How are you using your law firm’s website?  Do you simply see it as a place clients visit in order to obtain telephone numbers and email addresses?  Or do you treat it as your 24/7 shop window by filling it choc-full of relevant, useful content designed to help your clients understand the law and your firm’s services better? If it is the latter then well done.  You have realised that content marketing is the way forward for business, and that clients now expect to be able to obtain a certain amount of service information from websites for free.  Does this devalue the services you charge for?  Not at all.  By providing useful information about your profession to your clients free of charge you will be creating unbeatable client loyalty and showcasing your firm’s expertise to prospective clients.  Last year 78% of customers believed companies providing custom content are interested in building good relationships.  You can read more about the great benefits of content marketing here. It is a win win situation that simply takes a little effort. So what information do visitors to your law firm’s website want to see? Here are the top five essential pages of information to include:

Why us?

Even the smallest town usually has a couple of law firms competing for business.  In major cities firms have to make a conscious effort to stand out from the crowd.  You need to spell out to clients why they should use YOUR legal services instead of going to the firm down the road.  What makes your firm unique?  This is not about fees, it is about highlighting the specific in-house skills and commitment to service that will encourage clients want to do business with your organisation.

 An Article or Blog Page.

Include a blog or articles page and update it regularly with useful, relevant content.  Not only will your clients love it but so will Google, and it will help improve your firm’s website ranking.  Make sure you write posts about the areas of law you specialise in and optimise it well. This will allow potential clients searching for specific information such as the “sale and purchase of a business” to visit to your website via reading a relevant article in your blog.

A Little Snippet of Personal Information.

Adding a little bit about each partner’s interests and passions outside of the legal world is a wonderful way of providing the reader with a personal connection to your authors.  Remember the old adage, “people buy from people they like”.

Information about each practice area

Rather than simply listing the areas of law your firm practices in, give lots of information about each one and some helpful advice.  For example, family law issues can be very stressful, so why not include a glossary of legal terms, links to counselor’s pages, and detailed explanations of protection orders, dissolution of marriage etc.  Under property law list the steps required to complete the sale and purchase of a property so clients know what to expect.

A FAQS (Frequently Asked Questions) Page

Does your office have ample parking space available?  Can you visit a client’s house if they are unable to get to you?  Do you do legal aid work?  What are your opening hours? Providing this type of practical information will make potential clients feel more confident when phoning your office to make an appointment.  They will not feel like they have to ask any “dumb” questions and look silly. By adding these five types of information to your website you can be confident that you are providing visitors with a valuable experience which will, in turn, not only convert them into clients, but their friends as well.