When designing a website, many Attorneys and Title Agents put a primary focus on two pieces of information that won’t help much when it comes to being found online by new prospects:
- The name of their law firm
- and their experience as a lawyer
Although this might seem like the most vital content to have on your website, it is actually the least important information to highlight when you are trying to attract new clients.
Here’s what every attorney website design needs to attract new clients:
Clients vs. New Prospects
Existing or past clients might search Google for your name or business name. They already know who you are and what you offer.
They are likely just trying to find your contact information or address. You often won’t need to do much convincing as they have likely already hired you.
However, new prospects might not know your firm from your competition down the street. Instead they might search for an answer related to their problem or a question that an attorney (you) might be able to answer for them.
Prospects visiting your website for the first time don’t care to know all of your credentials or how long you’ve been in business – at least not right away.
They just want to know if and how you can help them.
Treat them differently.
Drop the “I” and focus on “you”
We call this the “drop the ‘I’ and focus on ‘you’” rule. Provide less information about yourself (“I”) on your website and more about how you can help your clients (“you”). This will help to create an emotional connection you want to make with prospective clients.
Although it is counterintuitive, this is the primary information you should include on your web site because it is the first thing people look for.
How are you going to help me?
Do you appear to know enough about situations similar to mine?
What kind of experience will I have when dealing with you and your Firm?
This is what prospects want to know.
If you think about it for a moment it really makes sense.
You are what your website says you are
You are what your website says you are. If a prospect thinks you can solve their problem based on your web content, have a higher likelihood of attracting more business; And if the experience matches what the client expects, more referrals.
If you have irrelevant or no content, don’t expect increased traffic or more inquiries from your website.
Only when you have answered a prospect’s questions on your website will it typically warrant the next step in their decision to choose you.
Here are a few ideas for website content for your law firm and where to find and generate the content from:
1) What are the top 3 questions you get in each of your legal practice areas?
Since potential clients search for information related to their problems, not your law firm name, wouldn’t it make sense to try to address their questions right out of the gates?
That is exactly what we recommend. Think about each of your practice areas for a moment.
What are the common questions you get asked in your initial consultation?
This is the information you need to have on your website!
For a Real Estate Attorney, these questions might include: “How much home can I afford?” or “How long will it take to close on my house?”
Whereas, an attorney with a Business Law practice might answer questions like “S Corp or LLC, which is better?”
Make a list of those common questions and write short blog posts for each.
We are not suggesting you give legal advice in this format – think of it more as explaining a topic at a high level in order to provide educational information.
This is far more effective at demonstrating your expertise to the general public than all of the acronyms and credentials on your bio page.
Be sure to include a call-to-action statement at the bottom of each of these posts with a link to your contact page or your contact info.
We usually recommend something like: “For a complimentary consultation on [TOPIC], contact me today at (555) 555-5555.”
This is why blogs can be so powerful.
2) Where might I find content for my website?
One of things that attorneys struggle with when getting their website built is having the time to write the content. For example, they can very quickly provide us with the common questions they get, but they don’t have the time to write the content themselves or “blog.”
Your time is often better spent on billable hours, speaking with clients and/or prospects and closing deals or providing services.
The good news is that there are a lot of great content sources out there that can either be paraphrased or used with or without attribution. One great source is Wikipedia. Here is their stance on using content on third party websites like yours.
This obviously isn’t the only place where this information can be found. However, we have found that it is effective at getting past writer’s block at a minimum.
For instance, if I were going to write an article about the importance of wills, I might kick the article off with a definition of what a will is or a statistic about how many people don’t have wills.
Then I might move on to my knowledge on the time-consuming process of probate or the consequences of not having a will.
This is all generally available information but your goal is to break it down in a simple, easy-to-understand way. Sometimes less is more.
The main thing to remember is to offer information in a way that your targeted audience will find informative.
3) Feelings over logic
As previously mentioned, credentials are important; just not the most important factor when trying to attract new business.
People buy things based on feelings not on logic. When something makes us feel good (a suit, a car, shoes), we use rationalization to back up the decision to purchase (for example, I can break up the payments).
Your answers to common questions have made people feel good about using your legal services. Now they start to look for the facts to back it up with reasons why.
This is where your “About Us” page, “Biography” page, or online reviews really shine!
Trust the process! On the Internet focus on feelings before logic.
4) Looking for a connection point
As a final point, one thing I see Attorneys overlook on their website is their community involvement or charitable work.
Does your organization donate to the March of Dimes each year?
Does your staff volunteer with the American Cancer Society?
Are you on the board of any local or well known organizations?
You should almost always include this information on your website because it supports both the emotional and logical minds.This information should be easily seen.
For example, I have the choice to go to one of two businesses right next to each other. One donates 5% of their net profits to a not for profit. Which one am I more likely to buy from?
It is human nature to look for connection points, similar beliefs, and commonalities when talking with other humans. Sharing your or your team’s involvement involvement with Organizations or causes is a great way to do this.
Are you an attorney looking to revamp your website design? Request a free demo today to see for yourself how we can help!