“From the moment a prospect sees your site, they have to know you are all about the client – not yourself,” says Swift. “Your home page should use images and text in a client-centered voice to help prospective clients see that you understand what keeps them up at night.”

Accordingly, your picture does not belong on the home page, Swift says – a secondary page is its proper place. “Invest in a professional head shot,” she advises. “People need to be able to look right into your eyes and get the sense that they could like and trust you. Adding a personality shot here and there is fine. But don’t overdo it.”

Prospects also want to know about your staff, adds Andrew Gluck, president and CEO of Advisor Products. “A team page with photos satisfies our natural curiosity and engages visitors. Moreover, sharing your team’s professional qualifications and talents enhances your credibility,” he explains. “However, don’t expect visitors to be familiar with the alphabet soup of financial services professional designations. If you say you’re a CFP® licensee or have a Series 24, explain in a sentence what you did to earn those credentials.”

Matt Peterson, founder, Make It A Great Day, Inc., Washougal, Washington, who specializes in building web 2.0 features into his sites, suggests putting yourself in your prospects’ shoes. “When someone hits your site for the first time, you have three seconds to tell them who you are, what you do, and how you could help,” he says. “Our firm addresses that from both a content and a layout perspective.”

For example, Peterson stresses his seven-foot test. “I get up from computer and move back seven feet to be certain the site pops. I want to see the logo, but lately we’ve been creating boxes for ‘Who we are’ and ‘What we do,’” he says.

Innovative site additions can provide visitors easy access to the information they seek. For example, Thom Hall, CFP and his partners at the Financial Strategies Institute in Midvale, Utah sought to enhance their credibility by providing an engaging online office tour that both introduces their staff and shows off their facilities. 

Rick Epple, CFP, who runs Epple Financial Advisors in Minnetrista, Minnesota, uses a proprietary method called The Smart Decision Process™ to ensure nothing is overlooked in the planning process. To show prospects what they might expect, he developed a workflow diagramto illustrate how he works with clients to set goals and develop and implement an investment plan.

“One of the factors Google (and other search engines) use to determine your site's Search Engine Ranking Position (SERP) is the number of ‘inbound links’ from other popular sites. This tells Google that your site must be important, thus moving your site description up the list,” explains Peterson.  In addition to asking other sites to link to yours, Peterson says social networking sites can be a great source of inbound links. “Many of these sites are strategically optimized for search engine marketing,” he notes. “Let’s say a prospect types ‘Wealth Management Chicago’ into Google. Ideally, both your Facebook and Twitter pages show up in the search results. That’s especially effective if these sites have a company overview with a link to your site.”