It happens to the best attorneys, designers and marketers. You embark upon creating a website together. You brainstorm, you prototype, you test, and you build what you believe to be a great new product. Then, at some point, you realize that something has gone awry. Online conversions are down, bounce rates are up. Time on site is suffering. A mistake has been made, and it is more than a mere typo — the design is not functioning as intended....
Read MoreJul 29
4 long-form page examples for attorneys
Long-form pages are becoming increasingly popular among web users. But it's not just humans who like them; Google also rewards this media-rich content. We will explain why in a moment.
What is long-form content?
A long-form page consists of in-depth copy paired with other forms of media. While a standard article may include a picture with some text, long-form content integrates graphics and other forms of media to tell a story.
Another characteristic of long-form pages is (as the name implies)...
Read MoreApr 28
7 ways to hold visitors’ attention and keep them on your site
Two metrics that are often used to determine a website's performance are time on site and bounce rate. Bounce rate is the percentage of times a user clicks on a page and leaves without visiting any other page; in other words, the percentage of single-page visits. A high bounce rate can indicate that your landing pages are not providing visitors with the information they need. However, a high bounce rate paired with high conversions can indicate that people are...
Read MoreMar 26
5 ways lawyers can boost their call to action performance
A call to action (CTA) is any element on a website that encourages visitors to take an action. Usually, a CTA comes in the form of a button or the combination of a button and a line of text. Calls to action can also be textual links, although this treatment should be used judiciously since text does not stand out as well on a page as a graphic or button. The most common CTAs on attorney websites are invitations...
Read MoreMar 4
Six things the highest converting attorney websites have in common
Creating a website with a solid conversion rate is a balance between listening to what visitors say they want and gently nudging them toward what you want them to do. Your website should be designed with an understanding of your target audience and the expectations of your various client personas. And your site should answer the questions visitors are most likely to ask, while giving them reasons to contact you.
Websites that convert well share some characteristics in terms...
Read MoreFeb 27
What clients and visitors expect in a modern law firm website
Your firm's website must play many roles. At its core, your website works as a marketing tool and 24-hour brand ambassador for your firm. However, technology has advanced to such an extent that static sales pages no longer suffice — either for visitors or search engines.
“In the future, the winners in the legal world may succeed by dint of survival of the most responsive.”
–Richard Susskind, The End of Lawyers (2008)
Attorney websites are evolving to become client relations...
Read MoreFeb 17
Marketing and the Brain – Part 1 of 3
Visual input
How does your brain perceive a logo? How does copywriting play to the brain’s impulses? What role do emotions play in our decision-making?
Understanding the role of the brain’s cognitive biases and tendencies in the marketing process is essential to converting more leads. The way our brains are wired to respond to marketing features is simpler than you may think. In fact, while each mind is unique, we often respond in predictable ways.
In this three-part blog series, we’ll cover...
Read MoreNov 7
5 ways to use storytelling to enhance website effectiveness
Storytelling is integral to branding, marketing and design. Stories are compelling, and they move people to act in a way that raw data cannot.
The psychology of stories
Marketers have long made the claim that every brand needs a good story. And a growing body of scientific evidence now supports this assertion. According to psychologists Melanie Green and Tim Brock, reading fictional stories changes the way humans process information. The more absorbed people are in a story, the...
Read MoreOct 26
The beauty of simplicity: How to be heard in an oversaturated market
One piece of advice included in almost all articles about branding and design is this: simplify everything. Reduce noise and clutter in your design, distill content down to is essence and stop trying to shout louder than everyone else to be heard.
Marketers give this advice because it works. Having too many choices prevents consumers from making a purchasing decision. Being confronted with too much visual noise prevents visitors from being able to effectively navigate a website. Simplicity is...
Read MoreOct 13
9 characteristics of a good attorney website
The qualities of a good attorney website have changed considerably over the past several years. Infrequently updated, brochure style websites no longer meet the needs of firms that wish to pursue an integrated on- and offline marketing strategy. Websites must be designed to keep visitors interested. They should contain current, relevant content and give users plenty of opportunity to take actions that generate leads for the firm.
Having a website is the bare minimum. A thoughtfully developed website that...
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