ESQCoach: Marketing Tips for Lawyers

Online Marketing Strategies for Lawyers: Make the Most of Your Website

By Terrie S. Wheeler, MBC Founder

www.MarketYourLawPractice.com

TWheeler@MarketYourLawPractice.com

For lawyers, a website is no longer a “nice to have” tool – it is a competitive necessity.  As a result, nearly every lawyer and law firm in the country has website.  Because of this, it will become increasingly important to ensure your online presence in more than simply an electronic brochure.  Following are hands-on, practical suggestions that every small firm and solo practitioner should consider.

Tips from Our Experts

The objective of your website is to validate your firm, build its image, create credibility, convey important firm and industry information, and help prospective clients, contacts and referral sources contact you.  Following are some tips to ensure you make the most of your firm’s website investment: 

Be strategic – Develop your website based on and in support of your firm’s strategic marketing plan. Your website strategy and marketing strategy must be in synch and based on:

• A clear definition of who your target market is and what makes your firm unique
• Positioning against firms with whom you compete
• Your firm’s brand, image and visual identity

Think creatively – Use the “Parade of Homes” concept and visit law firm/attorney websites.  Pick the most creative functions you like and build your “dream home” website. Select features that allow you to stand above the competition versus blending with it.

Find a strong technical partner – Make sure your website developer has the turnkey skills necessary to:

• Create a strategic site map and user-focused navigational strategy
• Design the visual/graphic elements of the site
• Develop the content with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in mind – -  writing for the Web is very different
• Technically develop the site
• Register your site and domain name with relevant search engines
• Integrate web-driven database functions
• Maintain your website to ensure that over the long run your site remains current
• Provide statistical updates on website usage using software like WebTrends, or Google Analytics

Do your homework – Create an overall plan and outline for your website so that it is logical and consistent; focused on the experience you want visitors to have when they visit your site.  This will help your website designer create the site map.

Be realistic – Allow enough time and money for the project.

Plan for the future – With the proliferation of websites, it is becoming increasingly difficult to pick a domain name that is not already in use.  When you do find the domain name that works for you, consider registering not just the .com but also the .net, or other extensions. 

Be consistent – Make sure you have a unified strategy for visual design (logo, font and tagline) that is consistent across all of your printed marketing communications materials.

Be creative – Try to let go of the old, boring, static approach.  Make the website reflect your success and solid experience combined with a dynamic modern approach.  Don’t create a website that is simply an online brochure.  Rather, focus on creating a dynamic, ever-changing site that is constantly updated with new content of interest to your visitors.

Stress what makes you unique –Make sure that your website promotes the services and features about your firm that are truly unique and client-service oriented.  Use representative experience to show clients you have done what they need versus just identifying a long list of client services:  show them don’t tell them!

Focus on your audience – Build every feature and function of your website with your clients, contacts, and referral sources in mind.

Brag! – Your home page should promote your successes, big deals your firm has done, and awards received. Set a goal of updating your “what’s new” content weekly.

Create a Web-based media room – An online media section will support your firm’s public relations efforts.  An online press room can include news releases, published articles, fact sheets, backgrounders, biographies, contact information, and more.  Make it easy for reporters to cover your firm in the news by providing media kit information on your website.

Market Your Website – Make sure you add your website address to your email signature block, to your invoices, letterhead, note cards, and any other printed or electronic materials used to communicate with your clients and contacts.

Promote your Website – Create a proactive plan to communicate the existence of your website to relevant audiences.  Generating traffic to your website is a continuous job.  In a service business, it is likely you will need to “drive” traffic to your site rather than wait for someone to find you online. 

Track your Website’s effectiveness – Subscribe to WebTrends or Google Analytics, software that allows your website host to provide valuable visitor information including:

• Number of visitor sessions
• Number of unique visitors; number of repeat visitors
• Search phrases used to access your site
• Length of time visitors stayed on your site
• The path visitors use on your site – the pages they accessed
• Most popular day of the week for website traffic
• Top referring search engines

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July 27, 2009 - Posted by ESQCoach | Going Solo: Tips on Starting a Law Practice, Low Cost High Impact Strategies to Market Your Law Practice, Marketing Your Law Practice in a Tight Economy, Social Networking for Lawyers, Uncategorized, Website Development for Lawyers | attorney website, maximize your website, website development, website tips, websites, Websites for Lawyers