One embarrassingly simple fact that can turn your website visitors into customers.
Yes, it’s embarrassingly simple. Headlines. At the very least, you should have them at the top of every page on your website. At best, you have multiple well-written headlines and subheadlines that guide your reader through the page.
You have 7 seconds…
…If you’re lucky! What do I mean? I’m saying that you have 7 seconds to communicate to your website visitors who you are, what they can do here, and why they should do it.
That is why headlines are so critical. A well-written headline on your web page can orient the user and intrigue them to continue reading.
3 Important Guidelines to a Good Headline
A good headline tells the reader exactly what the page is about. Most people who visit your website are looking for some information. They want to know if they’ve found it. If they aren’t finding it quickly on your page they will just click their browsers back button and continue looking elsewhere. Tell your reader right away what the page is about and what kind of questions it might answer.
A good headline is value-centric. This means that it describes what the reader is going to get/receive/earn/win by reading the page. Your readers are selfish. They want to know right away what they’ll get for investing their time reading your web page. Do not make your headlines action-centric. Try to avoid telling your readers what to do in your headlines unless it is a call to action. Just be careful not to put your call to action in the primary, or top-most, headlines.
A good headline is formatted properly and is easy to read. It should be obvious that it is a headline. Make the text bigger than the regular text. Be careful not to format them in such a way that it makes a person try to read it. Black text on a white background is simple and effective.
Go Write a Better Headline
In many ways, you should spend more time carefully writing your headlines than the actual content of your web page. It is absolutely critical that you use those first 7 seconds to describe who you are, what a person can do, and why they should do it. Stick closely to the 3 guidelines provided above.
Let us know what you think makes a good headline. Are there any guidelines you’ve learned that work for you? Please leave your comments below. Then…
Go! Go write a good headline on your website.
