9 Signs That Your Website Needs Updating

One of the important factors in search engine algorithms is the freshness of a website’s content. For this reason, search engine optimization professional have been advising their clients for years to updated their content and add new content as often as possible. Even if this weren’t the case, it’s just common sense to regularly review and update your website’s content. You want your site to convey a professional image and to serve as a marketing tool for your practice. If it’s not doing both, you’re shooting yourself in the foot.

Here are some signs that your website is out of date and needs to be updated or overhauled.

Your Website Looks Like It Was Designed In 2005

The advances made in website design technology in the past couple of years have been substantial. If you look at a site and it appears to have been built ten, or even five years ago, it probably was. It’s like pornography – you’ll know it when you see it. 

You Have Content That Is Date Specific and Out Of Date

Many sites have sections with recent developments or case results. Others have news feeds, and links to blog posts and social media sites. If the most recent entries or references are from two years ago, it’s time to update. If a prospective client sees a website that is neglected, he or she may very well think that his or her matter will also be neglected, or that the firm lacks an attention to detail.

Your Website Is Not Mobile Friendly

As we recently blogged, Google is rolling out a major update to its search algorithm in late April. This update will put increased emphasis on whether a website is mobile friendly. Research indicates that more than half the internet searches being conducted are now being done on tablets or smart phones. If your site isn’t mobile compatible, it needs to be.

Your Website Is About You, and Not Your Clients

Many attorneys fail to realize that the main purpose of a website is to serve as a selling document and a marketing tool. It’s not there to feed your ego or impress other attorneys Take a look at your website, and read it as if you were a potential client considering several firms that do the kind of work you do. Everything on your site should be written with this as its focus. Clients want to be convinced of why you are the best firm to handle their matter. Write your content in a way that shows them why you should be their choice.

Your Website Has Old or Unprofessional Photos

Your photos need to be an accurate representation of what you look like now, not what you looked like ten years ago. They also need to be professional in appearance. Many lawyers’ LinkedIn profiles have pictures of them taken at the beach or with a companion. Your photo, whether it’s on your website or on a social media site that you are using professionally, should show you in the clothes you wear to work, should be in focus and not washed out.

Your Website SEO Fails to Use Current Best Practices

Search engine optimization is not a static concept. Even if your website was optimized for search engine results when it was built, if it hasn’t been regularly updated from an SEO standpoint, the odds are high that it’s underperforming. It may have been advantageous from an SEO standpoint in 2010 to constantly repeat the same keyword phrases, but that is no longer the case. Websites that say “New York personal injury attorney” in every other sentence are now counterproductive. Similarly, websites loaded with outbound links provided by search engine bundlers are now penalized by search engine algorithms. In addition, websites used to be built to drive all search engine traffic to the home page. That is no longer the case. Every page on the site needs to be optimized.

Your Website Contains No Social Media Links or Your Links Are Outdated

We’ve written in the past about the importance and value of social media. Every small law firm marketing plan needs to include LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus. If your firm isn’t active on these platforms, it needs to be. Furthermore, if you are on social media sites but haven’t posted anything on them for any length of time, you need to get into a regimen of regular, periodic posting.

Your Website Doesn’t Contain a Contact Form

Every page of your website needs to prominently feature at least two different ways to contact you. Your phone number needs to be at the top of every page. Every page should also have a “Contact Us” form that generates an e mail to you with a space for the visitor to send you a short message describing why they’re contacting you. Potential clients want instant gratification. If your website has convinced them that you’re the one they want to talk to, don’t make them go searching for ways to reach you. 

Your Website Has Bad Links

Many law firm websites include links to social media pages, case results, attorney listings, etc.  If a visitor clicks on a link and the link doesn’t work, they immediately lose interest. Make it a practice to check all your outbound links periodically to ensure that they are current and work. 

OMEGA LEGAL MARKETING is a dedicated, specialty marketing company serving only small law firms and solo practitioners in the metro New York City area. Much more than just a web design firm, we put together affordable, comprehensive marketing programs that enable our clients to stand out from the crowd and grow their practices. You can find us at www.omegalegalmarketing.com