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Rainmaker Report
Practice Building Tips for Today's Attorneys
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January 2017
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888-588-5891
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3 Marketing Rules for a Successful Legal Website
It is an undeniable fact that if you don't have a robust online presence, you are risking irrelevance. Yet, there are still attorneys who look at their online strategy as a "money waster" instead of a powerful marketing opportunity.
Why? Most likely because they have been taken advantage of by one of the "800 pound gorilla" SEO companies who lock you into 3-year contracts with their "proprietary content management system."
Or perhaps they didn't have clear expectations and goals when they launched their web presence or lacked accountability with their web company. I come across attorneys every day who have poured tens of thousands of dollars into SEO and PPC only to receive very little in return.
On the flip side, there are attorneys out there who have had massive success with their website,
bringing a steady stream of new clients into their practice. Here's how.
Sincerely,
Stephen Fairley
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Law Firm Marketing Rule #1: All websites are not created equal.
At The Rainmaker Institute, we have worked with over 18,000 attorneys and encountered just about every kind of website there is. There are some that are great, many that are mediocre and a lot of the ugly and ineffective. So what makes the difference between a great website and an ineffective website? It all starts with the planning that goes on when the process begins.
The primary purpose of a law firm website is to grow revenue by attracting a steady stream of the right kind of clients to your practice.
If your website is not producing the results you want, here is a road map that is actually the process we use with our clients.
What Are Your Website Goals?
The primary goal of your website is to generate qualified leads. These leads will never be as qualified as a referral, but over time web leads can exponentially outweigh the number of referrals you receive. From the beginning, you want to set up measurable and realistic goals. For example, a 25% increase in number of unique visitors per quarter leads to 10 new inquiries per month. Start out with modest goals.
What Do You Want on Your Website - Choose Your Weapons!
There are many features you can add to your website; some make more sense for certain kinds of practices. Below is a list of features you should consider adding to your website.
- Video: This is a proven conversion tool! Law firms that use video on their website convert more traffic into leads and web visitors stay longer with video.
- Instant chat: Law firms who use live, monitored chat on their website typically receive 10-30 more leads per month.
- Social media feed: If you are active on social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter), you can connect your website to your social media account and have it live stream your updates.
- Free resources: This can be a free e-book, PDF, or even a printed, self-published booklet. The topic must be something of perceived value to your prospects.
- Blog: If you want to drive more traffic to your website, then start updating your blog at least 3-5 times per week with unique articles.
- Newsletter signup: Every law firm should send out a monthly electronic newsletter to keep in touch with potential clients, former clients and referral sources.
What 'Look' Do You Want Your Website To Have?
The look of your website will play a more important role in its success than you might imagine. Numerous studies show that you have less than 30 seconds to turn a 'browser' into a 'visitor' upon arrival on your website. If you haven't refreshed your website in the last three years, make it a priority to get started this year.
In order for you to know the 'look and feel' you are after, you want to study your target audience. Keeping in mind your perfect client, consider some of the following styles:
- Corporate
- Warm and friendly
- Hi-tech and modern
- Conservative
- Small, personal office
- Large law firm presence
A firm specializing in business litigation would probably want to use more of a corporate, conservative and large presence type of style, while a solo divorce attorney might choose the warm, personal and friendly style.
Who is Going to Write All That Content?
Not everyone is good at writing the kind of content that can stir other people into action. The job of your home page copy is to intellectually connect with the visitor about a future outcome that is good for them and then, make them emotionally committed to take action to achieve that future outcome. That isn't as easy as it may sound!
Law Firm Marketing Rule #2 - Thou shalt not be boring.
A visitor to your website has a problem that they believe you may be able to solve. Your copy needs to convince them you have the solution to their problem very early in the conversation to keep them on your website.
We usually recommend to clients that they use the services of a professional copywriter because attorneys may know the law, but their writing is often too technical and stale to motivate a web visitor to pick up the phone.
Law Firm Marketing Rule #3 - You are not your client!
They don't think like you; they don't research like you; and they don't buy like you. A good copywriter knows how to think like your prospect and will help you convey all your best thoughts to create a strong connection with your prospective clients.
How Will the Search Engines Know About My Website?
Persuading Google to rank your website high is a much harder task than you might imagine. In fact, there is an entire industry that has been created based upon helping businesses' websites rank high on the search engines. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a multi-billion dollar industry.
There are so many 'tricks of the trade' that it is rarely worth the time for any attorney to attempt to become an expert. Instead, hire one. However, before you hire one, I recommend you do some research to learn the basics. Here are two websites that provide a lot of great education for people wanting to learn SEO: moz.com and searchengineland.com.
The Rainmaker Institute has been helping attorneys in small and mid-sized law firms generate more leads from their website for years by using innovative content marketing and social media programs. Our typical client sees a 30-50 percent increase in their web traffic within 90-120 days.
If you would like to find out more about the Rainmaker website and social media services, I invite you to sign up for a complimentary strategy session with one of our trained Rainmaker Law Marketing Consultants by calling 888-588-5891 or filling out this form.
If you'd like to learn more proven strategies for business development, I invite you to attend a Rainmaker Retreat, our two-day law firm marketing workshop. We have sessions every month around the country - go to RainmakerRetreat.com to check the schedule.
We have helped over 18,000 attorneys across the nation discover the secrets in building a financially successful and personally satisfying legal practice and we would love for your law firm be our next success story!
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 UPCOMING EVENTS
Are you ready to discover proven strategies that will move you closer to achieving a lifestyle law firm in 2017? The Rainmaker Retreat is our 2-day Marketing Boot Camp where we teach lawyers how they can have it all; increase the number of clients they have, double their income, and yet work less.
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Miami
Rainmaker Retreat
Friday, February 10 & Saturday, February 11
Learn More
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Dallas
Rainmaker Retreat
Friday, March 10 & Saturday, March 11
Learn More
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Tampa
Rainmaker Retreat
Friday, March 24 & Saturday, March 25
Learn More
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Our Client Spotlight:
Otis Landerholm of
Landerholm Immigration, A.P.C.
Otis Landerholm shares his journey from barely scraping by to a success he had only dreamed of, all in just a couple of years.
In this interview he explains
how improving his intake process has quadrupled his business and transformed his life.
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National Trial Lawyers Summit
The Rainmaker Institute will be exhibiting at the upcoming
Trial Lawyers Summit. Please stop by our booth February 5-8, 2017, Miami, FL.
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