What You Didn’t Know About Your Website’s Design

Your firm’s online presence should start with a robust website that offers an illustration of who you are as a firm and helps you stand out from your competition. 

There are many critical components that make up a website, some important components your firm should keep in mind include: 

• Usability 
• Clear user experience
• Points of differentiation (What makes your firm unique) 
• SEO optimization
• Quality design 

With a strong plan of action, your firm can expect to acquire quality leads and cases from your site alone. According to a recent ABA survey, around 87% of firms have a website but only 20% of the firms’ websites contained essential information such as consumer guides, legal articles, forms, announcements, etc. And this is a great starting point for your digital presence adventures.  

Before we dive into the technical aspects, it is important to note that a website isn’t a static ‘one-time’ job and done. It requires continuous technical and content updates. Depending on how regular you are with these updates, your firm’s digital growth may vary for years to come, so the more consistent you are, the better! 

Let’s start with the basics. There are many sources to build a website on but for the sake of research and comparison we will focus on explaining the difference between a website built with .NET and a website built with WordPress. 

 

.NET versus WordPress is Similar to Comparing Apples and Oranges

Simply put, they are not the same… at all. They are two entirely different concepts within web design, both with their unique pros and cons. In order to evaluate which one might be a better fit for your firm, it is important to compare and contrast them. Here’s a quick run-down. 

.NET or ASP.NET was created by Microsoft for the sole purpose of building web applications. .NET is programmed with coding languages like C# and visual basics. Think of coding as the language that tells the program what to do. In short non-technical terms, .NET uses a more ‘sophisticated’ language to code, which is useful when a business is enterprise-level i.e. a bank. It allows for full customization of the site, albeit in a more complex way.

On the other hand, WordPress is considered a Content Management System (CMS), and the programming language for WordPress is PHP. PHP stands for Hypertext Pre-processor. This coding ‘language’ is perhaps the most popular technology, and because of this popularity, there are millions of PHP developers in the world, and it is also far more widely used than ASP.NET.

“Should My Firm’s Website Use WordPress or .NET?” The Ball Is In Your Court

Yes, comparing WordPress with .NET is again, like comparing apples with oranges. But ultimately, we want you to know the ball is really in your court. You can see some pros and cons for yourself.

.NET	WordPress (PHP)
.NET is a paid Microsoft platform.	WordPress is a completely FREE open source.
The programming language is not easy to learn, it is far more sophisticated.	The programming language of WordPress is easy to learn and pick up.
.NET has fewer online support groups, fewer forums, and Q&As.	Due to its popularity and cost, there is a large community of online help. It is also constantly being improved by this community.
It is exclusive to Windows.	PHP can be used on Mac, Windows, and other machines.
.NET is more scalable since the coding language for .NET is more demanding/complex.	WordPress has themes and plug-ins to scale. But, too many plug-ins may cause issues.

 

When speaking of website plug-ins, it is important to note that at Consultwebs there is a list of standard plugins used and our team tries not to deviate from it. Besides this, our team builds around the website’s theme framework functionality. We use WordPress because of the scalability and the quick access to support in case we should require technical help from the team, as well as the SEO-friendliness that it presents.

Another Thing Your Firm’s Website Needs…A Hosting Provider 

 

To put it simply, this is the medium from which your firm can successfully post the website onto the Internet and be found by your desired audience. It is typically a free service and in order to host your site, you must first have your own domain. (Your domain is the name of your website, and this is typically something you must pay for annually.)  

With that said, Consultwebs uses the WordPress hosting provider called Pagely. Pagely is the host to some of the fastest loading websites on WordPress and the world. It is also used by Fortune50 and other tech websites.

“And what about my firm’s website security?”, you may ask. 

With the use of Pagely, you can guarantee your website’s security. This hosting provider is able to run a few technical tasks of your firm’s website including: 

• Core updates 
• Automatic updates of plug-ins 
• Site migration 
• Daily site backups 

Besides this, it automatically backs up your site with top technology with Amazon S3 and offers 24/7 support. 

Get Your Money’s Worth With A CMS – Content Management System 

Although .NET and WordPress are fundamentally different, a major point of difference between both is that WordPress is a  CMS (Content Management System). 

A CMS in short words allows your firm and the people in charge of your digital marketing to maintain, edit and manage your website. Like we said earlier, a website isn’t a static ‘one-time’ job and done. 

