First impressions are so critical and this goes for your website, as well. In fact, the average visitor to your website spends less than 15 seconds on your site. And the homepage is the most visited page on your website and one of the most important, so how do you ensure that you are drawing in your audience? From descriptive factors to consistent copy, we are covering 9 important factors that you can add to your homepage to increase conversions and improve the overall “feel” of your website.
9 Homepage Copy Strategies to Improve Conversions
1. Include Strong Calls To Action
You may feel as though you are doing everything right on your website, but if you don’t have strong calls to action that stand out, then you are missing a huge step in your sales funnel. Without a clear call to action, visitors won’t know what they need to do to get closer to becoming a client. When done well, a CTA can give visitors that extra push that they need to find out more about your business and hopefully turn into a client eventually.
What is staggering is that 70% of small businesses lack a call to action on their website, so make sure your firm is not a part of that number. When it comes to creating a CTA that works, here are some best practices to keep in mind:
- Make sure your CTA is straightforward
- It should stress the benefits to the user
- It needs to be eye-catching so the visitor is compelled to take action
- Place it in an easy to find location
- Use action-oriented using verbs such as “download” or “register”
- It should be large enough to see but not distracting
In the below image, from Twenty Over Ten client, ClientFirst Wealth Management, there are two clearly visible CTAs right on the homepage. The placement is crucial, as one is right on the hero image with the phrase, “Discover What We Offer,” while the other is static and once visitors schedule a call, they are taken to the Calendly page where they can easily book a meeting. They stand out clearly against the background and are straightforward, which is exactly what a strong CTA should be like.
2. Clearly Articulate Your Niche
The financial industry is growing rapidly, so narrowing down your services to serve a specific niche is so important for driving leads and prospects. Serving a niche creates more value for your marketing dollar and gives you more quality leads. With the growing digital landscape, people are going to be looking for an advisor that fits their specific needs rather than broader services. So, if you cater to a specific audience, make sure this is clearly articulated on your homepage.
Twenty Over Ten client, C.L. Sheldon & Company provide fee-only financial planning and wealth management to active and retired military members. This is evident right on the homepage based on not only the website copy but the hero image that they have used.
3. Clearly Explain Your Product or Service
What services do you offer? If someone lands on your homepage with something specific in mind, then you want them to immediately know what your services are so that they will stay on it and find out more. Make sure that you have incorporated this into your header or sub-header right on the hero image so that prospects don’t leave because they can’t figure out what you do.
4. Make Sure Your Copy Is Consistent
Consistency is key, both in terms of relaying your unique message to visitors while also maintaining brand standards. Maintaining this type of feel on your website shows that you are organized and will deliver your goals. When creating your homepage copy, some key points to remember are
- Use a consistent design style or template to keep everything connect and flowing well
- Use copy that repeats the same core message
- Use copy so that visitors can easily understand your products and services
You don’t want your website to jump around and make it harder for your readers to stay on track, as this would not look good for how you work at your firm.
5. Make Sure Your UVP (Unique Value Proposition) is Clear
How do you differentiate yourself from others that offer the same service or product? In a world full of competitors, you need to determine and showcase exactly what you do in order to set yourself apart. Make sure you are telling people exactly what makes you different right on the homepage so that they understand it and don’t bounce from your site. Four steps to do this are:
- Survey the competitive landscape
- Clearly identify your target market
- Identify your firm’s benefits
- Write it down
6. Include Social Proof If Relevant
Social proof is an incredible part of your site, especially In this day and age where the internet is so overcrowded. If you can show others that you are a reliable and trustworthy source, then this will be so important in showing that you a firm that your audience will want to work with. In the image below, Kyle Moore, CFP®, founder of Quarry Hill Advisors included the publications that have mentioned the firm on their website.
By including this on your homepage, you can help your site to rank higher in the future, as visitors will see that these large publications found your firm credible enough to link back to their website. You only have to scroll down a little bit to see these publications and awards, so before prospects check out the rest of the site, they will already know that they are an established firm thanks to the social proof.
7. Use Appropriate Headers
You want your homepage copy to be streamlined and easily digestible and headers help with this. They tell the search engines what your website is about, and these search engines recognize keywords in your header tags and rank them as more important than the rest of your copy. As we’ve mentioned, you don’t have a lot of time to draw in your audience, and headers make content more digestible and easy to read.
Twenty Over Ten client, SkyWealth Alternatives, Inc. has included headers on their website that easily breaks each section into different parts so that their audience can easily scan and find out what each section entails.
8. Include Relevant Keywords
Keywords are essential to bringing traffic to your website and marketing your advisor firm. When you include them in your website, it quickly and easily boost your SEO rankings, as not only does it help search engines to crawl your website better but it tells visitors exactly what you do, which will help them to stay on your website longer. Twenty Over Ten client, Freedom Capital Management has included keywords that clearly stand out on their homepage, and tell search engines and visitors what they do, which is to help airline pilots and other professional to retire with financial peace of mind.
9. Use Strong Imagery
When it comes to your advisor website, images matter because you want them to capture the attention of your audience. And according to Research at 3M Corporation, they found that we process visuals 60,000 times faster than text. So, for this matter make sure that you are including hero images and other important images on your homepage that not only contributes to the message of your firm but also catches the eye of your visitors.
Based out of Knoxville, Tennessee Provident Wealth, LLC has used the beautiful scenery that is specific to the Great Smoky Mountains, which is incredibly eye-catching and serene, prompting visitors to stay on their website for longer.
That’s a Wrap
So, does your advisor website homepage have what it takes? As we mentioned, first impressions are so important and what your visitors see in the first few seconds are crucial. The 9 strategies above will entice your leads to stay longer and see even more about what your firm does and how they serve their clients, so make sure that your homepage has what it takes and watch your conversions soar.
Related: What Should Financial Advisors Post on Social Media?