The Anatomy of a compelling homepage headline – 6 inspiring breakdowns

Intro

Imagine you visit an aesthetic B2B brand's website that loads so fast, but midway through the homepage, you get bored reading the boring and vague copy on the page.

Now, you may be their ideal Customer but in a short while, they've failed to grab your attention with their homepage copy.

This is exactly how many companies are losing the attention of ideal customers because of poorly written homepage copy.

Website design is important but the copy for a design matters a lot. And your website homepage headline is just a piece of your copy.

Did you know that on average, 8 out of 10 people will read a headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest of the homepage (according to copyblogger)? This is the secret to the power of your title, and why it so highly determines the effectiveness of your entire webpage.

So, what if the only thing your website visitor sees on your website is just your heading, will they buy your product?

Well, every company has a homepage headline but only a few have compelling headlines that trigger prospects to be customers.

But wait, sorry to burst your bubble

This article is not about blog post headlines, sales page headlines, or social media content headlines. It's just about that short text found at the beginning of every website. And in this article, you'll learn the breakdown of compelling website headlines with six inspiring examples.

Most homepage headlines suck, yours should rock!

As stated in the introduction, only a few brands have tapped the sweet spot of using powerful words that depict their core solution.

Your homepage headline is a summary of what your brand offers and if you don't craft a unique one, you will struggle to convert visitors to customers.

For example, if you are looking for an email automation software to use, you Google and find recommendations on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). The first page you visit has a heading that reads – Email automation for every business.

Sounds cool right? but you don't feel it. So you check another page and you see – #1 email automation tool, easy-to-use, no code, no installation… trusted by +5500 users.

You scroll down the page [remember, you didn't view through the first site page], and you see testimonials and benefits of the software. You go ahead to view their blog section and consume some content… now you've felt the “aha” moment...

So, the question is, which brand will you likely buy from?

The second brand right? Great! Now, brand A may be better than brand B. But the issue is – brand B is not afraid to brag about what they do and they know how to play with words.

The first brand's headline sucks, and the second rocks. You can position your brand in the top 1% of your industry by creating a powerful homepage copy.

Now, I've picked six amazing brands with top homepage headlines. Let's take a look at the breakdowns.

First on the list;

1. Ranktracker

First on the list is Ranktracker, yes! The site you are currently on. An SEO platform used by many content marketers, SEO agencies, and top companies around the globe. First Words on the homepage are within the range of 7-8, with some little blissful visuals of a star and clouds.

I find something striking about ranktracker's headline. It's so solution specific. Here's a breakdown;

“All-in-one” – No mincing of words, straight to the point. This phrase expresses totality and debunks “half-baked promises”

This means some software doesn't give “everything you need”.

It only got better with the next phrase;

“platform for effective SEO"– Simple, no complex words. And one primary promise – effective SEO (specific to content and website) – means that you get the best results from doing SEO.

Takeaway formula:

“All in one" + your primary promise + secondary promise (results-oriented)...

Or “Everything you need" + your primary promise + secondary promise (results-oriented)..

Not just that.

There's a brief tagline below the heading – “Research keywords, analyse the competition, Check & Monitor backlinks and track your search engine ranking – all with a single, powerful platform". This adds more authority and specificity.

An example:

• Everything you need to get more TikTok views and get more followers in less time.
• The All-in-one software for repurposing all kinds of content without stress.

Easy-to-create right? Let's dive into the next one.

2. Webflow

Second on the list, are the words on the homepage of Webflow. Short and clear yet passes the main message across.

The 8-word sentence gives a primary promise and addresses one pain point. Let's break it down;

**“The Site you want” **– Gives a primary promise. This means, every business needs a website but there's a favourite – a fast and efficient website.

“without the dev time” – Addresses a pain point. Developing a website takes time but you can do it in less time without a Dev.

That's not all, there's a tagline beneath– Your website should be a marketing asset, not an engineering challenge.

This tagline amplifies the headline. It adds more spice and shows the Unique Value Proposition (UVP) of Webflow.

Now see, Webflow's headline has gotten my attention, I feel triggered to create a website but then I want more proof, so I scroll down the homepage.

And boom! “Webflow is used by more than 3,500,000 designers and teams… no coding needed.”

Putting up words together is not enough, you have to show proof of what you say. So, Webflow says you can create the website you want without code, and they back it up with proof.