A built-in CMS for your firm’s website: 

• Saves your firm time and money.
• Allows flexible editing of specific areas in your website.
• Gives your firm a theme framework to already work from.
• Optimizes SEO and SEO ranking 

 

A proven advantage towards success.

At Consultwebs we understand that your website is an extension of your firm’s image. We also understand a successful website is designed to drive quality results and cases.

For this, your firm needs a forward-thinking team that would be happy to walk the extra mile with you. Are you ready to cultivate quality long-term success? Let’s talk.  

 

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Why Your Firm Should Care About Google Updates

How does Google Updates Affect Your Firm?

Google makes frequent algorithm updates to its ranking to ensure smooth processes for searchers and advertisers alike by improving the quality and relevance of search results. These updates are continuously launched, however, the majority of the algorithm updates are not announced at a great scale and many users go on with their day-to-day none the wiser. 

While the core updates are different every month, a basic understanding of this can reduce panic and increase your knowledge of your firm’s rankings in Google’s SERP. Consequently, if you take advantage of these relevant updates your firm can increase the user experience and traffic on your website.

A core update is not specifically made to fit or favor certain categories or businesses. A core update refers to improvements Google makes to their core to consequently help the ranking process of the overall search. The core updates are announced in advance so web developers and SEO specialists can take advantage of them when managing and updating websites.

At times the core updates may either rank a website higher or lower. The ones that rank lower may ask themselves, “Did my website do something wrong to drop its rankings?” The short answer is, no. Google states that websites experiencing this shouldn’t try to edit their entire website. First and foremost, the best practice Google gives to all websites is following the webmaster guidelines. 

Some webmaster guidelines include: 

• Designing a mobile-friendly website.
• Optimizing the website to load fast.
• Verifying all your firm’s information in the Google My Business listings.

 

Having said this, the core updates should enhance the webmaster guideline optimization. Even though Google does say that core updates shouldn’t mean changing an entire website, it still doesn’t mean a website is a one-time and done deal. Your firm’s website needs constant SEO optimizations, quality content, and other digital marketing efforts to stay on top of the game and meet your client’s current demands. 

 

Give Your Clients What They Want and Need

Before diving into the most recent core updates, it’s important your firm keeps quality top of mind. Your best bet at succeeding in the world of SEO is running with a strategy for growth that bases itself on the quality factor that signals Google your content is rank-worthy.  

To start, you can think back to the basic question, “What do my clients want/need from my website and my other platforms?” Your firm can begin by:

• Providing quality content: This means your firm should create and post original, shareable, likable, new, and complete content. 
• Fact-checking the content: This entails posts with clear sources, data, evidence, and verification.
• Displaying the content free of spelling mistakes, clear designs, and not too many ads. 
• Adding content with value: this means the content genuinely revolves around the customer.  

 

Taking all of this into account can help your firm stay afloat amongst the Google core updates. 

The 5 Updates To Keep Up With Your Client Expectations: 

The imagery that Google gives to help understand core updates is “to imagine you made a list of the top 100 movies in 2015. A few years later in 2019, you refresh the list. It’s going to naturally change.” 

Change can bring your firm new ideas that otherwise would’ve gone unnoticed. The following are the recent Google core updates:

 

1. No more preferred domain setting

Websites can no longer have multiple URLs. Google will now focus on one URL. This means firms can either pick their preferred domain or Google will choose one for your firm. 

Google recommends choosing a “preferred” URL so it’s easier for your clients to see on the results page. Google emphasized other benefits of a canonical (“preferred”) domain including: 

• Simplifying the metrics to measure the success of content. 
• Avoiding pages to be duplicated. 

Google also mentions that duplicate pages are valid when they: 

• Support different types of devices 
• Support content that automatically updates (i.e. the blog section in your firm’s website)

 

2. Local Webmaster Conferences

Before, Google’s Search Central YouTube would provide hundreds of free information, tips, and tricks to webmasters and SEO experts. 

Now? Google wants to help webmasters with a more local approach. This means helping webmasters who cannot travel internationally. Because of this, Google will now have local webmaster conferences around the world. 

The conferences will help people by providing services in the:

• Location(s) where it’s difficult to access all of the Google information. 
• Location(s) where there are specific demands for a Google Search/ Website event. 

The events will aim at helping local experts to cater to the wants and needs of their customers. 

• Events will be free of charge. 
• Events will include international speakers and sign language interpreters.
• Accessible in that specific location.
• Tailored to what that specific region needs.
• Spoken in the local language. 

