Web wisdom – The importance of an intelligent website
Q We have a website, but how do we know if it’s performing well?
A The best way to view your website is to treat it as an employee of your law firm – let’s call it ‘Steve’ for the purposes of this article. Steve’s working for you 24/7 and is in charge of introducing your firm to clients and then delivering leads. We don’t want him walking around with his hands over his eyes all day long – it makes much more sense that he’s watching what people are doing in order to understand, help and manage them. This is where analytics comes into play and operate in the same way. Analytics is at the forefront of making your website intelligent. Understanding how all visitors use your site, identifying hot topics then understanding which pages lead to high conversions/cases, plus which pages on the site are causing visitors to leave, and so much more.
Q How do I use this intelligence to get more clients?
A By using and evaluating this newfound analytical data mentioned above, you can identify which areas need improvement and continuously edit these pages with high-quality relevant content. In addition to carrying out extensive keyword research, you will soon learn that a client’s search terms are very different to ‘legal lingo’. Keyword research allows you to identify how Steve should be talking, displaying content to suit what the visitor is searching for. This higher quality, personalised content that Steve now has in his arsenal increases the chances of higher conversion to client.
Q So, once I have done this, what else can I do to improve?
A There are key areas to check over to ensure that Steve looks the part – clean and tidy with a high-quality clever design. Make sure that it’s delivering information quickly and easily by reducing load time and making use of high-quality website hosting. Clients want websites to load almost instantly and each additional second a page takes to load can lose valuable visitors. Embrace the continuous expansion of Steve’s team by using social and marketing platforms like LinkedIn, Google Ads and email marketing. Encourage relevant people and authorities to point to Steve, as a higher number of relevant links to Steve will increase your awareness and importance and your ranking factor as a whole.
Q I’ve heard about search engine optimisation (SEO). Is it important for SMEs?
A It’s crucial. SEO is Steve’s partner in this world, helping to continually promote and push him to the front of the queue (#1 position in Google). Google is continuously changing its algorithms to ensure that it delivers the best results which are audience relevant. This is a great thing – especially for SME firms. Their most recent update was aimed at promoting sites once undervalued, and giving them a chance to sometimes outperform those of larger firms.
This column appears in LPM October 2018 – Make the cuts. Read the full issue here.
