HubSpot is definitely the leader in driving content to drive an inbound marketing strategy, I’ve never seen one company put out so many whitepapers, demos and ebooks. HubSpot now delivers an infographic on the 12 critical elements of a homepage.
A homepage needs to wear many hats and serve many audiences who come from many different places. It’s unlike a dedicated landing page, where traffic from a specific channel should be given a specific message to take a specific action. Landing pages have a higher conversion rate because they are targeted and most relevant to the visitor.
We help our clients in building inbound marketing strategies… and I have to say that I think HubSpot missed the mark on this infographic… there are some very key elements and strategies missed in this infographic:
- Contact information – calls-to-action are vital pieces of information, but not everyone wants to click through to a demo or additional resources. Sometimes your customer is ready to buy and simply needs a phone number or signup form to get started.
- Social Icons – the importance of social media in nurturing a client can’t be underestimated. Sometimes folks will land on your site, but they simply aren’t ready to buy yet… so they’ll follow you on Facebook, Google+ or Twitter to get to know you better.
- Newsletter Subscription – perhaps the most underestimated element of any homepage is the newsletter subscription. Providing a means for a prospect to enter their email address and be repeatedly touched with news, offers and information from your brand is priceless. Capturing an email address is invaluable – make sure it’s simple and obvious on your homepage.
I would argue with using the term features on #5 as well. It’s been proven over and over that users are more attracted to benefits rather than features. Talking about your new-fangled reporting isn’t important… but showing the actionable data that you’re presenting so the company can make money is!
Lastly, your homepage must be optimized for the keywords that will index your site appropriately and ensure your site is found as it grows in popularity. SEO should always play a role in your homepage design and development.
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