Having a website may seem like a given in today’s online marketplace. But many law firms make common mistakes that lead to poor results and an inability to generate new clients.
A website serves many different purposes, and deciding the functions you want it to play ensures lasting success for your practice. Understanding why you need a website is the first step to achieving the benefits that it can provide to your law firm.
What’s the Purpose of Your Website?
A website can be an online brochure that gives visitors information about your legal services, the clients you serve, and its overall mission as a business.
Your website can generate new traffic and leads. Online users who are looking for the services and resources you offer can use your website to answer their most important legal questions.
A business website can be an online hub that directs users to your social media pages, blog, and other content. Webinars, podcasts, and interactive content can all be featured on your website.
More importantly, your website offers resources that support the needs of prospective clients, which leads to increased conversion rates and a growing client base.
Benefits of a Well Designed Website
A well designed website increases credibility and trust among your audience. It makes your law firm accessible to visitors who have questions related to their legal needs.
Websites help law firms measure the online behaviors and interests of prospective clients. Analytics can be used to measure bounce rates, page visits, and other actions that help you better understand your target audience.
Your law firm’s website is a cost-efficient way to advertise its services when compared to traditional marketing methods such as TV, radio, and print advertising.
In addition, search engine optimization (SEO) is critical to your online marketing success. Appearing at the top of search engine results pages drives traffic to your site, positions you as an industry leader, and generates new clients for your practice.
Your website must be designed with the proper SEO elements in place to get better rankings over time.
Designing an Effective Website
Identifying your goals is the first step to designing an effective website for your law firm. Consider short- and long-term objectives along with the indicators that let you measure your progress.
Your website delivers your brand’s “voice” to prospective clients. Decide what tone will attract the right clients (professional, conversational, technical, etc.).
The design of your website plays a key role in achieving your law firm’s goals. A clean and professional design with images that support its content is critical to its performance.
Intuitive navigation helps users find the content they need quickly and increases the likelihood that they’ll return in the future.
Your website’s content must be compelling and guide users further along into your sales process.
Clearly defined calls to action should be included on each page. A call to action can ask users to do any of the following:
● Visit your blog
● Share content
● Sign up for your newsletter
● Download a free guide
● Schedule a consultation
Your website’s pages must be optimized for SEO. A skilled developer helps you implement the necessary elements for better search rankings.
These include the proper use of keywords, titles, tags, images, and coding so that search engines can crawl and index your site’s content and present it to users.
Law firms and other businesses often create websites without first identifying their purpose, which keeps their practices from achieving online success.
Your law firm must identify the reasons why it wants to have a website. This influences your marketing decisions and helps you achieve your business objectives.
Let us know how your website has supported the growth of your law practice. If you’re still struggling to get the results you’re after through your website, include your questions in the comments below.
We’ll help you identify the essential points to consider when developing a powerful strategy for your law firm’s business website.
