I have discussed some of the most useful iPad apps with a few mobile attorneys and these were among the most useful for their day to day law practice.

DropBox

If you are going to court and do not want to carry multiple boxes of files, you can utilize an online storage service called DropBox. Just upload the client files you will be working on today into your Dropbox account and access them on your iPad anywhere that you have internet connection. With this app you can also create new files and have them sync to your account for viewing on your computer when you get back to the office. Another advantage of DropBox is that you can share folders with the rest of your law office staff. This will help each of you collaborate on client files and have access to the most recent versions when you are in or out of the office.

Find The DropBox App

Goodreader

Goodreader is a great app that allows you to open almost any file from your DropBox account or email attachments and edit them on the tablet. This is also a great utility if you will not have access to the internet. You can download the files that you have on your DropBox account directly to Goodreader for accessing them when you are away from a connection. Although once you edit a document, you will need to upload the new version to your account so that you can access it from your computer when you get back to the office.

Find The Goodreader App

WordPress

I know your law website is already built in this wonderful content management system and blog. During your down time, why not add some great relevant content to your blog straight from your iPad? This app will let you work on blog post drafts you already have saved, or create new ones. You can edit the content on your practice area pages to reflect changes in the law or rewording something for easier understanding. You can also review the comments on your blog and reply to them for a more interactive experience for your viewers.

Find The WordPress App

Evernote

Keep your personal notes synced between your computer, iPad and phone no matter where you are. Taking notes is a breeze with the Evernote app on your computer or iPad. Once you write down some notes on your iPad connected to the internet, they will automatically be synced to your computer and even your phone! Have a client jot down a testimonial for later use or take notes on what you want to accomplish when you get back to the office.

Find The Evernote App

Flipboard

Flipboard is my new addiction for down time browsing. Stay up to date with all of the rss feeds from your favorite websites and blogs. This means you control what content comes through this app and it is only the information you want to read. For instance you can search for Law Web Marketing and add our blog to your everyday digital newspaper. With social sharing built in, you can also manage your social media campaign by sharing the most important and up to date information with your followers.

Find The Flipboard App

5 iPad Apps For The Mobile Attorney | Law Firm Web Marketing

In the last twelve months, mobile traffic to law firm websites has risen by at least 17% and is steadily growing every day. Smart phone ownership has become mainstream, and it is inevitable that mobile searching for legal services will grow dramatically in the coming months and years.

There are three main considerations to keep in mind when you develop a design strategy around mobile devices.

1. Optimize your design to look stellar on a smaller screen.
2. Keep the content to a minimum for speed, usability and easy navigation.
3. Keep your focus on converting the user through mobile standards.

Optimizing Your Design to Look Stellar

Your main law firm website design has been optimized for desktop and laptop monitors. To give your users the best experience while they search for a law firm from their smart phone, you will need to create a specific design and code for these smaller screens. When a user hits your site from a mobile device, it should have a bit of code to direct the user to a mobile optimized page.

Most mobile sites leave out one of the most important elements for the front page of the site: The law firm branding. The user expects to see the same type of branding they would see on your main site, magazine ads and TV ad campaigns. If they don’t see a professional, experienced and inviting law firm, they will go back to find one more suitable to their needs.

The home page should offer easy links to the most visited pages on your site, in the simplest possible way. The three main pages you should make easily accessible are your attorneys, contact information, and directions to the firm. Most users do not want to spend a large amount of time reading information about car accidents when visiting your site from their mobile device. They want to quickly and easily find a reputable firm that they can trust, and contact them right then.

Minimize Content & Navigation for Speed & Usability

The speed of your mobile site not only affects search engine optimization, but also the amount of frustration you create for your visitor. Providing only the necessary elements to users will increase the speed and the success of your mobile website. With inconsistent network connections, improving the load time is paramount to improving the users’ experience. Giving the user too many options or too much content can overwhelm the user causing a serious headache while they stare at the small screen in their hand.

Focus On Mobile Standards for Conversions

Make it big! Don’t create all your links as small, difficult to read to touch text with an underline. Our fingers are larger than a mouse pointer, so make room for even the most mammoth hands to tap your buttons.

Displaying your phone number is not as important on a phone-optimized site. However, making it look like a button that can be tapped to create an instant contact to the firm is a very good idea. The user is not going to write down your number and switch to their phone app just to type the number in and call – that is not convenient. Simply have a great looking button that says, “Tap here to call us now”. This button will launch the phone app and automatically call the law firm with just one tap of the finger. Remember, you want to make this the most seamless experience possible for your prospective client. You don’t want people to get in a car accident while trying to contact your firm.

