Is a homepage with little or no text OK for SEO?

Question

We've got a homepage without text – just two links that point to the two main sections of the site. Here's the URL: https://wandelzeit.webflow.io

Each of the two sections that the homepage links to have distinct (although related) offers. The intention was to get Google & Co to refer to the section landing page, and therefore optimise those.

However, the question that's come up is whether it is detrimental to the 'findability' of the site not to have any text of description of the general theme of the business. Sure enough, the site title has the business name that also includes keywords, but is that okay? Will the 'rest' (=bulk) of the site, as well as the local business listing with Google, give enough juice?

We really like the minimalist landing page that directs visitors without delay to the most relevant section. But is that a 'bad' homepage in SEO terms?

Answer 1

A text-light home page is usually fine for SEO.

The home page has two important SEO functions:

1. Rank for your brand name.
2. Link to your most important content.

Your page with little text and just two links still should accomplish both of those goals.

In order to rank for your brand name, the title of your page should start with your brand name. You could also use your brand name in the alt text of your logo and your copyright statement. You don't need other mentions of your brand name on your home page to be able to rank for your brand.

Links are important from your home page because your home page is often the page on your site that gets the most link juice. It needs to redistribute that juice to the other pages of your site. Home pages get their linking power because a high percentage of external links to your site typically link to the home page. Every other page on your own site would also typically link back to the home page.

For a small site of up to 50 total pages, just two links from the home page to the most important sections of the site is fine. For a larger site you might want to include menus on the home page with additional links.

Other queries for which you want to rank typically should be handled by deep pages. That includes queries for things like:

• services offered
• products for sale
• area served
• contact information
• any long tail keywords

Even if your homepage has more text, it is usually good practice to create additional pages to rank for non-branded queries (or brand plus term queries). There is no way for a home page to do all the heavy SEO lifting alone, even with a ton of text.

Answer 2

My thoughts are in addition to Stephen Ostermiller's excellent answer. The content of the home page is by default represented by the subject of the content of the website. The subject of your website content is a consulting business, so it makes sense to present your business's unique selling proposition (USP) in the content. For details about the business and offers, provide links to the pages with this info.

The existing content on your home page runs the risk of being viewed by Google as thin content.

Read more of Google:

Content and quality questions

Does the content provide original information, reporting, research or analysis? Does the content provide a substantial, complete or comprehensive description of the topic? Does the content provide insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond obvious? If the content draws on other sources, does it avoid simply copying or rewriting those sources and instead provide substantial additional value and originality? Does the headline and/or page title provide a descriptive, helpful summary of the content? Does the headline and/or page title avoid being exaggerating or shocking in nature? Is this the sort of page you'd want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend? Would you expect to see this content in or referenced by a printed magazine, encyclopedia or book? Expertise questions Does the content present information in a way that makes you want to trust it, such as clear sourcing, evidence of the expertise involved, background about the author or the site that publishes it, such as through links to an author page or a site's About page? If you researched the site producing the content, would you come away with an impression that it is well-trusted or widely-recognized as an authority on its topic? Is this content written by an expert or enthusiast who demonstrably knows the topic well? Is the content free from easily-verified factual errors? Would you feel comfortable trusting this content for issues relating to your money or your life?