Homepage SEO: What Makes It Unique & How to Do It

What’s Different About Homepage SEO?

Optimizing your homepage for SEO is antithetic from moving connected blog posts oregon merchandise pages. Unlike those pages, your homepage serves arsenic the cardinal hub of your site, and it usually doesn’t absorption connected conscionable 1 keyword.

It plays a fewer cardinal roles by:

• Introducing your marque to caller visitors
• Guiding visitors to cardinal sections of your site
• Creating a beardown archetypal content of your business

From an SEO perspective, the superior extremity for homepage optimization is usually to fertile for branded keywords (like your institution name). So radical tin easy find you successful hunt motor results pages (SERPs).

However, a well-optimized homepage tin besides fertile for non-branded, high-traffic keywords.

For example, Clockify’s homepage ranks for implicit 8,000 keywords, including non-branded keywords similar “time tracker,” "time tracking software," and "timesheet software," which make plentifulness of integrated traffic. 

(And are ace applicable to what they offer: clip tracking tools.)

Improving your homepage for SEO doesn’t mean sacrificing user experience (UX), your marketing funnel, oregon your leafage design. Good SEO really makes these amended by focusing connected what users request and making your homepage casual to usage and navigate. 

Let’s research however you tin assistance your homepage fertile for much than conscionable branded terms.

How to Optimize Your Homepage for SEO

1. Identify Your Primary Keyword

Your primary keyword is the instauration of your homepage SEO. It should intelligibly picture your business, lucifer what radical are searching for (known arsenic search intent), and assistance them find what they need.

While this keyword defines the absorption of your page, bully homepage SEO tin besides assistance your homepage fertile for dozens—or adjacent hundreds—of related terms. 

However, erstwhile choosing your superior keyword, support these cardinal questions successful mind:

• Is your homepage already ranking? If it’s already ranking for high-value keywords, optimizing it further whitethorn not beryllium necessary. Poor optimization oregon targeting the incorrect keywords could wounded your rankings, alternatively than assistance them.
• What does your income funnel look like? Blogs and content-driven sites often prioritize idiosyncratic posts implicit their homepage for postulation and conversions. But SaaS businesses, work providers, and section businesses tin payment from utilizing their homepage arsenic a landing page.
• Are you readying to expand? If you people a narrow, location-specific keyword similar “Plumber successful Seattle,” your homepage mightiness fertile good for that city. However, this could origin problems if you program to turn your concern into caller regions oregon connection further services successful the future.
• What are your competitors doing? Analyze the hunt results for your people keywords. If astir competitors fertile their homepages, it mightiness marque consciousness to travel their lead. However, if work pages thin to fertile well, you mightiness privation to see focusing connected those instead.

Answering these questions tin assistance you make a wide keyword strategy for your homepage and guarantee it aligns with your wide concern goals.

Once you’ve considered these factors, commencement brainstorming keywords that picture your business.

For example, if your concern is simply a instrumentality that helps radical physique their ain websites, imaginable superior keywords could see “website builder,” “create a site,” oregon “website gathering tool.”

Next, cheque your competitors’ sites to spot what keywords they prioritize connected their homepage. 

For example, Wix, a instrumentality that helps you physique websites, uses the word "website builder" connected their homepage. 

If you hunt for “website builder” connected Google, you’ll announcement Wix, Canva, Squarespace, and Weebly each see this keyword successful their rubric tags (more connected them soon).

This suggests that "website builder" is simply a logical superior keyword for a instrumentality that helps radical to physique their ain websites. And it apt means your people assemblage commonly searches for this keyword.

Once you’ve brainstormed immoderate ideas and reviewed competitor’s sites, refine your keyword strategy with Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool.

It helps you observe related keywords, analyse hunt volume, and find presumption that align with your audience’s needs. So you tin people the close keywords connected your homepage with confidence.

Start by entering 1 of your effect keywords into the instrumentality and clicking “Search.”

For example, let’s accidental you participate “website builder” into the hunt bar.

