Law Firm Website Content: What You Need to Know to Create High-Ranking Content
Informative, targeted, original content is the lifeblood of law firm websites. If you’ve decided to invest in it, you’re making the right decision.
Powerful content for law firm websites works on multiple levels:
- It answers visitor questions
- It raises your credibility, trust, and authority as a law firm
- It boosts your website’s rankings in search engines
- It can help you convert more visitors into sales
Getting your website content right is essential. But it takes planning, research, and writing time — usually meaning a significant investment of resources.
For that, you want results.
To get results, you need to know what pages to include on your website and how to prepare content that will engage your target audience and optimize your website for search.
Nearly all content involves this two-pronged attack.
In this guide, we help you get your law firm website content strategy right by following best practices. The tips included below will help you prepare and publish the right types of pages to improve the user experience and search performance.
Let’s get right into it.
Table of Contents
Content for law firm websites: General principles
Before you do any law firm content marketing or think about writing or publishing legal content, it’s essential to look at the big picture:
- What are you trying to achieve?
- Who are you trying to attract as clients?
- What are your realistic goals?
Start with the end in mind
Law firm website content is usually designed to meet at least a few of the following purposes:
- Increase awareness of your firm
- Establish authority and trust
- Generate demand
- Capture leads
- Distinguish your firm from the competition
- Provide educational resources for existing clients
Whatever the over-arching goals are, your content will need to be optimized for search and designed to speak to target clients.
You’ll likely also need to adopt a few content marketing strategies to capture client information and follow up with the leads you generate.
Remember, SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
Prioritize these goals. If you’re already a busy firm, awareness and longer-term goals may outweigh the need to immediately generate leads — which will affect the content you create.
Define your target audience
To create compelling content, you need to know exactly who you’re preparing it for.
Create client personas that define specific demographics such as the ages, incomes, and locations of your audience so that content can be specifically targeted towards their needs and concerns.
Besides addressing different topics, the language used in a family law firm’s content would differ from that of a corporate software and IT law firm, for instance.
Create content for a top user experience
Developing content primarily for search engines and SEO is a dangerous road.
Law firms should write for their target audience first and foremost. This content can then be optimized for search.
The best content works for your target audience and the search engines — read on to understand how to do that.
How do you optimize law firm content?
Content that rarely gets found serves a limited purpose. Great content deserves to be optimized so that it’s read by as many people as possible.
That means you need to pay more than passing attention to search engine optimization (SEO). Before you publish content on your website, understand the basic principles of SEO for lawyers.
Ensure that your content writers follow the best practices with keyword usage, that your SEO professionals remove broken or outdated links, and have unique title tags and meta descriptions for pages.
Keyword research
Effective law firm website content is usually based on one or two keyword phrases applicable to a compelling topic for your target audience.
By conducting attorney keyword research, you’ll know which phrases to target.
This is likely a job for your SEO professionals, but here are a few tips.
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Questions are effective keyword phrases
Think about the most commonly asked questions by prospective clients. This is a great starting point for your keywords, as Amiri Family Law Firm discovered.
Look at suggested search phrases
When you start to type a phrase into Google search, what other phrases are suggested by Google? These can be quick and easy keyword ideas for lawyers.
“People also ask” and “related searches”
Also, check the “people also ask” section and “related searches” at the foot of the Google results pages for further ideas.
This has just scratched the surface of keyword research and optimizing content. Many tools are available to help with this, like Semrush.
How do you create winning law firm content?
Your approach to law firm website content will be at least partially dictated by the stage you’re at with your website.
If you’re just starting a law firm or rebranding, you may have a clean slate. By following the tips in this article, you can pitch your content correctly and get it working for you.
For established firms/websites, it may be a case of reviewing existing content to see if it meets the requirements of your target audience and your firm.
Is it still ranking and attracting traffic?
You may need to optimize, repurpose, revamp pages or articles, and/or add to the existing content.
Whichever applies to you, here are some best-practice tips for creating consistently compelling content.
