June 23, 2025 • 13 mins
Law Firm Websites That Actually Convert
Five seconds. That's all the time your law firm website has to make a first impression before potential clients click away. In this eye-opening episode of Legal Marketing 101, I reveal why most legal websites are nothing more than "leaky funnels" - digital brochures held together with virtual duct tape that hemorrhage leads and waste your marketing budget.
Whether you've invested thousands in a custom site or have a template shared with hundreds of other attorneys, the fundamental problems remain the same. Today's legal consumers expect more than scales of justice and walls of text - they need mobile-optimized experiences, clear guidance on next steps, and language that makes them feel understood during stressful situations.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Law Firm Websites that Actually Convert.
Welcome to Legal Marketing 101.
I'm Toby Rosen.
Our websites aren't just adigital brochure.
It is our number one conversionasset.
But most law firm websites areleaky funnels, just a hodgepodge
of band-aids and duct tape thataren't going to give you any
(00:27):
good results, and I'm sorry tosay it, but for those of you
that have paid tens or maybehundreds of thousands of dollars
for your website, it's probablyonly a variation of that, and
if you're only paying a fewhundred dollars a month or a
year for your website, youprobably have something that a
hundred or a thousand otherattorneys have, and here's why
(00:48):
this matters.
The average visitor to awebsite decides in under five
seconds.
I always used to say it wasnine seconds.
I got that from a pay-per-clickbook.
It apparently is now closer tofive seconds, but they decide in
about five seconds whether tostay on your website or to leave
.
If your website isn'tconverting, you are burning your
ad spend, your search engineoptimization, your SEO budget
(01:11):
and, ultimately, yourcredibility.
So today we are talking aboutmistakes people make on their
websites, particularly law firms, obviously, and let's start
with one of the most common andmost costly websites mistakes we
see in the legal world.
Treating the design, treatingthe content, treating the
website like it is just windowdressing.
(01:31):
You know what I'm talking abouthere.
This is the lawyer websiteaesthetic with scales of justice
in the header, a gavel stockphoto, somewhere near the footer
, a wall of text in Times NewRoman just thrown right in for
good measure.
It's not just outdated to bedoing this, it is actively
turning away potential clients.
Here's the thing.
Design is not just how yoursite looks.
(01:54):
It's not just the colors andthe fonts and all of that stuff.
It's a much bigger picture.
Essentially, it's about how itactually feels to the person
using it.
Does it build trust in thosefirst three, first five seconds?
Does it feel easy to navigate?
Does it work on a phone withouthaving to pinch and zoom and,
(02:14):
you know, feel like you're agrandmother in 2010?
If the answer is no, you'reprobably losing leads before
they ever see how good your firmactually is.
Modern design doesn't have tomean flashy animation or edgy
graphics.
In fact, it usually meanscompletely the opposite.
It means clean lines, simplelayouts, intuitive structure,
(02:35):
content that leads you to thenext page, and it means that
your site loads quickly, itlooks sharp on any screen size
and it guides the visitor againto taking action without having
to think about something toohard.
We're starting to move awayfrom the legal brochure and more
to the easy to use service,even if we're not actually
providing the service on thewebsite.
(02:57):
And let's talk about mobile.
Over 60% of legal searcheshappen on mobile now, whether
that's ChatGPT, google, whateverit is, if your site isn't
mobile first and it's not, Imean not just mobile friendly,
but actually mobile first thenyou're behind.
Now that means buttons that arethumb clickable, phone numbers
(03:18):
that trigger a call with one tapand forms that don't feel like
a task to fill out on a smallerscreen.
A poorly designed site and again, not the visual, necessarily,
but the design overall.
A poorly designed site signalsto your potential client that
maybe the rest of your firm isalso kind of outdated.
And yeah, it can sound a littlebit harsh, but it's how people
(03:41):
think, especially when they'restressed or in a hurry or
comparing you to three otherfirms in the same zip code.
