There are 1.3 million lawyers and 437,540 law firms in the United States as of 2021. That’s up about 0.6% from where we were last year, and the industry is expected to grow another 4% by 2029. With all of that competition, it’s difficult for a lawyer to stand out from the crowd.
The key to finding new clients is building a unique brand for yourself, and ensuring that clients can see it. The secret to both of those things is the internet.
91% of people say they read online reviews before hiring someone or making a purchase. 84% of them say that they trust those reviews as much as they trust the recommendations of their friends. Those statistics give you a brief glimpse into how important your online reputation as a lawyer is.
So how can you ensure that potential clients like what they see online? What are the secrets to driving traffic to your website? We’ll take a look at the answers to those questions and more as we explore how you can use the internet to appeal to clients.
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1Search Engine Optimization: What Is It and How Can It Help You Appeal to Clients
Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is the process of optimizing your online content so that a search engine will show it at the top of the results page when a keyword is searched. So, let’s say you’re a lawyer in Nashville, Tennessee. When someone searches “best Nashville lawyers” you want your website to pop up first.
According to a 2014 study by Advanced Web Rankings, 67% of all search engine result clicks go to one of the top five results. That means that if your website shows up past that fifth result when someone searches for lawyers, it’s unlikely that they’ll click on it. That’s where SEO comes in.
You can improve your search results now by taking these practical steps.
Publishing Relevant Content
Your content should be interesting to people who are looking for a lawyer with your specialty.
For example, let’s say that you specialize in divorce proceedings. You can draw more traffic to your website by posting content about how to get divorced, legal issues that come up in divorce, how asset splitting works, or other topics centered around divorce.
The key is to think about what keywords your target audience is searching for. That way, potential clients can come across you organically while they read content that’s helpful to them.
Update Your Content Regularly
Search engines see regularly updated sites as being more relevant. They’re less likely to show your results if nothing has been added to your site in a while because, for all they know, you’re no longer in business.
To keep yourself relevant to search engines and readers, you need to post new content on a set schedule. If you’re posting blog-style content, this could be a few times a week. If you don’t have time to devote to that, try updating the contents of your website at least every three months.
Incorporate Alt Tags
Describe any photo or video you post using alt tags, also known as alternative text descriptions. This allows search engines to determine what kind of content is on your page for people using text-only browsers or screen readers.
It’s a great way to practice accessibility for everyone and let a client know that you keep their needs in mind.
As a lawyer, you’re probably too busy to spend time focusing on SEO. If you want to get results now, without having to take on the task yourself, you can hire a reputable SEO agency for lawyers to do it for you. That way, you get increased authority, visibility, and revenue without having to handle the strategizing, researching, and brand-boosting yourself.
That gives you more time to focus on the most important thing: the needs of your new clients.
2The Wonders of Web Design: How an Attractive Website Can Help You Get a Good Verdict
38% of people say that they’ll leave a website if its content or layout is unattractive. On average, it takes them less than a minute to make that decision. That means that you have less than one minute to convince a potential client to give your internet presence a good verdict.
So how do you do it?
First, your website needs to be visually appealing. There shouldn’t be too much going on, but there should be eye-catching elements. If you don’t have an instinct for that kind of thing, don’t worry, you can find a web designer, or use a pre-made website theme.
Think simple and professional when it comes to choosing a theme. People have a certain image that comes to mind when they hear that you’re a lawyer, and your website needs to reflect that. Fun fonts have a place, but it’s not on a professional website.
The second step to optimizing attractiveness is to make the site easy to use. No one wants to spend 20 minutes searching for the information they need. Create a few easy header tabs that contain the most relevant information they could be searching for.
The last step is ensuring you have attractive content. High-quality writing, photos, and videos are a must if you want to keep people online and engaging.
3Selling On Social: How You Can Use Social Media in A Professional Way
According to the American Bar Association, about 80% of lawyers use social media professionally. The most popular site by far is LinkedIn, with 79% of lawyers using it to connect with each other and clients. Behind LinkedIn are Facebook (54%), Martindale (38%), and Avvo (23%).
The report didn’t include information on other popular social media platforms, such as Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok.
With these numbers in mind, the chances are good that you’re already on social media. The question is, are you using it to its full potential? Here are a few ways you can effectively boost your client base using social media.
- Decide who your target client is and post content that appeals to them.
- Establish that you’re a professional by sharing information from reputable sources and answering any questions that people may ask in the comments. This gives you a chance to showcase what you know.
- Interact with your audience. Leave comments on reviews about you, share their successes, and like their posts.
- Join professional social media groups. People often go to location-based groups to ask for recommendations, so this is a great place for you to advertise.
Remember to keep your interactions professional, and honest. You don’t have to be someone you’re not, you just need to show off your expertise and let potential clients know you’re a real person.
These three tactics can help you plead your case to potential clients. What they see online can be a deciding factor in choosing you as their lawyer, so take the time to create an appealing internet presence.
