If you want to do better with search engines, pay attention to your Internet home page that packs a lot of power – and for good reason.

It’s typically the most visited page and your web site navigation points to it.

Sure, you may want someone to go to a specific product or service page.

At the end of the day it may be the home page that they discover first.

What’s on that page that may drive someone to the right page after the home page. What conversion opportunities are there?  Is there a short form? What about a phone number?  Is there a download opportunity for a white paper? Can you announce a special offer?

A home page does so well because other web sites link to it from the outside.  It’s not abnormal for a newsletter and other web site or a directory to link your home page merely out of protocol. In other words, it’s the beneficiary of how people link. Links are crucial because search engines put a lot of stock in them.

Search engines determine whether websites linking to yours are related. Search engines also look at what text someone uses when they link to you, especially the text that’s within the link or near the link. Everything makes a difference.

Again, your home page needs a terrific web design. What words are you using and where are they located?  What headlines and subheads are you using? What words are boldfaced and what words are hyperlinked? What pictures you use will make an impact. Your home page must make it easy for someone to get around and to understand what it is you even do.

If your home page ranks well for some keywords, don’t do anything drastic. If you go in, make simple changes, subtle adjustments and measure the results.  You don’t want to capsize your efforts just because you get a little too greedy or you naively make alterations without really knowing what you’re doing.

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