Platinum Author
In the last ten years or so information gathering and dissemination has changed significantly. It used to be if you needed a criminal lawyer you probably did two things: asked a friend or family member if they knew anyone; or went to the yellow pages. But today things are different. Ask most people what they do and they'll probably tell you they still ask the friend, but then they immediately go to the internet and see what's out there.
Because of this change, it's important to have a strong web presence if you are a criminal lawyer. I should know, I am one. And I do most of the marketing on my own, so I thought I'd share my experiences with building a strong web presence so that you might be able to get a leg up on the competition.
First things first, you have to understand the point of view your website needs to have. It doesn't need to impress your other criminal attorney buddies. It doesn't need to provide every single piece of information and case cite available. What it does need to do is speak to your potential client. It needs to be easy to read and understand and give them an idea of who you are.
Second, and this is where things start to get technical, you need to have your telephone number on every page with a direction for people to call you. This is called a "call to action" and is vital to the success of your website. The bigger and more pronounced your phone number is, the better. Sometimes people will go to your site, see that it's legit, and call you immediately. You need to give them that option, and if your phone number isn't prominent, they don't have it.
Third, and finally, you must have a testimonials page. People these days love reviews. There are review sites everywhere, and people rely on them heavily (whether or not they are a true representation of services). Testimonials act like a referral and help you build trust with your potential clients. Without a testimonials page you can't demonstrate your track record of success.
About this Author
In the end, your job as a criminal lawyer is directly reliant on the number of clients you have. If you don't have any clients, you can't be a good criminal attorney - there is no where to practice your craft. Think about that when you want to put off working on your website. And when you're done with the website, keep taking a fresh look at it every month. It should be an ever evolving thing, and with each minor change you should get closer and closer to creating a great website.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christopher_Small