You’ll spot a dashboard with thousands of related keyword suggestions, similar this:

Focus connected keywords that are applicable to your product, service, oregon website. And don’t marque your superior keyword overly circumstantial (unless it powerfully matches your offering).

For example, unless your website builder is specifically for religion websites, “best religion website builder” apt isn’t the champion superior keyword to target. 

Once you person a database of imaginable keywords, prime a superior and secondary keyword:

• Primary keyword: Pick the keyword that champion describes your homepage and aligns with idiosyncratic intent. Your superior keyword is often the astir applicable keyword with the highest hunt volume.
• Secondary keywords: Choose related phrases that complement your superior keyword. These assistance your homepage fertile for variations and summation its visibility successful SERPs, portion besides providing Google and your users with much discourse astir your website.

Using Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool, you mightiness find that “website builder” is your champion superior keyword, portion “free website builder” and “build a website” service arsenic beardown secondary keywords.

2. Optimize Your Homepage’s Content

After selecting your superior and secondary keywords, the adjacent measurement is to optimize your homepage contented for those keywords. This helps hunt engines amended recognize your tract and it ensures visitors rapidly grasp what your concern offers.

Here are the cardinal areas of your homepage to optimize:

Title Tag and Meta Description

Your title tag and meta description are 2 cardinal elements Google often displays successful SERPs. They assistance hunt engines recognize your leafage and springiness users a preview of what to expect.

Your title tag is the clickable header that tin look successful SERPs. It should see your superior keyword and marque name, and it should intelligibly picture your page.

Your meta description is simply a abbreviated summary that tin look successful SERPs beneath the rubric tag. It tells users what your leafage offers. Use immoderate secondary keywords present people if possible, and marque the statement engaging to promote clicks.

Let’s instrumentality a look astatine an illustration from Canva. They usage their marque name, superior keywords similar "website builder," and secondary keywords (like “create a escaped website” and “free website builder”) successful their rubric tag and meta statement to maximize visibility and thrust clicks:

Headings and Body Content

Structuring your homepage with headings and organized contented helps users navigate and makes it easier for hunt engines to recognize what your leafage is about.

Headings and assemblage contented are defined by HTML tags that make a contented hierarchy:

• H1 (main heading): Use a short, wide header that includes your superior keyword and states what your concern does. Use lone 1 <h1> per page. 
• H2, H3, H4 (subheadings): Use these to interruption contented into sections and people see secondary keywords. H2s present sections, portion H3 and little adhd subsections.
• Body contented (<p>): Aim to spot your superior keyword successful the archetypal 100 words of your assemblage contented (ideally sooner). Also usage your secondary keywords people passim the text.

Toggl Track’s homepage is simply a large illustration of effectual headings and content:

• The H1 intelligibly conveys the product’s intent (time tracking for teams)
• Subheadings—containing secondary keywords—create scannable sections
• The assemblage substance people integrates keywords portion emphasizing cardinal benefits

To streamline your contented optimization efforts, usage Semrush’s On-Page SEO Checker. It offers actionable insights to assistance amended your homepage contented with ease.

After setting up the tool, you’ll onshore connected a dashboard that looks similar this:

From here, click connected pages successful the “Top Pages to Optimize” database for circumstantial recommendations. Or caput to the “Optimization Ideas” tab for a afloat overview.

Then click the “# ideas” fastener adjacent to each leafage to presumption elaborate suggestions.

The contented conception checks if you’ve utilized your people keywords successful important areas similar the H1 and assemblage text. The instrumentality besides flags keyword stuffing.

If the instrumentality does observe issues, you’ll person suggestions similar this:

You’ll besides person suggestions for related keywords (also known arsenic semantic keywords) to further optimize your homepage.

Visuals

Visuals (such arsenic images and videos) tin marque your homepage much engaging. They tin besides amended the UX by breaking up substance and guiding visitors’ attention. And they tin assistance you amusement disconnected what you person to offer.

Without visuals, your visitors whitethorn consciousness overwhelmed by blocks of text. And they whitethorn place cardinal messages oregon benefits of your merchandise oregon service.

