Guest article - How good is your shopfront?
We have never before seen a time when so many consumers are looking for professional legal services, with many now driven online as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A YouGov consumer survey cited “quality of legal advice” to be the most important factor (87% of consumers) when choosing a legal services provider.
Aside from cost, “ease of obtaining legal services” was important to 86% of those surveyed; 85% asked for “experience and qualifications,” and 70% wanted “local offices” and/or “face to face” contact.
Legal services remains incredibly fragmented, still very focused on delivery on a local level, despite the pandemic. Yes, it has driven clients online, but they are still searching for local search terms.
“Solicitor in Woking”; “write a Will near to me.”
When you search on search engines like Google and Bing one of the first automated search terms pre-populates the question with “near me.”
“Plumbers near me,” “electrician near me.”
The results now incorporate a whole host of sources including websites, video and social… so, it is increasingly important that you have an online presence which will enable you to capture this traffic.
Increasingly we are using longer search terms to find what we want. And in order to capture this interest we need to be able to answer the questions people are asking.
The search engine algorithms are geared toward finding answers. Google themselves have given us some guidance on their philosophy of EAT. The acronym stands for expertise, authority, and trustworthiness and each search result is ranked against these measures of credibility to try and deliver back the answer to the question being asked.
Our online content, whether that is video, blogs, website content, social media posts etc, should all convey our expertise on the subject matter.
Using tools like Moz, Google Keyword Planner and Semrush you can research the terms that people are searching for around the subject matter. This will help to inform and prioritise what you write about.
6 quick tips to building authority online
- Demonstrate knowledge by providing informative articles and case studies on your website and to local newspapers and press. Be the “subject matter expert” and demonstrate your expertise
- People buy locally. You can raise awareness in your local area publishing articles and on social media
- Ask for client testimonials to prove your experience & ask them to post on your social media pages and on Google reviews
- Update existing customers with a newsletter, to keep them engaged in what you do
- Ensure you have a mobile friendly website. Like you, your customers will check out companies online before committing
- Ensure that your website has a Google My Business listing
Today’s Legal Content is part of Today’s Media, the publishers of the popular Today’s Wills and Probate. Through expert SEO-considered articles on a range of B2C and B2B subjects we can help you build up your online content library and improve the effectiveness of your digital shopfront.
Contact Lindsay today on: [email protected] or 07950 977 150