How to write a website headline that says what you do

The headline at the top of your home page should tell a stranger, in one line, what you do and where. "Family plumbing repair in Tulsa, same-day when you call by noon" does that. "Excellence in every drop" does not. A visitor decides in a moment whether they have landed in the right place, and the headline is what they read to decide. Here is a simple way to write yours, with examples by trade and the common traps.

The formula: what, for whom, where

Almost every good small-business headline has the same three parts:

What you do, in the words a customer would use.
Who it is for, if that narrows it in a useful way: homes, businesses, dogs, families, older drivers.
Where, if you serve a local area.

Put them in one line and you have a headline that works. You can add a fourth part, one reason to pick you, if it fits without making the line long.

Website headline examples by trade

These are made-up businesses, but each line follows the formula. Notice that none of them needs a slogan.

Plumber: "Plumbing repairs and water heaters for homes in Tulsa and Broken Arrow"
Roofer: "Roof repair and replacement in Lancaster County, with free written estimates"
Bakery: "Fresh bread, pastries and custom cakes in downtown Asheville"
Hair salon: "Cuts, color and curly-hair specialists in Mesa"
Dog groomer: "Gentle grooming for nervous dogs in north Austin"
Accountant: "Tax returns and bookkeeping for small businesses in Fort Wayne"
Cleaning company: "Weekly and move-out house cleaning across Charlotte"
Auto repair: "Honest car repair and inspections in Hamden since 1998"
Landscaper: "Lawn care, patios and garden design in the Boise foothills"
Dentist: "Family dentistry in Plano, with evening and Saturday hours"

Read any of those and you know in a second whether it is for you.

Words to use, words to drop

Use the customer's words, not the industry's. A customer searches for "AC repair", not "HVAC solutions". They want a "kitchen remodel", not "residential renovation services". If you are not sure which words people use, listen to how they describe the job when they call.

Drop words that every business could use. "Quality", "excellence", "solutions", "trusted", "premier", "your one-stop shop". They are not wrong, but they say nothing a competitor could not say too. A headline made only of them tells the visitor nothing.

Prefer specifics. "Since 1998" beats "decades of experience". "Same-day when you call by noon" beats "fast service". "Licensed master electrician" beats "expert electricians".

The line under the headline

Most home pages have a smaller line right below the headline. Use it for the second most useful thing, the one that did not fit:

What makes you different, in a fact: "Family-owned, three generations, same phone number since 1974."
What happens next: "Tell us what's wrong and we'll call you back within the hour during business hours."
Who you serve best: "We specialize in older homes with plaster walls."

Then put one clear button beside or below the pair, such as "Call now" or "Get a quote". The headline says what you do; the button says what to do next. Calls to action for small business websites goes deeper on choosing that button.

Common headline mistakes

The welcome line. "Welcome to Smith Plumbing" spends the most-read spot on the page saying hello. Put the name in the logo and use the headline for what you do.
The slogan. A clever line from a truck or business card may work there, where people already know what you do. On a website, a stranger needs the plain version first. Put the slogan lower down, if anywhere.
The list. "Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, Electrical, Remodeling, Roofing, Gutters" is a menu, not a headline. Lead with your main thing, or a word that covers the group, like "Home repairs and remodeling in ..."
Missing the place. For a local business, leaving out the town makes visitors from out of town think you might serve them, and visitors from your town wonder whether you are local.
Too long. If it wraps to four lines on a phone, it is too long. Aim for about ten to fifteen words.

Testing your headline

You do not need software to test a headline. Try these:

The phone test. Open your site on your phone. Can you read the full headline without scrolling, and is it the first thing your eye lands on?
The stranger test. Show the top of the page to someone who does not know your business for five seconds, then ask what you do and where. If they can say it back, it works.
The swap test. Put a competitor's name on your headline. If it still fits them perfectly, add the thing that is true only of you: your town, your specialty, your hours, your years.

Headlines on other pages

Every page needs its own headline that says what the page is about, in plain words. "Water heater repair and replacement" on the water heater page. "Our prices" on the prices page. "Where we work" on the service area page. Visitors often land on inner pages first, straight from a search, so each page should make sense on its own.

The headline is also a natural place for the words people search for. That helps Google understand what the page is about, though nobody can promise where it will show the page. If you are not sure which words those are, using the words customers search shows how to find them.

What to do this week

Write down what you do, who for and where, in one sentence each.
Squeeze them into one line of ten to fifteen words.
Write the smaller line under it with one fact that sets you apart.
Run the phone, stranger and swap tests.
Check that each inner page has its own plain headline.

If your current home page opens with a welcome line or a slogan, you can see your site rebuilt first with a clear headline at the top, and change the words yourself until they sound like you.