The internet has changed the way lawyers do business. And while that’s true across the board, it’s especially true for lawyers who are just starting out. If you’re a small or solo practice, your website could be what sets you apart from other businesses. The right website will help you attract more clients (and keep them happy), improve your search engine rankings, and boost your reputation among your peers. It may even save you money on marketing expenses over time! If nothing else, building an effective online presence is simply good business sense.
A Lawyers guide to online marketing? Your law firm website matters more than ever.
Your law firm website matters more than ever. As our practice areas expand, so too do the benefits of having an online presence.
Your website is the first impression you make on potential clients and referral sources alike. It should showcase your values, philosophy and expertise while demonstrating that you are a professional who cares about their needs. A good website will allow visitors to learn more about what makes you unique in a way that’s not only easy for them but also makes them want to do business with you as well as refer others to your firm or practice area.
Your website must speak directly to those who have already taken time out of their day to visit it—it should give them exactly what they were looking for when they clicked on your URL in the first place!
What does your website look like?
When it comes to your website, the goal is to create an experience that is clean, simple and easy-to-navigate. Your site should include relevant content that users want to read. It should also be mobile friendly so they can view it on the go. If you have a blog or any social media presence, make sure these are linked from your homepage so viewers can easily access them from there.
Write relevant and useful content.
If you’re a lawyer, you should be writing content that is useful to your audience. If you’re not sure how to do this, remember the following points:
- Use keywords in your content.
- Write for your audience, not yourself.
- Keep it short and sweet—nobody wants to read long-winded articles on a subject they don’t care about!
- Don’t forget to keep it relevant; if you’re writing about legal news or cases, make sure that information is presented in an interesting way that readers will enjoy reading through!
Is your website easy to navigate?
Your website is a reflection of your law firm, so it’s important that its design reflects your business in the best possible way. Here are some tips for ensuring that your website is easy-to-use and user-friendly:
- Make navigation intuitive
- Use a logical page structure
- Use breadcrumbs to help users navigate from one page to another
- Include a search bar to help users find what they’re looking for
- Ensure your site is accessible by all visitors
Interactive features are a must.
Interactive features should be a part of your website. They’re good for SEO, they help you connect with clients, and they allow you to understand your audience better. Interactive features can also be used to get feedback from clients and build trust with them.
Make sure your site is mobile-friendly.
If you don’t have a mobile-friendly website, then your customers are likely to go elsewhere.
Make sure your site is mobile-friendly. Use responsive design or a theme that is responsive, and make sure it loads fast on mobile devices (under 3 seconds). Also make sure it’s easy to navigate with a small screen size.
You need a blog and social media presence.
A blog is a website that allows users to post their thoughts, ideas and information. Blogs can be about anything; from politics to fashion and from travel to music. Your blog should be unique and interesting so that people will want to read it.
If you don’t have a blog yet, now is the time! A blog is an excellent way for lawyers to showcase their expertise in their field on a platform where they can share their knowledge with others who may need it. It’s also an important part of your digital marketing strategy because it helps build trust between you and potential clients by demonstrating that you are knowledgeable about your industry as well as showing them all of the different ways in which you could help them solve their problems.
A blog will boost your rankings in search results.
In order to rank well in search results, you need to do more than just build a great website. You also have to make sure that your site is easy-to-find by people who are looking for it.
One of the best ways to do this is by using keywords in your blog posts and linking out to other related blogs and sites. This will increase the chances that someone will stumble upon your content online, increasing traffic and boosting rankings.
To start getting some buzz going around your new blog post, try linking out to other relevant blogs on social media or sharing articles written by others that fit within the theme of your article (and vice versa). This will help you get noticed while also giving credit where credit is due!
Newsletters build loyalty with clients.
Newsletters are a great way to build loyalty with clients. They’re also a good way to communicate with clients and build trust. And if you want to keep in touch with clients, newsletters are the ticket! It’s like we’re talking about three separate things that all have one thing in common: newsletters.
A dynamic social media presence builds trust.
The rise of social media has changed the way many consumers interact with their lawyers. A dynamic online presence is important for building trust, not only for prospective clients but also for existing clients who may have been referred to you by friends or family.
With a professional website and a strong Facebook page, you can build confidence in potential clients that you know your stuff and have relevant industry experience. You can also use social media to respond quickly to customer feedback or questions on topics such as divorce law or personal injury compensation claims.
Automate email responses and appointments.
Automating your email responses and appointments can save you a lot of time. If a prospect emails you, they expect a response within 24 hours. If they don’t hear back from you, they will assume that they’re not important enough to contact and move on. You need to make sure that your prospects know immediately when they reach out to you by creating campaigns in HubSpot that automatically respond to the right people at the right time with an automated message or appointment request (and even book the appointment for you!).
You should also use this same software (or another similar one) for sending out newsletters about what’s happening in your practice as well as any updates on changes or updates in laws that may affect them. It’s important for clients and potential clients alike so make sure it’s something that gets done every month!
Your online presence matters
A lawyer’s online presence is important for many reasons:
- You need to have a website. If you don’t, it’s like being the only lawyer in Chicago without a business card. A website is your virtual business card and meeting place for prospective clients to get acquainted with you and your practice. It allows prospects to learn about the areas of law in which they are interested, read articles written by you or others, find out what makes your practice unique and most importantly, see if they like working with you.
- Your website needs to be mobile friendly. More people use their smartphones than desktop computers now days and Google has made it clear that websites that aren’t optimized for mobile devices will receive lower rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs). So if someone searches “criminal defense attorney” on their smartphone while sitting at home during dinner time on Wednesday night—and decides they want an attorney who can represent them—they won’t find your firm because all the links from those SERPs point back to non-mobile-friendly sites that look more like this: https://www.*lawyer*.com/criminal-defense/chicago/.
- The content on your website must be relevant and useful for both prospective clients seeking legal help as well as those performing research related issues related to whatever industry niche(s) may interest them most.* The navigability should be clear so visitors can easily find what they’re looking for without having any problems getting around.* Interactive features such as blogs or podcasts may also make sense depending upon how active our audience is expected to be across various social media platforms
A Lawyers guide to online marketing? Conclusion
As a lawyer, it’s important to stay up-to-date with the latest legal news and trends. But, it’s also vital to make sure that you have an online presence that works in your favor and attracts potential clients. In today’s world of online marketing and social media, a website is the first step towards building trust with potential clients. This guide has given you some useful tips on what kind of website should be created by lawyers looking for ways to market their services effectively through various channels such as email newsletters or blogs.