The homepage is a company’s virtual show window. When visitors come to your website and do not like what they see, they will leave. A good homepage is not only designed well, it is free of clutter and addresses questions that the target visitor would have. It will also have a call-to-action directing the visitors to take the next step. Homepage SEO can pose a challenge. If you do not optimize the homepage for search, then the likelihood of visitors finding you is low.

Factors that contribute to making a good homepage

• Simple and clear design-helps in finding the information a visitor is looking for which is presented attractively and makes browsing easy thereby boosting the experience of the visitor through easy navigation.
• Compelling homepage copy-should speak to the target audience in their language, answer their questions, help in building trust, and include keywords for the page to rank well in search engines.
• Call to action– helps in leading the users towards becoming your customers.

A good homepage will always have a compelling headline to get the attention of the visitor with subheadings that tell you more about the company and what they have to offer. The visuals should support the text and remember, visuals play a vital role in holding the attention of the visitor so choose the visuals that support the text. Share your offering with the visitor and how it can benefit them. Emphasize on providing a solution to the problem and build trust with the visitor.  Last but not the least, have a call-to-action.

How do you optimize your Homepage for SEO?

In this section, we will focus on listing down tips that will help optimize SEO for the homepage.

1. State the purpose of the company – The homepage should serve as a welcome center for all the visitors giving them a short insight into the product and services you offer and the distinguishing features that set you apart from your competitors. Managing the content on the homepage will help briefly put across the best traits and linking other pages for detailed information to help visitors navigate smoothly.
2. Selection of keywords – You should focus on selecting multiple theme-based keywords to spread the reach. If you have stiff competition, target non-branded keywords which can give you a higher chance for SEO and generate interest amongst the target audience.
3. Optimize the title – The webpage should carry an SEO-friendly title which includes keyword/keywords. When people link your homepage, they may include the whole title as anchor text. As the homepage carries the most links, you can rank for the keyword in the title. There are some tips you can keep in mind for optimizing the homepage title tag

• Include target keywords– one of the most commonly missed SEO elements on the homepage is the title tag. The title tag should carry keywords that state what the business is all about.
• Do not just focus on keywords– use creativity to come up with a title that includes the keywords.
• Keep it relevant-a well-researched term brings traffic to the website. Keep an eye out for competition, keep it relevant, and use it throughout the homepage copy text.

1. Optimize the meta description – The meta tag description can strengthen the click-through rate and drive people to your website. Effective use of meta description act as a sample for users within the search engine result page that helps in getting their attention even before they get to the homepage. This is the opportunity to write briefly about your company that appeals to the target audience. Remember, the meta description should carry the brand name and the targeted keywords.
2. Optimize the H1 tag – H1 headers are a prime spot for keywords. You need to strike a balance between catch headlines and high-value keywords. To leave a lasting impression on your visitors, the focus needs to be on placing the keywords strategically.
3. Link carefully – The homepage is the ideal place for internal linking. This not only improves navigation for the visitors but also helps in establishing site hierarchy. The homepage serves as a hub and google requires it to sort out the site architecture. The footer can act as an additional menu with internal links that directs the visitors to other pages on the website. Footer has known to help generate traffic to the most important pages.
4. Offer a good experience – Make sure the homepage is optimized to generate a positive experience for the visitor. This can be achieved through the use of subheading and graphics to put across a point. Try and avoid large blocks of text and focus on content that addresses the target audience.
5. Optimize homepage loading speed – Page speed is the most important element for optimizing a homepage for SEO. 1 second delay reduces the page views by 11% and decreases customer satisfaction by 16%. Page load time is also important for improving positioning in organic listings as google now prioritizes based on mobile-first indexing. Page speed leads to a greater return on investment as an improved user experience helps in retaining its visitors.
6. Create an appealing content flow – In the process of homepage SEO, the focus should be on creating content that engages the visitor with information regarding the company and its product and services. A good way to do this is by creating a menu. The homepage content should reflect the menu and site architecture. Separating different sections helps the visitors find important information easily. Place the core content in the first few sections to get the attention of the visitor immediately. The visitors should be able to transition from one focus to the next effortlessly with the use of interesting visuals and impressive site design. Remember to include a commercial keyword or several keywords while creating the homepage content as it is the most promoted page.
7. Add an SSL – An element that plays an important role in optimizing the homepage SEO is the security feature. An SSL certificate is the first step to making any website secure. This feature is crucial for an e-commerce website as it helps make the potential customers feel more secure about making transactions.
8. Optimizing main keywords on the homepage – Optimize the homepage for the most relevant and important keyword and then support it with other internal pages that are relevant.
9. Use branded anchors as your keyword tags – The focus for any webpage should be on branded anchors. This helps in keywords being ranked naturally.
10. Optimize around branded terms – To optimize the homepage for SEO, the focus needs to be on optimizing around branded terms. Optimizing for the company name or the product name is essential and an opportunity for optimization for the homepage. Additionally, research keywords that the target audience is using to find the company’s product and services and terms that the competitors might be using and capitalize on them. Strike a balance between the branded and the non-branded keywords.
11. Homepage image SEO – Search engines do not give any weightage to visual and videos. So when optimizing the homepage for SEO, complement the visuals with appropriate alt text as it helps the search engine understand the content of the homepage better and rank it higher.
12. SEO audit tools – These are important for site auditing to identify SEO issues that may exist on the homepage. These tools regularly crawl the website and check all data points and let you know of any issues that need optimizing and how best to fix them.
13. Call to action – Having a good call to action is as important as having rich content, keywords, heading tags amongst other things for homepage SEO. While the call to action does not fall in the SEO but they do help in achieving the overall SEO objective.

Homepage SEO involves many things that are required for a homepage to rank higher. Quick load time, using keywords in the title tag, H1 tag, meta description, SSL certificate all contribute to making the page mobile-friendly and load quickly. Follow the steps mentioned above to achieve success in optimizing the homepage for SEO.