this description is what drives word of mouth, so really think about what you want people to say about you. Make that your headline.” ~ Erik Huberman, Hawke Media

9. Test Headlines Before They Hit the Homepage

“Successful email subject lines and ad titles can double as catchy homepage headlines. Before writing a homepage headline, test relentlessly through A/B testing of email and Google AdWords campaigns. Measure which headlines have the highest click-through rates, open rates and conversions. Those are the headlines you want on a homepage.” ~ Brett Farmiloe, Markitors

10. If You Confuse, You Lose

“We know from research that our web visitors make a judgement call on our homepage within the first three seconds. That’s why your headline should clearly state what your company does and why that matters. If you answer the question ‘What does my audience need to know, understand and believe in order for me to sell to them?’ in the headline, then you have gone a long way toward engaging them.” ~ Nick Friedman, College Hunks Hauling Junk

11. Answer a Popular Question Related to Your Niche

“I’ve actually done this before. After noticing that there was a huge amount of traffic directed to my personal website from Google, I investigated to see what the common theme was. I found out that people wanted to know ‘what is’ or ‘how to,’ and my page was one of the top search results. Don’t wait to put this information in an FAQ page. Get (and keep) them on the homepage.” ~ Cody McLain, SupportNinja

12. Promote Curiosity

“Many leading sites such as BuzzFeed have generated millions of visitors and interactions by creating enormous curiosity with their headlines. This works best when the reader knows at least a little bit about a topic and you use a headline that promotes curiosity. It leaves us feeling deprived if we don’t learn more, and that’s what gets people engaging, reading and clicking. Studies prove this!” ~ Alex Miller, Upgraded Points
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This article, "12 Headline Tips to Draw Customers to Your Homepage — and Keep Them There" was first published on Small Business Trends