When customers arrive at your firm’s website, be sure to use numerous calls to action. Diverse people react to different stimuli.
When we put together a website, it is hard to identify precisely how the crowds will respond to the page layout. What may possibly appeal to you would not appeal to others and vice versa. This is why it is essential to provide multiple options for people to get in touch with your firm (assuming your website is being used for the purpose of creating new clients).
For instance, if I am offering a pertinent e-book to potential customers, I ought to post an image that is a professional looking picture of the guide which links to a landing web page. In addition, beneath the picture ought to be a link that a person could click on leading to the same landing page. By doing this I will capture individuals that the image appeals to and also others that the text link appeals to.
One more example is listing your firm’s phone number on every page of your site along with a picture and links to receive free case evaluations. This strategy will appeal to users that are available to discuss their matter now as opposed to a person that is at a different stage in the process. For instance, a person downloading the e-book may still be doing research, whereas the other people are ready to talk right now. Either way, I am offering channels with which users can contact me.
I get how this works…..they can get a hold of my firm on the contact page!
Though your law firm ought to have a contact us page that includes all of the firm’s relevant info on it, you also really need to provide your site traffic a reason to get in touch with you. Think what’s in it for them. WHY should they get in touch with you? When you offer them legitimate motives like a free guide or free consultation, then you will appeal to the reasons they WANT to speak to you.
Acquiring extra visitors to your firm’s site is just half the battle. Ensuring that these people are getting in contact with you after they arrive is seriously important. Below are four suggestions you can utilize to produce more interaction through your legal site:
1. Make certain your telephone number is showcased prominently on each and every page on your site – This may seem to be obvious, but it really is important. Do not make website visitors have to visit your contact page. Displaying your telephone number within the top portion of your law firm’s website, adjacent to the firm’s logo or on the right side, is a good spot. Just help to make certain it can be easily seen.
2. Provide a submission form on each and every page of your site - Not every potential client wants to speak via phone. For those that would prefer to send you an email, provide them a form to do so. Even better, make sure that email form is offered on every page on the site.
3. Promote a totally free guide a visitor can get in exchange for their contact info – The guide not just permits you to engage with your website visitors, it even allows you to develop trust and establish the firm as an authority. Here is an instance of this method in action on our very own website.
4. Supply a newsletter signup – Developing a list of engaged readers is a excellent approach to market your firm. Make certain you are following up by emailing out a e-newsletter at the very least once a month.
You can download our Complete Library of Guides for Lawyers here. The guides are filled with helpful tips and examples so you can get the most out of your online marketing.
Legal professionals frequently explain to me that while they put out the work to write and maintain a blawg, they have difficutly finding ways to get new readers. I have written a checklist of 5 tips that with minimal work, will help to give more visibility to your blog.
1. Distribute the blog to pertinent directories. Even though this might seem obvious, I am amazed at how many attorneys fail to actually do this. Submitting your blawg to directories can help to provide people searching for your blog material the ability to discover it. The following is a list of a few blog directories to get you started: Blawg, Technorati, MyBlogLog, and ABA Blawg Directory. There are numerous others as well. Simply perform a search for “Legal Blog Directories” and get started submitting.
2. Take advantage of Twitter to publicize your blog posts. The great thing about Twitter is that like-minded folks can locate one another and discuss tips and articles around the web. You can use a program, like twitterfeed, to automatically send out your content as you publish them to your site.
3. LinkedIn Groups and Facebook. Sharing your posts and ideas with fellow attorneys and group members by way of LinkedIn and Facebook is a good means to gain further exposure. Start out by subscribing to pertinent LinkedIn groups such as Legal Blogging, Lawyer Marketing, Legal Marketing, and any others that might be more practice specific. Share your posts with the groups. If you write intriguing content, people will visit to read and subscribe.
4. Comment on other Firm’s Blogs. The very character of blogging lends itself to communicating and dialogue. Take time to read other interesting blog articles and comment, sharing your thoughts. DO NOT SPAM. The idea of this exercise is to involve yourself in the blogging community and participate in the dialogue, not spam others.