 

3. New SEO ‘Mythbusting’ Channel

Since there are bountiful search engine myths, Google will start a series “SEO Mythbusting” to help the SEO experts and the web development community.  In return, these experts will be able to help businesses and law firms optimize their SEO and marketing strategies to their fullest potential. 

The “SEO Mythbusting” series will provide weekly content through their Google Search Central YouTube playlist. 

 

4. Optimizing AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) with Google Images

AMP stands for accelerated mobile pages. It was created by Google in 2015. AMP is the factor that helps your firm speed up its loading page time on mobile devices. 

A problem Google found in the user’s online journey is that very few users completed a task because websites were not loading. This means users were crossing from one website to another and thus allowing room for distraction.

Now, with AMP incorporated in images, any user can quickly and easily go from looking at a Google Image to swiping up and browsing your firm’s website. This can be an opportunity for firms looking to increase their visibility and retain clients through their decision-making process. Clearly, AMP is a great addition to incorporate. Google provided their AMP set-up guideline but it is considered advanced SEO. 

 

5. Google’s REP is now open-source

For many years, web developers have been using Google’s REP (Robots Exclusion Protocol), also known as robots.txt, to inform Google which parts of the website are meant to be crawled, and which aren’t. This is done by setting up a series of rules and is considered on the basic building blocks of the web.

REP has been considered standard to use, but because a standard modus operandi for it has never been established, different users implement the rules in different ways. This meant that web developers eventually would start facing uncertainty in regards to the rules and regulations to follow and how. An open-source library of rules has been released to help developers find clarity through the publication of the parser that Google uses.

 

What’s new this month?

July has been an exciting month for Google. Part 2 of the June 2021 Core Update is wrapping up its rollout in the form of the July 2021 Core Update. Though not much has been disclosed about the specifics of this update, experts have forecasted for there to be major shifts. 

You might already be feeling like your site is being seized by the Google deities in a vengeful attack on your rankings, or you might be seeing your rankings go up and down at confusing rates – don’t panic. Give your rankings a couple of weeks’ time to see if they balance themselves out, because while updates like these will affect your results, you won’t know the full extent until the rollout is fully finalized. Plus, a few days after the rollout has finished, Google developers will likely go in and make a couple more adjustments or reversals. 

The key is in reviewing and adjusting any relevant points. Even Google has recommended to not “fix” anything, but rather review the content you offer on your site and make sure it is the best content you can create because this is what the Google algorithms seek to reward.

 

Keep Up With Your Clients.

Despite the fact that change can be uncomfortable, change can help your firm’s ranking and push you ahead of your competitors. While we have been able to provide some of the current best practices, your firm still needs a tailored plan of action with constant updates. 

Wondering what steps your firm should take next? Talk to our experts and see which best practices work for your firm.

 

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Tips For Law Firms Writing Blog Posts

We live in a digital age. Nowadays, most people turn to their friends, family, Facebook, and other platforms like Google to learn about something new. You may be wondering what that means for you and your law firm, and the truth is that, if you want to continue to grow your business, you need to be online. You need to have a blog that will pull in potential customers when they are googling for information.

One way to pull prospects into your firm’s website and keep them engaged is through the creation of blog posts. Blog posts help engage different types of users and might even help your firm convert this traffic into leads.

Though you may not be a big writer, it is possible to write your own blog and consequently bring in more customers through continuous engagement. Although this type of content creation is vital, getting started may be challenging. Here are some tips to help your firm get started:

No Idea Where to Start? Start By Creating A List of Topics

When you first stare at a blank piece of paper, you might be completely confused about where to start. What should you write about? What shouldn’t you write about? Don’t stress it too much! Go ahead and brain-dump all of the different topics you feel comfortable writing about. 

A good point to start is by asking yourself questions like: 

• What are the points of difference that make your law firm unique? 
• What are your firm’s specializations? 
• What are trending topics within your practice area? 
• Are there news and updates your clients should be aware of? 

Coming up with questions like this can help you get the creative juices flowing. It can help to think of what your law firm does and what it can offer for its clients and readers. Besides the aforementioned questions you might also add topics i.e. within family law about surviving divorce, starting over, taking care of yourself during this time, and much more.

It is important your firm thinks of the bigger picture in terms of blog posts. Remember your clients are looking at your services but beyond that, they need you to take the role of the fixer and the problem solver. So your clients would appreciate you going the extra mile and providing them with external sources of information. 

