When it comes to your website, first impressions matter.

It takes just 3 quick seconds (Yep, THREE SECONDS!), for a reader to decide whether they want to stay or bounce to a different site. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, confusion loses customers, so it’s crucial to clarify our message.

Header on Website: The Formula

Make sure that when visitors come to your site, they know that they are in the right place.

A good website headline tells visitors three things:

What you do
Who you work with
Why you’re unique

I’ll show you how to do just that and follow it up with 3 tips to help you make this headline even more impactful.

Have you ever visited a website and wondered if you were in the right place? I know I have, and it was not only confusing but felt disrespectful of my time, and led to me searching elsewhere.

We don’t want that, so, let’s get started writing our headline.

1) Clearly State What Your Business Does

This ought to be straightforward for most businesses. I build websites. You may make food, install hardwood flooring, or file taxes for people. If your “WHAT” is straightforward, congratulations! Feel free to move on to step 2. If you’re not sure, read on.

I’ve worked with businesses where the WHAT they do, is difficult to put into words because they do different things for different customers.

If you sell multiple products or services, think about what they have in common and what solution they solve.

You may have to spend some time working through the various components of what you do? Write it out long-form and then summarize it. Try to talk about the forest, not every tree. That can come later.

Take your 5-second elevator pitch and condense it into one short phrase. Simplify it.

Then simplify it again. We want the short overview version, but it should also encompass the essence of what your business does.

2) Identify your target customer

It’s important to focus on the customers that are most likely to want and need your services. Trying to target everyone will water down the message and when it comes to the header on your website, we can’t risk losing the reader’s attention right off the bat!

When a potential customer lands on our site, we want them to know right away that they’re in the right place. Respect your visitor’s time! Clarity is key, so being straight up about who you serve is helpful to your visitors.

Your target could be the location you serve (serving clients in the Northwest), an industry specification (commercial vs. residential), an identity (outdoor enthusiasts), and/or a market segment (for parents of children with autism). Being specific here is good.

You may serve a few different markets. For example, it’s important to let people know upfront if you do both personal and professional photography. This is still specific language rather than just saying “photography”, which could include commercial, product, landscape, pet photography, and everything else under the sun.

I’ll say it again - Targeting everyone, tends to resonate with no one!

So be clear about who or what you work with.

Take a moment and identify your target customer.

3) Call out Your Biggest Differentiating Factor

First off, what is a “differentiating factor”? In essence, it’s what you do better or differently than your competitors.

What makes you different?

This is a part that many people skip over when writing their header on their websites. Often referred to as your “differentiating factor” or your “unique selling point”, this is something that is a hallmark of your business and can’t be claimed by every other yahoo in your industry.

You may know that you do X better than anyone else, but it can be hard to explain exactly why. But this is so important because guess what? Your customer doesn’t know who is the best. They may have found you by referral, but it would still help to know exactly why I should buy your product or service.

So you need to tell them.

This is your chance to resonate with your customer; to give them that aha moment when they realize that your business is the perfect fit for the job or event.

There are different ways you could go with this.

What makes your offering unique?
Do you have expertise in a specific niche?
Do you have specific values you support?
Is there a feature or benefit that sets you apart?
Is your approach to your process different?

I build websites; that in itself is not unique. But I began my career in marketing and developed a love for building sites as a natural extension of establishing a company’s branding.

My process is different because I assess a client’s marketing needs first, then their marketing needs determine the site’s functionality and design. Same outcome (client gets a website), with a different approach. If I don’t highlight that difference, it may take a while for people to understand how the sites I build are unique.

You need to state your uniqueness up front - you can back it up with evidence and explanations throughout the site.

Take a moment to identify your unique selling points and try to boil them down to one primary factor.

4) Now Connect the Parts

So now we have the makings of a good homepage headline. It’s time to put the pieces together to form a short sentence or two introducing your business.

If you struggled with any of the parts above, it’s probably a good step to go back to setting your brand foundation. Check out this blog post for tips on that.

“If you can’t explain it to a 6-year-old, you don’t understand it.”

– Albert Einstein.

I love this quote because it helps you get out of your head. How would you tell someone, completely unrelated, what you do. Can you explain it to your kid, or your grandmother, or someone not in your industry?

Now let’s refine that header on your website with a few editing tricks.

1. Keep it simple and straightforward. I challenge myself with this all the time. How can I break it down, simplify it and get to the point?

2. Make sure you’re not using technical jargon. This can be off-putting at best because it sounds like you’re trying to intimidate or sound smart. And at worst, you can lose the attention of your reader. So, speak plain English.

3. Don’t be afraid to break normal grammar rules here. You can speak in a phrase or statement. Instead of saying I make websites for small businesses using strategic marketing principles. You could shorten it to small business websites made with proven marketing strategies.

You now have the makings of a good website headline. If you’re ready to take that headline to the next level, read on! 7 Simple Headline Tips