SEO, Web Design
We all have that outfit tucked away in the back of our closets that we *just know* will come back into fashion . . . someday. And while it may be a favorite, an occasional wardrobe refresh will keep us looking and feeling our best.
Your law firm’s website is no different.
Taking the time to redesign your website gives you the chance to do some key things that can mean new business for your law firm.
1. Reevaluate the Your Place in the Market.
There’s a reason the Postali Process begins with an in-depth look at your legal marketing needs and the vision for your firm. As your law firm grows, its needs change. It’s also common for attorneys to shift into other areas of law, especially if new partners or associates join the team. By periodically evaluating your goals, you might discover that your website needs a different focus (e.g. splitting multiple practice areas into separate pages) or features (e.g. live chat).
And like your own firm, trends in the legal industry change and affect how you find and do business. Competitive research and analysis helps identify opportunities you can use in creating a strong content strategy that sets you apart from your competition.
2. Incorporate User Experience (UX).
The trend toward mobile first, user-friendly sites is here to stay. Not only does this provide a more useful and enjoyable experience for your visitors, but there is evidence that user experience contributes to improved site rankings.
In January 2017, Google announced on its Webmaster Central Blog that “pages where content is not easily accessible to a user on the transition from the mobile search results may not rank as high.” And while Google has not said just how much this factors into results, a website redesign is a good time to run your website through Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to get some valuable feedback.
Beyond mobile-first, Gary Illyes, Webmaster Trends Analyst at Google, and Leslie To, Senior Director of SEO at 3Q Digital discussed the increasingly collaborative nature of SEO and user experience at SMX Advanced. They looked at issues such as:
- Accessibility – rich media, interstitials and overlays, site navigability
- UX – scaling, text size, tap target & padding, gestures, site search, keyboard and typing
- Site Speed – page speed
- Content – readability score
3. Make sure SEO is a part of your content strategy.
SEO is always changing. If your content was written 5 years ago, it could probably use a refresh. Google’s algorithm is constantly adjusting how it values content. Has your content stood the test of time?
The goal isn’t to simply update your content and hope for a better ranking. But rather to make changes that benefit your users. Adding new content, showing steady link growth, and increasing engagement all indicate to a search engine that your website consistently delivers on keyword searches.
4. Get a new look.
If your competitors have an up-to-date, modern website and yours isn’t, people will judge you. You won’t know, they just won’t call you.
With half of the human brain directly or indirectly devoted to processing visual information (cue scientific research here), the first impression of your website matters. You may have as few as a couple seconds to persuade your site’s visitors to take the next step to contact you. The visual interest of your website is the first step in capturing their interest.
5. Get reenergized.
With a new plan and a new look, it’s time to keep the momentum going and harness that boost of energy. By running monthly reports and analytics on your site, you can tweak any issues along the way and make sure that you stay on track for meeting those updated goals. By applying this iterative process, you can identify opportunities and implement them quickly.
Ready for your website redesign? Postali can guide you through the process. Let’s talk.
Not sure where to begin?
Get started with a marketing audit.