Do You Need A Mobile Design Strategy?

Yes, you do need a mobile design strategy. That is, if you are interested in keeping up with new technology and getting more clients in the age of super connected individuals. Yellow page ads are dead, smart phones and tablets are the future. The longer you wait to embrace the future, the more you will see your leads dwindle.

For additional information on mobile Internet marketing for law firms, please see Why Are Mobile Friendly Websites Necessary for Law Firms? and Mobile Revolution or contact us today at marketing@consultwebs.com or 1-800-872-6590.

Three Vital Elements in Your Law Firm Mobile Design Strategy | Law Firm Web Marketing

You may be one of the 4 million people who have picked one up or you may not have even heard about it yet. But it comes with this really unique personal assistant called Siri. And what this personal assistant does is basically everything on the phone that you can do, just by talking to it. And it works a lot better than most dictation software you have used in the past. Now, one of the really interesting things it does is local search. It really brings local search into the hands of everybody quick and easy. It is great to have a smart phone, but it is really tough sometimes when you are out and about to pull it out, go to google, type on the little keyboard and find what you need.

Search For Lawyers In Your Area On Yelp

Let’s just say that I am in the market for a divorce. I am not, but what I can do is just press and hold this bottom button down… “I need a divorce attorney” [Siri processing] “I found 10 divorce lawyers. Nine of them are fairly close to you.” So, it found ten divorce lawyers and we know that Apple has paired with Yelp for a local search. So what we need to do is get the attorneys out on Yelp? You should get your law firm listed on these local searches so that you come up when people are looking for you in your local area. We can help.

Google Is Still Important

This doesn’t push off Google though because if you click on one of these attorneys in your area, it brings you to Google Maps to show you where they are in location compared to where you are. And of course you can click through and get their phone number, website or address. You can also use Siri to check meetings and your calendar. Move meetings around, send text messages while you are on your way to court. Instead of having to stop and do those things manually.

Siri is an example of the future of search. Give us a call and we will get you listed on Yelp and other directories – insuring that your firm places well with Siri “and” Google Maps.

Every day we help lawyers and law firms close the gap between their goals and the attainment of them. For more information on partnering with us, please contact us at marketing@Consultwebs.com or (800) 872-6590.

iPhone 4S Personal Assistant Siri and Local Yelp Search | Law Firm Web Marketing

Photos of you and your staff are an important part of introducing your law firm to website visitors. While the process of getting professional photos may take some planning, the rewards can be significant. You are selling yourself and your staff to each potential client that visits your site. Your website photos are an area where you do not want to pinch pennies. If you do, you may inadvertently create the impression that professionalism and attention to detail are not high on your list of priorities.

You can fulfill your photo needs without breaking the bank. While hiring a professional photo studio ensures the best quality for your website, there are other options that will give you satisfactory results. Among them:

• Buy a relatively good SLR camera and learn how to use it properly.
• Hire a photography student from a nearby university.
• Seek out a photo hobbyist among friends or colleagues.
• Or hire a professional photo studio in your area.

Tips For Taking Your Own Law Firm Photos

You can get good results on your own, but it is not as easy as it looks. Take lots of shots. Be aware of lighting, background, composition, etc. Some tips:

1. In this digital age, take lots of photos. You can’t take too many, and you’re doing good if you get one great picture from 50 shots.
2. Make sure you pay special attention to the lighting. You may need lighting kits for indoor photography.
3. Try to use natural light since inside lighting can affect color tones.
4. Take shots from various angles and distances.

What Kind Of Attorney & Staff Photos Are Needed?

You generally want your photos to be taken in or around your office. This will give the user a reference point on what to expect when they visit your office. Have your photographer take a large array of photos in different situations. Make sure you receive:

• Group shots of your staff.
• Single shots of each attorney smiling at the camera.
• Photos of your attorneys collaborating with staff members and/or clients.
• Office photos.

Some things to ask the photo studio before you begin the project:

• Will the photographer be available to come back to your office at a later date if the staff changes or new members join your firm?
• Will you have rights to use the photos in other marketing ventures?
• Are there usage restrictions or a tax on the photos?
• Do you need to get our hair and makeup done before the shoot? And does you photographer offer this service?
• How much does it cost for you to touch up the photos you choose?
• Does the photographer have a social media package?
• Does it cost extra to get the watermark of photographer or studio removed from the photos?
• What is the best time of the day to take the outdoor photos of your office?

