Want to know how to improve your website traffic?
Course you do, that’s why you’re reading this, right?
Your business website is your most important marketing tool. It’s where you get to explain:
- Who you are
- What you do
- Why you’re the answer to your customers’ problems
But if your message is muddled and you aren’t giving visitors a chance to contact you, don’t worry.
By the end of this article, you’re going to:
- Understand the Z-layout and the F-layout
- Learn how to make your message clear
- Understand how to set out the first three sections of your homepage and what comes next
- Learn a load of other helpful hints and tips
So, grab yourself a brew, make some notes and get ready to drive traffic to your website.
Please note: The Z format is based on one of my older website homepage layouts.
Creating a homepage to improve your website traffic
There’s a lot to think about, and you need to consider Search Engine Optimisation (keywords and keyphrases you want to rank for during the writing side of things) to increase traffic to your website.
But that’s for elsewhere, this is about layout, so let’s start with the Z-layout:
Understanding the Z-layout
The human eye doesn’t read a webpage like it does a book. It skips across the screen in a Z pattern, trying to pick out the most useful information. This means the layout of your homepage and the information you stick above the fold (the visible part of your website before you scroll) is crucial.
To make things easier, I’ve chosen my own website as a template. Not because I have a massive ego, but because I can’t be arsed trawling for examples when there’s one right in front of me.
Anyway, let’s begin…
Below is one of my previous homepage headers (not that my current one doesn’t work, but because this one is laid out in the Z format):
Here’s how it works:
One. Top of the Z
Along the top of the Z, you need to have your logo and the most important links you want visitors to click on. It’s important not to clutter this section, but one of these links MUST be your call to action.
For me, it’s ‘Let’s Chat‘.
For you, it might be:
- Buy Now
- Book a Call
- Get in touch
- Buy dog food
- Email us
Whatever is right for your business make it clear and put it in the top line of the Z to make it easy for your customers to take action.
Two. Middle of the Z
If your visitors are there purely to buy your product, they’ll have clicked your call to action already. However, the vast majority won’t know you, so they’ll need a little persuasion before they trust you.
Don’t be too clever here, be clear.
Clarity kicks clever’s arse every time.
Three. Bottom of the Z
Along the bottom, you need to include your call to action again—and make sure it’s the same wording as at the top. You might think this is too much, but it isn’t. You have to give your visitors every opportunity to get in touch or buy.
If they’re won over by your headline, chances are they won’t need to scroll any further.
Now you understand the Z-layout, let’s look at the F-layout
Understanding the F-layout
As well as reading in a Z pattern, the eye also reads in an F formation, across the top and down the left of the screen.
Like this:
Here’s how it works:
One. Top horizontal line of the F
The top of the F is exactly the same as the top of the Zm it should include your logo and your most important page links.
Two. Vertical part of the F
The vertical line of the F really is to have your copy aligned to the left.
We read left to right, so it catches the eye immediately.
Think about it, if it was aligned to the right, would you actually read it and would it feel comfortable to read?
Nope.
Three. Second horizontal line of the F
The second horizontal line of the F is where your copy goes, all the useful stuff you need to capture the attention from the off.
***
Now you understand the Z and F layouts, you need to make sure your message is clear.
Make your message clear
Your headline, tagline and call to action need to do three things for the reader:
- Explain what you do/are selling
- How it makes their life better
- How they can get it
Let’s have a look at my header again to show you what I mean:
The bolded copy is the headline, the bit below is the tagline or subheader and the button ‘Work I’ve done‘ is my call to action.
Here’s how it answers everything:
One. Explain what you do/sell.
The headline and tagline accomplish both.
The headline: ‘Chatty copywriter and brand voice consultant for businesses that want personality in their copy‘ tells you who I am, what I do, who it’s for and what you get.
The tagline: ‘Get personality-packed content and brand voice guidelines that make customers pay attention to everything you have to say’ explains what you get, what I do and the end result.
Two. How it makes their life better.
My writing services can: ‘Make customers pay attention to everything you have to say‘.
Clear, clean and simple.
Three. How they get it.
By clicking ‘Work I’ve done‘.
Don’t just hyperlink a line of text, make sure it’s a button.
