Having a good website for your law firm is only the first part of using it to obtain new clients. Whether you are a solo practitioner or the site administrator for a large firm, there are things that you should be doing in order to maximize the value you derive from your website. Here are 4 important things that you should be doing.
1. Make It Easy for Clients to Find You.
Too many law firms spend a lot of money on a nice website, only to inadvertently hide it from the very clients they are seeking to impress. There are thousands of law firms vying for the attention of clients, so you need to be sure that you are taking a few key steps in order to maximize your visibility.
First, make sure you have a good search engine optimization program. Search engine optimization is the science of constructing web pages in such a manner as to increase your ranking in the search results of major search engines. This can include creating quality blog posts, keyword optimization, and other things that can help push your firm up the list of search results.
In addition to search engine optimization, you should make sure that you are taking advantage of the online listing services available. You can use our free tool to scan the Internet’s 70 directories for your law firm’s online listings.
Many services, such as AVVO, will allow you to link from your listing there to your law firm website. What’s more, ensuring that you have an entry in these listings will boost your credibility in the eyes of potential clients, so make sure you have an active listing.
2. Help Clients Contact You.
Internet users are notoriously impatient and fickle. Even if someone has decided to contact you, if he or she cannot easily do so, there is a good chance that he or she will close the window on your firm and go visit the website of a competitor.
As such, make sure that your contact information is clearly visible to visitors to your page. Consider using a landing page that immediately engages visitors and asks them to fill out a simple contact form. In addition, be sure that your phone number is readily visible to readers. Many firms list the phone number in a header or a footer so it is on the screen at all times.
3. Help Potential Clients Trust You.
One thing that will help you gain customers is giving them the impression that they can trust you. A great way to establish your credibility is by providing them with information that is useful and relevant to their situation.
Many attorneys find that authoring a blog that answers some of the most frequently asked questions is a great way to establish a sense of credibility with potential clients. Be sure to close every blog post with an invitation for readers to contact you with any questions.
4. Provide Value: Help Your Clients Help Themselves.
There are certain functions that can be largely automated on your website. Things such as child support calculators, a tool that evaluates whether a client is eligible for an expungement, and other similar tools can provide visitors to your site with useful information, while at the same time saving you from having to answer some of the more simple questions when they visit you in the office.
By providing these useful tools, you help to build a connection with visitors to your site. They view you as a knowledgeable attorney, and they see that you have already given them something of value, so they are more likely to contact you for further representation.
By utilizing your website properly, you can greatly increase the value it brings. Engage the client, build trust, and make it easy for him or her to find you, and you will see your contact rates beginning to rise.
If you have any questions about running your website, please contact us.
