Knowing exactly which KPI’s to measure on your law firm’s website isn’t always obvious. By looking at the data obtained from your website’s analytics, you can begin to gain an understanding of how different audiences are using the site and what conversions are being made. Data will also give more of an idea on how to increase the conversion rates. In most cases, the goal of a legal services website is to inform and educate its users while guiding audiences through a journey in order for them to complete an action.
What to look for
Incoming traffic:
Data from Google Analytics will show how users are accessing your site. Whether they found you through a search engine or clicked from a referring link, directing them to the site. This also gives an insight into how well each of your online channels is performing. Tracking the source of new business leads will help identify which areas are working and which areas need changing to make the website easier for clients to find when looking for related business services, or easier to make contact once they have arrived at the website.
Pages:
One of the main areas you should be monitoring is page performance. This covers a number of elements that can help inform your marketing. You can identify areas of pages users are clicking on. This is very similar to a heat map, which helps observe the user’s behavior and interests. Looking at user journeys is also important. Google Analytics allows you to identify the pathway a user has taken while on the website. This will offer insights into areas where conversions could be increased by adding additional content.
Other important figures include the bounce rate and identifying pages where higher than expected levels of users are leaving this site. This gives an insight into pages that are not so popular, have not provided the information users are looking for or have links redirecting traffic away from the site. A low retention rate could suggest that users are not happy with your website, which can affect how Google ranks your pages.
Integration with Social Media
Integrating social media channels with your website offers an alternative way that people can digest your content. It allow allows different types of content to be produced which can present a more approachable persona. Having an online presence on social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook offers another platform that will drive traffic to your website. It also offers an alternative method for people to find out about your firm and digest content in different formats. Specific content can be posted with an aim of building an audience with niche interests who can then be driven through to targeted areas of your website.
Clicks:
Click through rates (CTR’s) from social media and between pages on your website are a key metric that can be measured in order to understand the type of content your users find engaging. For example, a low click through rate would suggest that the content you are providing is not interesting them. If this is the case your social or content strategy can be adapted to make it more appealing to your audience.
Interactions:
Interactions can cover a few different areas, each one important in it’s own right. Looking at the number of comments and shares are the most popular way of identifying the users engagement with your social channels.This also opens up your content to a wider audience that can be directed to your website.
Turning Traffic into Leads
Clear Calls to Action:
Your website needs to have clear calls to action in order to encourage the users to get in touch. These CTA’s should offer a value proposition to show the benefits a user will gain by contacting your law firm. They should always stand out to make sure they catch people’s attention.
Navigation:
Users should be able to easily navigate their way round the website. If this is not the case, this could be a reason for high bounce rates and low retention. Make sure that your pages are easy to access and show all the information the user will be expecting to see.
Imagery:
Websites become much more engaging and approachable when lawyers profile images are displayed throughout the site. Being able to put a face to a name makes the process of getting in touch with a law firm less intimidating which will increase the number of contacts received.
Once you do have a lead from a new client, asking them how they found the website experience and how easy it was to navigate to the information they were looking for can provide really useful information while the experience is still fresh in their minds. There is always room for improvement so collecting and analysing this data will prove invaluable insights into how your online marketing strategy is performing and new ways to increase the number of conversions a website receives.
