Legal Ease Blog

How Can I Get My Website/Blog Recognized by the Search Engines?

I am in the processs of creating/redoing my website/blog.  How do we move up the list on search engines? What keywords should we be using?

In order to answer this question properly, you’ve got to know your clients and potential clients. After all, getting zillions of hits on your website doesn’t do you any good if you aren’t converting those hits into leads or clients. You don’t necessarily want everyone getting to your site – you want the prospects that really need the kinds of services you provide.

Here are a few hints for increasing the odds that your site will get the visitors you want to attract (in no particular order). This is by no means a comprehensive list, but it's a start:

Keywords - By definition, keywords are the words that people are using when searching for your kind of service or the information that would be on your website. Think about keywords on your website like the keywords you use to do legal research. But remember to think like your potential client/website visitor – what words do THEY use when they’re talking about their problem or the legal service you provide?

For example, if your practice area is matrimonial law, you probably want to use keywords on your site like ‘divorce.’ If you use only ‘matrimonial law,’ chances are that you won’t get as many hits, because most clients talk about ‘divorce.’ If your site just says ‘commercial transactions,’ potential clients may not find you if they describe their deals differently.

On a blog, getting keywords into your posts is usually easier than it is on a website because traditionally there’s usually a lot more content on a blog. And if you write the blog with your clients and their questions in mind, the keywords will generally show up in your posts anyway. And that brings us to--

Content – The more content you have on your website or blog, the higher your rankings will go. There will naturally be more keywords that appear on your site. Providing good content not only helps you with keywords and website traffic, but helps establish your online reputation and builds your credibility. After all, most people who have a legal problem want someone they know has the expertise to handle it. And they’re looking for someone they know, like and trust.

When looking at the websites of two lawyers in the same practice area, which one are clients going to be inclined to contact – the lawyer with lots of information about the area of the law, articles about trends that affect their clients, descriptions of their clients’ problems and how they help them, or the lawyer that has merely an online brochure that talks about the lawyers in the firm and gives a brief description of practice areas?

Watch your website statistics - As you start posting on your blog or putting content on your website,  look at the stats and see what words people are using to search. If they are words that are relevant to what you do and the services you provide, add more content to your site using those words. This is sort of ‘reverse engineering’ of keywords. It lets you know what is of interest to those searching the web for information in your practice area. But be careful that you aren’t blindly using search terms that don’t fit in with your service or your practice area - just because someone found your site using a particular search term doesn't mean that it's always something you want to emphasize on your site.

Know your service and your clients - The best way to identify keywords is to listen to your clients and how they talk about what they’re looking for. What questions do they ask? What are they concerned about? How does your particular practice solve their problems or address their concerns? What is different about the way you practice law, your experience, or the clients that you service that would be attractive to your website visitors? Those are the things that you should address on your website/blog, and those are the keywords you should use to attract visitors.

Update frequently – Updating your site often will increase your rankings. Search engines don’t like static websites. Your website is NOT just an online brochure. It’s a source of ongoing information for your website visitors. If there’s something new in the law or at your firm that would be of benefit to your clients, make sure that the information is on your website.

Use your blogging software to its full advantage – If you’ve got a blog, there are many ways to maximize the blogging software’s capabilities that will increase traffic to your site. Allowing comments on the blog permits a conversation between you and your website visitors, and makes your site an interactive experience. (There are also ways that you can make a website interactive by having comment forms and places for your web visitors to ask questions).

If your blog post comments on another blogger’s post, don’t just link to that post – use a trackback if it’s available. When you use a trackback, a link to your post will appear at the end of the original blogger’s post, and the original blogger will usually be notified that you’ve sent a trackback. That way, the original blogger becomes aware of you and your blog and that blogger’s readers become aware of your post. If you trackback to a blog with a large readership, your hits will almost certainly increase.

Links – Links to and from your site will increase your search engine rankings. But make sure that the links you’re providing are working links, and that they are relevant to your website readers. Whether you've got a website or a blog, linking to others and leaving comments on their sites/blogs with your url will get you noticed and likely begin to get others to link to you.

Capture contact information from your web visitors – Although capturing information about those that visit your website won’t increase your web statistics, it will allow you to begin to build relationships with your website visitors who may become referral sources or clients. Provide web visitors with valuable information (such as a subscription to your blog or newsletter, a white paper on a subject that’s important to them, etc.) in exchange for contact information. Make sure you get their permission to keep in touch with them - don't be a spammer! The more times you’re in contact with someone, the higher the chances that they will become a client.

Make it easy for your visitors to get information from your site – Allow visitors to subscribe to updates, a newsletter, or an RSS feed, etc. When the information comes directly to them, rather than requiring them to search for it over and over again on the web, they’re that much more likely to keep coming back.

Be smart about title tags- Wherever possible, the ‘title’ of your site, blog, and/or each page of your site should contain some keywords or search terms relevant to your practice. This will help your SEO.

Should I discount my fees in order to bring new clients in the door?

