The famous axiom attributed to Will Rogers goes: “You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.” 

For most new clients, that first impression comes via your law firm website. A rookie mistake is to put any old website design up, just to have something on the web. 

But merely having a website — any website — up and running isn’t enough. 

For example, a potential client might categorize you in the ‘not useful’ column due to poor messaging, branding, or content. 

If on that first interaction, a visitor has categorized your firm in the negative or not useful to them, then the task of marketing is now doubly hard. You have to erase the poor impression first and then establish the newer, more positive one. 

Any law firm website should be designed to achieve two primary aims: attract visitors and convert those visitors into new clients. If you’re falling short on either of these goals (or perhaps both), then it’s time to rethink your law firm website for problems and solutions. 

Let’s explore some tips and tricks that can help your website function at its optimum potential. 

1. Audit Your Law Firm Website

There’s not much point in trying to correct a problem when you don’t know what it is in the first place. 

Auditing a law firm website is one of the best ways to check up on it’s performance and see where it’s falling short. 

An audit can examine key page performance data like search engine optimization (SEO) and conversion results. In other words, this can show you the number of people finding your site and how many of them convert.

The audit can also determine whether or not your law firm website is optimized to achieve your traffic goals according to your legal marketing framework. If you’re not reaching these goals, then a good audit tool can give you ideas to improve your law firm’s website. 

An audit tool can also help you:

• Identify technical issues that might hamper your law firm website, like broken links, load page speeds, hidden/ overlooked content, and more.
• Perform a competitive analysis. This analysis can show how your law firm website fares against your competition. Audits can also be performed on your competition to see how they might attract visitors and if they are converting to clients. 
• Track your Conversion Rate. One of the more significant metrics to track is the ratio of visitors to lead conversion your law firm website is producing. If your conversion rate is not in line with your marketing framework, then it’s time to re-evaluate. 

2. Include Must-Have Elements

There are hundreds of different law firm website styles and designs, as well as websites in general. 

Successful websites have the essential core elements that make the difference in your goals. Goals such as a site that is easily ‘findable’ and has a high conversion ratio. These elements include:

• A simple homepage with easy navigation. 
• Keep the messaging concise and easily consumable. 
• Effective content across the board.
• Promote your people and their abilities in the best light.
• Promote your successful case history and back it up with proof.

These are the law firm website pillars that can support the structure of your marketing plan. You can go into greater detail about these must-have elements or explore the details of other aspects of website designs.

3. Add A Blog

The addition of a blog to your law firm website can be one of the most effective ways to generate interest in your business. 

Potential leads are looking for information that fits their specific problem. That problem could be in the area of your legal expertise, and a blog entry on your law firm website has the capability to address those issues directly. 

A blog is also a great way to position yourself as a thought leader and authority in your field. If you use social media for marketing yourself (and why wouldn’t you?), a blog link is a useful promotional tool to include in a tweet or post. 

Each well-crafted blog entry has the potential to add value to your firm. They increase search engine optimization and can give you content to share with prospective clients. 

4. Optimize Your Law Firm Website For Local Searches

General Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is helpful for general searches, but that doesn’t mean neglecting your neighbors. 

Local SEO can target the biggest potential pool of new clients: the ones physically living near your law firm. Ranking as high as possible for search engine results in your geographical area makes it easier for local visitors to find you. 

Because the laws and workings of the legal world can vary significantly between counties, cities, and even neighborhoods, people know that a local expert in the field where they’re having problems is a valuable asset.

Checking your law firm website for local SEO optimization can start with a simple name search. If you Google your law firm, does all your information come up correctly?

If your firm’s exact name, address, and contact information is inconsistent or incorrect, it could be a significant barrier for new visitors to overcome. Plus, it doesn’t look professional when that’s the exact impression you need to convey. 

5. Edit And Streamline

In an effort to make your law firm website stand out amongst the crowd, many law firms make the mistake of doing too much. For example, if your law firm website is packed with eye-catching graphics and sliding images, it might easily have the opposite desired effect. 

While these bells and whistles may seem impressive at first, your visitors could equate such garishness with ambulance chaser-type firms.

Verbose or unfocused branding anywhere on your site may also turn off visitors who have to work harder to glean what your law firm is offering and who you are. Keeping the web design and content streamlined and focused can make everyone’s job easier. 

Law Firm Website Optimization – Conclusion

There are literally dozens of law firm website mistakes that can make the difference in your visitor’s first impression and the site’s conversion rate. 

But on the other hand, there are many more tips and tricks that can help your website get noticed without alienating the very people you’re trying to attract.

Digital marketing can be a complicated business to master. At Kaleidico, we’ve achieved a long track record of success by helping law firms grow bigger and faster through digital marketing expertise. Contact us today and tell us about your project.

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