So ask yourself if a strangerthat you don't know, that
doesn't care who you are but hasa problem, if they landed on
your homepage right now, wouldthey trust you or would they
bounce and check out two otherguys.
All right, let's talk aboutanother silent killer of law
(04:04):
firm websites Weak or missingcalls to action, ctas.
We've talked about this in a lotof different contexts.
When it comes to the website,if your big call to action is
just the lonely contact usbutton and there's nothing
leading a user to that, oh buddy, we have got a problem.
And here's why People don'tland on your site ready to go
(04:26):
hunting for a way to reach you.
That's not what they areinterested in.
Hiring you isn't the actionthey are trying to complete.
They need clear, repeatedsignals about what to do about
their problem and why theyshould do that now.
Contact us doesn't createurgency.
It doesn't tell them what toexpect.
It just kind of sits there andI can hear you saying yeah, yeah
(04:47):
, yeah, toby, you've got to doall this content.
But look, there are a couple ofeasy ways to cheat this.
The fix is a real CTA.
This is specific,action-oriented and easy to find
.
Think about things likeschedule a free consultation,
call now to speak with anattorney, start my case review,
and don't be shy about repeatingthese throughout your pages.
(05:10):
One button is never enough.
You want your CTAs woventhroughout your homepage, your
practice areas, even yourattorney bios.
But the thing is, stayconsistent.
If we're using start my casereview or start my free
consultation, use thateverywhere, because it's not
just about the wording, it'sabout frictionless action.
That means click to call buttonson mobile, so if someone can
(05:32):
call you in one tap, it meansforms that don't ask for 15
fields of information beforesomeone can reach out.
You have autofill options andyou have consistency throughout
the messaging.
So every form is the same.
There's no decision to be madeabout which form is better to
fill out.
And then, immediately when theuser submits their information,
they get a confirmation messageright away that says something
(05:54):
like we've got your info,someone will be in touch shortly
and keeps the situation lightand warm.
And don't underestimate thepower of that well-placed chat
widget.
Yeah, everybody's using chat.
A lot of prospective clients.
They want to dip a toe in alittle bit before they jump onto
a call or swipe, a credit card,and a live chat or even an
AI-powered option can help usbridge that gap at a relatively
(06:16):
low cost.
Sometimes we capture some leadsthat otherwise would have
bounced.
I know I've said this to many ofyou, but I don't like chatbots,
but they do work.
And here's the bottom line yoursite is not there to just
inform, it is there to convert.
And that only happens when youmake the next step crystal clear
, easy to take and a hugeconfidence booster for the user,
(06:40):
because if visitors are havingto think too hard about how to
reach you, they'll find a firmthat isn't going to make them
work so hard to spend theirmoney.
So let's move on and I know,like some of this episode, this
is also going to sting a littlebit, but this one is a trap that
almost every firm, everyattorney, falls into at some
point in their career Writingthe content for their website
(07:00):
like they're submitting it to apanel of judges instead of
actual human beings.
I get it.
You've worked hard to earn yourcredentials.
There's a natural instinct tolead with authority, and this
type of content does do that ina lawyer's eyes.
But if your homepage reads likea Supreme Court brief, you are
not impressing your potentialclients.
You are losing them, even ifthey are judges.
(07:23):
Most people who visit a lawfirm's website are overwhelmed,
anxious and trying to make adecision quickly, even if it's
not really happening.
They kind of don't care aboutyour AV ratings or your law
review articles, and in someareas, they're never going to
care about that.
What they really want to knowis can this firm or this
attorney can they help me?
(07:43):
Do they understand thesituation I'm in right now and
can they help me get out of it?
That means we need to ditch thejargon.
We need to ditch the ego copy.
We need to speak in plain,compassionate language Instead
of saying we offer comprehensivelitigation services and family
matters.
We help people navigate divorceand custody.
(08:04):
We use clarity, confidence andsupport to help you Every step
of the way.
We've got your back.
Same message, but one of theseactually connects.
This is where empathy becomes acompetitive advantage.