This is important because it helps retain the attention of your website visitors. Retaining their Attention is as important as grabbing Attention.

Takeaway formula:

“your product + without + pain point"

An example:

• The TV decoder you need– without manual installation. Up next?

3. Premium Content Shop

Premium Content shop is an awesome POV-led content marketing agency led by Victor Ijidola. I love the 2-line statement at the beginning of their web homepage and you are going to learn about why this will get a lot of attention.

“Every brand in your industry is publishing content”– No complexity, no promise yet, just an obvious claim. But they didn't stop here.

If you noticed, there's black text on a blue tab button below the main heading; “Let us help you stand out".

That alone is the main message of PContent shop. They want to help brands stand out and differentiate themselves from competitors.

Takeaway formula:

“Every + state the obvious + shoot your promise”

An example:

• Most writers send cold emails that get no responses…
• We've helped 565+ get 5-6 responses from 10 daily pitches!

4. Primostats

The big moment! I had so much fun analyzing the homepage headline of PrimoStats. A company helping content marketers scale the credibility of content with the right data-driven statistics.

Urgency comes to play as a critical feature of attention-grabbing headlines. Well, check out the breakdown;

“Find the right stats faster” – Gives a timeframe for finding the right stats. Means, you get it faster. Probably like the speed of light or in seconds.

“hassle-free searching”– Cuts down pain-point. Some marketers struggle when searching for stats but the central promise is hassle-free searching.

Takeaway formula:

Solution + Timeframe + pain-point killer statement

An example:

• Find ideal B2B prospects in seconds.
• Easy-to-use prospecting tool.

You see how the formula is applied in this headline. Kills the pain point of prospecting tools that are difficult to use and gives a timeframe for finding ideal B2B prospects.

5. CXL

The heading on CXL's page is enticing, bold, and authoritative. If you are not triggered to stay on their site at first sight for some minutes, then there's something wrong.

First off, there's a small text above the main headline reading – “CXL is the premium marketing education destination”. The word “premium” places more authority. The main message was passed further in the second sentence.

“The best marketing practitioners in the world teach you what they know”– This phrase shows the uniqueness, authority, and core value of CXL – expertise. This is their core value proposition.

So how do you create a homepage headline like this one? Here's a formula:

Takeaway formula:

The + “power words" + unique value or solution

An example:

• The most easy-to-use prospecting tool on the internet, serving you verified emails in seconds.

6. Asana

Asana's main heading is the simplest I've analyzed so far. It taps the two most powerful features of a good headline—simplicity and clarity.

It's so clear and personalized that a 5-year-old can understand. So let's take a look at the takeaway formula plus an example.

Takeaway formula:

Make + “your target audience Solution,” + work for you.

For example:

• Make cold emails work for you.

But that's not all, you need a powerful tagline to support your main headline. This is vital because it backs it up with more authority and proof.

What do you need to create a compelling Homepage headline?

You've studied the breakdowns. So what's next? What you need to create a compelling headline.

They are just three insights you need to create a heading that converts website visitors to customers.

• One Pain point: What's that One pain point or problem that your brand solves?

For Ahrefs, they found out the pain point– ranking high and getting more traffic. What problems are your prospective and existing customers facing?

Ask questions, research, and join the conversations on different social media networks relevant to your industry.

• One Unique Solution: One pain point, one solution. You can't have a solution without first understanding the problem.

It's not about having a solution, it's about a UNIQUE SOLUTION, a unique Solution is tailored based on your unique value proposition.

Find gaps in your competitors' homepage headlines, create yours and fill in those gaps.

• Power words: Some words are not strong enough to pass a message. While some are very powerful and strike emotions instantly.

Henneke Duistermaat has this to say about power words;

“Weak words have a shallow meaning—they don’t make readers feel something and they don’t allow readers to visualize your words. In contrast, powerful words tend to have strong meanings. They nudge people to take action—to download your report, to contact you for a quote, or to implement your advice.”

Get a list of power words you can use to sparkle your homepage headline

Final Thoughts

If you want to revamp your homepage headline, there's no better time than now because you've got access to what it takes to create one that rocks.

Keep it simple, clear, and compelling, and don't forget that your homepage copy is as important as your website design. Also, do well to add your target keywords in your headline for high rankings for related search queries.