We live in a digital world and everything has been increasingly dependent on the internet for its popularity. And as we progress in the world, there is an increasing number of legal issues everywhere we see. Gone are the old days when people would ask each other for a reference to a good lawyer. Now, the internet helps us find a good lawyer and the trend for lawyer related searches and subsequent law firm SEO has grown exponentially. A study conducted by Moses and Rooth, a law firm, back in 2015 showed that people in the age range of 18 to 25 years are increasing their dependency to look up on the internet when they need a legal counsel.
The study showed that even though around one third of the surveyed people still relied on the word of mouth to get in touch with a lawyer, this was found to be popular more among the older generation. The millennials are shifting towards the internet to get in touch with a law firm and since they are the future, this trend will continue to grow. Law Firm SEO has thus become an important investment for the legal businesses to get new clients.
According to a study conducted by The Research Intelligence Group, 76 percent of the people that they surveyed who hired a lawyer in the past year used online resources to look up a good attorney. And since we do not live in a perfect and crime-free world, at some point of time in our lives, we will all require the service of the law professionals. There are a few ways in which the law firms can increase their online presence and convert the online searches into potential clients.
Social Media Marketing and Blogging
All the searches related to legal issues may not be just for hiring a lawyer. Sometimes, people just need to clarify what they know and take it to the internet to look for information. Therefore, having a blog on your website that explains all the vital questions that people are popularly asking will help bring traffic to your website and the positioning of the offers and Call to Actions on your website can help convert the queries to clients.
Another aspect of this factor is the social media marketing. When you market your content on the various social media platforms that are available today, it will help create a branding for your law firm and also leave an impression in the minds of the people who view your content. Not to mention, it will help in exposure and people will link bank to you, thus increasing your value in front of Google.
Legal Forums
Creating a forum on your website can also go a long way into making your website popular among the people. When the community is asking and answering questions on your platform, it can become the go-to place for everyone who wishes to seek legal counsel. This will increase the popularity of your website and sooner than you think, the ranking of your website in the search results will also improve. Seeking out counsel on a legal forum is the first step that many people take before they spend money on a lawyer. If you are a part of the system, you can control how the queries are converted to potential clients.
Public Rating
When you look up a business on the internet, there is a rating that is provided right below the name of the business. Quite obviously, a high rating is much desired by the businesses since the clients will form an impression beforehand about the law firm on the basis of the rating. If the rating is low, people are quick to point it out and the negative image that is created as a result of that can harm business quite a lot. This is why, you should focus on constantly improving the rating since you could be losing a lot of clientele just because your rating is not up to the mark for the public.
Website Optimization For Law Firm SEO
Since the people are generally constantly in motion, they do not have the time to sit in front of a computer and look up things on the internet. Studies have shown that most of the searches that have been done are either on a mobile or a tablet. This is why, as a law firm, you should have your website optimized for all devices so that your leads are converted to clients. If the person going through your website on his or her mobile phone is unable to view half the information, it could lead to disappointment and shifting to someone else’s law firm. You should also note the time it takes for the website to load on different devices. Since the young generation is constantly in motion, they are quick to look up the next result when the first one is taking too long to load.
The Future Is Here
Legal practice is one of the oldest professions in the world. Law and justice has governed the civilized world for a long time now and with the advent and popularization of the internet, it is time to merge the two worlds together. People have access to all legal advice at their fingertips but they will still need a professional to represent them in court. Therefore, law firms will have to make some concessions while handing out information for free on the internet since it is already available to the public. This will increase their online presence and becoming dominant in the market will help the law firms to establish themselves as the key players in the area when it comes to representation in the court.