Develop a content creation strategy/plan
You already know your website content goals and your target audience (see above), so it should be easy to determine what you need to measure (the KPIs).
Here are a few typical examples.
Next, determine the type of content you’ll focus on. Is your target audience looking for in-depth answers to legal questions, or would they prefer short video explainers? Perhaps case studies of those facing similar legal problems would be best?
Once you have answers to these questions, you can start assigning tasks to specific team members.
- Who will be responsible for keyword research?
- Who will be responsible for content creation?
- Who will optimize it?
- Who will publish it?
- Who will be in charge of tracking and reporting on content?
Consider the tools and external resources you may need to execute your content plan. Then, start identifying topics based on your practice area and the questions in the minds of your target audience.
Build “topic clusters”
Creating “topic clusters” with broad category pages sprouting out to more specific content pages is a good strategy for law firm content development.
A main “pillar” page will be connected to multiple specific pages that feed authority to the main page. Topics can be based on different stages in the buying journey or be based around practice areas.
For instance, a personal injury law firm may specialize in bicycle accidents to distinguish itself from others in the area.
Here’s an example of a topic cluster for bicycle accidents.
Develop a content calendar
Your content calendar is a publishing schedule that can help you create a steady stream of high-quality content for your website. You’ll find the best results when you’re consistent — avoid the urge to publish three blog posts in a week and nothing for six months.
Depending on your practice area, you may want to ramp up content at particular times of the year.
For instance, this Pittsburgh-based personal injury law firm specializes in slip and fall injuries, and a content calendar helps it schedule seasonal posts like this one.
Develop a content creation workflow
A repeatable content creation workflow will help you be consistent and productive with your law firm website content.
Cover the following steps when you detail the workflow:
- Development of a content brief. Include targeted keywords, competing articles, and an outline of what’s needed from the writer.
- Content creation. Who is responsible for the work?
- Content editing. Who will review and edit the work?
- Image sourcing. Who is responsible for adding any necessary images to the content?
- Final approval. Who has the final say on the content?
- Publishing. What is the publishing process, and who is responsible for it?
- Content promotion. How will you spread the word about your content, and who is responsible for doing so?
Write better, more in-depth content than your competition
If other law firms rank above your firm in the search engine results pages (SERPs) for your target keywords, check out their pages to understand what you need to beat.
You can rank above them by creating optimized content that improves the information provided on competitor pages and generates more traffic and leads. That’s a good start on the road to success.
Create easily digestible content
A few pointers on how to keep your law firm website content easily readable:
- Keep sentences and paragraphs short as many people scan content
- Break up text with sub-headers: Sub-headers make articles more digestible, and they’re a great opportunity to use keywords.
- Add relevant media wherever possible: Vary your content to make it more digestible for your audience (it’s also great for SEO).
Remember, text is not the only format for conveying information to your target audience. Relevant infographics and videos especially can increase engagement and dwell time on your website.
The immigration law firm, Shepelsky Law Group, uses video well to answer the many important questions of its target audience.
According to the ABA’s 2021 Websites & Marketing survey:
“Video remains a marketing tool that firms have not capitalized on, particularly small firms. Only 28% of respondents’ firms use video for marketing overall, including only 19% of lawyers from firms of 2-9 lawyers, 18% of lawyers from firms of 10-49 lawyers, and only 10% of solos.”
Focus on long-form content
Dwell time is one of many important Google metrics that affects your rankings. Keeping visitors on your website for longer will ultimately benefit your search performance.
Long-form content is a good way to do this, but it also helps you incorporate more keywords into the copy and answer more of the questions in your readers’ minds — so it’s a triple whammy.
Bottom line: think 1000-2000 words or more rather than 300 words.
The dangerous driving lawyers Calgary page on the Oykhman Criminal Defence website is almost 3,000 words long and ranks at the top of Google page one for that keyword phrase (and at the top of the Google Map local search results).
Link out to other credible sources
Expertise, trust, and authority are important to Google and should be important for you.
