by Brian Focht | Apr 17, 2015
On the day your website was created, it was beautiful to you. After spending a few thousand bucks, your firm officially had a real estate on the internet. Your attorney bio pages were filled with all of the self-promotional puffery your attorneys could think of – class ranks, Martindale rankings, awards from local bar associations. It was beautiful. To you. But it never really drove business to your law firm. You didn’t understand why, but it never really troubled you either. You could find your law firm website on Google whenever you typed in the full name, and that’s all you needed. That was seven years ago. This is what your law firm website looks like to people today: Why it’s important to have updated website content 1) To ensure you have the correct information What good is spending any time or effort on a website, which is your primary real estate on the internet, if the information isn’t accurate? An out-of-date website is likely to cause those who visit considerable confusion if the information isn’t correct. I recall having difficulty convincing a client that I worked at my firm because the website hadn’t yet been updated to list me as an attorney. Worse, if your website fails to list – or lists inaccurately – your law firm’s practice areas, you could lose out on the business of people who intend to hire you, but don’t see their particular type of problem listed on your website. 2) To avoid ethical pitfalls Attorney advertising can be a little like walking through a minefield, but with shifting conditions. Walking a specific... read more
by Brian Focht | Mar 16, 2015
Have you ever used your smartphone or tablet to look something up on the internet? Stupid question, right? Of course you have. Whether you’re looking up the menu of a restaurant your friend suggested, the hours of the local coffee shop, or whether there’s a coupon available for your oil change. Guess what, people are starting to look for lawyers the same way you look for restaurants – on the internet. Many, if not most, of them will be looking up your law firm directly from their smartphone or tablet. Just like you, they hate it when the websites they want to see aren’t designed to work well on mobile devices. Oh, and Google hates it too. And Google’s decided to do something about it. As of April 21, 2015, Google will start penalizing websites that aren’t “mobile friendly.” That’s right, your search engine ranking, that number you paid those marketing guys to improve will suddenly get worse if your website doesn’t work well for mobile. So what’s behind Google’s move, and what can you do? 1) Why does Google care about mobile friendly websites? First and foremost, Google cares for the exact same reason you should care: your customers care. More and more, people are looking to the internet to shop. Along with that, more and more are doing so from their mobile devices. A study released just last week indicates that as much as 60% of all consumer internet searches are happening from mobile devices. People tend to want some sort of resolution to whatever problem is on their mind at any given time. Whether they happen to... read more
by Brian Focht | Jan 15, 2015
Part 8 in a continuing series on improving your firm’s website. When you search for something online, what makes you decide which link to click? A catchy name? A recognizable company? Your absolutely terrible lack of impulse control? For most people, it’s about what appears first. In fact, a recent (massive) study on click-through-rates (aka CTR) put the issue in stark terms. Only about 5% of all users even clicked on a result appearing in the 2nd or 3rd page. On the other hand, nearly 70% of users clicked on a result in the top 5 listings on the first page. The obvious takeaway: a better Google search rank is critical if you rely on business from the internet. Oh, and in case you haven’t been paying attention, that’s where people look for lawyers now. So how do we do it? Well, a year-long study on Google search rank has these suggestions: 1) If you don’t have one, start a blog. I’ve already given you four great reasons to add a blog to your law firm’s website. You can build your firm’s brand, establish your authority, and get your younger associates some excellent exposure. Moreover, it will likely increase your firm’s Google search rank. Another great reason? The tips that follow work best if used in conjunction with a blog! 2) Make sure your site is managed properly. Content may be king, but Google places a lot of value on how your site works too. Generally, unless you have someone in your firm with particular expertise, you probably want to begin with a professional. One option is using a managed platform on... read more
by Brian Focht | Nov 18, 2013