In general, I don’t recommend discounting your fees. Once you provide a discount, clients and possibly potential clients will know that you can and will do the work for the lower fee, and in their mind, the discounted fee becomes your actual fee. They will expect the same discounted fee for any work you do in the future, and will likely pass that fee information on to potential referrals. Even worse, many lawyers realize, too late, that when they discount a fee for a client, that client often brings nothing but headaches and trouble.

Whether we like it or not, most times we equate higher price with higher value. We think if something is more expensive, it must be ‘better.’ Since that’s the way most people think, discounting your fees or charging too little de-values the service you provide in the eyes of your clients and potential clients. Often, if the fee is too low, people will wonder what’s missing or whether you’re experienced or knowledgeable enough to handle their case.

Rather than giving a discount, think about giving a ‘bonus’ – throw in a free ‘something’ – free risk assessment, free additional consultation, free review of something, free update, etc. Make it something that has value for the client but isn’t really cutting into your fees. Articulate the value of the services that you’re providing for your client within that fee.

For example, if you want to do work for small businesses and become their ‘go to’ lawyer, you could provide a risk assessment as a ‘freebie’ as part of your incorporation/startup package (although you must still make sure that the fees you’re charging are making you a comfortable margin for your services). This kind of bonus has the added benefit of educating the client and possibly showing them the value of preventative legal representation.

Whenever you give something away for free, make sure you indicate the value of the service you’re ‘giving away.’ In other words, if you’d do a risk assessment on its own for $1000, your materials should clearly state that the package includes a “risk assessment worth $1000” or similar language.

Although I don’t generally condone discounting, there are certain times when you can discount your fees for certain clients, at specific times, or for defined purposes. But those discounts should be part of your overall pricing strategy. They should only be provided on an individual basis, after special consideration.

For example, you might want to take on a particular case for a reduced fee if it will be a significant case that will help build your reputation or credibility, or provide experience you would be unable to obtain under other circumstances. You might consider discounting your fee for a particular charity, cause or individual in need. Whenever you discount your fee, you should be careful to articulate the circumstances under which the discount is being provided - i.e. for a specified period of time, for only one engagement, etc.

Many lawyers give discounts to clients on a regular basis without even realizing it, and without keeping control over those discounts. Are your clients paying your bills in full and on time? If not, you’re not getting the rate you think you’re getting – you’re actually discounting your fees. The client that always pays late and requires constant reminders before they’ll pay is costing you money – both in the real sense of having to wait for your fees, and in the time, effort and aggravation involved in chasing down payments.

If you determine that a particular case is worth taking for a reduced fee, or even no fee, that’s your prerogative. But make sure that you can articulate a sound business reason for giving the discount, and make sure that you’re making the decision – don’t let your clients make it for you.

How do I convince clients that they need my legal services, particularly with the proliferation of ‘do it yourself’ packages on the internet?

Competition on price will always be out there. There will always be someone who is willing to do it for less – whether that be another lawyer, an online legal service, a do-it-yourself package or an overseas attorney. But clients that are choosing legal representation solely on the basis of price may not be the clients you’re looking for.

In order to effectively attract paying clients, you need to be able to articulate the unique value your law firm provides, and the ways that clients will benefit from working with you.

Think of your potential clients not just in terms of ‘entrepreneur’ or ‘small business owner,’ or ‘person with assets to pass to others’ but as a certain kind of small business owner, entrepreneur or individual – perhaps someone who is concerned about risks, who wants to ensure the longevity of his business or ensure that her estate is divided as she wishes to provide for her children. Identify what the clients' problems and concerns are, and clearly articulate how your services address those problems.

When you target your practice toward individuals who care about the benefits that your services can provide – and speak in all of your materials about those benefits – you’ll attract the kinds of clients who truly want, need and appreciate your services. Not all clients are the right clients for you.

By the time a client or potential client is in your office, it’s probably too late to convert them to your way of thinking. Clients who don’t understand the value of your services or the benefits that you can provide for them are clients that you don’t want – they’re likely to cost you far more in time, money, and stress than the fees they pay you could possibly be worth.

In order to attract the clients you want, you’ve got to educate your prospects and clients before they get to your office. The way to do that is by providing a lot of information in your marketing materials, your website, etc. Show clients and potential clients by the use of stories and case studies from your own experience why they need your services. Tell them how people like them get into trouble because they didn’t take the right legal precautions – and how they got out of trouble by using your services.

Make this information available on your website, in articles, marketing materials, etc. that discuss the clients' problems and how your solutions will benefit them. For example, to attract small business owners or entrepreneurs to become their 'outside general counsel' and help them prevent problems, provide information that establishes and demonstrates the importance of preventative legal work.

This will attract business owners who want to avoid common and costly pitfalls. It will educate others (particularly as they do searches on the internet) before they become clients. It will establish credibility for you and show that you know what you’re talking about and that you care about your clients and the problems they encounter. You’ll be attracting and cultivating your dream clients, who will already be 'converted' before they walk through your office door.