56% of Law Firm Website Visits Go to Attorney Bios

lawyer bios, law firm marketing, legal marketingAccording to Great Jakes web marketing, most traffic on a law firm website goes right to lawyer bios (see the chart). This is exactly where marketing-savvy lawyers want it to go. So, why are they neglected?

The reason is deep in the attorney psyche, according to marketing consultant Amy Knapp. "Attorneys are slow to accept the real way that clients make hiring decisions. The person whom the client (1) Knows, (2) Likes and (3) Trusts, in that order, gets the job. So why wouldn’t the purpose of a bio be to make one known, likable and trustworthy?" she says.

Before I tell what works, here's what does not get new clients:

  • Old articles (over 3 years) and anything you wrote in law school.
  • Neglect: a bio that is out of date.
  • Text that goes on and on (and the opposite: one content-free paragraph).
  • No picture.
  • Bios that start out with where you were born or went to school.
  • No links to your speeches and articles.

Elements of a bio that do generate new business are:

  • Peer reviews and recommendations from other lawyers.
  • Client reviews and testimonials.
  • Case histories of results obtained for clients.
  • Text describing how you work with clients.
  • A recent color picture. See How to Pick a Good Picture of Yourself.

Here's a great example:lawyers.com online bio, law firm marketing, legal marketing

Read "Turning Your Bio into a Magnet for Business," a short article I wrote about how you can create your own personal brand.

Tune up Your Online Bio So it Attracts More Leads

Your online bio is the cornerstone of all your online marketing efforts. No matter whether you're active on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube or Twitter, how you describe yourself will determine whether your bio generate leads.

The trick to making your bio attract more leads is to turn your 30-second commercial into your bio. Describe (1) who you are (2) whom you work with and (3) what problem you solve.