Make Sure To Speak Your Audience’s Language

When you are coming up with a brainstorming list, really think about what your audience is searching online for. Some of the top questions law firm clients are searching for are:

• What is your firm’s specialization?
• How much money am I able to win within a settlement? 
• What are your firm’s fee policies? 

Your potential clients may be looking for information on how to find the right lawyer and what they can do to protect themselves during their time of need. They might also be pondering whether they really need a lawyer, and they will typically turn to Google to find the answer. For this reason, it is vital your firm comes across as friendly and one that is ready to help and educate its clients and prospects. 

Having said this, when you are meeting with new clients take the time to listen to their concerns and see if that is something that you can blog about. You can also do polls in your office or on your website or social accounts to interact with your clients to see what topics are important to them. Don’t be afraid to ask your readers to let you know if there is something that they would want to read more about. All of these topics can be added to your list. 

Create the Perfect Publishing Schedule

Now that you have a list, it is time to sit down and figure out how often you should schedule your blogs. In the beginning, it is more important that you schedule blogs regularly so if you are only able to write once a month, that is a fine place to start. Then, as you get more comfortable, you may be able to increase it to twice a month or even weekly. If you have multiple partners and multiple areas of expertise, you may be able to blog even more than that! 

It may surprise you that when your blog is even more important than how often you blog. For this reason, it’s best if your firm publishes at the same time so clients know when to expect more content from you. 

When brainstorming the blog’s frequency you can start small and post small content once a week or once every two weeks etc. This is relative information that your firm can scale down or up. Nevertheless, it’s in your firm’s best interest to keep consistency when a blog post is launched.  

Consistency is Key When Publishing!

Now that you have plenty of topics and have a calendar set up, it is time to actually start writing! Most people find it helpful to set aside time every month to work on their blog. You may want to carve out half of a day once a month to devote to your blog, or it may be easier to find an hour or two every week to spend writing. You will have to find out what works best for you. 

Your consistency should match your answer in regards to, “How often do you want to post a blog?” If you decide you’ll want to publish once a week, then it is important you set some weekly time beforehand to brainstorm and work your way through writing the blog post. 

Above all, consistency will always win.

Go The Extra Mile in Case of Emergencies

That being said, just because you have time set aside for writing, doesn’t mean that you will actually have scheduled spurts of divine inspiration. Writer’s block is a serious problem, and it isn’t just for writers. Anyone who has to produce a piece of writing can struggle to get the words written down. 

So, what can you do? It is always a good idea to have a few spare blogs that you can publish when you are struggling to come up with an idea or write a blog. Then, hopefully, your next writing session will go over better! 

Before you even start your blog, you should take the time to brainstorm for ideas. Make some broad ideas and some that are more targeted to certain clients. You should continuously add to this list, so you have a base of ideas to come back to. Adding to this, always keep your audience in mind. At the end of the day, the blog posts are intended for them. Therefore, make sure you’re bringing something to the table (and someone to your door).

Most bloggers recommend setting aside certain times every month to work on your blog. You may want to write a month’s worth of blog posts at a time, or you may want to spend an hour or two a week on that week’s blog. This depends on your creative flow, time, and disposition.  

Team Up With Qualified Writers and Editors

If you are struggling to get your blogs written, don’t fret. You might be better off hiring someone to write them for you. You can guarantee a well-written blog every week (or whatever schedule you decide on), without worrying about the pains of planning and writing.

Above all, don’t waste opportunities to educate your clients and prospects. Go the extra mile.

 

Are you ready to wow your website’s visitors with information-packed blogs? Discover how Consultwebs can help you up your content game.

 

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Your Guide to Law Firm Brand Reputation Management

It’s no secret that lawyers go to great lengths to manage their reputations. From sleek suits, a clean-cut to their won-case count, it’s elements like these that might project the attorney and overall firm as one that is successful. But nowadays, besides appearances and a physical office, law firms’ online reputation and branding are equally important. 

 

It is an unwritten rule that first impressions do matter (both online and offline). There are two important factors to take into consideration when it comes to first impressions online:

1. Since the rise of technology, the human attention span has decreased from 12 to 8 seconds (due to information overload and filtering).
2. Plenty of websites are fighting for the attention of the user. 

 

What does this mean for your firm?

Branding is a must. Think of branding as your firm’s driver towards success, power, and reputation. While your clients are in the passenger seat; branding drives the user towards a positive or a negative experience. 

 

Tips to Manage Your Firm’s Internal Reputation

Before diving into what your firm can do for clients, it’s important to first look within your firm. 