5. Use social bookmarking sites to submit your most effective articles. Submitting a great article to sites like Digg, Stumbleupon, Reddit, and Delicious can drive readers to your blog. If individuals like the posts you wrote, they will “vote” for it. This will bring new eyeballs to your blog.
Attorney web marketing begins with a built-in disadvantage concerning the material you are writing for your website. The reason being the subject material is complex, comprehensive, and necessitates an advanced degree to understand completely. The content on your site is confronted with the unenviable task of explaining, in layman’s terms, extremely sophisticated subjects while at the same time struggling with the fleeting focus of internet users.
It is essential to recognize that crafting content for your website is unique and really should be approached differently than other forms of conventional writing.
Effective attorney internet advertising calls for understanding how to craft internet copy
I am going to focus on writing website copy from the viewpoint of user friendliness and engaging your audience. While it is also beneficial to recognize how to write web content for search engine marketing,I will reserve that subject for another article.
The following are a number of tips to consider when crafting copy for your law firm’s website:
- Individuals visiting your website scan through the articles…they do not read them – Make your paragraphs and sentences simple. Employ headlines and bolding that spotlight your primary messages.
- Utilize bullet points – Consumers love lists on the internet. Whenever lists and bullets are utilized appropriately, a customer can more quickly look at and process the points you address.
- Be conversational, less “marketing speak” – I consistently point out that consumers prefer to buy from other people, not faceless law firms. This is especially legitimate when selling professional services. Make certain you compose with your style, while retaining a professional tone.
- Stay away from legal speak – Not only doesn’t the average person have an understanding of it, but these people will quickly dismiss your articles and move ahead to another site. Attention is short lived online, if a prospective client doesn’t have an understanding of what you are expressing, they will quickly go to another firm’s site.
- Employ images, video tutorials, and illustrations in your articles (where appropriate) – This can make your content much more aesthetically attractive and draws the users in.
A great book to read on the subject is Net Copy by Nick Usborne. It is a easy read that addresses how to approach writing for the web.
Taking a deeper look at the copy on your legal will improve the success of your law firm internet advertising.
Getting your law firm noticed in local search results is becoming progressively more important. Almost 40% of all search queries conducted every month have some kind of local purpose (ie: state or city name, zip code, neighborhood, and so forth.). There are particular strategies and variables that are important in helping your law firm website perform nicely for local queries.
1. Categorize Your Practice Correctly
Selecting the appropriate categories for your firm in local listings is especially important. Quite a few firms do not devote enough time taking into consideration which category labels to use. They discount this as a trivial step. When your potential clients are not looking up a specific firm by name, they first seek out lawyers by category. If you don’t associate your firm with the category they’re looking for, you won’t be found.
2. The Necessity of Links and Citiations
Hyperlinks From Other Sites: Hyperlinks are the currency of the internet. A hyperlink to your website is like a vote for your site in the eyes of the search engines like google. All else being equal, a law firm site that has additional hyperlinks from local and related sites will acquire more visibility in local search results.
Citations: Citations are references to your law practice name, address, and telephone number on other web sites. These references do not have to incorporate a link to your web site. A good illustration of a citation might be an online attorney directory where your business is shown, but not linked to. Yet another would be a local yellow pages website.
3. The Listed Title Of Your Law Practice
Your law firm title (ie: the name of your law firm) is an especially significant factor for ranking well in the local search engines. You want your title to be consistent across the listings as well as having it contain pertinent keywords to your firm’s practice. Having consistency helps your practice establish trust in the eyes of search engines. Incorporating appropriate terms in the title helps your practice receive better positioning when individuals perform searches. For instance, The Law Offices of Joe Smith, located in Chicago, could create a title called Law Offices of Joe Smith | Chicago Personal Injury Law Firm. Just keep it consistent and uncomplicated. Don’t attempt to stuff too many search phrases into your title.
