There are four key pages that are really important for your website. These four pages must be optimized, in order for your website to really work for you. These pages will be visited more than any others, regardless of the size of your site. So let’s talk about what you can do to make your key pages the very best they can be.
Contact Page
Usually the visitors who are the most interested in your business, are the ones who visit the contact page. So make sure you have all the information they are looking for, in a place that’s easy to find.
- Email address
- Phone number
- Contact form
- Mailing Address
- Map
- Social icons
Your contact page should also have a “call to action.” A button that reads, “read more,” “watch now,” “click here,” or “learn more,” will encourage engagement. Make sure it’s above the fold and easy to find.
Note: Are your forms working? This is something you should check at least once a month. You might check more frequently, if you generally receive a lot of mail from your contact form. It’s a good practice to send yourself a message now and then, using the “contact us” from on your site, just to make sure the lines of communication are open and flowing freely.
About
A visitor who arrives at your About page, is there to learn more about your company. They are looking for a way to dig a little deeper into what your business does and how it does it. Make the answers to their questions easy to find by keeping the most relevant information at the top of the page, where it’s easy to find.
Visitors might also land on your about page because they are interested in working for your company. They may want to gauge how successful you are. Or they might want to make sure your business is legit. There are lots of reasons, but they all come down to a desire to know more about your business.
- Make sure the information you provide will answer their questions.
- Include at least one call to action, to keep your visitors engaged.
Homepage
Visitors may use different avenues to find your homepage, but they are all there to learn two things: They want to know more about what you do, and where you are. Make sure you answer those questions as clearly as possible. The most important information should be placed front and center on this page. This could be a slogan or a headline.
The homepage is another place for a call to action. This could be in the form of a button, an invitation, or it could be built into the menu at the top of the page. If your homepage is too busy or complicated, you could lose visitors. A homepage that is beautiful, but difficult to navigate, will create a problem.
Most visitors do not have time to try and understand your homepage. Make it easy for them. A clear menu can help the visitor know what to do next.
Blog
Your blog page is also a key page for your website. You can use this page to provide a more in depth explanation about your services and products. It’s also a great place to fortify your website with keywords. Make sure your blogs are well-organized and easy-to-read.
A call to action should also be included on your blog page, but the focus here might be a little different. You want to encourage visitors on your blog page to share your content. So those calls to action might be something like: “Tweet this,” “Tell us what you think,” or “Connect on social.”
How do you know what calls to action to use? It all comes down to what you want the user to do.
Optimizing Key Pages
Usually when we talk about optimizing key pages, we are talking about search engine optimization. But more importantly than either of those, is optimization for the user.
In general, optimizing key pages just means making your pages as user friendly as possible. Look at your most frequently visited pages. Do you know what your visitors are looking for? Once you figure it out, your goal is to provide that information and ask them for action. The broad framework for optimization is essentially the same for all key pages.
This seems easy, but let’s drill down a bit further.
How did the user find me?
You want to know what the user is looking for, but you also want to know how they landed on your website. Was it a response to an email? If so, which one? Did they come from a search engine? From social media? It’s important to know how and why the user arrived at your website.
Next you must try to figure out what information they need. Keeping in mind that you want to deliver the information clearly, using as little space as possible, you’ll need to determine the best way to deliver the information you want them to know. Videos and images are a great way to make an impact in a small space.
What do I want the user to do?
You don’t want your visitors to just look at your website and leave. You want your user to take action. Do you know what you want them to do?
Once you are clear about that, you have all the information you need to start making decisions about the flow of information on your website. Your key pages can be optimized to enhance your brand with relevant information. You can drive engagement with targeted calls to action. And you can increase conversions by providing valuable content and answers to the questions your users are asking.
Need help optimizing your key pages? Contact Web Design by Knight with questions about website optimization.