Part VII in a continuing series on improving your firm’s website Part I: 7 Tips to Improve Your Bio Page Part II: 5 Best Practices for your Practice Areas Part III: Video is a Game Changer Part IV: 4 Reasons You Should Blog Part V: 3 Videos You Need to Have Part VI: 4 Reasons to Ignore SEO Part VII: 4 Steps to Know (and Track) Your Audience So, you’ve actually taken the steps to improve your firm’s website. You updated all of your attorney bio pages and re-wrote the description of your firm’s practice areas to provide potential clients with the information they need. You started posting blog articles and even put up a couple videos describing your biggest cases. Now it’s time to find out what works and what doesn’t. How do we do that? Analytics. Sure, it’s nice to have basic information about how many page views your website has in a day or month, but as I’ve said numerous times, a website is advertising. Or, as expressed perfectly by FindLaw’s Strategist: “When it comes to marketing your law firm, your website is your online presence.” You’re spending money on your site, so you need to be able to determine whether you’re getting value for your money. That’s where analytics tools come in, and they can be phenomenally valuable. Here are my 4 Steps to Know (and Track) Your Audience: (My preferred analytics tool is Google Analytics, a free system that links to your site. If you use WordPress, Jetpack offers a very basic analytics tool, but it doesn’t provide nearly as much information. If there are other analytics programs... read more
by Brian Focht | Nov 4, 2013
Part VI in a continuing series on improving your firm’s website Part I: 7 Tips to Improve Your Bio Page Part II: 5 Best Practices for your Practice Areas Part III: Video is a Game Changer Part IV: 4 Reasons You Should Blog Part V: 3 Videos You Need to Have Part VI: 4 Reasons to Ignore SEO Part VII: 4 Steps to Know (and Track) Your Audience Based on the number of articles that I see every day, it would seem that SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is quite an important issue today. At least for internet marketing companies. Their pitch? Let us come in and re-work your website so that you’ll rank at or near the top in search engine results. These searches, referred to as “organic searches,” are the ones where you type in a word or phrase that the engine uses to pull your results. By knowing how those results are organized, marketers claim they can optimize your website to exploit those systems. Sadly, their pitch routinely works, especially on lawyers. If you’re getting frustrated with the level of success (or lack thereof) you’ve achieved from your internet marketing, you definitely want to look for ways to improve. However, here are 4 reasons to ignore SEO as part of your strategy: 1) Most attorneys do not benefit by improving their search engine rankings. With the narrow exceptions of attorneys who handle traffic and DUI matters, and to a considerably lesser extent, personal injury lawyers, most attorneys’ business does not come from organic searches. Before even considering paying a marketing service for SEO improvement, ask yourself whether your ideal client is... read more
by Brian Focht | Oct 10, 2013
Part V in a continuing series on improving your firm’s website Part I: 7 Tips to Improve Your Bio Page Part II: 5 Best Practices for your Practice Areas Part III: Video is a Game Changer Part IV: 4 Reasons You Should Blog Part V: 3 Videos You Need to Have Part VI: 4 Reasons to Ignore SEO Part VII: 4 Steps to Know (and Track) Your Audience Recently, I wrote a post on improving your firm’s website about how video in a website is becoming a game changer for law firms looking to stand out in a crowded field. Videos offer a sense of engagement with the potential client that a bio, or even a blog, just cannot offer. Moreover, videos personalize you and allow the user develop a level of comfort and trust that increases the likelihood they will hire you. Always a winner, right? I recently ran across this article by the ABA’s Law Technology Section taking that suggestion a step further, offering their suggestion of the 3 videos every lawyer should have. The article focuses on three videos for potential client engagement, with a focus on making a good first impression. While keeping your clients informed through video may be helpful, I agree with the article that the real strength of video on your firm’s website is the effect it has on potential clients. Here are the three videos you need to have on your firm’s website: 1) “Hello, my name is…” No, I don’t necessarily recommend starting your video this way, but this is your introduction. Remember everything I said about putting the information that potential clients want... read more
by Brian Focht | Sep 25, 2013
Part IV in a continuing series on improving your firm’s website Part I: 7 Tips to Improve Your Bio Page Part II: 5 Best Practices for your Practice Areas Part III: Video is a Game Changer Part IV: 4 Reasons You Should Blog Part V: 3 Videos You Need to Have Part VI: 4 Reasons to Ignore SEO Part VII: 4 Steps to Know (and Track) Your Audience Obviously, I like blogs. I would think that it would be quite difficult to go out and actually find blog posts by writers who were anti-blogging. So, no surprise then that I would endorse the idea of adding a blog to your firm website. Now that we’ve gotten past my obvious bias on the issue, let me tell you why I’m right. You’ve taken all the advice that I’ve given you so far. Your website is sleek and elegant, with the right types of pages, the right type of language, and all of it backed up by interesting and engaging videos. Time to rest on your laurels? I think not! In today’s world, your online marketing presence requires engagement and must be constantly updated. One of the best ways to make sure that happens is to include a blog as a part of your firm’s website. Skeptical? Here are 4 Reasons You Should Blog on your firm’s website: 1) Blog posts allow personal engagement not available through a bio page. Relationships are what set one attorney apart from the rest when a client is looking for representation. A client is likely to choose someone they feel like they know, can trust, and who empathizes with... read more
