With Spring being just around the corner, now is a great time to do some maintenance on your law firms website. I advise the small law firms and solo practitioners that I work with on their marketing strategies to perform 6 month check-ups on their websites.
Many lawyers and law firms have a blog or news area on their site to keep content continually fresh. But many times, thats the only area of their site that is regularly updated and the main pages remain stagnant or untouched for sometimes years on end. The danger in letting the rest of your website go without regular updating is that most of your potential clients will probably not look at your blog or your news area before hiring you. Interestingly, the attorney biography page is the most visited page on a law firms website according to a Law360 article on the subject.
No law firm is exactly the same and all law firm websites will be unique to their attorneys and practice. However, most firm websites do have a similar structure. Set a reminder to review these four areas of your law firm’s website for biannual updates to remove and replace outdated material:
1. Home Page
The information contained on your website’s home page should confirm the overall purpose of your law firm’s website. Law firms sell legal services but the questions of what type of legal services, what industries do they work with, and/or what types of legal problems do they solve, will be individual to the firm. Your home page should always confirm to your potential client why they are there and that they are in the right place. Make sure to keep the footer text on your home page (and all pages) updated with the current year. Also, including a “call to action” if that is appropriate to your practice area (i.e. discounted or free initial consultation/case review). Finally, be clear about your contact information by making your telephone number or general email address convenient on your website for visitors to find.
2. Attorney Biographies
As the attorney biographies are the most visited part of your law firm’s website, be sure to keep your information as current as possible. Keep your narrative text short and easy to digest. Engage your potential clients by creating specific areas for career highlights, awards, etc. Also, be sure to have your lawyer’s LinkedIn URL and/or badge on their individual page and keep your v-cards in working order. The photos of your lawyers on their biography pages should be updated regularly as well.
3. Practice Areas
Practice areas explain what you do and who you do it for. If possible, include general overviews of your successful cases. Client testimonials are also great to incorporate on your practice areas pages when possible. Review the text biannually to make sure that it is still reflective of the business your firm looks to attract. Another way to keep the practice areas part of your law firm’s website current is to link blog articles to relevant pages showcasing the thought-leadership of your lawyers. For firms with multiple attorneys practicing in different areas, it is also helpful to your potential clients to link the bios of the attorneys that will work on their particular type of case.
4. Website Imagery
The idea of website imagery on law firm websites can be a sore subject. Many law firms have trouble with determining appropriate photos that represent what they do and so they settle on stock images of courthouse steps, lawyers around dark wood conference room tables, law libraries, or scales of justice. My vote is that you do away with the photos of gavels on your website and choose high resolution images that are interesting to look at. Remember that the imagery on your website does not have to be a literal translation of your law firm’s practice. Consider adding images that have color or texture. The images can showcase the creativity of your lawyers or the excellence of their case results. Believe me, a photo that captures positive emotion will be worth way more to your potential clients than a photo of your law firm lobby.
If you enjoyed these suggestions, be sure to stay connected with me on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/merandavieyra.
Meranda M. Vieyra is the owner of Denver Legal Marketing LLC which was founded to bring her years of experience in high-level legal marketing to solo practitioners and small law firms. Her impactful marketing services focus on recognition, promotion and visibility for lawyers in all practice areas.