We've talked about client story.
We've talked about how to buildthat.
Lee at the Rosen Institute hastalked even more than I have on
(08:25):
this subject.
Obviously, write these thingslike we are a real person,
because we are.
Think about the questions thatthis person is going to be
Googling at 11 o'clock at nightor one in the morning.
Think about the fears thatthey're not saying out loud, not
only to their spouse or theirfriends, but to anyone at all,
and then figure out how you canmeet them there.
This foundation of sales isapplicable in any business, but
(08:49):
especially so in one where it'sso much about trust, and if the
story isn't enough, we can backit up with social proof.
So we say that we can do all ofthese things and then we show
the testimonials.
They can go a really long wayin calming nerves.
We sprinkle in some Googlereviews.
Maybe we put in some of thoseawards, media mentions even if
(09:09):
we have them and, even better,get the quotes from a real
client that shows how you made adifference in their life not
just in their case and actuallythe even better is video.
But that's another episode.
The goal isn't for us to provewhether it's on Google or our
website or in any forum.
It is not to prove that we arethe smartest lawyer in town.
(09:31):
It's that we're the rightlawyer for this particular
client, and the faster ouradvertising copy makes these
people feel seen, understood andsupported, they are not going
to be able to pick up the phonefast enough.
Now we're going to get into ourlast big mistake that law firms
make on their websites, andhere's the kicker.
The first two aren't reallygoing to be valuable for you
(09:53):
unless you're nailing the thirdand the big mistake that law
firms make.
Number three is ignoring yourconversion data, because here's
the truth your website is eitherworking for you or against you.
It is never in the middle.
If you're not measuring what'sactually happening on your
website, then you are basicallydriving down the road with a
blindfold.
On Most firms, they launch thewebsite, they check the traffic
(10:17):
once in a while.
Maybe they get the emails fromGoogle and that's about it.
But traffic, it really kind ofmeans nothing if it's not
converting into clients.
We always have a feel for this,but we really need to know some
statistics.
Are people clicking on the CTAs?
Are they scrolling past thecontact form?
Are they getting stuck on apractice area page, getting
confused and bouncing?
(10:37):
And Google Analytics is greatfor this, but tools like Hotjar
can also be really helpful.
They give you heat maps andsession recordings.
It's essentially a visual mapof where people are engaging
with the page, where they'reclicking, how far they scroll
and then where they drop off.
It's like you can literallywatch someone walk through your
digital office, see where theyhesitate, where they get
confused, where they just sayscrew it and leave, and then in
(11:02):
Google Analytics we've now gotthe full picture what pages are
performing, where people comefrom, how long they stay, what
path they take.
If we're running ads, maybe wewant to put up call tracking.
It can be really effective forcapturing those visitors.
If we're running it to forms,we don't have to.
But without any of these toolswe will just never know which
(11:22):
campaigns, which pages, whichkeywords are actually driving
sales, phone calls and foottraffic.
Once you have the data, thenit's time to test, and we're not
going to go into it today.
A-b testing doesn't need to betoo complicated.
You can test two headlines, twoCTAs, the placement of a
contact form, the color of acontact button, and I've seen
(11:43):
law firms lift their conversionrates 20, 30, 50, 100% just by
changing the wording ofsomething like submit this form
to get my free consultation.
And the best part is that youwill never need to guess.
The data will tell you what'sworking and what's not, and when
you start making decisionsbased on behavior instead of gut
(12:03):
feelings.
Your site is becoming thisactual, living, evolving lead
engine that is going to work foryou, and this is where the real
growth happens.
If you can put all of thesepieces together, make your
design terrific, the actualexperience of the website being
fantastic.
Have clear calls to action thatactually lead the user towards
what you're trying to have beingfantastic.
Have clear calls to action thatactually lead the user towards
what you're trying to have themdo.
(12:24):
Have human copy that explainsto people what's happening and
resonates with them, and thenhave the complete tracking.
