The legal industry gets a lot of coverage in the marketing world, and for good reason.
It’s not only a highly competitive industry but also one where business owners struggle the most to create great content.
Lawyers must meet strict ethical and legal standards in their content marketing.
These include setting reasonable expectations in ad copy, avoiding unrealistic claims, remaining discretionary with user information, and much more.
Still, content marketing is essential for any law firm looking to generate more traffic and leads online.
And with that in mind, there are a few considerations lawyers should take when it comes to online content.
Why Law Firms Need Legal Web Content
According to the Legal Technology Resource Center’s ABA 2020 Legal Technology Survey Report, less than half of all law firms actually have a marketing budget.
This is quite surprising, as lawyers face a competitive landscape and almost require a marketing strategy to get and stay ahead.
But building a strategy and producing great content doesn’t always come naturally.
Working with a reputable legal content agency is one of the best ways to create thorough, optimized, and user-friendly content.
One of our clients, for example, started as a small solo-attorney law firm and within two years saw the firm’s revenue grow 5x.
He hired three lawyers to keep up and increased his marketing budget.
Legal web content (i.e., website content for the legal industry) is crucial for law firms looking to grow their online presence, traffic, and leads.
Here’s why law firms need content marketing, plus some tips on doing it right.
1. Legal Content Marketing Improves SEO
Every website needs content.
From the content on your service pages to the articles on your blog, your legal web content tells prospective clients what your firm is about.
Not only that, but your content also tells search engines what your business is about.
Content is important for SEO because it provides context to search engines regarding what your law firm offers, its location, who it serves, and much more.
This is important when ranking high in search and reaching users actively searching for services like yours.
Search engine-optimized web content helps you target the keywords users are searching for to find legal services in their area.
So, besides effectively describing your firm’s values and experience, your content can actively attract more users to your site.
Building an SEO-friendly law firm website includes content, keyword research, local SEO, and web development and design.
2. Law Firm Web Content Can Attract Backlinks
While your SEO content works to drive organic traffic, it may also attract authority-boosting backlinks to your website.
These backlinks occur when other websites love your content and choose to link to you.
Backlinks offer strong signals to Google that your law firm is reputable and offers valuable content to users.
So, beyond focusing on SEO, write content your audience will love to read.
At the same time, backlinks can drive referral traffic to your website from the websites linking to you.
So, it’s valuable to create web and blogging content specific to your niche and attract links from other businesses and blogs in your industry.
3. Great Web Content Drives Social Shares And Traffic
The Content Marketing Institute is a strong proponent of creating content that serves multiple purposes.
Your blog content may drive organic traffic and social shares.
For example, adding “social proof” such as client reviews and testimonials to your content can encourage clients to share your content with their wider network.
Experimenting with other types of content like video and infographics may also have mass appeal.
Don’t be afraid to get creative.
Legal content doesn’t have to be stuffy; there are many interesting topics people are interested in reading if you can put a unique spin on it.
Use this to your advantage to drive social shares and traffic to your website.
4. Conversion-Optimized Content Turns Traffic Into Leads
Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the practice of optimizing your content, website, or marketing campaigns to convert users into subscribers, leads, or cases.
CRO is essential to your content marketing to ensure you’re gaining traffic and turning that traffic into leads for your law firm.
The basics of CRO include adding compelling calls-to-action (like “Subscribe here” or “Contact us”) on the pages and posts throughout your website.
This gives users multiple chances to take action rather than dropping immediately from your website.
Other factors influencing CRO are website speed, navigation, contact forms, and personalization.
There are many ways to personalize your content to increase on-site conversions.
5. Informative Content Increases Your Website’s Authority And Reach
Who and what you know often play a major role in your firm’s reputation in the legal industry.
Client reviews, referrals, networking, and guest speaking can all improve your law firm’s authority and reach.
Your content marketing can serve these purposes as well.
By publishing informative content on your website, you showcase your legal expertise and build trust with your audience.
And by guest posting and interviewing on other websites, you can earn backlinks, referral traffic, speaking opportunities, and more.
Clients want to work with lawyers who have a track record of success and are well-established in their industry.
Publishing great legal content is one way to nurture this trust and earn respect from other industry professionals.
Overhaul Your Law Firm’s Content Strategy
If you’re like most lawyers who don’t have a marketing budget, you know that creating content is one of the best and more affordable ways to market your firm.
It takes legal know-how, creativity, and the ability to write with your audience in mind.
Of course, a basic knowledge of SEO and content marketing principles can help generate better results from your content.
Over time, your content will earn dividends for your firm in terms of traffic, leads, social shares, and more.
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