A visitor lands on your homepage, usually on a phone, usually from a search. In about three seconds they decide whether they are in the right place. The headline does that job — or fails to. Most small business headlines fail, because they were written to sound impressive rather than to be understood.
The job of the headline
Answer three questions immediately: what do you do, for whom, and where. That is it. Cleverness, mission statements and adjectives come later, if at all.
A formula that works
[Service] for [customer] in [area]. Plain and searchable.
- "Emergency plumbing for homes and rentals across Melbourne's north."
- "Family dentistry in Chatswood, with same-day emergency appointments."
- "Bookkeeping and BAS for tradies and small businesses on the Gold Coast."
- "Balayage and colour specialists in Fitzroy."
Every one of these also happens to be close to what people type into Google, which is not a coincidence.
Add one line of reassurance
Under the headline, one sentence that removes the first doubt: "Licensed, insured and on time — or the call-out is free." "Fixed-fee conveyancing from $990." "Over 400 five-star Google reviews." Pick the doubt your customers actually have.
Then the button
The primary action, right there: call, book, get a quote. Headline, reassurance, button, all visible without scrolling on a phone. That is the whole first screen.
Headlines to avoid
- "Welcome to our website." Nobody needs to be welcomed; they need to be informed.
- "Quality you can trust." Every competitor says this. It means nothing.
- "Your journey starts here." The visitor wants a plumber, not a journey.
- The business name as the headline. It is already in the logo.
Test it
Show the first screen to someone who does not know the business for three seconds, then take it away and ask what the business does and where. If they cannot answer, rewrite. Copy tidy-ups like this are included in YINO's $999 package and are often the highest-value part of a refresh.