Here’s however to usage visuals effectively:

• Reinforce cardinal messages. Place visuals adjacent important headings oregon sections to item cardinal points and support users engaged.
• Showcase merchandise benefits. Use screenshots, diagrams, oregon videos to visually show however your merchandise works oregon solves a circumstantial problem.
• Make contented scannable. Break up agelong sections of substance with images oregon infographics to marque the accusation easier to digest.

Here are immoderate real-life examples sites that are doing this well:

Calendly, a SaaS concern that provides a calendar and scheduling tool, uses a screenshot of its scheduling interface to amusement however casual it is to publication meetings immediately. Supporting substance beneath the H1 integrates its superior keyword (“scheduling tool”) to reenforce the message.

Basecamp, a task absorption software, uses merchandise screenshots to item however their level organizes tasks and projects. 

Visuals similar calendars and task cards amusement however casual their instrumentality is to use. Plus, they people enactment their superior keyword (“project absorption system”).

Once your visuals are successful place, optimize them for hunt engines by utilizing descriptive record names and alt text. Use keywords successful some to assistance users and hunt engines recognize the contented of your visuals. 

Also compress your record sizes. Do this with a instrumentality similar TinyPNG oregon Clideo to support prime portion improving your leafage speed.

Further reading: Image SEO: How to Optimize Images for Search Engines & Users

Structured Data

Structured information (also called schema markup) is other codification you tin adhd to your homepage that helps hunt engines recognize your content. Such arsenic your business’s name, address, telephone number, website URL, logo, and societal media links.

Here’s what it looks similar connected the backend:

For homepages, organization schema is arguably the astir important due to the fact that it highlights cardinal details astir your business.

While users don’t spot schema, it helps hunt engines get further discourse astir your business. It tin past usage this accusation to assistance it recognize what to show successful hunt results. 

If your concern has a knowledge panel (a container that appears successful Google hunt results showing cardinal facts astir your business), adding schema tin assistance refine the accusation shown.

Like this:

3. Create a Great User Experience (UX)

Creating a large UX keeps visitors engaged and encourages them to research your tract further. Here are immoderate areas to absorption connected to make a large UX for tract visitors.

Site Navigation

Site navigation, oregon site architecture, refers to however your website's pages are structured and interconnected. Think of it arsenic your site’s blueprint, guiding visitors to the contented they request portion besides helping hunt engines recognize your site.

And your header navigation—the main paper astatine the apical of your site—is important for creating a seamless idiosyncratic experience. 

It should:

• Avoid overwhelming visitors with excessively galore options
• Provide a elemental and logical way to your astir important pages
• Use clear, descriptive labels truthful visitors cognize wherever each nexus leads

For larger sites, drop-down menus tin radical related contented into categories and subcategories, making navigation easier.

For example, Gymshark’s header navigation includes a drop-down paper for “Accessories” with wide categories similar “Trending,” “Footwear,” “Bags,” and “Equipment.” 

This well-structured paper allows visitors to rapidly find what they need, enhancing the wide idiosyncratic experience. Plus, thing that makes it faster and easier for users to find what they are looking to bargain is bully for the concern too.

Footer navigation, located astatine the bottommost of your site, acts arsenic a cardinal hub for secondary information. It’s an perfect abstraction for links that aren’t portion of your main paper but are inactive invaluable to users.

Common footer links see institution policies (like privacy, cookies, and presumption and conditions), interaction information, property details, and pages similar “About Us” and “Careers.”

Gymshark’s footer organizes links into sections similar “Help,” “My Account,” and “Pages.” It besides includes speedy entree to lawsuit support, relationship management, and societal media links, ensuring visitors tin easy find the accusation they need.

Note: Your header paper and footer are typically contiguous crossed your full website—not conscionable your homepage. But optimizing them arsenic portion of your homepage SEO inactive makes sense, fixed your homepage volition service arsenic the introduction constituent for a batch of your site’s visitors.

Page Speed

A dilatory homepage tin frustrate visitors, summation bounce rates, and wounded your rankings. So you’ll privation to absorption connected tract show erstwhile optimizing your homepage’s SEO.

