Attorney bio pages are many times slapped together or totally overlooked. Read here how to help your bio page improve your conversion
Do you know that the bio page or the about me page is one of the most read pages on the website of any attorney?
Have you got any idea why?
On a bio page any possible customer can get an impression of you as a person. This is also where they probably decide if you are competent and maybe trustworthy enough to hand you a part of their private or business life and their legal problems and or needs.
We all know the saying that you can make a first impression only ones. Your bio page is maybe not the first impression of your website, but it can be part of someone’s decision to contact you or clicking away to look for another attorney. Many attorneys overlook this part in their law firm seo marketing plan.
For this reason it is most of the cases advised by me to have a good look at this page and maybe give it a total make over or add some parts to the web design for your law firm pageit. Looking at and analyzing many websites it is a proven fact that the bio or about us page is visit many times more than is commonly assumed by lawyers.
And still there are many bio pages that are totally overlooked and ignored by many attorneys when it comes the trust factor on their website. Sometimes they are just thrown together and just contain a list of their education and other accomplishments.
Your first thought might be when it comes to SEO in the world of law firms is to skip everything that does not give or lead to better rankings or conversion. But this is a huge mistake when it comes to your bio page.
This is one of the most ideal places to connect with your clients and this connection is a big factor in the optimization of your website for conversion.
If you like me to help you with writing a good bio, feel free to contact me. If you think you are ready to do it yourself have a look at the tips that can help you with this.
What should you write in you bio?
After my short intro I hope you see that your bio page is an important part and can be a deciding factor in the process of your website visitors.
If you ask yourself the question what a bio page needs to accomplish the answer looks pretty simple.
Just realize that the bio page is not for you. It is for the visitors to your website and to give them the answers to the questions they have about your law firm and you as a person.
What most lawyers put in their bio page is:
- Where I went to school
- Under what judge I worked
- The type of cases I worked on
- What others say about me
- What articles I wrote
What your clients are looking for:
- Is it a nice person?
- What kind of work are you good at?
- Does you have the experience for what I need?
- What do other clients think about you?
- Do you have a Facebook or twitter page?
What both have in common.
Both are looking for or having in there:
- Email address
- Phone number
Like I mentioned before, your bio page is one of the best places to connect to the people that visit your website to find out if you are the one they like to hire. You want your bio page give to them the feeling that you are the absolute best lawyer in your field and the one they need to handle their legal problems for them.
When you have a good bio page it should accomplish what I call the FISH.
My acronym FISH stands for the following:
- Find out who you are
- Invite them to trust you
- Show them what you are capable of
- Have them call you
Now we have to come to the point that we achieve this and how this is done depends on you. I cannot give you the secret recipe for the perfect lawyer’s bio page. I can’t just simply tell you that putting some pictures of you and your family including your pet will accomplish all of this. It might or it might not.
At least this will give you a few ideas of what things you should write about on your bio page and how to put it all in the right order.
What will help in most cases is to put a number of headers on your page. This will break up the text and will create different sections for your reader to pick from. Remember that most people online do not read, but skim a text to find the words they think the text is about.
Bullet lists are another way to break up large portions of text. It is easy to make the mistake to many bullet list, be aware of that.
The most important factor is the readability and the way you format your page. The easier you make it for your possible clients to read your bio page, the higher the change is that they will get the FISH feeling.
Okay, let’s try to help you with doing this.
Find out who you are
This is probably the most important part of your bio page. This is where people can picture you as an attorney and as a person.
Here they can find out what you have done, where you have been and what your way of doing business is maybe.
Think about what you would like to hear when you meet someone the first time face to face and give that to your readers.
An easy and effective way to accomplish this is by using high quality pictures. Do not try to get away with a picture from a cell phone. Use a professional photographer for this. It will pay off.
Another and maybe even better way is to have a short video to introduce yourself. The least you need is a good head-shot at the top of the page and make sure to look in the camera. This will draw attention to your eyes. Next to the picture should be your name in clear printing.
By including this personal touch you include more than just describing who you and your family are. More important is that it shows who you are as a person and that you are not afraid to lead your business. People like to see a face that belongs to a business.
When you write about yourself it is without question that you write in a personal way and in the first person.
Invite them to trust you
This is the second part and an extension of the show what you are capable of in the bio page. Here you extend on your testimonials and build up a positive picture of you as an attorney.
In this part you can discuss the reason to choose you as their attorney and in the particular field you are in.
Do not try to much to look like a superhero, but a little bragging about what you did at a younger age and pointing out that this made you to the lawyer you are now is okay. Try to tell your story here.
Show what you are capable of
This should not be a long description of or a copy of your resume. You should clearly include the information that will help you establish you credibility and competence in your field.
What you should do is highlighting your experience to establish this part of the FISH. Realize however that what you think is impressive does not mean that your clients think the same way. It is for your clients better to see this than no information at all.
Some ideas are to write about presentation and publication you have done. Talk about your law school and what you did there. All this have to be done in a tasteful manor and should show your capability of handling their needs and you are the attorney for this job.
Testimonials are a very effective selling point in showing what you are capable of. Other positive experiences with your law firm can add a lot of credibility to this part of your bio page.
Ask your previous clients to write a testimonial about how they worked with you. You will be surprised how many will be glad to do this.
Have them call you
In my opinion it is very important and effective to have a call to action on your bio page.
After reading all about you and connecting with you in a positive way there must be a way to contact you immediately.
Once they are done reading and click back or turn your website of there is a big change they never come back. Give them a contact option. Phone number, email or what you think will work for you.
One last word of advice for you bio page
Although your law firm might handle a variety of different kind of law practices do not portray yourself as a “jack of all trades and master of none”.
In you bio page you should focus on the kind of law you practice the most and have the most experience in. There is nothing wrong with mentioning that you practice a variety of law. If your major goal is to take on certain kind of cases you should however focus on that and your bio should reflect that.
Include your social media at the bottom. This will offer you a change to stay in touch with all the readers and who looked at your law firm as a possible option.
Linking out in a clear way to your Facebook, Twitter and law firm Linkedin profile gives your potential customers the option to read more about you and will increase your conversion.
Need help? Let me help you!
Now you know that your bio page is almost a crucial part of your website and a crucial part of on page SEO for a law firm. This can lead to new customers. Hopefully my tips will help you how to accomplish this by using the FISH approach.
If you are still struggling and feel lost remember that I have read many bio pages and still read more. All that reading and taking notes have given me pretty good understanding on how to set up and write a bio page.
If you feel you need some help, just contact me. I can help you with this!