When people are searching online for answers to legal questions, or to final a lawyer to represent them, they will influenced by a website that contains content that is both engaging and informative. Web content can be viewed as time-sensitive or evergreen, and to be effective, your law firm marketing online strategy should involve both – and be presented in a variety of formats.
Time-limited and evergreen content
Time-limited content speaks to the latest events, legal developments, updates or court rulings that are relevant to your target clients.
Evergreen content, as the name suggests, retains relevance for many years. While time-limited content can draw large volumes of site traffic in a short period of time, it is evergreen content that will help to boost your authority and credibility. The result will be consistent search rankings and better online visibility.
Developing evergreen content
Informational content that teaches “how to”, explains differences and benefits, and weighs pros and cons for your site visitors is likely to remain relevant for a long period of time. Determine what type of information your ‘ideal clients’ are looking for by tapping into online discussions in forums and social media sites.
Hot Tip: Conduct a search using specific keywords in Google and click on “Discussions” in the “More” dropdown menu. You’ll get some common questions and comments related to your keywords which can be developed into evergreen content. Consider writing explanatory articles and posts outlining best practices that provide value to your client.
Types of informational content
In addition to blog posts and articles, your law firm website can also provide audio and video content, document collections in PDF format (which may appear under the “Resources” tab of your website), case studies, news feeds for social media updates, and newsletters for email updates to clients.
Tips for developing useful content
- Avoid sounding like you a pitching for business. Internet users generally dislike outright sales pitches – especially from professionals like lawyers, whom they believe should be a ‘cut above’.
- Provide helpful information or tips first.
- Demonstrate the value of related legal services in connection with the information provided.
- Integrate useful content well in your law firm website and social media properties by publishing links to your website content in all your social networks.
- Make sure that useful information can be easily found and accessed in your website. Install social sharing buttons immediately below your posts and on your law firm’s website pages.
Who Should Prepare Your Written Content?
Law firms can develop web content in-house, assigning members of the firm to write regular articles for their websites and blogs. Having a content editorial calendar to help manage the flow will help. Outsourcing content creation to professional writers has its advantages too, particularly for online visibility (SEO) and time management.
The principals and partners in law firms who understand the value of their online presence will often engage outside writers (yes, like me) to create much of their website copy and articles. This is because the best of these writers have a good handle on how the search engines like Google work, they observe Google webmaster guidelines, and have the ability to write about sometimes complex issues in a way to which the man-in-the-street will relate.
The ongoing acquisition of new business for a law firm is vital if it the firm is to prosper, and leveraging the power of the internet to bring in that business is smart marketing. However, the demands of a growing legal practice often sees simple solutions like the writing of regular and ongoing blog posts moved way down on the priority list.
My most successful law firm clients are those who budget for me to write a combination of time sensitive and evergreen written content each month – it is fixed in their marketing budgets, and leaves them and their staff free to focus on their core business: providing legal services.
Learn more about my content writing services for progressive law firms with an online presence.
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