Legal Web Site Content for Business Clients

Reach Out to Business Clients with Rich Content

Thousands of people every day search the Web, seeking lawyers. But when those people visit any law firm Web site for the first time, their primary mission, typically, is to gain a better understanding of their own legal situation.

Especially when they visit the “practice areas” section of a Web site, potential clients are looking for something they can recognize, something that parallels their own circumstances. They want to know, “Is there anything here for me? Can this law firm handle my issue, or should I keep looking?”

That’s why Web sites that offer practical information about the law tend to draw more visitors and keep those visitors at a site much longer, on average, than bare bones sites that offer only basic information about the law firm itself. Strong, informative content, on the other hand, introduces prospective clients to the vocabulary of their legal issues. It enables them to consider their options without the pressure—or cost—of sitting in a lawyer’s office.

Moreover, the ability of a Web site to present legal principles in a straightforward manner speaks volumes about the law firm. It helps cultivate trust with prospective clients. It indicates to clients that, when they do contact the firm and make an appointment to sit down with an attorney, they’ll be able to understand what they’re hearing and intelligently evaluate their legal position.

Attorney Ryan Ledbetter of The Nice Law Firm, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, made this observation about the informative content that can be found on his firm’s site: “It provides the public with some basic knowledge, and helps people make an informed decision as to what they need to do. And a lot of times an educated client is an easier client to deal with.”

Why Reinvent the Wheel?

The Nice Law Firm (named for its founding partner) offers a Business Center on its Web site that carries a wealth of information for those starting new businesses. It offers clear, concise descriptions of various business organization types, from sole proprietorships and partnerships to corporations and limited liability corporations, and outlines the advantages and disadvantages of each.

The Business Center goes on to describe the sometimes “daunting and complicated process of starting a new business.” It covers issues ranging from choosing a business name that won’t invite trademark trouble, to licensing, zoning, insurance, and the hiring of employees. The Business Center also includes a number of links to other Web sites, including the IRS and the Small Business Administration. It also features business news headlines linked to full-text stories from the Associated Press, plus a series of frequently asked questions about starting a business, and another set of FAQs on business organizations.

Fortunately, the firm was able to provide all this content without having to create it on their own from scratch. It came in the form of a FindLaw Practice Center.

Ryan Ledbetter had one word for the fact that he did not have to create this section on his own. “Wonderful,” he said. “For me to sit down and write all of the text that is in there would just take too much time.” For Mr. Ledbetter, or for any busy lawyer, it’s a matter of avoiding spending time to reinvent the wheel. And while some of the information might be considered “boilerplate” to an attorney, it can nevertheless be pure gold to a person who is planning to start a business and looking for information and guidance.

Content Confirms Competence

Web site content can be particularly valuable—to both the law firm and the Web site visitor—when that visitor is a business person following up on a personal referral, comparing law firms in a “due diligence” process.

A typical situation might involve a business owner who asks a friend or business associate to recommend a law firm. The business owner visits the Web sites of several recommended firms. Then, based on which sites provide the most useful information, the business owner does an initial ranking and decides who to contact.

The quality and accessibility of the information on the site is what will qualify the firm in the potential client’s mind. And all else being equal, the firm with the most informative and user-friendly Web site will get the first call.

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Whoever your target audience, in-depth content on your Web site can be a powerful tool to help you reach out to them. FindLaw offers business-oriented Practice Centers designed to showcase the expertise of virtually any law firm and meet the needs of any category of client.