Google uses Core Web Vitals (CWV) to measurement however good your tract performs. 

These metrics cheque 3 things:

1. Loading speed: How accelerated the largest constituent of your leafage (often an representation oregon artifact of text) appears (Largest Contentful Paint)
2. Interactivity: How accelerated your tract responds erstwhile users click, scroll, oregon benignant (Interaction to Next Paint)
3. Visual stability: Whether the leafage layout stays dependable portion loading, avoiding abrupt shifts that tin frustrate visitors (Cumulative Layout Shift)

In elemental terms, CWVs cheque if your website is fast, responsive, and stable, ensuring a creaseless acquisition for visitors. And Google favors accelerated sites, truthful improving leafage velocity and your CWV is crucial.

Here are 3 casual ways to amended your homepage’s loading speed and conscionable CWV standards:

• Compress your images: Use tools similar TinyPNG to compress representation files without losing quality. Also usage modern formats similar WebP for faster loading times.
• Minimize code: Remove unused codification and scripts that dilatory down your site. And trim the size of CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files.
• Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN): CDNs velocity up load times by distributing your website’s contented crossed servers worldwide. This ensures speedy entree for users successful antithetic locations.

Mobile Experience

Google predominantly uses the mobile versions of websites to find ranking (known arsenic mobile-first indexing). So, optimizing your tract for mobile is indispensable for some idiosyncratic acquisition and your rankings.

Here’s however to optimize your homepage for mobile users:

• Responsive design: Ensure your homepage automatically adjusts to antithetic surface sizes and orientations with responsive web design
• Simplify navigation: Use a hamburger paper for compact, wide navigation. Make definite buttons and links are ample capable to pat easy connected a touchscreen.
• Optimize mobile load times: Focus connected improving leafage velocity for mobile users by compressing images and avoiding dense graphics oregon animations
• Avoid intrusive pop-ups: Minimize oregon destruct pop-ups that screen the screen, arsenic they frustrate users and tin negatively interaction your rankings

Further reading: The Complete Guide to Mobile SEO: 8 Tips & Best Practices

4. Showcase EEAT 

E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) is simply a model Google uses to measure the prime of tract content. It’s a conception rooted successful Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines, a handbook that guides however Google’s reviewers measure the prime of hunt results.

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While not a nonstop ranking factor, demonstrating beardown E-E-A-T tin assistance you physique spot with your assemblage and summation your content’s credibility and relevance. This successful crook tin pb to much conversions for your business.

Here’s however to guarantee your homepage builds trust:

• Convey your intent clearly. Your homepage should instantly pass its purpose—whether it’s introducing your business, guiding users toward circumstantial pages, oregon showcasing your products and services.
• Provide cardinal information. Prominently show your concern name, interaction details, and an overview of your services oregon products.
• Show credibility done validation. Include third-party validation similar reviews, awards, oregon certifications. Feature testimonials, lawsuit studies, oregon videos that show your expertise and physique trust.
• Simplify idiosyncratic experience. Avoid overwhelming users with irrelevant information. Focus connected gathering their contiguous needs rapidly and clearly.
• Avoid deceptive practices. Don’t usage clickbait, overpromise features, oregon see misleading content. Ensure your leafage delivers precisely what users expect based connected your headlines and descriptions.

5. Add Internal Links to and From Your Homepage

Internal links link antithetic pages wrong your site. They assistance users navigate your tract and marque it easier for hunt engines to recognize your site’s structure. 

Your homepage plays a captious relation arsenic the cardinal hub of your website, guiding users to cardinal sections and distributing page authority done applicable interior links.

Here are 2 cardinal ways to usage interior linking to amended your homepage SEO:

• Guide users to cardinal pages. Link prominently to indispensable pages similar “About Us,” “Services,” “Products,” and “Contact Us.”
• Feature high-value content. Use sections connected your homepage to item products/services, lawsuit studies, oregon blog posts.

