How Successful Attorneys Attract Better Clients

Ever wonder why some of your contemporaries are bragging about how well their website performs, while yours is a dog?

Do you wonder why your website and blog are underperforming, even if you regularly post?

Has your lead generation from your website been hijacked by your competitors?

Are you sick and tired of being invisible online?

Well, maybe it’s time for you to get on the good foot and make some improvements. Successful attorneys and other professional service firms don’t waste slow days in the office. When you come upon a slow day, or if you’re home, sick in bed; but not too sick to stay busy, work on these:

Audit Your Website Home Page – Does your home page speak to your target audience, or does it shout “We, We, We, Us, We? People are seeking solutions, not searching to see who has the most bragging power. SPOILER ALERT! People could give a rat’s rear end about you; they want to know WIIFM: What’s In It For Me? If you are not speaking directly to your ideal prospective client, rewrite it now. 

Typical Legal Marketing Firms really don’t know direct response marketing, so they’ll tell you that “you have to impress people with your expertise!” They’ll sell you on an idea of overhauling your entire site to make it more attractive, better graphics, better font usage, and more backlinks. Most of that is total B.S. While that may be true from a visual and content perspective, your site visitor’s first impression is whether you have the solution to their problem. These people have an issue that is keeping them up at night, and they need someone that can help them fix it. That’s why they are on your site.

Image Credit: Cognitive SEO

 Sure, you can tell them about your firm, but make sure it’s below the fold, or at least near the fold.  Let them know about your successes, your core expertise, but don’t go on a brag-fest. Supplemental pages are for that.

 Reserve the upper 75% of the screen to speak candidly how your prospect can benefit from the solution you provide for the number one point of contention your prospects face. Testimonials that are specific to “My (fill in the blank) issue was…. (firm name or individual) really fixed my (fill in the blank) problem with expertise, friendliness, and conviction,” or some cause cause-effect-style praise. Think problem-solution.

 And, don’t expect your site visitors to make the leap from what they’re reading to what to do next. People need direction. That’s why you should always have a Call-To-Action clearly visible, with clear directions to CLICH HERE to schedule a consultation or to book an appointment, or do whatever it is you want them to do.

Educate Your Clients and Prospects – Are you offering valuable information about the solutions you provide and how it might help your target audience? These could be downloadable long-copy brochures, special reports, case studies, checklists, even eBooks. These are also great lead magnets to grow your list, so they’re dual purpose. 

There is really no limit to the number of marketing assets you can create or have created for you. One of the easiest ways to construct significant download reports is to take a major topic that pertains directly to your ideal prospect and write a long-form article about it. Then, identify the 6-8 pages, one for each sub-heading, also in long-form article fashion. This combination of lead article and supporting articles is known as Pillar Page and Cluster Pages in support. Each can stand on their own and together make for a thorough education piece to be shared. And, they can also have a place on your blog. Again, double duty.

Double Check Images Alt Text – One by one, check each image for the proper alt text. Alt-text is a description of the image that is written into the actual code of the page. Google ranking gathers the best-optimized pages in response to the query and also gathers the best images along with them. Google presents the image samples before the search results below the ad selections, and even appear ahead of the general listings, regardless of their ranking. Here’s an example using the query – “best attorney marketing ideas.”

Great search engine optimization comes from much more than mere keywords.

 Alt-text is also referred to as “Alt description” or Alt tags.” It’s copy that will appear in the posting if the image fails to load adequately. This is to benefit those with impaired vision. This tool also benefits in page ranking and search results improvements.

Knowing the value of alt text from a reader’s standpoint as well as SEO, make sure it is descriptive text. Be specific. Don’t believe me? Check the alt text of the image directly to the left.

Verify All Links Are Functioning - Another part of good SEO happens to be backlinks and internal links too. Occasionally, links cease to connect for reasons unknown, so routinely reviewing them help to ensure a good site visitor experience. Linking to top tier sites aids in search rankings, and internal links aid visitors to find more valuable information when exploring a topic. 

There are a great many other things that can be verified, fixed and improved upon, but there is plenty of work within this one article. I’ll be producing more helpful hints and marketing hacks you can put to use in the very near future.

Attorneys aren’t the only professionals that these tips can assist. Any solopreneur can put these tips to use just as easily.

Maybe you’ve got some recommendations to highlight in aid of your brethren. Post a comment of your idea or suggestion and I’ll make sure to create an article fully addressing it.

See Ya When I See Ya!