6 Items You May Want to Include on Your Industry Pages
By PaperStreet on April 25, 2017 in SEO for Law Firms
When looking at the navigation bars on law firm websites, you may have noticed that many firms now include an “Industries’” tab on their site. Firms that are considering adding this type of section often ask us what they need to include on their industry pages. While there are no hard and fast rules as to what you must cover, the content on these pages should demonstrate your legal expertise and understanding of each industry listed on your site. Below we have set forth some suggestions that can help you better convey this information to your firm’s targeted sectors and industries.
1. Description of Your Services
A good way to begin any industry page is to set forth a short overview of the different types of services that your firm provides to clients in the industry. While you don’t need to list every matter or transaction that you are prepared to handle, you should highlight the key areas or issues where your firm can offer assistance to industry members. If the attorneys at your firm provide a broad range of services across multiple practice areas that are too long to cover on the page, you can include links to the specific practice groups within your firm that most often assist these clients.
2. Laws and Regulations Impacting the Industry
Even though many of your industry clients may be familiar with the laws and regulations governing their operations, you should discuss some of the key legal challenges impacting the industry. By addressing the issues and obstacles your clients are grappling with, you not only convey your legal knowledge and expertise, you also demonstrate an up-to-date understanding of what is happening in the industry.
3. Background and Experience of Your Attorneys
If your lawyers hold any specialty certifications, awards, leadership positions or association memberships in relevant industry groups, you should include this information on the industry page. You should also highlight the educational backgrounds, training and work experiences of your lawyers that demonstrate specialized knowledge of the industry. For instance, if your firm represents clients in the oil and gas industry and one of your lawyers has a background working as a petroleum engineer, you should showcase this information on the page.
4. Representative Matters
One of the best ways that you can show your clients that you have the specific skills and knowledge they need is to include a list of legal matters that you have handled for companies within the industry. While you don’t have to list every case or transaction that you have ever handled, you should try to include several different matters showcasing the depth and breadth of your experience. Also, if you have a large number of relevant matters that you want to include, consider breaking these up into categories based upon your firm’s practice groups.
5. Representative Clients
Many law firms include a listing of companies (with permission) that they have represented on their industry pages. In doing so, some law firms simply list the names of the companies, others incorporate company logos, and some include a short description of the services they have provided to these clients.
6. News and Events
Adding direct links to postings in the news and events section of your site is an excellent way to provide timely information that may be of interest your industry clients. For instance, if your firm recently published a blog discussing a critical change in the law impacting the trucking industry, you may want to include a short summary of the development with a link to the blog article. Similarly, if one of your attorneys recently presented an educational program relevant to a specific industry, link to the news article on your site that discusses the program.
While the decision as to what to include on your industry pages is ultimately up to you, the items set forth above can serve as a good starting point for developing or revamping this portion of your site. Overall, regardless of what elements you select, your content should convey an advanced knowledge of each industry and the capability to help these clients solve their most pressing legal problems.
