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If you struggle with page rankings or converting potential leads into clients as an attorney, it may be time to up your law firm website content game. Creating high-quality content is one of the top ways to ensure your firm is visible in search engines like Google. That content can also engage visitors, build brand awareness and trust, and ultimately convert website users into paying clients. However, when it comes to actually writing and publishing web pages and blogs, it can seem overwhelming. Planning, researching, and writing effective law firm content requires time and significant resources. To understand how to improve your website’s content, let us start by taking a look at the primary types of content law firm websites should have.
Types of Law Firm Content
Every page on your website should be designed for a specific purpose. You want your content to drive people to contact you to get more information regarding their legal situation and, ultimately, hire you as their attorney. To accomplish this, it is essential to understand the two primary types of law firm content: practice area pages and blog posts.
Practice Area Pages
Practice area pages are essentially sales pages. Users visiting these pages are more likely to be in the “hiring” mindset. A quality practice area page will only cover one area at a time and be as specific as possible. For example, instead of having a single personal injury page, built out individual pages for car accidents, medical malpractice, products liability, etc.
As you start to compose a practice area page, make sure you include the word “lawyer” or “Attorney” in the page’s title tag. Remember that you always want your content to be of value to your readers. In addition to including detailed content, it is also helpful to add a video that gives an overview of the practice area.
Also, remember to include multiple calls to action. You want visitors to know where to go when they are ready to get in touch with you. Practice area pages should consist of contact forms, chat windows, and general contact information.
If you are looking to target a specific city, you can create geo-specific pages. For example, if you serve multiple cities, it is a good idea to have a car accident lawyer page for each one. This way, you will have a better chance of reaching accident victims in those locations.
Blog Posts
Blog posts attract visitors to your site with eye-catching and relevant topics. To run an influential blog, you need to be strategic about the content you generate. Do some research to determine the type of queries potential visitors are using in search to come up with topics. You might cover frequently asked questions about specific practice areas, updates on applicable laws changes, or other relevant news types to clients’ cases or your firm.
Blogs should be informative. When composing a blog, remember that you want the content to be the best source of information of its kind. Remember that if you are using your blog for editorial outreach, you will want to avoid using specific geographic language. Using geo-specific language in blog posts hinders your ability to reach a broad audience, as the content will only appeal to people living in the smaller area.
The Topic Cluster Model
As SEO best practices change, law firm content development is moving toward the topic cluster model. This model starts with one practice area page that acts as the backbone for the rest of the related content on the website. That single page is connected to multiple smaller pages that are more specific. From an architectural standpoint, the cluster model organizes areas of content on a website to make them more easily accessible to visitors. Here is an example of the topic cluster model:
- Main Car Accident Lawyer Page
- Types of Accidents Subpage
- Causes of Accidents Subpage
- Common Injuries Subpage
- Resources for Accident Victims Subpage
- Car Accident FAQs Subpage
The topics cluster model can seem overwhelming at first, but once you get into the pattern of writing the clusters, you will have your website content built out in no time.
Tips to Improve Law Firm Website Content
Whether you are creating new website content or revising already published pieces, you need a plan of attack. To improve your firm’s online content, you need an optimized website, a comprehensive understanding of what your site visitors need, and a detailed content strategy. With those elements in place, the content you publish is more likely to help you reach your digital marketing goals.
Optimize Your Website
Publishing effective content starts by understanding the principles of search engine optimization (SEO). Your law firm website should follow on-site and technical best practices as outlined by SEO experts and search engines. Some of the most common methods include avoiding duplicate content, optimizing your site for mobile users, and removing or fixing broken links.
Remember Your Audience
Once you know you are on track in terms of SEO, you need to consider your audience. There is no way to create compelling content without having a comprehensive understanding of your target audience. You need to know who you are creating content for, what types of content they want, and how to go about creating that content.
Start by creating law firm client personas. Identify common attributes like age, race, education, gender, and financial status to learn more about potential cases and problems. Once you have a better idea of your ideal client, consider what type of content they will most benefit from. If they need information fast, a video or infographic may be the way to go. If they want information on the latest laws pertaining to their case, consider a blog.
Analyze Your Competition
As you conduct keyword research, take a look at what competing law firms are doing regarding content. Use Google Search to enter your keywords and make a note of firms that appear on the first page. Click through the most relevant results and take a look at how long their content is, the types of headings they use, and whether they use media like images or videos. Think of the information you collect as a baseline for your content that you can improve upon.
Boost Your Word Count
Google’s algorithm measures a number of factors when ranking web pages, including content length. Google measures the amount of time a user stays on a site. This is referred to as dwell time. If you have longer content, you can naturally increase your dwell time. Long-form content can also help you organically rank for additional keywords.
Incorporate a Dedicated Blog Publishing Schedule
As discussed, blog content is a crucial aspect of your website. To get the most out of your blog, you need to create a dedicated publishing schedule. Whether you choose to publish once a week or once a month, it is crucial to remain consistent. You can also set up your social media to promote your pieces as they are published to ensure they get as much traction as possible.
Outsource Legal Content Writing
While many attorneys are capable writers, they do not always have the time to create website content. To ensure your legal content gets written, you have the option to write the content in-house, hire a freelance writer, or hire a content marketing agency.
Depending on the size and bandwidth of your firm, you may be able to transfer the responsibility of writing content around the firm. You could also look to hire an in-house marketing professional to manage your website, content, and social media.
If you are looking to hire freelance, there are many writers who will take your content briefs and expand them into long-form content. Freelance writers may work on an hourly rate or on a per-project basis. Websites like LinkedIn and Upwork can help you find writers that are a good fit for your website’s content needs.
Consider hiring a content marketing agency if you are looking to boost your firm’s overall content strategy and marketing framework. A professional agency can not only help you build the right strategy for your firm, but it can also help you scale your website quickly if you are a fairly new firm.
How Law Quill Can Help Improve Your Website’s Content
If you want to improve your law firm website content, there are a number of strategies to consider. However, when you are running a law firm and representing clients in the courtroom, you will likely benefit most from outsourcing your content and marketing needs. Law Quill can help.
We are here to help and would welcome the opportunity to visit with you for free regarding your law firm website’s content, and how we can take these tasks off your plate! Schedule a free visit with us by scheduling a quick phone or zoom call at your convenience on our calendar today. You can also email us at support@lawquill.com.
