Blogs are important web properties for law practices, just as this one is to my business. Lawyers blogs are components of main websites or stand-alone sites devoted to topics and issues of interest to existing and potential clients of law firms. Blogs are can be highly interactive and engage visitors through allowing comments (approved before publishing), sharing resources e.g. offering downloads of guidelines or checklist documents. Highly popular among Internet users, blogs have the potential to attract very targeted visitors.
When writing copy for legal blogs, a combination of legal writing skills and SEO (search engine optimisation) writing is crucial.
Legal writing
Members of the general public, who have no legal background, often need information on legal terms and phrases they encounter in business or other situations. Lawyers websites often contain difficult-to-understand legal terminology, created by someone au fait with legal semantics, sometimes with the intention of appearing expert and professional, particularly among their peers. However the man-in-the-street website visitor may be intimidated by such content.
Obviously there needs to be a balance, and an experienced legal copy writer will be able to accomplish this. If a legal firm wants to maintain the main business pages more formally, a blog on the site is the perfect opportunity to use more user-friendly language. A legal blog is an ideal vehicle to explain sometimes complex concepts in an easily digestible format.
Keyword usage
Keywords used appropriately within a legal blog have the power to attract search engines, and if they find original and relevant, higher rankings for the whole site will result. Any legal content writer that you engage must have the skill to construct cohesive blog articles while using targeted keywords in a logical manner, making blog content search engine friendly and compelling enough for site visitors to take the action you want, i.e. to call or email you.
Fresh content
Good, valuable blogs are regularly updated, unlike law firm web copy which contains law practice and attorney profile information, and which generally remains unchanged unless new circumstances arise. New articles containing targeted keywords will also attract search engines which love to discover fresh, unique and relevant content – and the more frequently you update your website, the more frequently the search engines are likely to visit it. So posting new articles for legal blogs is an effective strategy for improved search rankings and growing law firm client base.
Social media integration
Popular social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn can significantly boost popularity and relevance scores of legal blogs through sharing and other tools which automatically publish status updates of new content posted in legal blogs. Social networks can create inbound links to a legal blog, increasing its popularity and improving its search rankings.
The online success of a legal practice lies in great search engine rankings for its website (for targeted keywords), along with the amount of trust, and the perception of authority, that its website instills in visitors or potential clients.
Articles for lawyers blogs can build authority in a field of law, demonstrate legal expertise in a particular area of practice and professionalism which potential clients look for in an attorney. A legal content writer can start a legal blog and feed it regularly with articles on current issues, new developments and popular topics in law.
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