 

As we previously mentioned, first impressions matter (a lot). And within the online world, users are generating their perception of your firm in less than a second. Scientifically, it takes a user 50 milliseconds to form an opinion of your website. A powerful factor to enhance your firm’s brand reputation is through a strong and clear website layout that is also mobile-friendly. 

 

According to website statistics, around 80% of users will stop engaging with your site if it’s not mobile-friendly. Almost identically, 75% of the users judge credibility based on layout and design. (So yes, users do judge a book by its cover).

Here are some best practices for you to consider: 

1. Provide a desktop and mobile-friendly user experience.
2. Add strong and clear visuals. 
3. Remove unnecessary information.
4. Have a quick loading time which you can check here.

 

A complementary addition to websites is blog posts and social media. Most users begin their legal research with Google. And since Google can include verified social profiles; social posts should also be taken into consideration.

 

All of your branding items should go hand-in-hand with clear language. Remember your users likely do not understand legal jargon. Improving your law firm’s written clarity is a must. 

 

Tips to Manage Your Firm’s External Reputation

Your firm can also take advantage of many external add-ons.  On one hand, using third parties like Google is a helpful link between your users and you. You can claim your law firm using Google My Business. There are plenty of do’s and don’ts behind Google My Business but one very important factor your firm shouldn’t overlook is reviews. 

Reviews are so powerful that 93% of customers look at reviews before deciding on a service/product. 

Specifically, 70% of users would go out of their way to work with a less conveniently located law firm if they have better reviews. 

So, how can you improve reviews? 

1. Adding a personalized response to each one.
2. Respond promptly (within a day if possible).
3. Answering all reviews (positive and negative).
4. Providing further outside assistance to negative reviews.
5. Reaching out to satisfied clients.

 

Besides reviews, social proof is a powerful marketing and psychological factor impacting reputation. As humans, we are wired to follow what others do. Therefore, providing legal community feedback is important. This includes: 

• User testimonials
• Client case studies
• Ambassadors 

 

Powerful Benefits of Branding Your Firm 

Branding is a powerful driver to your firm’s success. A good first impression has many benefits. 

Your firm’s robust digital perception can bring you: 

• Qualified leads
• A satisfied client and thus more trust and retention
• Recognition 
• Conversions within the online sales funnel. 

And most importantly…branding brings you support for your overall marketing goals. 

 

A good branding plan for your firm includes more than just a pretty logo and slogan. Your firm’s successful branding should include an all-inclusive marketing plan of action. Besides a plan of action, consistency is also important. Google states that consistency is an important factor for your brand’s overall authenticity and verification process. 

 

A Robust Plan Towards A Positive Reputation

Having a vision and a mission for your firm is important. But what’s even more important is the actual plan of action. 

 

Through the plan of action, you might come across questions such as, “Is my firm’s website user-friendly on all devices?”, “How can my law firm deal with negative reviews?” Or “How do we measure our firm’s online and offline success?”

 

The answers vary amongst firms. There is not a one-size-fits-all approach. 

 

Luckily, your firm’s brand identity and reputation can be tailored to fit your firm’s long-term vision of success. Let’s talk. 

 

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The proven 3-step formula to improve your legal document’s clarity 

There is a famous saying by Albert Einstein that goes, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” 

 

Simplicity is important. Simplicity in language means there is clear communication between two parties. If you think about it, if you understand a topic enough, even the most complex subjects should be simplified enough so a fifth-grader understands. (This is backed up by readability research.)

 

On one hand, clients seeking an attorney’s help are already going through a stressful situation that requires legal action. On the other hand, law firms today face the constant battle between simple language and legalese. This puts clients in an even more stressful situation. 

 

But leaving clients unclear of what they can expect with your firm is a preventable pain. 

 

Your actions matter. And within the legal industry, your words matter just as much. Continue reading as we unravel a new formula that’ll help your legal writing become understandable for all audiences.

 

A Linguistic Barrier Between Firms and Clients 

Before diving into the proven process, it’s important to look back at the historical relationship between law firms and clients.

 

It is undeniable that clear communication is a must between law firms and their clients. But, without a clear communication strategy, law firms cannot expect clients to confidently take the right steps towards succeeding in their legal endeavors. 

 

On top of this, the legal industry is changing. In the past, law firms have been inward-facing. Clients now have a very important say within the legal industry, and hugely impact a firm’s reviews and overall reputation online. Clients want to see law firms as a service that embraces all aspects of technological, business, and legal expertise. Whether you get knocks on your door and calls to your phone with new business all depends on what your online presence looks like. 

