Your law firm’s website is a valuable tool. If it’s not optimized for today’s legal clients, you could be missing out on valuable leads. Even worse, you could end up losing existing clients if you don’t offer popular digital conveniences. With the majority of people relying on the internet to get answers to questions, discover service providers, make payments, and more, it’s essential to prioritize your law firm’s website.
But how can you take your law firm’s website to the next level?
We’re happy to say that all you need are a few tips and tricks to get the most out of your website. While all digital marketing projects require time and energy, the return on your investment in your website is well worth the effort. Keep reading to see how you can turn your basic website into a valuable resource for acquiring and retaining clients.
Improve client service with payment links and client portals
The world is well into the digital age, so it’s no surprise that digital payments are becoming more and more popular. Between peer-to-peer money transfers, online banking, and touchless payments, many people don’t use cash or checks to make payments anymore.
While this may be an adjustment for your law firm, it’s worth the time and energy to improve client service by offering the payment methods they want. But how do you implement this client convenience on your website?
By embedding payments online! CosmoLex, for example, allows you to generate an embeddable payment link that you can strategically add to your website’s header and footer areas (or any other easily accessible location).
Client portals are also a great way to accept online payments. Not only do they make it easy to send invoices, but they also streamline processes for communication, file-sharing, and e-signatures. As a result, you’ll have more free time to focus on billable hours, and it will offer your clients more convenient ways of working with you—a smart move for improving client retention.
Generate more leads with contact forms and pop-ups
If you are struggling to secure new clients, it could be an issue with how you use your website for lead generation. Simply offering up your phone number and practice area is not going to cut it anymore. Your website can—and should—play an active role in engaging with visitors and starting them down the sales funnel.
One strategic way to do this is with a combination of contact forms and pop-ups. Contact forms can be a more passive option, so they may not grab the attention of all visitors. However, too many pop-ups can make your website seem overwhelming to some prospective clients. Instead, it’s best to use both options in a complementary way.
Pop-ups can also be used to connect leads with useful information for their decision-making processes. By adding a lead magnet (such as a guide on starting legal matters in your practice area, for example), you can build trust with potential clients while building your email list at the same time.
It’s important to regularly review and have a deep understanding of your financial health to ensure that errors will be caught and performance can be analyzed. Always knowing the status of your business allows for adequate planning and, if necessary, a change of course before it is too late!
Use logic-based intake forms for a smoother onboarding
The battle isn’t over once you secure a client. Sometimes the biggest challenge is the intake process. It can be difficult to gather all of the necessary information, especially if your clients have to speak to a staff member to access an intake form or the staff isn’t fully trained in how to use them.
There are several ways you can improve the process, though. To start, adding an intake form to your website can start the intake process without taking up staff time or requiring additional training. You shouldn’t use just any type of form, however.
If you want to get the best results, we highly recommend that you use a logic-based intake form. These smart forms route your prospective clients through the form so that they aren’t overwhelmed by irrelevant questions. Instead, they’ll be presented with the minimum number of questions required for their specific situation.
These forms can help qualify or disqualify leads so you connect with clients that are the right fit for your firm. They also populate information from intake forms into client matter, eliminating unnecessary data entry.
Establish your law firm as a trusted resource with high-quality blogs
When was the last time you added a new blog post to your website? Do you even have a blog section?
If you aren’t regularly adding blogs to your website, you could be missing out on opportunities to connect with leads and clients and boost your website’s SEO.
While regular blogging might seem like a big ask for busy attorneys, it’s important to remember that quality is more important than quantity. It’s better to put out a small number of well-written content that highlights your experience and knowledge than a constant stream of irrelevant, unhelpful blogs.
To make blogging more manageable, consider building out a content calendar to stay organized. You can work with a digital marketing or SEO agency to determine the right topics, or you can draw from common questions and concerns you see from clients. Identify a manageable cadence—for example, two 1,000-word blogs a month—and stick to it.
Make sure the basics are covered
For a prospective client, your website usually provides the first impression of your law firm. If it looks outdated or has missing information, your law firm will appear less professional than a competitor with a more up-to-date website. Fortunately, it doesn’t require much effort to clean up the basic items on your website.
Law firms should go through once a year to check their website and:
- Update bios and headshots: If you haven’t taken a new headshot since you passed the bar exam, it’s time to refresh your photo to make sure your website accurately reflects your identity and experience.
- Ensure contact information is accurate: If you’ve relocated or changed phone numbers, check to see if that information is up to date so that you don’t miss out on any contacts.
- Optimize your site for mobile: More and more, people rely on their phones and other mobile devices to connect to the internet, so you should make sure your website is mobile-friendly.
- Highlight your current practice areas: This might seem like another obvious step, but it’s worth double-checking. You won’t want to waste anyone’s time if you don’t offer the practice area a client needs. Instead, make sure your practice areas are clearly described.
- Test out your forms: Imagine you are a first-time visitor to your website and fill out an intake form to make sure that the process works and prospective clients can get through to you easily.
Find out how you can use legal software to improve your law firm’s website
Legal software like CosmoLex can support your law firm’s web presence with tools like client portals, embeddable payment links, legal CRM, and more. Sign up for a free trial or schedule a demo today.
It’s important to regularly review and have a deep understanding of your financial health to ensure that errors will be caught and performance can be analyzed. Always knowing the status of your business allows for adequate planning and, if necessary, a change of course before it is too late!