If you’re marketing your law firm correctly, you are driving prospects to your law firm website via social media, blogs, pay-per-click advertising, etc. Once they land on your home page, are they finding what they’re looking for that will lead them to contact you for an appointment? Or are they confused or, worse, bored?

In order to convert more browsers into buyers, there are four imperatives your law firm website home page must have:

#1: Clarity. Whatever type of law you practice should be spelled out clearly with words and visuals. It should be blatantly obvious within seconds, even to the casual observer. This is not the time or place to tell them every single thing you can do. Focus on your major practices, not the one that you helped one client with five years ago. Position yourself and your firm as a specialist.

#2:  Trust. Get as many legal words off your pages and speak to prospects in their language so that they understand that you understand. This builds trust and if they don’t trust you, they won’t do business with you. For example, no consumer uses the term, “family lawyer.” Many of them don’t even know what it means. Only 5 percent of visitors that end up at personal injury websites use the term, “personal injury lawyer.” 95 percent are searching for something else (car accident lawyer, dog bite attorney, etc). Adding online reviews and ratings to your home page provides that important “social proof” that you are trustworthy.

#3:  Relatability. While information and education are important, what people really want to know is, “Can I relate to this attorney?” and I know of no better way to demonstrate this than through video. There should be at least one video on your home page, your bio page, each of your major service pages, as well as your contact page. Talk about why you got into law, what your passion is, what kind of clients you love to work with, frequently asked questions they have and success stories your firm has achieved.

#4:  Differentiation. This is a tough one for most lawyers because they don’t really understand how to differentiate themselves. When asked, “Why should I hire you?” most attorneys give the same stale responses: “We have good quality services,” “We have a lot of experience,” and “We are a boutique law firm that will take care of you.” The problem is, when you look and sound like everyone else, people start to compare you based primarily on price. Instead, focus on the benefits you bring to clients, the results you have achieved and the creative solutions you have developed. Use client testimonials to tell your story. Using terms like, “We care,” is both trite and commonplace.

If you’re not hitting prospects with these four imperatives, then you are wasting the time and effort you put into driving them to your website in the first place.