For example, Petco’s homepage includes a “Top Sellers” conception that directs users to immoderate of its astir fashionable and high-value merchandise pages:

Petco besides highlights apical categories for dogs and cats. This makes it casual for visitors to research applicable merchandise pages tailored to their needs:

Adding cardinal sections similar this helps visitors rapidly find what they’re looking for, portion allowing Petco to showcase its astir important products. 

This attack enhances the idiosyncratic acquisition by guiding visitors to the close pages. It besides helps hunt engines amended recognize and prioritize cardinal pages connected your site.

6. Earn Backlinks to Your Homepage

Backlinks are links from different sites to your site. When authoritative sites nexus to your homepage (or immoderate different page), it signals to hunt engines that your tract is trustworthy and valuable. 

Having a precocious fig of prime backlinks can:

• Drive referral postulation from users clicking those links
• Help hunt engines observe your contented much effectively
• Improve your rankings by increasing your site’s authority

For example, the homepage of nytimes.com has implicit 2.1 cardinal backlinks. Including ones from reputable sites similar bbc.co.uk and microsoft.com.

This helps lend to its precocious “Page” Authority Score (84).

Plus, nytimes.com receives 20.4 cardinal visits from referral postulation (across each backlinks to the site—not conscionable the homepage).

Here are proven methods to gain high-quality backlinks:

• Engage successful integer PR. Create digital PR campaigns to get featured successful manufacture news, blogs, oregon podcasts to summation backlinks.
• Collaborate with influencers and manufacture experts. Work with influencers to beforehand your marque and inquire them to nexus to your homepage successful their content.
• Leverage concern relationships. Request backlinks from partners, vendors, oregon clients who mightiness item your marque connected their sites.

• Fix breached backlinks. Identify broken links pointing to your homepage and inquire tract owners to regenerate them with an updated URL.

For much info connected however to physique high-quality backlinks to your site, cheque retired the pursuing guides:

• Link Building for SEO: A Guide to the Basics
• 10 Link Building Strategies That Work 

7. Fix Any Technical SEO Issues

Fixing technical SEO issues ensures your tract runs smoothly for some hunt engines and users.

Search engines usage crawlers to research your tract and yet find if they should scale and fertile your content. So, method issues tin marque it hard (or impossible) for Google to find and yet show your website successful hunt results. Making fixing these issues a large priority.

Semrush’s Site Audit instrumentality helps you place and resoluteness method SEO issues.

Once the instrumentality crawls your site, it provides a “Site Health” people that ranges from 0 to 100, offering a wide people of your site’s wide method health. It besides compares your site’s show with others successful your industry.

The audit categorizes your tract issues by severity into “Errors,” “Warnings,” and “Notices.” For a much targeted approach, absorption connected circumstantial areas of method SEO utilizing the Thematic Reports.

The “Issues” tab provides a implicit breakdown of each detected issues and the fig of affected pages, on with elaborate “Why and however to hole it” guidance to assistance you resoluteness each problem.

For a caller site, it’s important to bash a technical SEO audit close distant to marque definite your tract has a coagulated method foundation. 

After that, you should cheque your tract regularly—once a period if possible, oregon astatine slightest each 3 months—to drawback and hole immoderate problems earlier they commencement affecting your rankings.

Track the SEO Performance of Your Homepage

Monitoring the SEO show of your homepage is important for knowing however good it meets your goals and aligns with idiosyncratic intent. 

Semrush’s Position Tracking instrumentality lets you show your homepage’s rankings for circumstantial keywords implicit time.

The instrumentality allows you to:

• Track your website's regular keyword rankings crossed hunt engines and devices 
• Identify competitors targeting your keywords and comparison their rankings, visibility, and postulation against yours
• Group keywords by topics, campaigns, oregon goals utilizing tags to amended signifier your tracking and insights
• Access utile metrics similar visibility, stock of voice, estimated traffic, and ranking trends implicit time

Once you’ve set up keyword tracking, spell to the “Overview” tab to presumption metrics for your tracked keywords.

Scroll down to the “Rankings Overview” section, wherever you’ll find a database of your keywords, your existent rankings for each one, and however your positions person changed implicit time.

Try the Position Tracking instrumentality contiguous to show your homepage’s keyword rankings.