We run a simple exercise with every new client: show their homepage to a stranger for 30 seconds, then ask three questions. What does this company sell? Who is it for? Why would I pick them over the next tab? Most homepages fail the third question. Often the second. Sometimes the first.
It's an unflattering test. It's also the only one that matters. Your prospects aren't sitting there decoding your value proposition — they're skimming for ten seconds and bouncing if it doesn't land.
Specificity beats cleverness.
The most common failure mode: clever-sounding headlines that say nothing. 'We help you grow.' 'Built for the future of work.' 'Marketing, reimagined.' None of these answer the three questions. None of these would win the 30-second test. None of these are worth the homepage real estate.
Specific beats clever every time. 'AI marketing automation for B2B SaaS teams who hate switching tools' is uglier than 'Marketing, reimagined' — and it sells dramatically more. The job of a homepage is to qualify the right buyer in or out, fast. Cleverness without specificity does the opposite.
What to do instead.
Write the headline last. Start with the answers to the three questions, in plain prose, in the order a stranger would need them. What we sell. Who it's for. Why we're different. Once you have those answers, the headline writes itself — usually a compressed version of question one or three, in your real voice.
Then run the test. Real strangers, not your team. Real 30 seconds, not a leisurely read. If they fail any of the three questions, you have more work to do — and you'd rather learn that on a Tuesday afternoon than after a $50k paid campaign delivers nothing.