 

In fact, one of the main changes within the legal industry is the plain English movement. This movement focuses on “wording that is clear and understandable to its intended reader.” Clients want clarity and they want law firms to embrace this as well. 

 

Resisting industry changes like this can: 

• Confuse the clients and the legal ecosystem.
• Discourage professionals entering the legal industry.
• Deny the clients the opportunity to better understand the legal industry.
• Impede the client’s complete and clear decision-making process. 

Your clients call the shots. They are looking at your website, reviews, and your digital presence. 

 

It’s important the legal industry learns how to adapt to its clients’ wants and needs.

 

Increase Impact and Clarity In Your Law Firm 

Let’s be real. As a society, there is a level of expectation when it comes to lawyers and law firms. 

 

Don’t take it from us. Lawyers are in fact expected, “to come to the table with bigger words”. This is quoted from Judge Robert Bacharach’s podcast episode. 

 

Judge Robert Bacharach from the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals recently sat down with us and shared insights of his latest book, Legal Writing: A Judge’s Perspective on the Science and Rhetoric of the Written Word. 

 

Many years of experience and research led to this incredibly insightful book. It can be seen as a bridge between legal communication and the new plain English movement. He explains that the plain English movement is the first effective effort to change the way legal documents are written. 

 

To briefly note, three action guides law firms can follow are: 

1. Contextualizing any details before the reader actually gets to the details of the document. 

• If there’s too much detail, the reader will be lost. One example he mentions is the use of topic sentences since it focuses on the main idea of a paragraph. 

1. Simplifying your wording. 

• As Judge Robert Bacharach adds, “also using $64 words when a $2 word would work just as well,” is simplifying.

1. Linking information.

• He adds that law firms should “create meaningful chunks of information.”

Through generations, law firms have written documents for clients at a level that the average population does not understand. This is also why Judge Robert Bacharach adds that law firms should place themselves “in the shoes of someone who is not familiar with the content.”

 

Embracing the Legal Industry’s Shift in Language 

Language is a big part of the legal community. Language is also complex. Arguably, the legal industry handles some of the most complex languages amongst all other industries! 

 

On one hand, legalese can quickly turn into “gobbledegook” for clients and prospects. Here’s an example:, legal Latin terms such as “Cestui que trust” hold no meaning to clients.  

 

These are barriers to clear communication between a firm and its clients and prospects. Clients want to be assured of a clear strategy of action, clear steps to take, and clear language. 

 

Judge Robert Bacharach reiterates this with the use of psycholinguistics, the psychological study of language. Within the use of psycholinguistics, he notes that it’s vital law firms take into account:

1. Clients – Who is your law firm speaking to? Can this person understand the legal document?
2. Sequence – What steps do you want the client to take? Is this clearly communicated? 

Your firm’s language can also improve by: 

• Replacing the big words
• Testing the readability 
• Getting a creative format (Example: lists, bullet points)

Communication is a Two-Way Street 

Although lawyers face the expectation to come with the “big words” it is best to say that when it comes to clientele communication, clarity will always win over legal jargon.

 

At the end of the day, clients want to know if you will be able to help them with their problems. In order to do so, they need to truly understand what you are trying to tell them, and the more simplified you can get your point across, the more likely it is that you will win them over.

 

Clarity can be your firm’s differentiating factor.

 

Learn how your firm can build a clear client-centric communication strategy. 

 

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Email Marketing – Is Above the Fold, Where It’s At?

 

We know the phrase that goes, “don’t judge a book by its cover”, but let’s rethink this concept. 

 

When it comes to marketing like email marketing, we do judge a book by its cover. The cover of this proverbial book is where law firms grab users’ attention. 

 

Within email marketing, as well as website designs, there is a concept known as above the fold. It refers to the website or email that being visible when the user first opens the page without having to scroll down. This concept evolved with the birth of print media and the way newspapers were, and still are, read. (It dates way back to the 1700s!) Incredible, isn’t it?

 

Although it was a rule of thumb to always place the centerpiece content above the fold (digitally speaking), in today’s world it carries a heated argument in regards to its functionality. So, how exactly does the above-the-fold content placement work? And is it really still relevant? Is it applicable to law firms?

 

Stay with us as we uncover pros and cons, fun facts, tips, and tricks for above the fold. 

 

Pique your visitors’ curiosity  

We’ve mentioned that the concept of “above the fold” dates back to the 1700s. The reason is that the entirety of the printed newspaper was too large for a newspaper stand, so the paper was folded in such a way that the front page was split in half. Because of this, the concept of above the fold and below the fold emerged.