Examples that we like from our law firm client sites:

The Chicago personal injury law firm of Salvi, Schostock & Pritchard, employed photos that show attorneys in select Chicago scenes to create a modern urban feel. www.salvilaw.com.

Pinto Coates Kyre & Brown, a Greensboro, NC civil litigation firm, asked Consultwebs to take photos that would give a feel for their firm’s work settings, attorneys and office areas.

Terry, Terry & Stapleton, a Morrisville, TN personal injury law firm, used the brick of their offices for a charming textured background, with their attorneys and staff as the main focus.

Bakersfield, CA personal injury lawyers BD&J went with a black and white set, which complements the site design and adds a powerful sophistication to their imagery.

That’s a wrap

At Consultwebs.com, we are experts on law firm websites, from photos to video to full site content. If you need photo recommendations and sources, we can help. If we can provide assistance with any of your online needs, contact us today at 800-872-6590 or marketing@consultwebs.com.

Have you had professional pictures taken before? Tell us about your experience in the comments.

Law Firm Website Conversions – Would You Spend $500 For A 10% Increase? Photos Can Make That Happen | Law Firm Web Marketing

Having a professional Facebook page for your law firm is a good way to brand your law firm in this rapidly growing medium.  Facebook now gives your law firm the opportunity to code the page with a fully functional website including graphics, calls to action and even videos.. Imagine that — a fully functioning law firm website within Facebook.

You should be aware that Facebook is making significant updates on March 11, 2011. You can expect  several changes that will affect how you create functionality on your Facebook company page. In this post I am going to walk you through the future changes and explain how you can utilize a fully functional and conversion heavy fan page.

Navigation

The biggest change is the location of the main navigation of the page. Facebook decided to take away the tabs at the top of your page and offer navigation on the left sidebar, directly below the profile picture. The tabs in the previous design limited the amount of visible navigation you had at the top of the fan page.

If you utilized applications that added more than seven tabs to the top, some tabs would be hidden from view until a drop down button was clicked. Now that the navigation is located below the profile picture, there is ample room to display all of the tabs associated with your page. The only downside occurs when a company uses a taller graphic as their profile image. This will cause the navigation to move farther down the page, making it harder to find upon first inspection.

Featured Photos

There is a new featured photos section at the top of your page wall. This will display the last 5 images you have uploaded to that page. This is a great feature to get users to interact with your Facebook page. They may skim through your photos when something catches their eye in the featured section.

A Look at Consultwebs’ Facebook Page

On our latest Consultwebs redesign, we utilized some of the latest features with the help of a Facebook app called Static FBML. This program allowed us to create separate tabs on our Facebook page, adding functionality and customized information. With the changes taking effect in March, this app will not be useful for new implementations, although Facebook will continue to support pages already built. In its place you will find iframe functionality, which gives you the ability to create a full website on an external server and access it through your Facebook law firm page.

Before this change, the user was forced to click once to activate the iframe and see the content inside. Now the iframe content will be visible without forcing the user to add a precious click to your conversion process.

You might say, “That is great, but how does it apply to my law firm?” Well, let me give you a real world situation in which someone may be on Facebook already checking in with their family and friends. They come across your name through “word of wall” and visit your company page. You may have a very nice page that is custom designed for Facebook, but it still takes the user to your main site when any of the links are clicked. That one extra step, even though it is a small one, risks losing potential clients. However, with iframes you can build a standalone website that could convert users to clients without leaving Facebook. You’ll be able to create enticing calls to action, contact forms or even personally customized videos targeting Facebook users, all within the confines of Facebook. And the best part of all is that you will be able to track the conversions you received by using Google Analytics..

If we can help you with your law firm Facebook or other social media pages, please let us know at marketing@consultweb.com or 800-872-6590.

Making Your Professional Law Firm Facebook Page Stand Out From The Crowd | Law Firm Web Marketing

No, you shouldn’t put everything that you want to tell a client on the front page. You have ten seconds to make an impression and convince people to keep reading. A cluttered page or one with too much content will confuse and/or intimidate potential clients and they will leave.

How do you select what goes on the front page? Keep in mind that there is a difference between what you want and what the user wants on your front page. Somewhere in the middle you will find the balance needed to create a compelling front page.

When users find their way to your site, there is a reason behind their visit. You were either found by a specific law term on an Internet search engine, referred by another person, advertisement or website, or they are return visitors. Into which group do your visitors usually fall?

