Blogging

Blogging 101: 5 Things to Include on Your Homepage

posted on June 15, 2016 | by Amanda Holstein

Back when I was working in content marketing, I spent a lot of my time looking for high quality blogs that I could pitch to our clients. Because of my time constraints and the sheer number of blogs out there, I only spent about 30 seconds on a site before deciding whether or not they’d be a good fit. Think about that for a second. Thirty seconds is not a lot of time, so your homepage needs to clearly portray what your blog is about and provide all the necessary information in just that one glance.

So what should you make sure is easy to find on your homepage?

1. Search Bar

People often overlook the search bar, but it’s an incredibly important feature, not just for your users, but for potential clients. For example, if Old Navy is thinking of working with you, they may want to search “Old Navy” to see if you’ve featured them before. Or maybe they want to know how you style denim, so they might search for “denim”. So make sure your search bar is easy to find and clearly marked. I’d recommend placing it at the top of your page or in your navigation bar.

2. Contact Info

How can a brand get in touch with you if they don’t know your contact information? Or maybe you have your email on your site, but if it’s too difficult to find, a potential client might give up because they simply don’t have the time. Whether you have a “contact” button in your navigation bar or an email icon with your social icons, just make sure it’s easy to find. I’d also make sure to include your actual email address, not just an contact form. It makes it much easier if a brand needs to email multiple people at once (for an event, for example), and to keep in their system for future reference.

3. Categories

Listing out your categories is the quickest way for a user or a potential client to understand what your blog is about. Of course your latest posts help, but to get a complete overview of the content you offer, I highly recommend clearly listing out your categories. You can have a category tab in your navigation or sidebar, or your navigation bar can list out each category with subcategories (like mine does).

4. Social Icons

Want more social followers? Then include links to your social channels on your blog! And don’t hide them at the bottom or under a category. Make them easily accessible! This is also helpful for potential clients because they’re going to want to review your social channels, see which ones you are active on, and get a feel for your influence across the web.

5. Location

While you don’t need to plaster your location on your homepage necessarily, make sure to include it in your About section at the very leasts. Many times, brands “geo-target” their campaigns, meaning they focus on certain areas of the country. They may want to host an event in your city or have you attend an event on their behalf. There are plenty of reasons sharing your location is helpful to potential clients, so don’t overlook this!