You need to understand whichpieces are working and which
aren't.
You're on the right path, butif you need a second opinion on
your site's performance, checkout RosenAdvertisingcom.
Send me your URL and I'll picka few for a live teardown in an
(12:45):
upcoming episode.
That's it for Legal Marketing101.
Check out RosenAdvertisingcomfor more Thanks.
Law Firm Websites that Actually Convert.
Welcome to Legal Marketing 101.
I'm Toby Rosen.
Our websites aren't just adigital brochure.
It is our number one conversionasset.
But most law firm websites areleaky funnels, just a hodgepodge
of band-aids and duct tape thataren't going to give you any
(00:27):
good results, and I'm sorry tosay it, but for those of you
that have paid tens or maybehundreds of thousands of dollars
for your website, it's probablyonly a variation of that, and
if you're only paying a fewhundred dollars a month or a
year for your website, youprobably have something that a
hundred or a thousand otherattorneys have, and here's why
(00:48):
this matters.
The average visitor to awebsite decides in under five
seconds.
I always used to say it wasnine seconds.
I got that from a pay-per-clickbook.
It apparently is now closer tofive seconds, but they decide in
about five seconds whether tostay on your website or to leave
.
If your website isn'tconverting, you are burning your
ad spend, your search engineoptimization, your SEO budget
(01:11):
and, ultimately, yourcredibility.
So today we are talking aboutmistakes people make on their
websites, particularly law firms, obviously, and let's start
with one of the most common andmost costly websites mistakes we
see in the legal world.
Treating the design, treatingthe content, treating the
website like it is just windowdressing.
(01:31):
You know what I'm talking abouthere.
This is the lawyer websiteaesthetic with scales of justice
in the header, a gavel stockphoto, somewhere near the footer
, a wall of text in Times NewRoman just thrown right in for
good measure.
It's not just outdated to bedoing this, it is actively
turning away potential clients.
Here's the thing.
Design is not just how yoursite looks.
(01:54):
It's not just the colors andthe fonts and all of that stuff.
It's a much bigger picture.
Essentially, it's about how itactually feels to the person
using it.
Does it build trust in thosefirst three, first five seconds?
Does it feel easy to navigate?
Does it work on a phone withouthaving to pinch and zoom and,
(02:14):
you know, feel like you're agrandmother in 2010?
If the answer is no, you'reprobably losing leads before
they ever see how good your firmactually is.
Modern design doesn't have tomean flashy animation or edgy
graphics.
In fact, it usually meanscompletely the opposite.
It means clean lines, simplelayouts, intuitive structure,
(02:35):
content that leads you to thenext page, and it means that
your site loads quickly, itlooks sharp on any screen size
and it guides the visitor againto taking action without having
to think about something toohard.
We're starting to move awayfrom the legal brochure and more
to the easy to use service,even if we're not actually
providing the service on thewebsite.
(02:57):
And let's talk about mobile.
Over 60% of legal searcheshappen on mobile now, whether
that's ChatGPT, google, whateverit is, if your site isn't
mobile first and it's not, Imean not just mobile friendly,
but actually mobile first thenyou're behind.
Now that means buttons that arethumb clickable, phone numbers
(03:18):
that trigger a call with one tapand forms that don't feel like
a task to fill out on a smallerscreen.
A poorly designed site and again, not the visual, necessarily,
but the design overall.
A poorly designed site signalsto your potential client that
maybe the rest of your firm isalso kind of outdated.
And yeah, it can sound a littlebit harsh, but it's how people
(03:41):
think, especially when they'restressed or in a hurry or
comparing you to three otherfirms in the same zip code.
So ask yourself if a strangerthat you don't know, that
doesn't care who you are but hasa problem, if they landed on
your homepage right now, wouldthey trust you or would they
bounce and check out two otherguys.
All right, let's talk aboutanother silent killer of law
(04:04):
firm websites Weak or missingcalls to action, ctas.
We've talked about this in a lotof different contexts.
