The three pillars of a high performing website
Your website should be a tool that drives leads to your law firm that then convert into paying clients. To do this effectively, your website should be great in three key areas:
- Design
- Conversion Optimization
- Search Engine Optimization
If your law firm’s website is good in just one or two of these areas, you’re possibly seeing some moderate to decent results, but when you hit all three of these areas, your website results will skyrocket.
Good design builds credibility
Your website isn’t art, it’s a tool to win more business. Law firm website design has a very specific role, it should make your firm look credible, build trust, and direct visitors to relevant information quickly and easily.
When choosing a law firm, clients don’t make long spreadsheets and weigh the pros and cons of every attorney they’ve looked at, they go with their gut. Good design gives subconscious cues to website visitors that will build your credibility and give the prospect a sense of confidence in your firm.
Conversion optimization gets clients in the door
Let’s assume your website is beautifully designed. It’s got clean branding that resonates with your target demographic, it has beautiful, authentic imagery that showcases you and your firm, and it has a great layout that allows clients to navigate the site with ease. What’s the point if prospects don’t contact your firm? Most people believe that just because a website is beautiful it will also be a powerful conversion tool, and this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Conversion optimization is a blend of science and consumer psychology. A website that is correctly conversion-optimized directs the steps the web visitor takes. It’s understanding where to place content, what calls to action to use, what the offer is, and ultimately how to get a web visitor to schedule a consultation and become a paying client.
Search Engine Optimization gets you found!
SEO is the third pillar of law firm web design. There are two aspects of SEO and you need to be good at both to be able to rank on the coveted first page of Google, technical SEO, and on-page SEO. A site that ranks high on Google can drive significant traffic and be a terrific lead source.
It’s also important to note that SEO is not a good strategy for everyone, and you can run a very effective legal marketing strategy by running paid ads directly to a design and conversion-optimized website. In fact, we have generated millions of dollars in business for clients using this strategy and skipping SEO altogether. If you are a newer firm, SEO can take a long time to see results and your marketing dollars may be better off spent in places that see quicker results. If you’re in a very competitive practice area and are far behind, it may take too long to outpace your competitors and outrank them. This is why before starting an SEO strategy, we always start with reporting and analysis to understand where your firm ranks, where your competition ranks, and how long it would take to outrank them.
How many pillars are holding up your law firm’s website?
Here’s the bottom line, your website should be your top salesperson and the hardest-working team member. It should be a consistent source of qualified leads. If your law firm’s site isn’t performing up to expectations, we suggest looking at the three pillars of web design.
If you would like a free consultation and website evaluation, contact us at info@wearestarke.com or (626) 209-1194.
