Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is critical to ensuring potential clients find your firm in the course of their online research. But what happens after they land on your site? If all they do is look around and leave, your traffic isn’t going to turn into the leads and conversions your business needs to grow.
When trying to get leads for legal services it’s important to remember that the factors that drew someone to your website aren't the same as the factors that will keep them there.
In other words, if you’ve increased traffic to your website using SEO for law firms, and you’re still not seeing the conversion rates you need, it’s time to take the next step: website optimization.
What Are Conversions?
A conversion takes place when a potential client responds to your call-to-action. For example, if you ask website visitors to sign up for your email newsletter, and they do, that’s a conversion. If you invite them to call your firm for a consultation, and they do, that’s a conversion. And so on.
Ultimately, conversions allow you to capture lead information so you can proactively engage with potential clients through sales calls, sales emails, and other inbound marketing tools. It’s through converting website traffic that you build your contact list and, eventually, your paying client list.
Why Is Website Optimization For Law Firms So Important?
Law firms that fail to optimize their websites are making a critical — and costly — mistake. More than ever, consumers are conducting their own research when looking for law services. And we know they’re not turning to the Yellow Pages! Your potential clients are searching online, and they’re attracted to optimized websites.
Website optimization for law firms is the key to getting leads. It’s absolutely essential that once a potential client finds your site, you have the right features in place to convert them. If you don’t do this, your competitors certainly will.
8 Ways to Optimize Your Law Firm Website For Conversions
Wondering how to generate new business leads through your law firm’s website? Not sure where to start?
If your website has strong SEO, but you’re disappointed in your conversion rates, we recommend you implement the following eight steps. It’s a strategy you can take action on today to start optimizing your law firm website for conversions.
Get The Right Traffic Using SEO
First, you need to make sure your website is set to attract the right traffic using SEO. Are the keywords you’re using used by the clients you’re trying to attract? For example, if your ideal client is searching for family law services in the Las Vegas area, what keywords are they using to find those services and do are the keywords used on your website?
Traffic that lands on your firm’s site, but ultimately isn’t sure how they got there, or isn’t actually interested in the services you provide, won’t convert. Spend some time on keyword research and make sure your site matches what’s being searched.
Understand Your Buyer Persona
The term “buyer persona” is another phrase for target audience or ideal client. It’s the people with whom you want to do business, whether it’s because they have the means to afford your services, are enjoyable to work with, or have cases that match your expertise. Understanding your buyer persona will help you market your services to the right people at the right time.
When you know how to communicate to your buyer persona — when your site speaks their language — they will be eager to answer your calls-to-action. Make sure your buyer persona is detailed and specific, tailor your website to their needs and pain points, then watch your conversions increase.
Map Out Your Buyer's Journey
Potential clients are on a journey. They’re working their way from recognizing that they want a product or service, to researching that product or service, to eventually either purchasing or rejecting that product or service. Knowing what their journey looks like, and what they need to see and hear along the way to win their business, will help you optimize your law firm website for conversions.
Mapping out your buyers’ journeys lets you understand the kinds of questions they’re asking and the answers you can provide. When you provide the solution to their problem, they’ll be more likely to want to work with you. Make sure your website has ample information that answers questions at each stage of your clients’ buyer’s journey.
Use Strong Call-to-Actions
You know that a conversion takes place when a visitor to your website answers one of your calls-to-action. Therefore, it’s important to use strong calls-to-action that will convince potential clients to act!
For example, a simple “contact us” CTA may leave your potential clients feeling daunted. Contact you … and then what? What do they get by taking that action?
But “get a free consultation” is a stronger CTA because it offers the client something they want — a free consultation with your firm. “Contact us” and “get a free consultation” ultimately are asking your website visitors to do the same thing (i.e. give you their contact information), but in very different ways.
Create Landing Pages
Your home page is not a landing page. This is a common misconception that prevents law firms from optimizing their websites. A landing page is a standalone page that allows you to capture a user’s contact information via a lead capture form.
Potential clients might find your landing page in a number of ways, such as clicking on a link in a Google Ad (PPC) or an email. Once there, they should find a compelling story that entices them to give you their contact information in return for something helpful for them. Deployed correctly, landing pages will become one of your lead generation workhorses.
Utilize Pop-Ups
You might think pop-ups are annoying to a website visitor. These are the boxes that “pop up” on the screen while you’re reading a web page. But research shows they are extremely effective at generating leads.
The key to using them effectively is to make sure they speak to your ideal client. For example, if your ideal client is looking for corporate law services for medium-sized businesses, you might consider employing a pop-up that invites them to give you their contact information in exchange for an e-book that gives law tips for medium-sized businesses.
Build Trust
Today’s consumer is savvier than ever. They know how to spot a trustworthy business, and they also know how to spot one that doesn’t seem legit. Trust is key. And the good news is that you can build trust from the moment they land on your firm’s site.
Testimonials, reviews, videos, demonstrations — these are all examples of tools you can use to show potential clients that you’re the real deal. Make sure your website offers potential clients multiple opportunities to interact with this kind of trust-building content.
Connect Your Site to Google Analytics
Once you’ve implemented a strategy to optimize your law firm’s website for conversions, you need to know if it’s working or not. An increase in your conversion rate is obviously one way to determine this, but you should be looking at even more data to help you see what is working and what is not.
Enter, Google Analytics. This (free!) service will track your conversions and give you feedback on how to continually improve your website’s optimization. Keep testing and trying new things — Google Analytics will help! Be sure your site is connected to this analytics service, so your website can evolve as needed to keep the conversions rolling in.
How We Optimized a Client's Website And Doubled Their Conversions
We are always optimizing clients’ websites for conversions, but one such project sticks out. As one of the largest LASIK providers in Las Vegas, their site received a good amount of traffic, but they needed to increase conversions and sales.
Yokel Local worked with the company to create a detailed buyer persona. It was through this process that we discovered that their ideal customer had two primary concerns when researching LASIK services: price and safety.
With this knowledge in hand, we revamped their website to include messaging and calls-to-action that addressed these pain points. This allowed website visitors to more easily navigate their site, and ultimately decide to trust the company with their contact information.
The bottom line? Our client’s conversion rate increased by 6.8% and they received 212 additional leads per month. Their ROI for working with us topped 357%.
Optimize Your Law Firm Website For Conversions With Inbound Marketing
Website optimization for law firms is a critical step in the lead generation process. Unfortunately, many law firms are unaware of the need to optimize their website or simply lack the time and expertise to do so. As a result, they receive fewer sales leads (and fewer profits) than their competitors.
Don’t let a lack of website optimization stunt your firm’s potential. Talk with Yokel Local’s expert inbound marketing team today to see how we can help your firm generate more leads and close more sales.
