How long do you read before you give up on a book or an article? A few pages? One paragraph? Just as people abandon printed material, they leave web content—and fast. In fact, the Nielsen Norman Group reports that the “average page visit lasts a little less than a minute.” Even worse, it appears that the “first 10 seconds of the page visit are critical for users’ decision to stay or leave.” How do you convince them to stick around to learn how you can help with their legal problems?
If you think that getting traffic to your law firm’s website with keywords is all that matters, you’re wrong. Google advises that your web content should be both credible and of high quality. Here’s why:
Credible web content builds trust and shows thought leadership. The problem for most people is that it takes time to create credible content. You have to conduct keyword and subject matter research, find and use credible sources, add internal and external links, and include unique information.
Not convinced? Here are a few ways Google spots credibility, trustworthiness, and reputation:
- original research
- citations
- links
- reviews
- testimonials
It takes time to do these things consistently. Unless you can dedicate staff exclusively to these functions, internal efforts tend to dwindle out as the busy become busier.
Craft high quality law firm web content.
The quality of your web content is also critical. Potential clients evaluate law firms based on qualitative criteria. Average or poorly presented material on your website turns clients off. It can be one of the reasons that site visits don’t last long.
To achieve the best standard of quality, you’ll need to write top-notch law firm web content yourself or outsource it to a respectable service with solid legal and publishing skills and a great reputation.
Here are a few factors that Google says are indicators of high quality content:
- unique
- specific
- not mass-produced
- “created primarily to give visitors a good user experience, not to rank well”
In other words, it’s not just a matter of throwing up a few web pages or blogs that contain popular keywords: You have to consistently post high quality content that offers value, is useful to visitors, and holds their interest.
To be sure, the increasing use of the Internet impacts how lawyers do business. Businesses and consumers alike now get their information from website content on a wide array of products and services. As a result, law firms of all sizes are investing in legal web content writing to help them gain a strong online presence.
But it is not enough to have content that provides your contact information and describes your practice areas. While you must include such basic information, your website should not be “too company-focused.”
Web content that concentrates only on products and services would probably fail the 10-second test. Obviously, you do not want that. So how can you make your law firm’s website succeed in the fast-paced, immediate gratification world of online marketing?
You have to keep your website fresh by adding content regularly.
How to create high quality content.
Every piece of content you post must be relevant to your target clients and crafted in a way that appeals to their interests. As a law firm, you must first determine what your prospective clients need. Show an understanding of those needs, then offer your legal services as a solution.
Here are three basic characteristics of high quality website content that spell success:
- Well-researched. Research is a key element in almost all forms of writing. Law firm web content writing is no exception. Client needs should drive your topics, and high-level research and links must support your content. This assures clients that the information is factual, current, and credible.
- Well-written. Your firm’s web content should be written in a logical way, free of grammatical and typographical errors. A website that contains perfectly written content always gains trust from readers. This is essential to hold visitor interest and to gain repeat visitors.
- Keyword optimization. A skilled web content writer uses keywords and strategies to draw visitors to your site. By increasing traffic to your website and providing valuable content to visitors, you increase the likelihood of delivering your products and services to those visitors.
Consider outsourcing your law firm web content writing.
Attorneys usually don’t have time to draft high quality web content, such as web site copy, blogs, and social media posts. Fortunately, this can be outsourced to specialized legal web content writing services that can deliver.
TOPDOG’s law firm web content writers are equipped with the knowledge and skills to achieve both credibility and high quality in your web content. To start building a relationship with your audience, contact TOPDOG Legal Marketing today by completing our online form or calling (844) HEY-TDOG (439-8364) or (480) 744-7331. We pride ourselves in crafting legal content that converts surfers into clients.
