“Content is king.” We’ve all heard this, but the “why” isn’t always obvious. Does it mean just endlessly churning out new content for no purpose other than because the SEO gods decreed so? No!
First, it’s important to understand why consistent fresh content is valuable to your personal injury law firm. Next, we’ll discuss ways you can repurpose your existing content in new ways to provide some of the same benefits.
Why Blogs Matter
The main purpose behind your blogs is this: it establishes your personal injury law firm as an expert in what you do. Everything else stems from that.
Google’s 2022 “helpful content” update enshrined the search engine’s long-stated policy to provide the best user experience. Essentially, it’s not enough to simply optimize your content for SEO; You need to provide the best answer to users’ questions.
Blogs that provide the most helpful information rank higher, while the “best” answer will be shown in a “featured snippet,” which displays above all other organic results.
If your firm has a blog article on a topic related to a user’s search query, it could also land you in the “People also ask” snippet. It is useful to have blogs providing high-quality answers to a range of questions someone injured in an accident might have.
How to Do This
The more specific and helpful answers your blog provides, the more likely you are to be featured. If you’ve suitably impressed on a web user that your firm “knows their stuff,” they are more likely to come back to you when they are ready to hire a lawyer.
Furthermore, while Google’s algorithms are largely opaque, we’ve known for a long time that frequently updated websites are seen as more helpful to web users, and thus tend to rank higher. Think about it: What would you trust more, information from a blog article posted three months ago, or from a blog posted three years ago? “Newer,” in readers’ eyes, often equates to “more relevant.”
Tying it All Together
Blog posts may not get immediate engagement while they are on the front page of your blog, but that doesn’t mean they are not providing any benefit for your personal injury law firm. Because of how Google works, sometimes it will take a little while before your blog posts begin to gain traction.
In the meantime, while your homepage and practice area page content will rarely change, blogs serve new content that brings search engines back again and again to index new pages. This gives your blog content more chances to appear in search results.
When people are finding your site through your blog, rather than finding your blog through your site, it’s only and ever a good thing.
How to Repurpose Your Blog Content
Creating regular, well-written, and helpful content is a lot of work, and it’s natural to want to get the most return on your effort. Thankfully, your blogs can continue to provide a lot of utility even after they are posted.
Blogs as Social Posts
This should be obvious, and many of you are likely already doing this, but regularly posting to your social media pages is just as important as regularly posting to your blog.
- It ensures your firm is showing up on people’s social media feeds, whose algorithms are still dominated by how recently something was posted.
- Like blogs, social posts can also show up in search engine results.
- Posting regularly and being actively engaged and responsive on your social media assures potential clients you will be just as responsive if they hire you for an injury claim.
Posting regularly to both your blog and your social media accounts can be a lot of work, but promoting your blogs on your social media is a great way to kill two birds with one stone without diluting your brand.
Blogs as Infographics
Many modern web users prefer easily digestible content. Infographics are a great way to re-use statistics and facts you’ve already compiled, and present them in a short, snappy, and visually appealing way. An example of the type of information that can be reproduced in an infographic is auto accident statistics—including how much more money victims receive on average when they use a lawyer rather than go it alone.
Infographics are also extremely shareable, making them another way to spread your firm’s name on social media and other websites.
Blogs as E-Blasts and Drip Emails
Blogs on trending or topical torts, as well as big firm wins, are important to share with your client base, and doing so through an e-blast can ensure they are seen when they might otherwise not be.
Meanwhile, evergreen blogs can be used to guide the user journey through a drip marketing email campaign. Drip marketing can be made highly customizable to ensure people on your mailing list only receive content that is or may become relevant to them. If you have lots of blogs, you can easily create multiple drip campaigns to target each of your main practice areas.
Blogs as Videos
Videos are increasingly important to today’s web users, and not just on sites like YouTube or apps like TikTok. Videos are more engaging, and studies show that viewers are more likely to retain information when it’s presented in video format than when they read it.
Videos also give you a chance to show off your personality to potential clients, because they will be able to see your face and hear your voice.
Videos, like infographics, are versatile. They can be posted to your website, to your social media pages, and in so many more places. One member of the cj family hosts weekly video segments answering viewers’ questions about the law on his local news station.
Refreshing Your Blogs
The most overlooked, but often simplest solution is…blogs as blogs!
Like other pages on your website, your blogs can benefit from occasional updates. This doesn’t mean you need to, or even should, update all of your blogs. It is most important to do so on blogs with content that will not stay relevant over time.
For example, if the laws on using handheld devices while driving have recently changed in a state where you practice, it is a good idea to look back for blogs where you discussed texting while driving to provide an update. You might also consider updating old blogs that use auto accident statistics that are now a few years out of date.
Take a look at the highest traffic blogs on your site. By strategically optimizing older blogs with fresh stats and new content, it may be possible to raise your blog even further in the search rankings, even to a featured snippet!
Have Questions About Content or Email Marketing?
The digital team at cj is ready to work for you. Reach out to your brand strategist to learn how we can incorporate content services into your existing marketing efforts to your best advantage and improve your visibility in your chosen market.
