The legal world is a highly competitive world, particularly these days when universities are graduating lawyers at a record pace. Now more than ever, it is critical to stand out from your competition. The good news is that the legal industry as a whole has not done particularly well with their websites and online marketing. Many of those sites are antiquated and ineffective.
If your firm is willing to make the investment, it isn’t that difficult to move ahead of your competition.
Easy to Use
Without question, the paramount element of an effective law firm website is that it is easy to navigate. This comes down to the construction of the navigation (the pages menu) and graphics and design choices. Design should embrace a minimalist approach and should not overcomplicate or drown out the message that you need to convey to your potential clients. The navigation should be logical and mapped out in a way that visitors are able to find what they need quickly and efficiently. We always want to adhere to the three-click rule.
Clarity of Message
Your potential clients are coming to you with a specific need. Whether they are looking for some family planning, are in dire straits with the law, or are in need of some business documentation, it is up to you to provide them with the knowledge that you have solutions to their problems and they should contact you for help. There are three vital elements to a clear and compelling message on an effective law firm website:
- Identify Pain Point. A pain point is the real or perceived problem of a potential client/customer. Address the pain point right away so that the potential client knows you have a deep understanding of their problems.
- Educate/Offer Solutions. Display your value through offering solutions to these problems. Use testimonials/case studies to support your value.
- Call to Action. Now that the prospect understands that you are familiar with their situation and have solutions that address their needs, they need to be told what to do. This is a Call to Action (or CTA). It should be very specific. Examples include, Call Today, Sign Up for Our Newsletter and Fill Out Our Contact Form.
Determine what it is that you would like for these potential clients to do and then instruct them to do it. We at Bush Marketing help our clients cultivate the right language, website structure, branding and imagery to help convert visitors into client prospects. Make sure that your website does that for you.
Lawyer Profiles
In order to help establish a degree of trust with your potential client, it is important to show them with whom they may be doing business. A detailed bio for each lawyer in your firm, including a professional headshot, list of specialties and a link to a LinkedIn profile, is excellent for creating a feeling of connection with those in need of your services. People like to know they are doing business with people, not just a firm.
Mobile Friendly
All modern websites, regardless of industry and purpose, should be mobile friendly. It is an absolute must for law firms. 65% of website searches occur on mobile devices and the number is higher for local searches. Your clients will be doing their research on mobile devices, so your website better be optimized and able to give them the information they need in a manner that doesn’t frustrate them. This is a dealbreaker, so make sure that the site is not just mobile friendly, but that it looks good on a device!
Search Engine Optimization
As mentioned above, the legal field is a highly competitive one, and in order to have a truly effective law firm website, it needs to be found. It is a waste to develop a website and then lose the opportunity of a high search engine ranking to help generate clients. Of the 100% of clicks that a Google search gets, 60% go to the top three ranked websites. That is an incredibly powerful position to be in and the results are remarkable.
Interested in a unique, custom designed and branded website to help launch your law firm past the competition? Call Bush Marketing today!
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