Is it actually possible for legal websites to produce leads?
Before we start can we have a quick show of hands please?
Are you a lawyer and has your law firm got a website?
Invariably, most legal practices will have a website these days, but ask if they are producing leads and the answer is generally NO!
So, perhaps the real question is... why do you actually have a website for your law firm?
Is it because one of the following is true?
Don't worry! No matter how you answered, how would you feel if we suggested the following answer instead?
You might think this will never work for legal websites, however, we are deadly serious when we say this…
“Your law firm website should be producing multiple leads every month for you to engage with and convert into new clients.”
So, where is it all going wrong?
As the old adage goes... fail to plan your law firm website and plan to fail!
What stops a lot of legal websites from having any chance of creating leads is that they have no purpose... no plan. No-one has taken the time to sit down and think through the types of visitors they want to come to their website and how they might be enticed into becoming a lead. Even fewer have committed to any goals for their website in terms of the number of visitors or leads they would like to generate from their law firm website each month.
We all know that without goals to aim for and proper plans in place, nothing ever happens and the status quo is maintained. With this in mind, a law firm website tends to fall into two camps.
The trouble with this approach is that there is no compelling reason for anyone to come back. There is nothing of interest. No value provided. It’s a bit, let's be honest, “all about us”.
The second step on your journey to generating high quality leads from your lawyer website is to know your audience. Who is it that your law firm is targeting? Which sectors of the market are most interested in your service?
Find out what the make-up of your typical clients are within these sectors and then try to determine their particular pain points and the various issues they need to resolve (and that you can help them with).
Now that you know who it is you are specifically targeting and the issues they are looking for solutions to, you can begin to produce content outlining how you can help them to find these solutions.
Do bear in mind that everyone will be at a different point on their journey to becoming a client so you will need different types of content for each.
Another area which law firms don’t exploit to convert more visitors to their website into leads, is through the placement of relevant “Calls To Action” throughout the course of their website.
If your website only has a “Contact Us” page as the main way for someone to get in touch to find out more, you are missing a big trick in terms of generating leads from your website.
Is “Contact Us” all you are going to do to engage with your website visitors?
Extend the concept of your Content plan for each step of the buyers journey and develop more in-depth content which can be used as a “Content Offer” which visitors can fill in their email address to download the particular piece of content. To access these Content Offers you will need to place various Calls To Action throughout the course of your law firm’s website to engage with visitors and convert them into leads.
The last step to ensure you generate high quality leads from your law firm website is to set up a Conversion Path which will map out the process by which a visitor can:
We hope you have found this blog on the reasons “Why Legal Websites Don’t Produce New Clients” useful. If you see the potential that a well structured approach could bring to your law firm and generate high quality leads simply remember our five point plan:
We would love to hear your views about this blog on the reasons “Why legal websites don’t produce new clients” so please feel free to add your comments below. If you really like what we have had to say we would also be grateful if you could share this blog on your social media channels.
You might also like to check out our free ebook “How To Design The Best Lawyer Website” for more information.