This week I want to talk about how to make your website hero section attract and convert more ideal customers.
Here’s what you will learn.
- What is it and why it’s important
- Mistakes to avoid
- 3 steps to do this
The reason is because your ideal customer won’t stay on your website long. But once you understand how to create an effective hero section, then you’ve positioned yourself as someone who can help them.
Let’s dive in!
What is the hero section and why is it important?
The hero section is the first section people see when they land on your website.
It creates the first impression of your business.
This is important, because people skim websites. If they don’t feel like your business can solve their problem, they will leave. You must connect with them immediately and give them a reason to keep reading.
To do this well, you first need to make sure you don’t make a few of the most common mistakes:
- Save your best stuff for farther down the page
- Try to be clever to entice people to scroll
- Create too many things for them to focus on
The reason people tend to make these mistakes is because they see it on other websites. And as a result, they keep themselves stuck wondering why their website doesn’t convert their ideal customer.
So, here’s how to fix it:
Step 1: Start with the headline
The very first step to creating an effective hero section is putting a lot of effort in the headline.
As Donald Miller says, “it must pass the grunt test.” Can someone look at your homepage and within 5 seconds, immediately know these 3 things?
- What you do
- Who you do it for
- How you do it
Here’s an example.
The red underline states who they help. Pharma companies. Great start!
The yellow underline tells people what they do. They help pharma companies optimize their business strategy.
The green underline states a unique differentiator. They do it through a healthcare quality lens. This language speaks to their target audience.
Check your website headline now. If you showed it to someone who has never heard of you, would they know what you do, who you do it for, and how?
If not, update your headline to do so.
Step 2: A picture is worth a thousand words
The next step to achieving a great hero section is the imagery.
I can’t overstate this enough. Images can make or break a website. They are the emotional tie that resonate with people. Without images, people won’t feel connected to who you are and what you do. And if they don’t feel connected, they lose interest.
Most people go to their favorite stock website and pull the top image that comes up.
Don’t make this mistake!
Your website deserves real images of your team and company. If you need to hire a professional photographer, do it. It’s 100% worth it.
Here’s an example.
I always recommend a picture of people smiling.
There is science behind what a picture of someone smiling does for our emotions. Creating a positive emotion when someone lands on your website, only helps your business.
Remember, opinions form fast.
You don’t have a lot of time to leave your first impression.
Step 3: Finish with a strong call to action
And finally, the last step to having an effective hero section is telling your ideal customer where to go next.
You can do all the heavy lifting of the previous sections, but without a call to action, you are missing out. Your ideal customer has come to your website hoping you can solve their problem. If they feel like you can (and they will if you’ve done the previous steps), they want to see what’s next.
Give them a clear call to action.
Note: Don’t overwhelm your user with too many call to actions
The “Book A Call” in the bottom left is the strongest call to action in this hero section. It’s clear this is what I should click if I am ready to get started.
You will notice it doesn’t say something like, “Learn More.” It’s obvious that the next steps are booking a call.
This give clarity to the visitor of what moving forward looks like.
When it doubt, make the call to action say exactly what happens when they click.
That’s it!
As always, thanks for reading.
Luke
