Law firms should consider publishing a blog for numerous reasons. First, a blog provides information and education to potential clients about topics relevant to their searches and your law firm. Moreover, HubSpot says that companies that blog get 97% more backlinks to their websites than those that don’t blog, which increases the page’s rank on search engines such as Google and provides a terrific search engine optimization (SEO) boost. In fact, according to ClientTech, having a blog as a key component of your website will increase your chance of a higher search engine ranking by more than 425%.
Here are seven steps to take to ensure that your law firm blog is accomplishing its objective of generating leads and securing new business.
- Account for Aesthetics
Long form blogs lacking images or breaks in the copy may give you an opportunity to fill it full of search terms, but your visitors won’t stay long enough to read. In today’s world, where people don’t just want information, they want information immediately, you must make the information digestible. You may consider bullet points or graphics to make the layout more appealing. Break your blog up into clearly discernible sections with sub-headlines. Whatever you do, make sure that when a visitor clicks on your blog, they aren’t just reading text.
- Prioritize Page Speed
In much the same way that long form copy can push away potential business, the majority of visitors to your blog will abandon it if it doesn’t load quickly. Indeed, if your blog takes more than a second or two to load, your visitors will more than likely leave and seek another source for their information. Be sure to meet with your IT team and confirm that your blog (and website) loads quickly, or make corrections to keep your visitors’ attention.
- Avoid Generalizations; Embrace Specifics
Know what challenges your audience faces and what issues they are looking to solve. Address those challenges instead of using your blog to tell a potential visitor about every type of case you handle. Hone in on specifics in each blog, answering a question or providing a specific solution, rather than merely touting all of your law firm’s accomplishments. Remember, visitors want information quickly and that begins with the title of the blog.
- Consider Guest Blog Posts
Using guest bloggers allows you to leverage their expertise and offer a more comprehensive blog. Too, it can help solidify relationships with referral sources by opening the lines of communication with someone that can send your firm business. For example, if you’re an employment lawyer, you can request a guest blog from an expert on workers’ rights, such as a higher-up in a union.
- Enable Social Sharing
Make sure that every blog you post is social media-sharing ready. Include “Share This” options for each blog. To encourage blog readers to share, make it easy for them. After all, a blog post being read by various audiences beyond those visiting your website or social profiles would be a bonus to your practice.
- Be Clear with Your Call to Action
What is your action goal with your blog? Do you want your readers to contact you? Do you want them to follow you on Twitter? Do you want them to watch a video that is embedded in the blog? Whatever action you want from your visitors, make sure that it is impossible for them to miss the action step. Make sure the action is clearly identified and discernible from the rest of the blog. Include opportunities to take action more than once, with links, options to share or options to contact in multiple places.
- Capture Contact Info
Your visitors should be able to contact you directly from your blog without having to search for a “Contact Us” page. Your auto contact form or phone/email should be easy to find.
Although it may seem like regular blogging is an undertaking your law firm just doesn’t have the time to prioritize, blogs are widely regarded as the third most influential digital resource when it comes to consumers’ decisions about purchases. It’s well worth your law firm’s investment of time or resources to start creating better blogs today.
