Thursday, May 05, 2011

Content Ideas for your Law Firm's Website

We always encourage our clients to come up with new content that distinguishes you and your law firm from all of the others -- it is one of the most important parts of your web strategy. If this is a stumbling block for you, here are just a few basic content ideas for your law firm’s website/blog that can help set you apart from the rest:
  • Question & Answer Pages – Whatever you call it, Q&A, FAQ, it’s a simple fact that most people don’t have experience with the law and that’s why when they look for legal information online, it’s generally because they have a question. This makes question & answer pages extremely effective. On the one hand, optimizing for questions is likely to give you an advantage in terms of search position. Providing a helpful answer is also likely to help you convert a visitor into a potential client inquiry!
  • Informational Videos – As universal search results become more prominent, informational videos can help you compete for more competitive search phrases with lower SEO investments. We are big supporters of using YouTube videos to boost your search engine rankings. Make sure your video addresses issues that you see in your practice. Discuss general hypothetical situations and the factors that go into obtaining a particular outcome in a legal matter. Keep your videos short (under 2 minutes) and never speak in legalese.
  • Whitepapers, Guides, Downloads – Your web content should be focused on providing a certain amount of free helpful information to your visitors. Providing free whitepapers can be an excellent way to demonstrate your expertise and stay in contact with website visitors.
  • Checklists – Lists are very popular with Internet users and bullets catch the eye at a quick glance.  (Just look at this blog post)
  • Attorney Bios – I personally would never hire a lawyer on the web if his Biographical info was not available. With your Bio, now is NOT the time to be shy -- don't just provide a laundry list of your experienced credentials but list all of your accolades as well, and particularly how well equipped you are at solving your visitors’ problems.
  • Articles – This is a great content strategy that can really work. Its important to make sure your Article is actually newsworthy to your visitors, as opposed to yet another advertisement. In addition to actually writing the articles, consider using articles from other resources that are relevant to what you do. (Just remember to cite that resource.) Remember, the job of your website is to offer useful content to your visitors.
  • Testimonials – Testimonials are probably the most effective way to build trust online. Providing both professional and client testimonials to your visitors is very powerful. You should also let colleagues and clients know that they can easily leave testimonials on sites like Avvo, Google Places, and LinkedIn too. Another easy way is at the end of a case, have clients fill out a comment sheet on your performance. Let them know if will be reprinted.
  • Seminar Posts – Always let visitors know what you're up to in terms of sharing your expertise. Not only does it give them the opportunity to hear you in person, but further solidifies in their mind that you are the expert in your field.
  • Interviews – This is something I'm actually starting to use myself. Interviewing others and getting interviewed is a great format in helping your web visitors know more about you. Since you're conducting the interview, you will be in charge of its format and style. This will be extremely effective in what it is you want to convey.
If you are interested in further details on our SEO marketing strategies for lawyers, please visit our site, AJIS.com