The legal industry is competitive in its own right. However, the websites of many law firms look almost the same. So how do you survive in this jungle and stay ahead of the rest? The first step is all about branding because, as the adage goes, image is everything. You need to set up an attractive and engaging website that will leave an impression on both existing and prospective clients. And by branding, we’re not talking about a simple logo design or a typical vision statement. Rather, you should go a notch higher and brand your online office, which is your website. Forget the usual premade WordPress themes that are too common with most law firms. If you would like to get a little creative and develop an alluring, unique website that places you ahead of the competition, these five tips will show you how:
1. Brand Name
To build brand recognition, you should incorporate both your firm’s name and logo design together on your website. If your brand is easily recognized, clients will be able to identify your posts wherever you make them online or otherwise. You should also ensure your firm’s name is also your website’s URL or domain name. For instance, if you are a car accident attorney in Florida, rather than use the ordinary “floridacaraccidentattorney”, your firm’s name will do the magic of setting you apart from the crowd.
Another advantage of using this technique is that it makes your website rank higher on search engines.
2. Brand Colors
Using your brand colors even with pre-created themes and logos allows your website to stand out. You can incorporate them in the call to action (CAT) sections or have them as your default background colors. They also work perfectly for link formatting and offer alluring visual attraction on different sections within your website.
Today’s version of WordPress comes with multiple themes and options to optimize colors that suit your preferences. With just the click of a mouse, you can add your brand colors in different sections of your website to partition and develop visual effects. However, ensure that the text and background colors are compatible to help maintain contrast. For bright colors, such as orange, red, or crimson, use them in the CAT section to make the colors easily noticeable.
3. Set Your Brand Apart
Which competitive edge do you have against your competitors? What is your Unique Selling Point (USP?) You should stress these points in all your website content. It assists prospective clients relate to you and make informed decisions when shopping for an attorney to handle their case. For instance, if your area of specialty is a car accident, you can stress it in different sections of your website together with your USP. You can use it as a headline, a tagline, or a primary keyword in all your content.
Congratulations, you’re now the proud owner of a unique website. But we’re not done yet. Setting up a unique website involves multiple strategies besides branding. It’s now time to make your site rank higher on search engines. Remember, the goal here is to beat the competition. So you want a site that will pull in more traffic using digital and content marketing.
4. Register Your Law Firm With Google My Business
The first step to placing your law firm within reach of potential clients is through listing with Google My Business. That is a free process that only requires general information about your law business. You’ll only have to provide your firm’s name, location, website, and specific sub-niche. You’ll be sent an email verification code to verify your business. It’s as simple as creating an email address.
Next, you’ll be required to do your business registration form with additional information relevant to your business, such as what you are, and what specific services you provide, business hours, and such like information. That will boost your SEO ranking when prospective clients perform Google searches for nearby attorneys.
5. Use SEO
If you want to rank higher on SEO and drive organic traffic to your website, you should optimize it for search engines. If you are using WordPress, you have an even better advantage since WordPress has inbuilt SEO features. WordPress with themes specifically designed for attorneys comes with additional optimized SEO. Alternatively, you can use external SEO plugins that enable you to optimize your website and content. Furthermore, there are lots of law firm HTML templates that are pre-optimized for search engines. Here are a few quick pointers for optimizing your website for search engines:
- Do not stuff keywords in your content. Use them sparingly to avoid being penalized by Google Algorithms.
- Use accurate names and al text to help search engines decipher your site’s content.
- Ensure you use the best formatting to increase readability and enable search engines to grasp your content.
- Use hyperlinks with contextual anchor texts to give your readers an easy time when scanning through your content. It also helps Google Algorithms determine the sources you are linking to.
Also, once you’re getting traffic, be sure it converts. If you’ve ever visited a personal injury website, you’ll immediately notice a chat popup. That’s to convert users. There are many live chat options for personal injury lawyers.
Build credibility. Share testimonials from previous clients whose cases are successfully handled. That enables you to build credibility and earn trust. Potential clients who visit your website and find that you have a successful record of similar cases will be highly likely to schedule a consultation with your firm.
Bottom Line
So, there you have it. Five basic ideas you need to design a unique website for your law firm that stands apart from the rest. These basic tips are just the stepping stone you need to create an even better, more engaging website. If you are just starting, then take the initiative and choose the ideal WordPress HTML template for your law firm. Implement these tips to design, brand, market, and optimize a website that will improve your brand image and give you a return on investment (ROI).