by Brian Focht | Sep 9, 2013
Part III in a continuing series on improving your firm’s website Part I: 7 Tips to Improve Your Bio Page Part II: 5 Best Practices for your Practice Areas Part III: Video is a Game Changer Part IV: 4 Reasons You Should Blog Part V: 3 Videos You Need to Have Part VI: 4 Reasons to Ignore SEO Part VII: 4 Steps to Know (and Track) Your Audience You’ve taken steps to improve the content of your pages. Your attorney bio page has been shifted to make the best possible use of the real estate available. Your skills, now phrased in terms of how your skills help your client, are listed first, and your accomplishments of lesser importance to your clients have been minimized. Your firm’s practice areas have a sleek new look, with an emphasis on readability and placing the important information for your clients up front. Excellent. Your content looks good. Now, it’s time to talk about a few things that will help your website stand out. Extra content that, while not absolutely essential, will help vault your firm ahead of others by providing a more satisfying, interactive experience for clients. Today, let’s talk about what adding video can do for your website. I hate to seem redundant, but your website is an advertisement. You’re selling visitors to your sites on your ability and expertise in a certain area of law. However, as any marketing expert will tell you, the best way to sell professional services is to do so personally. Well, this is a website, so you don’t have that option. So ask yourself, what is the best way to... read more
by Brian Focht | Sep 6, 2013
Part II in a continuing series on improving your firm’s website Part I: 7 Tips to Improve Your Bio Page Part II: 5 Best Practices for your Practice Areas Part III: Video is a Game Changer Part IV: 4 Reasons You Should Blog Part V: 3 Videos You Need to Have Part VI: 4 Reasons to Ignore SEO Part VII: 4 Steps to Know (and Track) Your Audience So you’ve decided that you want to improve your firm’s website, and you started by fixing the most visited section of your site, the attorney bios. You’ve found a way to optimize the pages such that the important information to your clients is accessible and in the best possible real estate. You’ve phrased your skills in ways that demonstrate your ability to help your client. Most importantly, you’ve begun the transformation of your site so that it contains what your potential clients want, rather than what you want. Now it’s time to make sure that your site contains the best information for your potential clients concerning what it is your firm does. Most firms list this information under some iteration of “Practice Areas.” Yet, you’re unsure of what the best practices for your practice areas section should be. It’s essential that your prospective clients know what you do, or more importantly, what you can do for them. So what are the best ways to communicate this information? Here are my 5 Best Practices for your Practice Areas section: 1) Be Clear Yes, my #1 Best Practices Tip is clarity. I realize that I’m probably just channeling some English teacher you had back in high school,... read more
by Brian Focht | Aug 29, 2013
Part I in a continuing series on improving your firm’s website Part I: 7 Tips to Improve Your Bio Page Part II: 5 Best Practices for your Practice Areas Part III: Video is a Game Changer Part IV: 4 Reasons You Should Blog Part V: 3 Videos You Need to Have Part VI: 4 Reasons to Ignore SEO Part VII: 4 Steps to Know (and Track) Your Audience A law firm’s website is only as good as its content. So, in my quest to help you improve your firm’s website, content is where I’ll begin. That covers a lot of ground though, so let’s think of this from an advertising agency’s point of view. The ad agency’s goal is to put the most important items where the readers eyes fall first or most. That way, the most important information is right where the potential customer is most likely to look. For most law firms, the attorney bio pages are, by far, the most viewed part of the site (according to one study, the bio pages may account for as much as 56% of law firm website traffic). It’s the place where most of your potential customers are going to be won or lost, so the renovation of your firm’s website begins there! Here are 7 Tips to improve your bio pages: 1) Make sure your site is written for your potential customers, not for you! Too many people want their website to serve as a glorification of themselves; a shrine to legal and educational accomplishments over a lawyer’s lifetime. However, your website is advertising, not Narcissism 101. An easy way to improve your bio... read more
