Although you may have started your legal practice to practice law, any law firm owner will know that marketing is just as much a part of the work as your billable hours. That’s the reality of being a business owner, you often wear many hats, whether you intended to or not.
While potentially annoying, the truth is that law firm marketing doesn’t have to feel like a pesky distraction or a money pit. It also doesn’t have to be something you ignore to your detriment. Instead, it can be a natural, seamless part of your workflow, supporting you in bringing in clients, even when you’re not actively marketing. The secret is to avoid the biggest marketing pitfalls to keep things running smoothly.
Here are the most common law firm internet marketing mistakes and how to avoid them:
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Mistake 1: No clear conversion path
It may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many law firm websites do not have a clear pathway to converting potential clients from passive observers to active clients. Pages that lack a clear call to action, missing links that should lead to intake or inquiry forms, and confusion over the next step are all issues that law firm websites face. These are also mistakes that leave countless thousands of dollars on the table.
The good news is that with the right web design strategy, you can clearly and easily guide clients along a simple conversion pathway. With helpful prompts to contact your firm, a recurring reminder of next steps, and a logical navigation system, your site can go from a wasteland of confused potential clients to a superhighway for conversion.
Mistake 2: Over-reliance on SEO alone
SEO remains an important part of law firm website marketing. However, gone are the days when SEO alone was enough to get clients in the door. These days, incorporating brand trust signals throughout your site, ensuring a smooth user experience, opting for a mix of paid and organic marketing tactics, and maintaining visibility across multiple channels will give you a much stronger result than relying on SEO alone.
And lest you feel like this is overkill, rest assured, times are constantly changing. In order to stay ahead of the pack and remain top of mind for potential clients, remaining open to evolving with these tactics is key.
Mistake 3: Weak messaging
If you don’t clearly communicate what you do, how can you expect potential clients to understand? And if you only partly communicate your message, how does a client know if you’re the right attorney for their case? The short answer: they don’t. Although weak messaging is a sure-fire way to lose clients, it’s also one of the easiest mistakes to fix. Don’t over-complicate things and don’t be afraid to take a stand. It really is better for you to have an opinion and state your points than to confuse potential clients or attract clients who aren’t even a fit for your firm.
When editing your messaging, think about what you’d say if you were explaining your work to a five-year-old. You’d want to make it as simple and memorable as possible. That’s exactly the mindset you want to be in when you’re refining every piece of text on your site.
Of course, you can add bells and whistles to it later, but you want to start by getting very clear on what it is you’d like to say. Doing a quick messaging edit will also naturally differentiate you from your competition, making it even easier for potential clients to determine if you’re the right fit for their needs.
Mistake 4: Ignoring mobile users
Think your clients will only be visiting your site from a laptop or desktop? Think again! It’s the 21st century, after all, which means that your clients are very likely searching for your help from their phones–regardless of whether they’re at home or on the road. And if your site isn’t optimized for mobile devices, then you’ll be driving clients away faster than they can click the back arrow on their browser.
Mobile users are some of the most ready to act. They’re looking for information quickly and don’t have time to wait for slow-loading pages or wade through fonts that look like gibberish on their Android. As a result, investing in mobile optimization can help your firm avoid this classic mistake that separates your firm from others in the same niche. It’s a simple fix, but one that will move the needle before you know it.
Mistake 5: Poor tracking and analytics setup
All websites have the ability to track visitors and maintain analytics. However, not everyone knows how to set them up or how to interpret the data. This is another missed opportunity, as the data here can inform how your law firm adjusts or doubles down on other aspects of your marketing. Poor tracking is like driving with your parking lights on during a storm, while accurate analytics setups are the equivalent of using your high beams–they help you see through the fog and get where you want to go.
The good news is that whether you personally decide to set up your law firm’s website analytics or hire someone else to do so, the process is simple and takes very little time, so you can get back to doing what you do best: practicing law.
Fixing the Fundamentals Drives Most Growth
Most of the time, the growth your firm is seeking doesn’t need to come from a massive change, but from getting back to basics. By fixing the fundamentals of your website and allowing your site to work for you, rather than against you, you set your firm up for success for the long-term.
So if you’ve fallen into any of these common law firm marketing mistakes, rest assured that you’re not alone. Fortunately, you can right these wrongs in no time at all. And when you do, the growth is sure to follow.
