If your law firm has a website, it needs content. Content that informs, engages, and inspires is the cornerstone of every law firm’s online presence. When done right, your content will establish you as an authority in your practice areas and connect you with potential clients who turn into signed cases. When your content is thin, spammy, or otherwise of poor quality, you hand those signed cases over to your competitors.
What Is Law Firm Content Writing?
Writing for law firms involves crafting articles and materials that help with marketing, connecting with clients, sharing expertise, and supporting the firm’s business activities. It should appeal to and inform the people who need help in your area of law.
Some of the most common types of content law firms use include:
- Service area pages
- Blog posts
- FAQs
- Case studies
- Attorney biographies
- Firm newsletters
Your law firm’s website should include information about what services you offer, unique selling proposition, your lawyers’ expertise, client success stories, and your achievements. Make sure to include any information that could attract new clients and show off your firm’s strengths and the legal knowledge you have in your area of practice.
The style of writing you use for your firm’s content should be clear, concise, and free of complex legal jargon. This will make it easily understandable to lay audiences. Accuracy and precision are also equally important.
Why Is Content Writing Important for Law Firms?
Google exists for content. Despite its tremendous growth, many revenue streams, and varied products, its original, and still most important, mission is to return the best search results for the user’s query.
Users hate thin, irrelevant, and keyword-stuffed pages. They’re not helpful. And so, Google regularly updates and closely guards its search algorithm to weed out bad, spammy, and manipulative content. It aligns its goal with that of the user: quality, relevant search results.
Which brings us to your law firm’s website content. Throwing just any content onto your website won’t yield results. Publishing for the sake of publishing or aiming for the just-right balance of keywords is misguided. It won’t work.
I’ll say it again, Google exists for content, and it goes to great lengths not to feed bad content to its users. So, create content with the user in mind. Write articles that help readers either understand legal topics (informational intent search) or find a lawyer for their needs, depending on what they’re looking for (commercial or transactional intent search).
That starts with content strategy. Create a list of pages you’ll write that target the topics and services (case types) prospective clients are searching for.
Just as important is effective content writing. Align the content with the user’s search intent. (If they’re looking for a lawyer to help with an injury case, don’t give them a dissertation on tort law; tout the benefits of working with your law firm.) Make an emotional connection, meet them where they are, provide helpful information, and simply communicate your message.
Content is the cornerstone of any SEO strategy, and effective writing is crucial to your content’s success in the search results.
What are the benefits of effective content writing for law firms?
Good content ranks highly, earns clicks, and boosts traffic to your law firm’s website. But the SEO metrics are just the beginning. High-quality content writing is important for your legal practice because it:
- Builds authority and thought leadership: Content showcases the firm’s experience and expertise in different legal practice areas. Expert legal content allows your law firm to demonstrate deep knowledge and establish your lawyers as trusted authorities on key legal topics.
- Attracts your ideal clients: Tailored content that addresses client pain points and goals attracts the right clients for your firm. Well-crafted content convinces visitors to contact the firm, converting that visitor into a lead that may become a signed case.
- Competitive differentiation: High-quality, original content allows law firms to stand out from competitors and gives people reasons to choose them.
- Reinforces your firm’s branding: Content develops a consistent brand narrative and shapes the firm’s reputation.
- Highlights your law firm’s successes: Case results, client testimonials and reviews, and lawyer bios display the firm’s track record.
- Builds your website into an asset: A safe, well-built website with tons of good content becomes an asset for your law firm. Your firm owns the site and reaps the benefits of ranking highly in the search results to drive leads every month. Content and SEO provide value over ad-based digital marketing and traditional advertising like billboards and television ads.
Another benefit of effective content is that well-written content can be reformatted and distributed across different platforms. For example, we’ve written about how blogging for lawyers can benefit your website, and you can later reformat and use those blogs as an infographic that could then be shared on social media.
Skillfully written law firm content helps build awareness, loyalty, and goodwill to give you a competitive business advantage. That’s why it’s worth your time and space in your budget to invest in content writing for law firms.
How can I improve my law firm’s content writing?
Creating high-quality content that will lead to results is about more than understanding the law, though that is an important aspect of it. Professional legal content writing entails understanding where the law, content marketing, search optimization, and compliance meet.
Content creation is harder than it looks. In fact, you may have already taken a shot at it only to have your efforts fall flat. If you’re reading this now because your legal content hasn’t had the results you were hoping for, here are some tips for creating content that will improve your law firm’s content writing:
- Create content that is tailored to user intent, with a focus on your audience’s needs, pain points, and goals, rather than simply providing generic legal information.
- Weave in the backgrounds of your attorneys, their accomplishments, and their specific experience to build credibility. For example, if a motorcycle accident lawyer is also a rider, include that information to show that they have a unique perspective of clients’ needs.
- Include clear takeaways, tips, and next steps prospective clients can apply to their own situation.
- Promote thought leadership. Position attorneys as thought leaders who are forward-thinking in their practice area with unique perspectives.
- Maintain an authoritative yet approachable tone without being stuffy or overly promotional. Answer questions using accessible language.
- Use images, charts, diagrams, etc., to make posts more engaging and scannable for readers.
- Update your evergreen posts periodically and promote them again to maximize their value.
To create website content that will put your law firm’s website at the top of the search engine results and grow your business, follow these and our other content writing tips.
How can I make my law firm’s content stand out from competitors?
When you’re creating your content strategy, keep in mind what unique content you have to offer that will make you stand out from the competition. Here are some strategies legal content writers use to make a law firm’s content stand out, especially in a market that is soon to be flooded with generic AI content:
- Spotlight unique cases or legal successes – You can draft personal injury, family law, or criminal defense case studies and highlight wins that demonstrate your firm’s skills.
- Address local issues – Create localized content about legal topics affecting your geographic community.
- Co-create content – Interview clients or partners to craft collaborative content with fresh perspectives.
- Promote reviews – Feature genuine client reviews and testimonials prominently.
- Analyze competitors – Fill gaps left by your competitors. Determine what competitors miss or neglect and create content on those topics.
More than any other aspect of legal content writing, the key to writing a truly compelling piece of content is to dig deeper into what your audience wants and what makes your firm special so you can develop a unique brand voice.
Your content is what will make you stand out from your competitors, and, ultimately, it is what will make potential clients call you or push that contact button to solicit help from your law firm.
We can’t promise writing content for your law firm will be easy, but we can assure you that it will be well worth the effort. And if you decide you need help with your SEO, legal content strategy, and content writing, a digital marketing agency like We Do Web can help.
Alex Valencia is an influential entrepreneur, marketer, speaker, podcaster, and CEO of We Do Web Content, one of Inc. 5000’s fastest-growing businesses in America. His agency implements game-changing content marketing strategies and produces top-ranking web content for law firms, medical professionals, and small businesses nationwide.