by Nick Gromicko

Aside from the obvious such as your law firm’s logo, something that explains what areas of law you specialize in, and of course your phone number…what else should definitely go on the homepage of your law firm’s website? Here is a simple exercise you can do to make sure you aren’t leaving something out that would help you convert more visitors into clients. You’ll need a pen and paper.

Step #1: Imagine that a consumer asked you “Why should I hire you?” Now take your time and in no particular order, start writing down each and every possible answer to this question. The list might end up being 20 or 30 answers long. If it’s longer, so be it.

Step #2: Go back and look at each answer on your list. Ask yourself this question: “Is this something most of my competitors would likely be able to claim? An example would be “I’m very experienced.” All lawyers would say they are very experienced. All of your competitors have noses too. So scratch it off your list. Do this for every answer on your list, scratching any off your list that most of your competitors would likely have on their respective list. When finished, you should have a short list of only those answers that are likely not ones your competitors would give in response to a consumer asking “Why should I hire you?”

Step #3: Compare your short list with what’s on the homepage of your website. Is everything on your short list also on your homepage? If not, add them to your homepage.

Step #4: Compare what you scratched off your original list to what’s on the homepage of your website. Is anything you scratched off your original list on your homepage? If so, delete it from your homepage.

If you are lucky enough to get a consumer who is looking for a legal help to come to your website, don’t waste your good luck. You are only going to get a few seconds to convince them that you are the right choice, the law firm they should hire. You might get 5 seconds at most. One, two, three, four, five. That’s all the time your visitor will stay on your homepage. Now if you were in a one-round boxing match where each round lasts only 5 seconds, what would you do to improve your chances of winning? You wouldn’t waste time. You’d throw all your very best punches as fast as possible. That’s what this pen and paper exercise determines for you. It determines what your best punches are.

Once you’ve made the changes, it’s time to get more potential clients to your website. Sign up now.