Legal Content That Converts Is King (And Attorney Websites Are Graded Harder)

Have you ever visited a great-looking website only to be disappointed in how bad the content was? More times than not, digital marketing firms focus on one or the other. It takes a lot of creativity, revisions, and testing to build a website that not only looks great but provides important information for the user. For law firms hoping to rank for high-value key terms and convert site visitors into clients, informative, easy-to-read content is just as important as the look and feel of your website.

How Should Law Firms Approach Content Marketing?

Treat your website content the same way you would a face-to-face consultation with a potential client. Content should always be viewed as a virtual sit-down with a non-lawyer. If you fill the page with legalese and fail to connect with the reader on a more general, easier-to-understand level, you are going to lose their attention and their business. Clear, concise, and informative content is the best course of action.

Should a Law Firm Write Its Own Web Content?

Lawyers are certainly capable of writing their own content. In fact, we encourage our clients to get involved with the process and review the content we send them for approval. However, the trick is not being able to write about a legal topic but being able to do so with two very important judges in mind—the user and the search engines.

Writing for the user is not as difficult as it sounds. Oftentimes, attorneys can do a great job of providing every legal detail imaginable for any given practice area. Now, if the attorney is trying to inform another lawyer, such in-depth content would serve this purpose. Unfortunately, law firms are not typically trying to market themselves to other law firms. Instead, they need to answer questions that average people have regarding a particular legal topic—no more, no less than what is necessary to inform the reader and instill confidence in the firm’s abilities, so much so that the reader reaches out to find out more from your firm in particular.

On the flip-side, learning exactly what Google wants to see in written content is time-consuming. In fact, it is a full-time job and it can negatively impact your website’s ability to rank if not done properly. In marketing terms, content needs to be written so that it can both rank and convert. A search engine’s primary objective is to return search results that web users will find informative. However, Google and other search engines are constantly tweaking their algorithms; Google’s Hummingbird is growing closer to artificial intelligence every day. That means you cannot be sure at any given moment what Google is applauding in content and assigning a higher ranking to.

In addition, Google and other search engines apply tougher standards to websites that fall under the category “Your Money, Your Life,” or YMYL. Law firm websites, because they deal with people’s financial well-being, fall under this umbrella. Straight from Google, these sites’ content should be created with a high level of expertise and authority.

Remember, writing the content is just the beginning—at SLS Consulting, after our writing team has developed the content, our SEO specialists have to optimize the key-words, add links, and keep it up to date for usability and rich snippets. It is a lot of work, but we love doing it. If you have questions about how we can help you make your content convert, please give us a call at (323) 254-1510.