While we’re still in the midst of a long, seemingly never-ending pandemic, there is still work to be done. At the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, courthouses around the country closed their doors, and many wondered what would happen to “business as usual” for clerks and lawyers.
Today, not only are courthouses back open, but the majority of law firms have stopped working remotely, and many are eager to get clients back in their doors.
Expanding your business during the pandemic is hard but not impossible. The routes of action you’ve grown used to, namely business development through socializing, are likely on hold.
Instead, many law firms build their brands online and try to reach potential clients through legal advice and informative articles.
Building a Brand Through Online Blogging
Today, all online content lives by the bible, that is ‘SEO Best Practices.’ SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and if you haven’t heard of this term, you’re not prepared to start blogging. It can seem easy when you’re just searching and scrolling through legal profiles in your area. Maybe you stumble upon a poorly written article and think, “I can do this better.” Well, maybe you can, but the fact that you “stumbled upon” that article in the first place is perhaps even more important than the content within it.SEO Basics
When you begin publishing content, there are a few basic rules you should follow to optimize your work:- Write a clear title and meta description
- Use Relevant Tags
- Keep your slug simple.
Tags & Slugs
From here, depending on the website builder or blogging platform you use, you can embed “tags” in your post. These tags make your article searchable on your own website and help search engines choose what content to present to users online. “Hashtags” were born from the invisible “tags” that websites rely on, and you can use either to separate your content into different sections, columns, or even forums on your website. Finally, your “slug” is simply the tail end of your article’s URL. For example, in www.indoormedia.com/blog, the slug is “/blog.” Instead of listing a string of nonsense after your domain name, try to select a short, descriptive slug that ranges no more than 3-6 words. This will help search engines find your articles when users search for them, and readers are more likely to share articles with short URLs. Understanding these SEO basics is the first step towards blogging. Once you know how to get your content ranked in search results, you can start writing those awesome articles you’ve been thinking about to help prospective customers learn about your business.A New Take on Classic Business Development
Whereas SEO may be a lot to wrap your head around, you probably already know what we mean by “business development.” Socializing in one’s community has always been an easy way for legal teams to get a leg up in their neighborhood, especially because clients want to go with someone they trust. ABA law firm suggests several strategies to ensure your law firm’s growth, but chief among them are:- Harness the ideas of your best and brightest team members
- Find ways to share this knowledge regularly
- Never leave anyone out.