Explain Your Site with a Tagline
When visitors come to your site, can they immediately tell what it’s about? If not, they may leave before realizing how valuable your information is. Keep them informed with a concise and specific tagline that clearly communicates your site’s value.
In the majority of cases, what your company does is not immediately evident from your home page. It’s obvious to you and your development team. But that doesn’t mean it’s obvious to someone who has come to your site through a link or a search engine. This is why it makes sense to use a few words to let people know what your site is all about.
Value Proposition = Powerful Tagline
Marketing professionals often refer to a company’s “value proposition.” It’s the unique service or knowledge you supply that makes your business stand out from your competitors.
The best way to clearly state your value proposition online is through a prominent tagline displayed on your homepage or as a part of your company logo.
Here are some examples of Web site taglines that get it right by conveying a value statement:
- U-Haul – “Your moving and storage resource.”
- Crye-Leike Realtors – “The Leader in Mid-South Real Estate.”
- Cray – “The Supercomputer Company.”
- ThermoSpas – “Luxurious Hot Tubs Made Affordable.”
These sites, some with a few words and some with more, make the effort to introduce themselves. They don’t assume everyone knows what they offer, nor do they put the burden of discovery on their visitors. Each sentence is a clear statement of what the organization offers to consumers.
Here are some examples of vague taglines that do not communicate a value proposition:
- The North Face – “Never Stop Exploring.” (Great. And you can help me do that how, exactly?)
- Zappos – “Free Shipping Both Ways.” (While this does convey a unique selling proposition, it doesn’t tell that the company sells shoes. That’s an important detail.)
- Orbitz – “A Step Ahead.” (Of what?)
Determine Your Site’s Value
You should already have some idea of why your site is valuable to users, but that idea is often hard to translate into a single statement.
Begin by researching competitors’ taglines – especially the top-ranked ones. Maybe you can learn something from their success. At least you’ll have some idea of the value propositions you’re competing against.
Next, write a description of your site. Talk about its purpose and the unique benefits it offers visitors. Write 50 words or 500 words. Then read it carefully and rank the most important elements. Once you’ve identified the top three to five elements, you can begin drafting your tagline.
Elements of a Good Tagline
Let’s go back to your value proposition. What is the key benefit that distinguishes your site from others offering similar products or services? That’s what you need to publicize in your tagline.
- Shorter is better. You only have one sentence to describe what your site is about, what it does, and how it adds value to the user. Choose your words wisely.
- Remember your audience. Don’t waste space with a list of your product names or use lingo that only your employees understand. Instead, communicate how your products help solve your visitors’ problems.
- Include keywords. A good tagline should include the keywords you’re targeting on your home page.
- Boring is ok. You don’t have to dazzle your visitors with your brilliance and writing skill. Avoid all the puffy adjectives and just describe your site. Of course, if you can come up with a witty and creative value statement, that’s great. But it’s a lot more important to clearly communicate with the statement than it is to sweep visitors away on a flight of clever wordplay.
Here’s the bottom line: The more time visitors spend on figuring out what your site is about, the less time they will spend on deciding whether to stick around. Make obvious what you do by crafting and employing an effective tagline.
Get a world-class tagline for your Web site from Softwyre. Call 501.734.0017 today to get started.