Optimizing Your Design

Let’s say that your users are finding you mainly through Google or another Internet search engine. Obviously, a main goal of your website is to attract law firm clients. If you are optimizing your legal website with specific terms in mind, you or your SEO firm should cater to those terms in the top half of your front page. Usually these terms will be practice areas or ways you can help your potential client. Couple these terms with powerful imagery. If these terms match what the user is searching for, they will mostly likely stay on your site and dig to find more information. If they do not see what they are searching for right away, the user will hit the back button to return to his or her search.

Client Referrals

If your users have been referred by someone, they could be there for a number of reasons. Generally we find they are there to find out more information about a practice area, attorney or accomplishment. This person will have already made a judgment about your abilities, depending upon how they view the person who gave the referral. In this situation, you want to make it easy to find their way through your site. Navigation is often overlooked as being one of the most crucial elements of your site. It should be prominent, clear and easy to use. This user is probably stressed from the situation they are currently seeking help for and will not endure a difficult search. Too many options or poor typographical / font choices could deter further searching.

Another area of interest would be the profile of a specific attorney in your office. The person has already received positive feedback about this attorney, and he or she will thus be looking for that specific person. You should prominently display a link or graphic that allows visitors to become more acquainted with your attorneys and staff. Your potential clients would like to know more about who will be helping them and what they have accomplished in the past. Having a video or picture of the attorney is helpful so that the visitor can make a visual connection to the attorney.

Return Visitors

Return visitors are generally looking for a contact method or an office location. Make your contact information easy to see at the top of the page. It should be on every page; both at the top and bottom. Lead the client from the front page to your contact information or contact form. Hold their hand through the process and make it easy. There is no excuse for losing a client at this point. Not to mention if it is easy to contact you, you will build rapport with the person before he or she has even spoken to anyone at the office.

Consider mobile users. By 2013, most visitors will be visiting your website via their cell phone or other mobile device and you want them to have a pleasant experience.

There are so many things you can squeeze into your website’s front page. Just keep in mind that this is not the place for your visitor to experience visual overload. Find a nice balance between what your users need to find and what you want them to know when your page first loads.

If you would like additional information or learn how we can help you improve your Web presence, please feel free to contact us at marketing@consultwebs.com or call us at 800-872-6590.

What Should I Put On The Front Page Of My Law Firm Website? | Law Firm Web Marketing

The A/B test is only a way to measure the conversion of your current design. Just because your website tests well does not mean you can’t make it even better as you grow. Testing also takes plenty of time to properly complete. First you must have a conversion in mind. This can be looked at as a goal for your test. Maybe you would like for the users to reach a certain page, or complete a contact form. It is good to have at least 90 conversions to solidify your results. You can test between two totally different site designs and decide which one best suits your potential clients. Or you can test between two different variables on the same design.

Typography

Typography can be a huge factor in determining the mood of a website. You might use a BOLD font to show danger or maybe a tall, light weight font to give a modern feel. Even in email we have learned that when someone types in ALL CAPS, it seems as if they are shouting their message. The difference in your call to action can be night and day with a change as simple as color or stroke point. Consider having your designer mock up 2 different variations, one calling more attention with a bold, but legible font and the other using a softer, more inviting font and see which one converts higher. This type of choice may be specific to the viewer you are trying to reach. If you are a divorce attorney, it may be better to give the user a feeling of relief with cool colors and inviting text. Think of your user and how you can reach them with the mood of your site.

Contact Forms

Most law web sites have quick contact forms located on the front page and the sidebars of their sites. You may want to test the location of the form in conjunction with the phone number or a call to action. Finding out if the user is more likely to fill out the form, depending on the location and the wording, can increase your conversions three fold. One example that comes to mind is a test Consultwebs.com performed between the layout of the form fields and text. We took a traditional form with the fields in a vertical format with the indicator text above the field. Then we tested this against a form that was built with a “fill in the blank” format. The “mad lib” style form converted 3 times more visitors than the standard form. But that is not all we can test! We can now play with the wording and find out if we can convert even more visitors by changing how the client reads and fills out their information. Once you have exhausted your tests, and you have the most visitors you can possibly convert, then maybe it is time to test against a new design.

