Thursday, May 05, 2011

Together or separate, that is the question

Is it better to have your attorney blog integrated into your law firm’s website or kept separately?

With the rise in popularity of attorney blogging, we are frequently asked this question. In order to determine whether or not your blog should be included as part of your law firm’s website, you must first identify your reasons for blogging and the goals you ultimately wish to achieve by maintaining an active blog.

If you are hoping to attract new clients and help your search engine optimization, we strongly recommend that you include your blog as an integrated feature within your website. Here’s why:

• More than any other contributing factor, content is key to SEO success. Blog posts are a great way to add fresh new copy packed with keywords.
• By having an active blog on your website, prospective clients can learn more about your expertise and hear your voice. Attorney website content can be pretty sterile but blog posts should be infused with personality and can help you seem more approachable to clients.
• If a client, who is referred to your office, searches for you on Google and comes across your blog site first, they might not necessarily find out much about your practice. By having your blog integrated with the main site for your office, you can be sure prospective clients associate your great blog posts with the services your firm offers.

There are only a few circumstances which warrant maintaining a blog independent of your firm’s website. You should consider this separation if:

• Your main objective with the blog is to be seen as an expert in the legal community on a particular area of practice or subject matter. Fellow attorneys and advisors are more inclined to subscribe and refer clients to a blog which does not also promote your services such as a firm website.
• You are an attorney in a mid-large law firm and want to showcase your individual strengths and thoughts as opposed to the viewpoint of the firm as a whole.
• You want to write on a subject matter directly unrelated to your practice and/or services.

If you’re unsure about the best approach to take when it comes to successful blogging, contact us to discuss the options.