When it comes to the website,if your big call to action is
just the lonely contact usbutton and there's nothing
leading a user to that, oh buddy, we have got a problem.
And here's why People don'tland on your site ready to go
(04:26):
hunting for a way to reach you.
That's not what they areinterested in.
Hiring you isn't the actionthey are trying to complete.
They need clear, repeatedsignals about what to do about
their problem and why theyshould do that now.
Contact us doesn't createurgency.
It doesn't tell them what toexpect.
It just kind of sits there andI can hear you saying yeah, yeah
(04:47):
, yeah, toby, you've got to doall this content.
But look, there are a couple ofeasy ways to cheat this.
The fix is a real CTA.
This is specific,action-oriented and easy to find
.
Think about things likeschedule a free consultation,
call now to speak with anattorney, start my case review,
and don't be shy about repeatingthese throughout your pages.
(05:10):
One button is never enough.
You want your CTAs woventhroughout your homepage, your
practice areas, even yourattorney bios.
But the thing is, stayconsistent.
If we're using start my casereview or start my free
consultation, use thateverywhere, because it's not
just about the wording, it'sabout frictionless action.
That means click to call buttonson mobile, so if someone can
(05:32):
call you in one tap, it meansforms that don't ask for 15
fields of information beforesomeone can reach out.
You have autofill options andyou have consistency throughout
the messaging.
So every form is the same.
There's no decision to be madeabout which form is better to
fill out.
And then, immediately when theuser submits their information,
they get a confirmation messageright away that says something
(05:54):
like we've got your info,someone will be in touch shortly
and keeps the situation lightand warm.
And don't underestimate thepower of that well-placed chat
widget.
Yeah, everybody's using chat.
A lot of prospective clients.
They want to dip a toe in alittle bit before they jump onto
a call or swipe, a credit card,and a live chat or even an
AI-powered option can help usbridge that gap at a relatively
(06:16):
low cost.
Sometimes we capture some leadsthat otherwise would have
bounced.
I know I've said this to many ofyou, but I don't like chatbots,
but they do work.
And here's the bottom line yoursite is not there to just
inform, it is there to convert.
And that only happens when youmake the next step crystal clear
, easy to take and a hugeconfidence booster for the user,
(06:40):
because if visitors are havingto think too hard about how to
reach you, they'll find a firmthat isn't going to make them
work so hard to spend theirmoney.
So let's move on and I know,like some of this episode, this
is also going to sting a littlebit, but this one is a trap that
almost every firm, everyattorney, falls into at some
point in their career Writingthe content for their website
(07:00):
like they're submitting it to apanel of judges instead of
actual human beings.
I get it.
You've worked hard to earn yourcredentials.
There's a natural instinct tolead with authority, and this
type of content does do that ina lawyer's eyes.
But if your homepage reads likea Supreme Court brief, you are
not impressing your potentialclients.
You are losing them, even ifthey are judges.
(07:23):
Most people who visit a lawfirm's website are overwhelmed,
anxious and trying to make adecision quickly, even if it's
not really happening.
They kind of don't care aboutyour AV ratings or your law
review articles, and in someareas, they're never going to
care about that.
What they really want to knowis can this firm or this
attorney can they help me?
(07:43):
Do they understand thesituation I'm in right now and
can they help me get out of it?
That means we need to ditch thejargon.
We need to ditch the ego copy.
We need to speak in plain,compassionate language Instead
of saying we offer comprehensivelitigation services and family
matters.
We help people navigate divorceand custody.
(08:04):
We use clarity, confidence andsupport to help you Every step
of the way.
We've got your back.
Same message, but one of theseactually connects.
This is where empathy becomes acompetitive advantage.
We've talked about client story.
We've talked about how to buildthat.
Lee at the Rosen Institute hastalked even more than I have on
(08:25):
this subject.
Obviously, write these thingslike we are a real person,
because we are.
Think about the questions thatthis person is going to be
Googling at 11 o'clock at nightor one in the morning.