Walkout Videos

The last test I am going to mention is one that involves a walk out video. A walk out video is one in which the background is transparent and the subjects appears to be walking out over the website. You would think that most of the time people would have a negative reaction to videos that automatically start when the website loads. Maybe the person is at work, searching for an attorney and your voice booms from their speakers the minute they hit your site. Or they may be looking for something specific and your forced message causes them to pause their search and look for the stop button on your video before they can continue. All of these things may be a deterrent for some visiting your site. On the other hand, these videos make you real, and help the user connect to you as a person. They typically consist of a warm greeting and offer useful information upon arrival to the site. In our last test we discovered that having a walkout video on a certain personal injury site helped convert more users than not having it. Currently this test is still in progress, but it has been trending this way for awhile now. This may not work the same way for your practice, but seeing the results caused me to make sure that video was playing for his users.

Testing is never finished, and it is definitely not the only tool you should utilize in your Web marketing campaign. Testing many different websites, over a long period of time, gives us the opportunity to fine tune your law firm website with knowledge gained from past experience. We are constantly testing to figure out what the trend may be today and how it can be leveraged to help our lawyer clients.

Using A/B Design Testing To Determine The Effectiveness Of Your Law Firm Website | Law Firm Web Marketing

Videos are a big component in Search Engine Optimization in conjunction with your website. Major search engines are now indexing these videos right inline with the other search results. And the more relative content that you have out on the web, the better your rankings can become.

Lets go over some things you should be thinking about before and during your shoot.

Decide what format you would like to use

• Short introductory video
• Answering a commonly asked question
• Or a scripted law marketing video

Think about other imagery you would like to show up in your video.

• Office photos
• Staff photos
• Clips of conversing with a client
• Clips of you working at the courthouse.

The main goal of these videos are to get the user to contact you.

Know your content and try to refrain from reading a teleprompter.

Don’t get too nervous at first, you don’t need to nail this on the first take.

Be prepared to have several takes. Get it right, because this could possibly be the first thing a potential client sees.

Keep your videos short – point of this video is to get them to contact you. Once you have them in your office, you can ellaborate on their case, giving them all the information they need.

To obtain more information, please feel free to contact us at marketing@consultwebs.com or call us at 800-872-6590.

Why Do Law Firms Need Videos? | Law Firm Web Marketing

Designing Your Front Page

Think of your front page as a store window, where you feature your best products or latest news. You are focusing on a few key practice areas in your SEO campaign, which is why you should target those as your main products above the fold. Most people who search are finding your site with those areas in mind, so cater to them when they get there. Once you have the customer in your store, they can dig down to find more information on what they liked seeing in the store window. Try not to overcrowd your front page with extraneous information that distracts from your main goal. You want to lead their eye to the main focus of your firm and provide them with an easy way to contact you.

Imagery On Your Site

Imagery can have a huge impact on whether the user stays at your site or goes searching for another firm. Should you put a picture of a traumatic accident with firemen and police combing the scene? Or maybe your users would rather see images of people who look satisfied with the service you have provided? These things can be researched and documented by testing different versions of your front page to see what works best.

Designing Your Inner Pages & Content

For the inner page content, you should use visible headlines to call out sections of text. People tend to skim while reading on a screen and will not read long paragraphs of content unless it pertains to their unique situation. It is important to make sure that each section is well titled so that it’s easy to skim all the information without actually having to read the entire page. The eyes of a potential client will tend to move in an F pattern across your page. Placing vital content in this shape creates a nice flow and makes it easier for the user to find. Icons & graphics in the content area of your site are other ways to create a nice flow to your page. Although you have to be careful not to go overboard and end up taking focus away from the main goal of contacting you. Calls to action placed in strategic areas are a nice way to remind the user that you are there to help and it shows them the next step to getting started. Don’t make them guess or search for the next step, show them exactly what you want them to do now.

Choosing A Designer

When you are discussing your website with the design firm, be sure to ask them the following questions:

• What thoughts or ideas do they have to increase your conversions through the design of your site?
• Find out if they are thinking about your users and what they might want to see? Or do they only seem concerned with making the site attractive to you?
• Do they intend to test the design to find the best possible fit for your law firm?
• Will your design team review my existing marketing materials to coordinate a consistent branding approach for my firm?
• Will I receive regular click-maps or heat maps that track my visitors’ behavior?
• Will your design team monitor my site analytics including Time On Site, Pages/Visit, and Bounce Rate to report back to me how the design can be enhanced over time?
• Is this ongoing design monitoring, A/B testing, heat maps, etc. included in the design quote or will you charge me extra for these services?

The designers at Consultwebs.com strive to provide the most efficient and aesthetic websites that cater to the needs of your potential clients. We vigorously test our designs to determine what works, and what needs to change. We believe that a website should be an evolving and pleasing extension of your firm and the services that you provide.

Bring Your Design Into Focus | Law Firm Web Marketing