The Two-Sentence Test Every Local Business Should Run on Their Website Today

Here’s a quick exercise you can do right now, before you finish reading this post. Pull up your business website and find the first two sentences on your homepage — the ones that appear before anyone scrolls. Read them out loud as if you’re a first-time visitor who has never heard of you.

Now answer this honestly: Do those sentences describe what you do and who it’s for? Or do they describe how you feel about doing it?

If they sound something like “We are dedicated to excellence and committed to making a difference” — you’ve just identified the single fastest fix in local marketing.

Here’s the tip: Your headline and first sentence should name who you serve and what changes for them — not what you value.

“We help small businesses and nonprofits in the area get local media coverage and community recognition so they can grow their reach without growing their ad spend” tells a potential client everything they need to decide if you’re relevant to them in less than ten seconds.

“We’re passionate, driven communicators who believe in the power of community” tells them nothing — and costs you the click.

The harsh truth is that most local businesses write their website copy for themselves. It affirms their identity and expresses their values. But your website’s only job is to quickly, clearly connect a visitor with the feeling that you are the right solution for them specifically. That connection requires specificity about their problem, their geography, their outcome — not your mission statement.

Rewrite those two sentences this week. It’s free, it takes twenty minutes, and it may be the highest-converting thing you do all year.

Our Town Matters helps businesses find that message and make it work across every channel — from the homepage to the headline.