Think about the fears thatthey're not saying out loud, not
only to their spouse or theirfriends, but to anyone at all,
and then figure out how you canmeet them there.
This foundation of sales isapplicable in any business, but
(08:49):
especially so in one where it'sso much about trust, and if the
story isn't enough, we can backit up with social proof.
So we say that we can do all ofthese things and then we show
the testimonials.
They can go a really long wayin calming nerves.
We sprinkle in some Googlereviews.
Maybe we put in some of thoseawards, media mentions even if
(09:09):
we have them and, even better,get the quotes from a real
client that shows how you made adifference in their life not
just in their case and actuallythe even better is video.
But that's another episode.
The goal isn't for us to provewhether it's on Google or our
website or in any forum.
It is not to prove that we arethe smartest lawyer in town.
(09:31):
It's that we're the rightlawyer for this particular
client, and the faster ouradvertising copy makes these
people feel seen, understood andsupported, they are not going
to be able to pick up the phonefast enough.
Now we're going to get into ourlast big mistake that law firms
make on their websites, andhere's the kicker.
The first two aren't reallygoing to be valuable for you
(09:53):
unless you're nailing the thirdand the big mistake that law
firms make.
Number three is ignoring yourconversion data, because here's
the truth your website is eitherworking for you or against you.
It is never in the middle.
If you're not measuring what'sactually happening on your
website, then you are basicallydriving down the road with a
blindfold.
On Most firms, they launch thewebsite, they check the traffic
(10:17):
once in a while.
Maybe they get the emails fromGoogle and that's about it.
But traffic, it really kind ofmeans nothing if it's not
converting into clients.
We always have a feel for this,but we really need to know some
statistics.
Are people clicking on the CTAs?
Are they scrolling past thecontact form?
Are they getting stuck on apractice area page, getting
confused and bouncing?
(10:37):
And Google Analytics is greatfor this, but tools like Hotjar
can also be really helpful.
They give you heat maps andsession recordings.
It's essentially a visual mapof where people are engaging
with the page, where they'reclicking, how far they scroll
and then where they drop off.
It's like you can literallywatch someone walk through your
digital office, see where theyhesitate, where they get
confused, where they just sayscrew it and leave, and then in
(11:02):
Google Analytics we've now gotthe full picture what pages are
performing, where people comefrom, how long they stay, what
path they take.
If we're running ads, maybe wewant to put up call tracking.
It can be really effective forcapturing those visitors.
If we're running it to forms,we don't have to.
But without any of these toolswe will just never know which
(11:22):
campaigns, which pages, whichkeywords are actually driving
sales, phone calls and foottraffic.
Once you have the data, thenit's time to test, and we're not
going to go into it today.
A-b testing doesn't need to betoo complicated.
You can test two headlines, twoCTAs, the placement of a
contact form, the color of acontact button, and I've seen
(11:43):
law firms lift their conversionrates 20, 30, 50, 100% just by
changing the wording ofsomething like submit this form
to get my free consultation.
And the best part is that youwill never need to guess.
The data will tell you what'sworking and what's not, and when
you start making decisionsbased on behavior instead of gut
(12:03):
feelings.
Your site is becoming thisactual, living, evolving lead
engine that is going to work foryou, and this is where the real
growth happens.
If you can put all of thesepieces together, make your
design terrific, the actualexperience of the website being
fantastic.
Have clear calls to action thatactually lead the user towards
what you're trying to have beingfantastic.
Have clear calls to action thatactually lead the user towards
what you're trying to have themdo.
(12:24):
Have human copy that explainsto people what's happening and
resonates with them, and thenhave the complete tracking.
You need to understand whichpieces are working and which
aren't.
You're on the right path, butif you need a second opinion on
your site's performance, checkout RosenAdvertisingcom.
Send me your URL and I'll picka few for a live teardown in an
(12:45):
upcoming episode.
That's it for Legal Marketing101.
Check out RosenAdvertisingcomfor more Thanks.
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