 

Still to this day, if you decide to buy a printed newspaper you’ll notice the upper half is where the attention grabbers, shocking headlines and initial interest takes place. 

 

The same concept can be applied to digital media. In the realm of email marketing and websites, above the fold is considered the visible section without the need to scroll. 

 

Before a user decides to scroll (or exit), it is crucial to grab the user’s attention… and this usually proves to be easier said than done. 

 

According to Tribute Media, the current human attention span is shorter than a goldfish’s. We have an attention span of 6-8 seconds while a goldfish has an attention span of a whopping 9 seconds. (So, our ADD is up to 30% worse than a goldfish’s. Isn’t that mind-blowing?!) Digital-first impressions clearly require a lot of work in sight of this. OptiMonk states that whatever you place above the fold does matter.

 

OptiMonk argues that content placement above the fold optimization should be part of content marketing. To do so law firms can: 

1. Optimize a responsive design – if a website and email look great users want to stay for longer periods of time, interact and purchase more. (For law firms, it could mean calls and cases).
2. Add Calls to Action at the beginning – Powerful CTAs can directly impact conversions.
3. Place the important content first  – Headlines, calls-to-action, other vital information should be the first thing a user reads. 

OptiMonk argues that if the user is not initially intrigued, they will leave and find someone else. 

 

While all of this may be relevant, others argue the contrary. Let’s look into that…

 

“In Your Face” Sales and Marketing Can Be Too Much

On the other hand, the counterargument is that above the fold is now outdated because it is too much of a “in your face” sales approach. 

 

Users online are very different from users in the 90s and early 2000s. Before, the internet was evolving. Now, the internet is intuitive. Let’s face it, in this day and age, even babies can scroll without giving it a second thought. The big difference between then and now is that back then information was limited. Now? It’s the opposite! We have too much information that is readily available.

 

For this reason, VWO argues that not all the necessary information has to be above the fold. To support this argument, they add: 

1. Users are familiar with scrolling. Users already expect information below the fold. 
2. There are a lot more mobile users than desktop users according to Perficient. This means it’s near impossible to define where above the fold is for all types of devices and a single content piece. 
3. “In Your Face” approach by adding too much above the fold can counterattack and drive people away. Plus, it may increase the user’s anxiety. 

Neil Patel reiterates this. He emphasizes that “Higher conversion rates have nothing to do with whether the button is above the fold, and everything to do with whether the button is below the right amount of good copy”.

 

Learn to Pave The Way 

We’ve given you the pros and cons. But whatever road you decide to take, you can pave your firm’s way with some actionable tips. 

 

As MailChimp adds; you can ‘break the rules’ with email marketing and make it your own. There is not a one-size-fits-all and what works for your firm might not work for another. Be flexible with what you want versus what works for your clients. At the end of the day, you should always have your clients in mind. 

 

Hubspot also adds that what your firm should focus on is grabbing attention, and to do so you must: 

 

1. Keep a simple design – don’t overwhelm your users. 
2. Create engaging content – use your unique brand voice.
3. Design with usability in mind – have content that is easy to interact with and see. 
4. Solve problems – Include answers, keywords, images, and designs that will help your user.

The Ball Is In Your Court

There are clear pros and cons for focusing on what content to place above the fold for email marketing (and your website). Like it was said earlier, there is not a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to digital marketing for your law firm. Every firm requires a unique digital marketing approach to get quality results and cases. 

 

At the end of the day, the ball really is in your court. But whether you decide on the extent of your firm’s needs to implement optimizations to your current content placement strategy (or not), you’ll need a strong digital marketing team by your side. 

 

Do you want to know how you can implement a plan of action for growth? You don’t have to go through all the trials and tribulations by yourself. Get started with us now. 

 

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How to Compile a “Power Page” to Grow Your Firm

A power page, better known as a pillar page, is more than a simple blog post. Your law firm should not be missing out on the opportunity to easily supercharge its SEO potential. According to Rocket Content, when implemented correctly, you can expect to:

• Boost SEO rankings.
• Increase your content marketing promotion.
• Fill in informational gaps.
• Keep clients on-site for longer periods of time.
• Have scannable and searchable documents in one page.
• Get more leads.

