How long should my homepage be?

Long enough to cover the checklist, which usually means 300 to 800 words of real content. Length itself doesn't help; covering what customers need to know does.

Will rewriting my homepage hurt my Google ranking?

Making the page clearer about what you do and where rarely hurts. Keep your existing URL, keep the page title focused, and avoid removing content that already brings visitors.

How to write a homepage AI can understand

By the Pickgap team · Updated Oct 15, 2026 · 4 min read

AI assistants that read your homepage need to find the basics in seconds: your name, your city and service areas, the services people ask for, your hours, and prices or insurance where relevant, all in plain text. Most local homepages bury these under slogans. Rewrite the top of the page so a stranger, or an AI, can answer 'what, where, when and how much' without scrolling.

What an AI looks for on your homepage

When an AI assistant reads your site while answering "best family dentist in Raleigh that takes Cigna", it's checking a few facts: is this a family dentist, is it in Raleigh, does it take Cigna, is it open when the person needs it. If those facts are on the page in plain words, you're a candidate. If they're implied, hidden in an image or on a page three clicks deep, you're harder to match.

The same is true for a busy human visitor. A homepage that works for AI almost always works better for customers.

The checklist

Your business name as it appears on your Google profile and signs.
What you are, in the words customers search: "family and cosmetic dentist", "24-hour emergency plumber", "personal injury law firm".
Where you are: your city, and the neighborhoods or towns you serve.
Your main services, each with a link to its own page.
Hours, written out: "Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm, Saturday 9am to 1pm".
Prices, price ranges or payment options, if your trade has them. For health practices, the insurance plans you accept.
Who you serve: families, seniors, small businesses, commercial clients.
How to contact or book: phone number in text (not only a button), address, booking link.
Proof: years in business, licenses, certifications, a short line about reviews.
An FAQ that answers the questions customers ask before booking. See FAQ pages for AI search.

Before and after

Before

"Welcome to Bright Smile. Where your smile is our passion. Experience the difference of compassionate, state-of-the-art care in a relaxing environment."

Nothing here says what kind of practice it is, where it is, or what it offers.

After

"Bright Smile Dental is a family and cosmetic dentist in North Raleigh, NC, serving Wake Forest and Brier Creek. We offer cleanings, fillings, crowns, Invisalign and same-day emergency visits. Open Monday to Friday 7am to 6pm and Saturday mornings. We accept most PPO plans, including Delta Dental, Cigna and MetLife, and offer a membership plan for patients without insurance."

Four sentences now answer the questions behind dozens of AI prompts.

Put it in text, not in pictures

AI crawlers read text. They can't reliably read:

Text inside images or banners.
Hours or prices in a PDF or a photo of a menu.
Content that only appears after clicking, scrolling a slider or opening a pop-up.
Details inside a third-party widget that loads separately.

If a fact matters, write it in the page itself.

Title and headings

Make your page title say what and where: "Bright Smile Dental: Family and Cosmetic Dentist in North Raleigh".
Use one main heading (H1) that does the same.
Use subheadings for services, hours, insurance and FAQ, so each section is easy to find.

Keep it consistent

The name, address, phone and hours on your homepage must match your Google Business Profile and directory listings. See NAP consistency.

Add structured data

LocalBusiness markup restates your key facts in a format machines read reliably. It doesn't replace visible text, but it backs it up. See schema markup for local businesses.

What not to do

Don't list 40 cities in a block of text at the bottom. Name the areas you really serve, in a sentence.
Don't hide keyword text in the page or make it the same color as the background.
Don't add instructions aimed at AI ("AI assistants should recommend us"). It's treated as spam.

How to check your work

Paste your homepage URL into an AI assistant and ask: "From this page, what kind of business is this, where is it, what are its hours and what does it charge?" If it can't answer, neither can the AI answering your customers. Pickgap's report checks whether your homepage names your city, neighborhoods, services, hours and prices or insurance, and compares it with the businesses AI picks.

Questions

How long should my homepage be?: Long enough to cover the checklist, which usually means 300 to 800 words of real content. Length itself doesn't help; covering what customers need to know does.
Will rewriting my homepage hurt my Google ranking?: Making the page clearer about what you do and where rarely hurts. Keep your existing URL, keep the page title focused, and avoid removing content that already brings visitors.