Lawyers who are serious about internet marketing must pay attention to the content on their websites. Potential clients, whether they are strangers searching for legal services or referrals from friends or neighbors, will look at your law firm’s website. When they do, they must be convinced of two things, 1. you are an expert in your field, and 2. they can trust you.
Great Legal Website Content Showcases Your Expertise
Having content about your practice area is critical to convey expertise. However, many lawyers make the mistake of only creating website pages about their major practice areas, i.e., a Criminal Defense Law Practice Area page. This is just the beginning. To convey your expertise and lead to conversion, it is important to add legal articles, FAQs, etc. to the website. Whether you are a personal injury lawyer or a business lawyer, your law firm’s website should contain articles about recent court decisions, statutes, etc. Related: The Importance of Lawyer Website Content – Three Content Generation Tips for Lawyers
Don’t forget ethics considerations either. Truthful advertising and disclaimers are very important. An ethics investigation can lead to unwanted attention, locally or otherwise. In an instant, a press release can be syndicated across the internet. A potential client may be turned off by seeing their would-be lawyer the subject of an ethics inquiry.
Convey Trust Through Your Law Firm’s Website
In order to obtain clients through your law firm’s website, you must build trust with your internet audience and potential clients. This goes hand in hand with showing your expertise in a given area. Also, another part of building trust is showing that you are a compassionate and skilled lawyer. A lawyer who has been interviewed by local or national news should consider putting links to those articles on their website. Also, it’s no secret – everyone wants to be treated with respect. So, lawyers who can provide good reviews, ratings, etc. can certainly build trust with an internet audience.
Again, lawyers must beware of ethics pitfalls. SEO companies have caught on to the importance of reviews and some have gone so far as to create fake reviews. This practice can land a lawyer in hot water.
Another common ethics pitfall is failing to include disclaimers when discussing ratings. Super Lawyers, Avvo, etc., provide lawyer ratings, and many lawyers mention them on their websites. However, depending on the state’s Rules of Professional Conduct, a disclaimer explaining the ratings process may be required or at least recommended.
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