As you can see a power/pillar page really does do its name justice.  So, what exactly is a pillar page?  In short, it is a web page that is dedicated to extensively offering information on a given topic, and that links to pages that cover related topics on the same domain.  And how does a pillar page apply to my law firm?  It will serve both sides of the coin:

1. Your clients will benefit from a pillar page when they’re looking for information and answers while reading through your law firm’s website.
2. Search Engine algorithms use pillar pages to navigate and rank your site based on keywords and relevant information your law firm adds to this page.

If you want and need to retain more clients AND improve your ranking, then keep reading! We’ve taken a close look at how pillar pages function, and how they can serve your website to help you achieve the growth you want for your law firm.

A Foundation to Grow Your Firm

Think of your pillar page as the architecture structure that houses many scattered themes around a common theme.

This house made of “pillars” helps the bigger building: your firm. And how do all the pillars help the firm? By giving your firm’s inbound marketing an extra push. Inbound marketing is, in essence, the process you take in order to help prospects find your business. This means you’re not attracting just any ‘ole’ visitor to your firm’s website, you’re attracting the people who are most likely looking to convert to clients! (They are the people that want to be in your house.) How convenient, right?

Take Your Existing Content to The Next Level

A pillar page is convenient when it’s built with efficiency in mind. To do so, you’ll first need to gather copious amounts of content. And as overwhelming as this may sound; worry not. Your firm has options.

Option 1 – Audit your content.

According to Fulcrum Forge, you can work with what you already have. There is no need to start a pillar page from scratch. You can put on your thinking cap and search for themes by:

• Reviewing existing content and collecting possible themes.
• Reviewing the previous campaigns.
• Reviewing promotional content pieces.

Fulcrum Forge emphasizes that once you’ve looked into either, you can decide to find a core topic based on popular themes in:

1. Topic titles.
2. Keywords and hashtags.
3. Social metrics (likes/shares).
4. Conversion metrics.

If you need help measuring the best-performing content, Google Analytics and Hubspot can give you a quick overview on your firm’s track engagement.

Option 2 – Build around a common theme.

If your firm already has data in regards to popular keywords/hashtags etc. you can work around those.  Brafton focuses on seven simple actions to follow if you do have a list of core topics:

1. Focus on one primary keyword – pick a keyword that has a high search volume but isn’t too broad.
2. Identify relevant subtopics within that core topics.
3. Link your firm’s internal content and related external content.
4. Create a table of contents.
5. Write a pillar page within the table of contents.
6. Look into additional designs to add to the pillar page.
7. Add a CTA (Call-to-Action).

Brafton did their pillar page explanation in pillar page format. To take a look at what a pillar page can look like, check out the structure here.

Decide on Your Pillar Page’s Purpose

Now, you already have an idea of how your firm can benefit from a pillar page and implement it. But, what exactly is the purpose for your firm’s pillar page meant to be?  Semrush emphasizes three kinds of pillar pages:

1. The “Guide” Pillar page
   • If your firm is looking to establish itself as an authority within a subject, then a guide pillar works best. It can help your clients gather information from an instructional approach. This builds on your firm’s expertise and trust.
2. The “What Is” Pillar page
   • Covers a topic that is interesting, controversial or timely. If your firm wants to tap on the desire and curiosity of clients then this is it.
3. The “How-to” Pillar page
   • Unlike the previous pillar pages, this one is primarily focused on the question of how something is done. The main purpose here is to help solve a problem.

Decorate Your Pillar Page

Let’s say your firm gathered all the relevant content and wrote it all in one document. Great! But there is one last crucial factor missing. Content like a pillar page without visuals can push your clients out of your site within seconds. Luckily, that is preventable with the help of visuals. Besides relevant content, clients want to scan/read content that is easy on their eyes. You can do this by assuring your pillar page covers the basics:

• A designed structure that is easy to follow.
• Additional visual images/videos/graphs/charts etc.
• Easy navigation.
• A clean table of content.

If you want to give your firm’s pillar page an extra push, Semrush notes that there are eight additional interactive content pieces your firm could add:

1. Quizzes
2. Calculator and tools
3. Infographics
4. Image sliders (before/after pictures)
5. Interactive game
6. Interactive map
7. Webinars
8. Film and video

Walk The Extra Mile

With the help of a pillar page, you can assure your firm is able to provide an answer to all of your client’s questions. We know how ambitious this initiative can be, and have experts on call and ready to have a chat with you on how we can help you walk, or run, that extra mile to give your prospects the added value they deserve. Contact us to propel your firm ahead.

The post How to Compile a “Power Page” to Grow Your Firm appeared first on Consultwebs.

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