A landing page is a page the site visitor “lands on” after clicking a link having to do with an online call to action. They are often used to collect email addresses from visitors or to get people to hire your firm. For example, if you’re writing a blog post on what to do if stopped by the police, you can easily incorporate a link to a landing page in your post. You’d probably include a sentence like “lots of readers ask me about what they should do when they are stopped by law enforcement” and use the anchor text “your rights during an arrest” to link to a landing page for a sign up for your newsletter or an offer for a free consultation.
Why Your Law Firm’s Website Should Be Using Landing Pages
Let’s make one thing clear–your law firm websites home page is not a landing page. You’re going to have to do a bit better than that. That’s exactly why you should be using landing pages–for the simple reason that a home page doesn’t get the job done quite like a landing page does.
When a visitor skims over your homepage, the visitor probably sees lots of text, images, and links. It’s a lot to take in all at once, so how can we expect the visitor to know what to do next? Essentially, your visitor may be “wandering” around your site with lack of any clear direction. By using landing pages, you give the visitor one clear, concise direction (“enter your email here”, “schedule your free consultation”). Of course, the visitor she doesn’t have to sign up if he or she doesn’t want to, but the visitor won’t waste time searching around for what you have to offer, either. Overall, you only have a few seconds to prove your worth to your site’s visitors, so use a landing page to get your message across quickly and clearly.
Tips for Designing Your Law Firm Website Landing Pages
- Make your instructions clear. It’s best to focus on just one call to action per landing page.
- Prove yourself. Whether through testimonials, certifications, or references to previously written content, show your visitor why he or she can trust you to provide the legal services or information the visitor wants.
- Be confident. You know what you’re talking about, so act like it. Don’t say things like “I think I can offer you some pretty good advice on this topic, so you might want to sign up for my newsletter.” Show them you’re confident and skilled enough to act as an authority on a certain topic.
- Keep it simple. Be mindful of your use of color and images and keep the text short and value-dense.
Keep these law firm website design tips in mind and start building a landing page for each of your practice areas, Go the extra mile to give your visitors clear direction and you might find yourself surprised at the results.
