Consistently publishing quality blog articles is one of the most important factors for improving law firms’ search rankings and generating inquiries online. Both of these are equally important, and thus neither can be overlooked. If a blog article doesn’t rank well, it isn’t going to generate traffic. At the same time, if an article ranks but doesn’t convince prospective clients to get in touch, it still won’t serve its intended purpose. This combination of needs is why working with a professional legal blog writing service is so critical for effective law firm content marketing.
Why Law Firms Need Professional Legal Blog Writers
Let’s dive into each of these considerations in greater detail. We’ll cover using blog articles to generate traffic first:
1. Generating Website Traffic Through Blog Articles
One thing that experienced legal blog writers do really well (or should be able to do really well) is write for the search engines (primarily Google) without being obvious about it. While developing an effective search engine optimization (SEO) strategy has become incredibly complicated, in some ways actually doing SEO is still surprisingly straightforward. The search engines scan blog articles for keywords, and then they decide when an article should appear in their search results. If you use the right keywords in the right volume and with the right placement, you’re going to be about 90% of the way there.
Of course, there is a lot more to it. This covers only a small portion of on-site SEO, and off-site SEO is a different matter entirely. But, from a blog writing perspective, any law firm content marketing agency that offers a professional legal blog writing service should be able to produce articles that make effective use of keywords without their keywords being obvious or distracting for human readers (i.e., potential clients).
Another key factor when it comes to SEO for law firms is ensuring that you are targeting relevant traffic. With some types of websites, any traffic is good traffic. These websites make money off of selling ad placements, so getting more visitors translates directly to generating more revenue.
But, for law firms, website traffic is only worth paying for if it generates business. So, while an article that includes statistics or highlights recent trends might attract readers, few (if any) of these readers are likely to need the firm’s representation. When choosing a professional legal blog writing service, it is essential for lawyers and law firm CMOs to choose an agency that has a clear understanding of the types of content their law firm needs. Agencies that don’t have significant experience working with law firms frequently miss the mark; and, as a result, their clients’ marketing budgets end up being completely wasted.
2. Convincing Prospective Clients to Get in Touch
While generating relevant traffic is critical, when it comes to legal content creation, it is also only half of the battle. Legal blog writers also need to be able to convince prospective clients to get in touch.
To be clear, not everyone who reads an article on your law firm’s website is going to inquire about your firm’s representation. A good conversion rate is still going to be in the single digits in most legal sectors. But, your firm’s blog articles should be capable of generating conversions—so that when the right readers come along, they won’t think twice about submitting your firm’s online contact form or picking up the phone.
Professional legal blog writers know what works (or at least they should) when it comes to writing content that speaks to law firms’ desired audiences. There are several factors that come into play, from reading levels and the sophistication of the subject matter to style, tone, and voice. A well-written article will balance all of these factors and provide practical insights that prospective clients can use to learn more about their circumstances—and ultimately make informed decisions about their next steps.
This also brings us to another key point: topic selection. Topic selection is important for both SEO and generating inquiries. The topics covered on your firm’s blog need to rank well in order to generate interest, and they need to generate enough interest that prospective clients feel compelled to contact your firm for more information. Too often, we see law firms and other agencies devoting insufficient time to researching blog article topics—and the efficacy of their content suffers as a result. While there are definitely plenty of good topics out there in all practice areas, this doesn’t mean that every topic is worth covering on your law firm’s blog.
Key Takeaways: What Lawyers and Law Firm CMOs Need to Know About Using a Professional Legal Blog Writing Service
So, what are your key takeaways? Law firms’ blog articles must simultaneously speak to two different audiences and serve two different purposes. Blog articles must speak to the search engines (primarily Google) so they can rank well, but they must also speak to prospective clients. While an article written only with SEO in mind might get to the top of the search results, if it doesn’t address prospective clients’ needs or concerns, it isn’t going to serve its intended purpose. At the same time, if an article doesn’t generate relevant traffic, then it doesn’t matter how well it is written from the human perspective.
Professional legal blog writers craft articles for a living. They know how to speak to the search engines while also speaking to prospective clients. They know how to weave in relevant keywords without making law firms’ online content stilted, and they know how to ensure that their articles have a chance of actually getting read.
Inquire About Our Legal Blog Writing Services
Are you interested in using blog articles (and other online content) to grow your law firm’s online presence and generate more leads through its website? If so, we can help, and we invite you to get in touch. Please let us know how we can reach you and we will be in touch shortly.