A vibrant and intentional online presence is critical in today’s digital world. According to Statista’s 2022 report, approximately 34% of consumers found an attorney through an online search engine or a lawyer’s website. With over 439,720 law firms in the United States as of November 28, 2022, personal injury attorneys benefit from understanding what clients see when performing an online search. You also want to ensure you stand out from the crowd for the right reasons.
In this article, we’ll cover what clients notice first when searching for a personal injury attorney online. We provide next-level case management solutions to personal injury lawyers in the United States.
Your Google business profile
When clients first search for a personal injury law firm online, they will see (hopefully) a Google Business Profile listing for your law firm . The Google Business Profile (previously called “Google My Business”) gives the law firm’s name, telephone number, address, website, hours, and a star ratings. In some cases, the firm’s listing will also include whether they provide onsite and online appointments.
As part of the initial investigation to find an attorney, clients will start eliminating law firms that do not meet the basic requirements, such as location or appointment type. Prudent personal injury attorneys should ensure they keep their Google Business Profile updated and have as much information listed as possible. This aids clients in their decision-making about whether to reach out to an attorney.
Your Star rating and client reviews
Clients will also look for or notice your star rating level and past client reviews. If they cannot easily find this information, they may turn to the competition, which has client reviews up front and center.
Clients use the reviews and testimonials section to learn about you and your firm’s values (as perceived by people in the client’s position). They may also look at the number of overall reviews, how recent they are, and any common themes among negative reviews. Having your clients submit current and accurate reviews helps grow your practice and make sure the representations of you online reflect your values and level of professionalism.
What your website looks like vs. The competition
The adage, “A picture speaks a thousand words,” is equally true whether you are talking about an oil painting in a museum or a website on an iPhone. For better or worse, your website’s overall image and functionality speak volumes to your clients. Site loading speed issues, obvious grammatical errors, and formatting issues can deter clients from hiring you, even before you get the chance to speak with them.
Clients will peruse your site and compare it to the competition’s, especially if they do not have an immediately positive experience on your site. Perform regular audits and touch-ups on your website to ensure the image you are projecting online portrays who you and your team are and what you do for clients.
How your firm communicates with clients
As we emerge from the pandemic, clients want to engage more with attorneys and other professionals. That said, how they communicate with service providers has changed dramatically. Pre-COVID, many professionals did not even consider providing video conferencing appointments to clients. Post-COVID, however, most businesses will only survive or maintain relevancy if they have such software.
Clients expect personal injury law firms to have many options for interacting and communicating with them. In the past, PI attorneys primarily communicated with clients via email or telephone or by physically mailing documents to them. In today’s world, however, clients expect and benefit from sending, receiving, and signing documents electronically and securely to law firms by messaging their attorney through an app, text message or through docusign law firms.
Personal injury case management software such as CloudLex allows attorneys to provide an array of options to clients securely and professionally.
Your intake process
Clients want to know what to expect when they contact you and the process to be painless. If someone is looking for a personal injury lawyer, they or a loved one are hurting physically, financially, and emotionally. They need help and hope that an attorney can alleviate their burden, not add to it. If you have a complex or clunky intake process, the client may choose to hire another firm, even if it means starting from scratch.
CloudLex’s Intake Manager streamlines the intake process, so you capture what you need to know when you need to know it. Everything — from email messages to photos and documents — is stored securely in your potential client’s intake file. If you decide to take on the case, you can easily convert everything you’ve collected during the intake process into an active Matter in one click.. Further, our program can automate repetitive winning processes to avoid clerical errors and save you time and money.
CloudLex: Comprehensive case management software to elevate your Personal Injury practice
We serve personal injury attorneys throughout the United States. From calculating an appropriate settlement to capturing a potential client’s name and phone number and everything in between, we built the best case management software for personal injury attorneys to serve the unique pain points of personal injury firms.
Contact us online today to find out how we can improve your firm’s workflow and client communication.
