The degree to which a particular industry as a whole uses online marketing can vary greatly—the legal profession is one such field where it is not quite as popular. Many firms and independent lawyers rely on referrals, and this provides a steady stream of clients. But, like any business, you should always have your eye towards getting more and not resting on your laurels. Lots of people out there need the exact services you are offering, and they are turning to the internet to find the providers. A strong web presence can help establish trust, authority and credibility, all of which can give you an edge over another attorney. Here are some tips for putting together a strong website.  

Get a Professionally Designed Website

Law is serious business, and as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. A shoddy looking website will put your practice in a negative light, no matter how brilliant you may be at your job. A professional designer will not only help you create an attractive ‘’store front’’ that will entice people to enter, he will know all the intricate elements that will make your site as search engine-friendly as possible. Just like you would want to make sure the outside area and lobby of your practice look attractive and portray a certain image, the same goes for your website.

Have a Prominent, Clear Call-to-Action

You put up a website so that prospective clients know that you can help them. You want them to contact you for their legal needs. So, you want to make it as easy as possible for visitors to your site to do so. Make sure navigating to your contact information is as easy as possible ,and that is is very prominent on the site. If you prefer one method over another, such as filling out a web-based contact form, put the emphasis on that. Tell them exactly what you want them to do to best get in touch with you. Most people are not looking up legal information for fun or out of curiosity—they likely require the services of a lawyer and you want to make sure that they leave your site having reached out to you.

Make a Strong FAQ Page

If you are not including a FAQ page on your website, you are missing a valuable opportunity to establish credibility and authority, as well as the opportunity to boost search engine rankings.  An informative website that answers the common questions your potential clients are likely to have makes you look like an attractive candidate for their attorney. Also, this section of the website allows you the opportunity to include keyword-rich content filled with terms people are searching for.

Keywords

Having people naturally come across your site through search engines is top priority when it comes to online marketing. Like it was mentioned before, this is why an FAQ page is so important—it gives you a great opportunity to naturally work these terms into your site. You can also place keywords in other parts of your site, such as the ‘’about’’ page, or the pages that outline the types of law you practice and what services you provide. Besides the keywords linked to your type of law, you also want to place location specific keywords, since most searches are going to naturally include a location along with the type of lawyer; a good example can be found here. It is important to find a good mix of the technical, ‘’official’’ legal jargon and natural phrasing that would be used by a non-lawyer searching for your services.

Kelli Cooper, who has written content for a variety of firms such as Chucker & Reibach, is a freelance writer who enjoys sharing tips on how various professions can better market their services online.

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