LEGAL WEBSITE DESIGN
Legal Website Design For Conversion & SEO
Most lawyers take for granted the design of their website not realizing it’s one of the two most important factors for signing up new clients. There are two ways a design can increase your case load so let’s start with the most obvious, aesthetics.
A Good Design Will Get You More Clients
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but it’s more than that when it comes to making an important decision like hiring a lawyer. Ask anyone on Madison Avenue and they’ll tell you that a visual impression is worth $1,000. When your website loads your potential clients are making subliminal decisions about your law firm before they read the first word. That first impression tells them:
- If you’re professional
- If you’re up with the times
- If you’re relevant to their issue
- If you have the proper experience
Think about it this way. Your website is the virtual representation of your office. Would you have old outdated furniture or a cluttered mess in your front office for people to see. What does that tell the person who is coming to hire you as their lawyer?
People Shop Lawyers Online
The internet makes it easy to compare many firms in minutes. A few clicks and you can get an overall impression of the firm. If your website does not standout, you’ll never be contacted by that person. Who are the biggest competitors in your market. What impression does your website give a first time visitor? When we take on a new client our goal is to give the the best website design in their market. Yes, this is subjective but there are elements to a web page will tip the scales in your favor like:
- What differentiates you from your competition
- Do you have good experience
- Do you have experience specific to the potential client’s need
- Is information easy to find
- The average person will review 3-5 websites before picking up the phone to call a law firm. That means you don’t have to be the highest ranked law firm you just have to make the best first impression.
A Good Design Will Help You Rank
Google is using machine learning in its algorithm to help rank websites. It is taking into consideration load time, relevant images, word count, readability and dozens of other factors. If your website isn’t design to make it easy for Google to index and your visitors to navigate you won’t be ranked nearly as high on the page. If you are in a major market you are literally competing with 1000s of law firms for the coveted first page rankings. At this level you cannot afford to cut any corners if you want to compete. Most law firms I work with don’t think that SEO works. That’s because they’ve never seen the benefits of ranking in the top 5 for highly competitive terms. Take note of the law firms in your market that rank at the top of the page. They will fight tooth and nail to stay there…because it brings in cases.