A good SEO strategy is an important tool in your marketing arsenal, but if you stop there you’re missing out on an opportunity to convert more visitors into loyal, longtime clients. SEO may get potential clients to click through to your site, but if they don’t see enough information on your site to trust that you’re an authority in your practice area — or can’t find your contact information — you will lose them.
When you’re planning your marketing and SEO, be sure to give some thought to conversion-focused web design.
What Is Conversion-Focused Website Design?
Conversion-focused website design is one that gets your website visitors to engage with you by responding to your calls to action. For most firms, an ideal conversion means that person books a consultation with your firm or fills out a contact form.
A conversion-focused website will have one goal (for example, “book a consultation”), and every visual element and piece of information on the site will be dedicated to that goal. That includes using logos and photos that project your firm’s desired image, clear and concise web copy and a call to action on every page.
Designing your website around this single goal requires you to think like a client.
What would you want to know about your attorney, and what would make you trust that they’re an authority in their field? Once you have the answers to those questions, you can move on to creating or rebranding your website.
How Can I Convert More Visitors into Clients?
- Know your target market. You should know who your law firm’s most likely and ideal clients are, what they’re interested in and how they might search for an attorney. This information will help guide the SEO keywords you use on your site so that you show up in organic and paid searches. Think of SEO as the road map that gets a client to a destination, and conversion-focused web design as the way you convince them to stay awhile.
- Provide valuable content. Converting a client often hinges on presenting valuable content. Many law firms offer blog articles that answer frequently asked questions in their practice area, such as “What are my rights when I’m pulled over for a DUI?” This allows you to demonstrate your expertise and make the visitor feel like they’re getting value out of coming to your site.
- Use simple, easy-to-read design. If people can’t read your site, they certainly won’t engage with your content or respond to your call to action. Make sure your design is easily readable across different browsers, operating systems — and especially mobile devices.
- Include a clear call to action. Finally, once you have a visitor’s attention, you need to tell them what to do. Include a clear call to action on each page of your website. For example, adding “Call to book your consultation,” along with your phone number, gives them the next step they must follow to get what they want: your expert advice and attention.
Making a good first impression is critical to convincing potential clients to hire you. If you waste your website’s potential to engage visitors, you’re missing a valuable tool in your marketing arsenal.
Illustration ©iStockPhoto.com
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More Good Ideas to Optimize Your Website:
- “8 Questions Lawyer Marketers Need to Ask About SEO Strategy” by Walter McCorkle
- “On-site Marketing Tactics to Optimize Your Firm Website” by Mike Ramsey
- “How to Get New Leads Now — and After the COVID-19 Shutdown” by Mike Ramsey
- “Online Marketing Is Much More Than Your Law Firm’s Website” by Mark Homer
