Are you ready to be bold, or are you content with being obsolete? If you’re a lawyer without a blog, you might be closer to the latter than you think.
Seriously, your tech-savvy competitors are busy harnessing the power of legal blogging to steal clients right out from under your nose. And your online reputation among colleagues? Without a blog? Paltry, at best.
Lots of lawyers see blogs on competitor sites and treat a blog like a check-the-box activity—but an empty blog is even worse than no blog at all.
We’ll explore why and how a blog is a powerful, essential tool for law firms to boost their online presence. Brace yourself, because the legal landscape will demand your best.
Blogs build trust and authority with your pool of potential clients and colleagues
In the legal world—and online—trust and authority are everything.
Clients want to know they’re in capable hands, and a blog can help you establish that you know what you’re doing. A blog can also improve your reputation among other legal professionals.
You may fight your cases in a real courtroom, but your business fights for survival in a digital world. Blogs are one of the best ways to ensure your business continues to grow.
Here’s how a blog can build you up online:
A blog showcases expertise: By regularly sharing insightful, informative and relevant content, you showcase your in-depth knowledge in your field. This positions you as a trusted authority in your niche.
It’s like show and tell. Imagine hiring a baker who has a certificate but no proof of experience. Your blog is a place for you to show off what you know—and earn new business.
A blog answers client questions: Clients often have questions. These might be common legal questions related to your specific area of practice, or they may be FAQs that require your admin team to constantly repeat themselves. A blog allows you to provide answers, address common concerns and establish yourself as a go-to resource.
Plus, anticipating a person’s questions is a real show of consideration and can set you apart from competitors.
A blog demonstrates you are up-to-date: Laws and regulations evolve. Your blog is a way for you to 1) keep your audience informed about the latest legal changes and 2) illustrate your commitment to staying current in your field.
A blog engages visitors for longer: Blogs enable you to stoke engagement with your clients and prospective clients. Encourage them to leave comments or reach out with questions, fostering a sense of connection.
Blogs (the good blogs, at least) can also keep a person on your website for a longer period of time. With more time on site, you have more opportunities to connect with the person—and perhaps convert them into a future client. Fill your website with must-have content, and watch new business roll in.
Blogs are seriously powerful for search engine visibility (aka SEO)
Your blog is one of the most effective (and free!) SEO tools at your disposal.
A blog can help you impress the algorithm, rank highly in the search engine results page and reach people who need what you provide. We cannot overstate this enough!
First of all, fresh content is a major ranking factor for search engines. Regular blog posts signal to Google that you’re active, which can positively impact your search ranking.
Secondly, using the right keywords can help the right people find you. The right keywords can trigger more organic traffic, which means that more people will land on your website. It’s that easy.
Finally, links are incredibly important for SEO. More specifically, blogs provide the opportunity to interlink between articles using internal linking. Not only does this linking structure help Google form a basic architecture of your website but it also encourages visitors to explore other parts of your website.
To get results, all you need to do is start posting valuable content regularly. The right keywords will help, of course, and you may want to hire a writer to ensure your blog content is high-quality.
Empty blog? Here are some of the negative consequences
It’s essential to understand that an empty blog can do more harm than good.
Imagine you see a pizza box on the counter. You’re super hungry and the design on the box looks incredibly appetizing. You flip open the lid and…there’s no pizza inside. Rude.
A “Blog” page with no content is as rude as a pizza box with no pizza inside.
The first impression matters a lot. A blog page with no content can make your law firm’s website look abandoned, neglected or unfinished. It’s a broken promise. This does not inspire confidence in prospective clients.
Of course, you must think about your competitors’ blogs, too. In a field as competitive as law, you can’t afford to lag behind. Competitors with active blogs will win the SEO race and gain more visibility than someone with an empty blog.
How to manage a legal blog if you really don’t want to
We get it. Maybe you don’t have much time to blog, or you’re not a very confident writer. Maybe you have too much business and you think it’s foolish to invest in additional digital marketing.
You still need to put out content.
Here are our three tips for managing a law firm blog:
- Commit to Regular Updates: Create a content calendar and stick to it. Consistency is key when it comes to blogging. If you can only post 2x a month, no problem.
- Quality Over Quantity: It’s far better to have a few high-quality, informative posts than a ton of low-value ones. Focus on addressing common legal questions and providing insights. Spend your resources on creating a valuable post and it will pay you back dividends.
- Outsource if Necessary: If time is an issue, consider hiring a professional content writer who understands the legal field. They can help you maintain an active, informative blog.
If you have a website but you don’t have a Blog section, the first step is to create one. Another option is to start from scratch with a legal website template that includes a well-designed blog built for SEO and ongoing lead gen.
Final words
It’s time for a wake-up call for all the skeptical lawyers out there: legal blogs are not a fad.
Your law firm’s online success might just depend on your blog. You may be convinced that you’re doing just fine without one, but check out your competitors with blogs. How confident are you that you can outcompete them in the future?
A blog is a powerful tool to build trust, showcase your expertise and improve your online presence. An empty blog, on the other hand, is a missed opportunity and could harm your reputation.
Start blogging with purpose—outsource the work if necessary. Soon you’ll reap the benefits: increased client trust, improved SEO and a distinct advantage in the competitive legal landscape.
Need help? Reach out.
