Creating Effective Web Sites for Law Firms - Promote Your Law Practice
This is Part Two of Creating Effective Web Sites for Law Firms (Attorney Web Site Marketing). To read Part One, Click here.
Creating effective web sites for law firms isn't about pay per click advertising and flashy media. Online marketing for law firms is about creating relationships with current and potential clients.
Creating relationships in the digital world, however, isn't as easy as slapping up a web page and paying for the click.
Understand and Reach Your Clients Through Keyword Research
To have a successful website, you need to
understand what your clients are looking for. Therefore, you need to understand how clients think, not how other attorneys think,
or how you think. For this reason, keyword research plays an integral role.
A fundamental rule of creating effective web sites for law firms is simple--if you are
not able to capture through research-- and then provide --what clients are looking for, they are not going to find you, and you are
losing income.
Example:
In doing keyword research relating to Michigan lawyers or Michigan attorneys, I noticed an interesting thing.
The keywords Michigan lawyers had a value demand index (demand=what clients are searching for) of 5354, with a supply index
(supply=attorney or related websites) of 4372.
Conversely, the keywords Michigan lawyer (without an "s" at the end)
had a value demand index of 3259, with a supply index of 21,559! Here is a great example of how doing research
and thinking of your site from the client?s perspective can put you at a competitive advantage, but following the herd is a
tactical mistake.
Think about it this way-potential clients get online. They are searching for something, possibly a lawyer, or possibly a legally related issue.
If they can find a site that provides them with enough information that the potential client feels comfortable that you and your firm are the
best representatives for them, then your chances of getting the call and hired are much greater. This is different from the typical lawyer
website which simply talks about the firms practice areas and the attorney's accomplishments.
(Take a look at attorney websites with this thought in mind. If you were a client, who did not know a lot about the law, and nothing
about that firm or that attorney, would you find their website compelling enough to call them? In most cases, you will find your answer is
no. Nothing distinguishes these sites...most of them are, at best, pro forma versions of each other.)
When talking about attorney web site marketing, we are talking about providing truly relevant information that makes
the client's decisions more informed. Some attorneys are hesitant to do this. "Give the client information,
and why will they hire me??", they think. If this is you, turn your thinking around: if you cannot provide a certain amount of
relevant, unique information to help the potential clients' decision making process, they will seek it elsewhere....and the client is lost forever. Yet, how to have a site that is professional, comprehensive, and provides the potential client with the quality information they are looking for? Where to do the research to find out what clients are searching for on the internet? More importantly: how to have a site that accomplishes this without spending thousands of dollars? It is possible!
Build Your Website's Credibility and Get the Client
Getting the client from a website is about making your site "sell." To many lawyers, this is an unbelievable concept-you aren't a salesperson!
However, law is a business, just like any else. The principles behind making a client want to hire you is the same as any other type of decision consumers make about spending their money-its about who they know, like or trust....and sometimes all three.
For this reason, the underlying principles of making your site sell and getting the client, no matter what business you are in-- and particularly important for those looking to creat effective web sites for law firms.
Online Marketing for Law Firms and Attorneys is About More Than A Website or a Blog-Why Lawyers Should Engage in Social Networking
Websites for Law Firms: Stay Away from the "Brochure Site!"
Need help with creating effective web sites for law firms? Contact Nicole Wipp today!
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