When you develop legal content, you’ll likely draw on many other established legal resources like various pieces of legislation, legal journals, etc. You may also refer to bar associations and other institutions in the content (if you can get these organizations to link to your content, even better, as it will help your link-building efforts for SEO).
If you mention respected organizations in your content, include links to these sources. Backing up what you say with credible and trusted sources will add authority to your content.
Here’s a good example from DWI law firm Trey Porter Law in Texas.
Promoting your content
Once you start to develop content regularly, you should notice that more visitors are attracted to your website as your organic search rankings improve.
That’s great, but it may take weeks and months rather than days to see results.
You can help spread the word about your content with a few promotional activities used by lawyers, such as:
- Posting on social media channels, e.g., LinkedIn and Facebook
- Including content in newsletters or email marketing campaigns
- Posting on your YouTube channel (video marketing for lawyers)
For example, the Olson Law Firm LLC in Colorado uses its Facebook page to promote its personal injury website content.
Tracking the performance of your content
As with any marketing, tracking performance is essential for making improvements and getting your long-term strategy right.
Google Analytics can help you capture the data you need to report on the relative success of content according to the metrics you measure, such as unique website visitors, what pages are visited the most, what keywords are used to find you, etc.
It can also provide you with useful insights into your content.
If some pieces of content are not performing, consider the reasons why. You may be able to revisit and revamp it or take a new approach.
The best-performing pieces of content can help you decide where your focus needs to be for future content.
What are the must-have pages on a law-firm website?
Now you know most of the key theory behind creating effective attorney website content, it’s time to consider the pages you’ll need to create.
There’s no single template to use. A glance at our article on the best 101 law firm websites confirms that a diverse range of styles and page menus exist for attorney websites.
To be most effective, every page you create should have a clear purpose with a targeted keyword or two. And even pages that are mainly informational should include a call to action to drive a specific action (e.g., contacting you for a consultation, downloading a resource, etc.).
Let’s take a look at the main pages you need.
A compelling homepage
A compelling homepage is quick to load, easy to read, and uncluttered on desktop or mobile.
Homepages achieve the following:
- Communicates succinctly what you do and the benefits of your services
- Grabs attention with eye-catching images
- Immediately establishes credibility
- Provides an overview of services
- Encourages your visitor to take the next action
- Aids visitors in finding answers to the questions they have
- Provides a simple and effective way to contact you
Here’s a great example from Vogel LLP, a multi-practice law firm based in Calgary.
An engaging “About” page
The About page of your website enables you to share your story and tell readers why you and your firm are in business and what your vision is.
This page helps you inject character, personality, and values into the firm — qualities that can seem in short supply on the average law firm website.
In this example from The Colorado Legal Group, visitors will feel confident that they aren’t just dealing with the “same old” law firm.
Personable lawyer bios
An attorney bio page is another place for firms to show their human face, add personality, and demonstrate professional credentials. It’s a place to build connections as well as trust and credibility.
According to the ABA, partner bios are included on 99% of lawyers’ websites, so it’s hard to stand out.
Hiring a law firm can be intimidating for people and visitors who read bios because they want to know they’re dealing with people they can feel comfortable with.
Here’s a good example of a law firm taking a personable approach with its bios from Cannabis Law Solutions.
Informative and persuasive practice area pages
Practice area pages should be informational but also help to sell your main services to potential new clients who may be scoping out your services.
Long-form practice area pages that address the topic in depth will help answer some of the main questions in future clients’ minds.
Break practice areas down and get very “granular.” Use the “topic cluster” type of approach that we mentioned earlier, and it will be easier to optimize for specific keywords. The Maine Criminal Defense Group website shows how this works in the main menu.
Create a page for each specific practice area and sub-practice area. Cover the topic in detail, like in this example from the same website (a sub-practice area page for domestic violence).
It’s worth noting that practice area pages are usually optimized for keywords with strong transactional and local intent, like this page (“OUI/DUI defense lawyers in Maine”) from the same website.
