Very few professions are more dependent on the precise meaning of words than a career in law. This makes your attorney website unique in the world of online marketing. Unlike products — or even other services — that can make use of flashy images and bold statements to influence consumers, your site is limited by law and convention.

The Weight of Your Words: Building an Effective Attorney Website

Your potential clients expect you to demonstrate your skills. They want to know who you are and what you’ve accomplished. And, despite their dependence on your deep facility with words, they want you to speak to them in a language they understand.

You do this with clients all the time: on the telephone and in initial client interviews. Your attorney website requires a similar conversational tone, tuned up with a few proven marketing strategies. It’s not that difficult. Here are 4 tips that make a big difference:

1. Develop client profiles

A profile is simply a narrative describing the ideal person who will use your service. Developing a set of client profiles can be a valuable exercise; one in which the process of creation is easily as beneficial as the end result. Profiles are great tools for shifting your mind away from business-centered thought patterns and into a client-centered mindset. Further, when they’re complete, you have a defined structure to follow when writing for your attorney website or blog.

Begin with broad, general descriptions of your ideal clients. (You probably have several different types.) Don’t concern yourself with demographics.Instead, focus on their concerns and the reasons why they need your help. Although an entire book could probably be written on client profiling from an attorney’s point of view, the most meaningful client information includes an understanding of:

• their current lifestyle as it relates to their legal situation;
• their attitudes, beliefs, and frustrations;
• their perceptions of attorneys in general; and
• their fears, desires, and motivations.

Once you’ve got these nailed down, drill a little bit deeper and consider the thought process of each ideal client. To reach them, you’ll need to answer these questions with clarity:

• In what kind of language would this person describe his or her problem?
• What is the best way to establish a working relationship with this person?
• What is the greatest obstacle to establishing a working relationship with this person?

2. Answer questions before they’re asked

You’ve probably heard the same questions repeatedly from prospective and current clients. These repeat questions are a
content marketing goldmine. Keep a living document to record common questions as they surface. Every so often review the document and compare it to the content on your website.

Client questions can also provide great inspiration for blog articles and help you strengthen all the pages of your website. Anticipating and answering questions in this way is a great way to build prospective clients’ trust in your skill while encouraging them to see you as their advocate.

3. Perfect the “light touch”

Aim for a light, conversational, yet professional tone on your attorney website. Keep in mind that search engines are searching for keywords on your site — and those keywords are influenced by the language your prospective clients uses in their searches. Addressing a legal situation with the kind of clear language you’d use in a one-on-one client conversation will connect well with search engines as well as readers.

4. Make it easy to scan

Use subtitles, bullet lists and white space to make life easy for your readers. Set a clear path for their eyes to follow and help them focus on your message. Visually, this also makes your content feel less overwhelming. There’s nothing more frustrating than staring at a wall of text trying to decide if there’s something worthwhile in it — at this point you’ve probably already lost your reader.

Writing great content for your attorney website can be time consuming, and it requires that you have a thorough understanding of your target audience. However, the payoff is great. With the weight of the right words, you’ll drive more traffic to your website. More importantly, you’ll have a site that truly connects with and engages your prospects. If you don’t have the time or desire to create this kind of content for your attorney website, seek the help of a professional copywriter. It’s well worth the investment.

You may also want to take advantage of a free evaluation of your site’s content. It could offer valuable clues for getting your message conveyed the right way.

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