***
By following these rules, you’re giving potential customers all the information they need and the means to take action before they even look at the rest of your homepage. Incorporating keyphrases you want to rank for in your body copy and headers (but don’t stuff them with them) will also give you a chance to improve your website traffic.
Setting out the first three sections of your website
The first three sections of your website are dead important. But you can’t just plonk anything in them. You need to approach the layout in one of two ways:
- Benefit, Problem, Benefit
- Problem, Benefit, Problem
Confused?
No worries, let me explain.
Section One: Benefit
Here it is again:
It’s all about the benefits:
- It’s going to put personality in your copy
- Your customers will pay attention to everything you have to say
Section Two: Problem
Look, we’d be all living in dreamland if every visitor contacted us from the header alone. Most likely visitors will continue to scroll down. If you start with a positive, section two needs to touch on your customer’s pain point, i.e. the problem they’re facing:
Section two leads with the headline:
Website not converting? Newsletters never opened? Nobody liking your social posts?
Then, it builds on their frustrations by listing the reasons, like content that doesn’t compel or a tone of voice that needs work.
Before I explain what I do and how I can solve these problems for them followed by a ‘Let’s Chat‘ button.
Why?
Because you need to give your website visitors as many opportunities to click and contact you as possible.
Section Three: Benefit
Okay, now the visitor feels you understand them. Next, you need to reassure them you’re the right person for the job.
Section three hammers home even more benefits while also telling them what to do:
Remember, your visitors will still be reluctant to part with their money, so you need to reassure them that what you do will result in a positive outcome.
And there’s another call to action.
You really might feel it’s far too much, it isn’t.
***
You’ll notice the copy is also extremely short and concise in these sections. If you swamp the reader with too much information from the start, you’ll overwhelm them.
Keep it to a minimum.
What comes after section three?
Well, that’s up to you…
What else to put on your homepage
If your visitor has read everything so far and is still scrolling, they’re now prepared to read more. Don’t throw War & Peace at them, but give them more information.
There’s no rule as to what sections you put next.
It could be:
- An About section
- Testimonial
- A Blog reel
- A newsletter sign-up
For the rest of my homepage, I went with:
Section Four: Services
Tell people what you offer.
I’d recommend putting only three or four on the homepage. I offer six distinct services, but my most popular go on the homepage with a link to the rest.
Don’t overface people; just give them a little insight into what they get with the option of clicking through and reading more.
Section Five: About
In this section, I talk about myself a bit more, but it’s only a snippet compared to the full About page:
But I still mention what I offer and what clients get by working with me.
It’s about me, but it’s still very much about my customers.
Section Six: Testimonials
To show visitors they can trust me, I pop in a few short testimonials (nobody will read long ones on the homepage, save them for a separate Testimonials page):
Section Seven: Contact Form
And there you have it:
Once visitors have passed your opening three sections, they’re already invested in what you do. Make sure you give them a chance to get to know you and more opportunities to contact you or buy your product.
Miss this off, and then you’re hurting your chances to increase your website traffic.
Don’t be afraid to repeat yourself
You’ll notice throughout all the above that there’s a lot of repetition.
Why?
Because humans need to hear something 8-12 times before they take it in.
Repeating the benefits will stick in the heads of your potential customers. Sure, they might have a look around at your competitors. But if their message is muddled, that customer will remember you and how clear your message is. They won’t automatically assume your competitors offer the same benefit.
The result?
Will this increase your website traffic without SEO?
Truth is, no.
But you should already be considering your search engine optimisation when creating your homepage layout. Your numbers won’t improve massively without SEO, but a website page layout that’s well-structured will help Google flag your site as a bloody top one.
Even if you only tweak section one right now you’ll:
- Improve your homepage
- Give yourself a better chance of winning a new customer
Cool, right?
***
And that’s it.
Phew!
So, if you want to boost your website ranking on Google and improve your website traffic, implement these tips today!
Matt
PS. To improve your website traffic even more, check out my article, 24 awesome ways to optimise SEO for blog posts.
PPS. Get more traffic to your site, have a read of my post, 7 great ways to repurpose your blog posts.
PPS. If you want more tips that’ll increase your website traffic, include SEO tips, sign up for my newsletter, Think About It, and you’ll be notified before anybody else when articles go live.