Original and informative blog articles/resources
Whether you specialize in family law in Illinois, corporate law in Colorado, or personal injury law in Oregon, you need website pages that demonstrate your expertise and provide answers to visitor questions.
Yet, according to the ABA’s 2021 survey, only 37 percent of law firms surveyed had a blog, while 57 percent did not, and six percent didn’t even know.
Legal blog writing is a great way to answer client questions in detail, like in this example from personal injury firm DeHoyos Law in Houston.
Note that this type of content is informational rather than “salesy” or transactional. People reading this may not yet be ready to hire a lawyer. Basing content around the key questions asked by your target audience is a solid content strategy.
Another type of legal blog content is expressing an opinion on, commenting on, or analyzing legal rulings in a firm’s practice area. This might attract a different category of readers, such as peers, journalists, or other legal bloggers.
Here’s a good example from the environmental law firm Bick Law.
Providing downloadable resources is another way to demonstrate authority with your content and capture visitor email addresses — as in this example from Lifeback Law Firm PA bankruptcy law firm in Minnesota.
A contact page with a map
Your contact details should feature prominently on every page of your site. Still, it’s also best to have a dedicated contact page with an embedded Google map of your office locations(s) — like this from Park Chenaur & Associates.
Keep your contact details (name, address, telephone number, email address, etc.) consistent across your website and all web properties (social media accounts, directory listings, etc.)
A prominent “request a consultation” form
For many law firms, the main call to action is to “Request a consultation.”
Make it easy for visitors to do that by including a form to fill in, like in this example from the Law Office of Adam D. Brown, which is placed front and center on the homepage.
A convincing “testimonials” page
A dedicated page with written or video testimonials does wonders for a law firm’s credibility. It’s always better for ex-clients to say how good you are rather than saying it yourself, like on this page from the Schoenberg Family Law Group.
If you don’t have a dedicated page for this, it’s also acceptable to scatter your testimonials around other appropriate pages on your website (e.g., practice area pages).
A “client success stories” page
Case studies of successful cases demonstrate concrete results and are a valuable asset for any law firm looking to establish credibility.
Visitors want to know that they’re in the best hands possible. If you can show them a proven track record of helping people in a similar position to them, it can convince visitors to pick up the phone and contact you.
Here’s how Chadi & Company presents its successful personal injury cases.
Detailed FAQ pages
Most people who don’t work in the legal profession have many questions when they face a legal issue.
If you can help answer these questions in a clear, simple, digestible format, you’ll become a trusted resource and a firm that they will consider hiring.
FAQ pages can take many forms. Here’s a good example of an “accordion style” page (where each FAQ opens up when you click on the arrow) from DWI and criminal lawyer Richard Hochhauser.
A quick word on outsourcing content
Time is a precious resource for almost every lawyer. There aren’t enough hours in the day for many.
It’s unrealistic to expect attorneys to take time away from billable casework to write legal blogs or downloadable content like eBooks. Yet, according to the ABA’s 2021 survey, over half of the law firms surveyed said their lawyers were still creating content for their websites.
This suggests that many law firms have not yet discovered the benefits of outsourcing legal content.
For law firms without the necessary in-house marketing expertise (or with lawyers too busy to dedicate time to content creation), it makes sense to hire a dedicated legal marketing agency to manage and promote content, as well as look after website design, SEO, pay-per-click advertising, and so on.
When content writers can liaise with SEO professionals and work from detailed briefs, the results can be impressive: a steady stream of high-quality content directly targeting your audience, building trust and credibility, and converting interest into leads and leads into paying clients.
This way, a lawyer only needs to read and approve content — not write it from scratch. That’s more realistic than assigning content writing to busy lawyers and being let down with missed content deadlines.
Ready to elevate your law firm website content?
You have everything you need to plan, write, and publish compelling, informative, authoritative law firm website content.
The quality of this content will set your firm apart from others because you will rank more prominently, and your target audience will find the answers they’re looking for.
This will help you create a robust foundation for your firm’s online presence, acting as the hub of your digital marketing strategy as you attract a steady flow of new leads to the firm.
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