Most attorneys have a website nowadays, and for good reason: According to a Google Consumer Survey, 34.5% of prospective clients found an attorney using a search engine combined with other internet sources and social networks, second only to “asking a friend” at 34.6%. In the four years since the survey was conducted, one billion additional people are using the Internet, meaning this statistic is likely even higher.
But what if a consumer finds your website and chooses not to contact you? This could be due to the fact that you’re missing key information on your homepage. A recent study showed 68% of firms don’t have an email address on their homepage, and more than 1 of 4 are missing a phone number on the homepage. If your website does have a phone number, email address, and an easily accessible “Contact Us” form, but you still have a low conversion rate, color may be affecting a potential client’s willingness to work with your firm.
What is a conversion rate?
A conversion rate is the percentage of people who complete a “goal” on a web page, whether it’s signing up for a blog, making a purchase, or contacting a company. Most firms’ conversion rates will deal with claimants filling out a contact form on a page. According to Search Engine Land, an average conversion rate is a little over 2%. This means that if your firm gets 15 visitors per day, two people (on average) will contact your firm each week.
Colors and conversion rates
Color has a powerful effect on consumers. A study performed by Kissmetrics found that it takes a consumer just 90 seconds to make a judgment on a product, and up to 90% of that decision is based off of color alone. This means that if your firm is using an unappealing color scheme for your website, you could be deterring potential clients.
Some colors are always safe bets: Both men and women respond positively to blue, and are not fans of orange or brown. But other colors yield mixed results. Purple is a favorite color among women, but disliked by men. If your firm’s “contact us” form is predominantly brown, your visitors may be disinterested in your firm. Purple may be alienating half of your audience.
Call to action and colors
Your firm’s website’s overall color is not the only factor you can evaluate. The button on your “contact us” form may have a huge influence on how much inbound interest your firm receives. Some websites see dramatic increases in conversion rates after a simple button change. Dmix, a programming and analytics company, found that conversions rose by 34% after simply changing the color of its button color from green to red. Marketing company Hubspot saw similar results with a 21% lift in conversions after a similar green-to-red change.
For a firm getting just 15 online visitors per day and converting at 2%, a 30% lift in conversion rate from a simple change like those made at Dmix or Hubspot would generate an extra 18 form completions/conversions per year.
So should you change your “Contact Us” form to be red?
Absolutely not! Results based on a color change will vary depending on your specific law firm and your consumers. What works for some firms could yield dismal results for yours, depending on the overall layout of your website, the copy you use online, the area of law you practice in, and your target audience.
The best way to test a color change is to run A/B testing. This is a method of comparing two different versions of a website to each other to determine which has the higher conversion rate. Many third parties will offer A/B testing software for a fee, but you can actually create a test for free in Google Analytics.
If you want to increase the number of people who contact your firm, research your target audience first. Social Security disability claimants are older than the average population and will likely need high-contrast forms and buttons to combat poor eyesight, while bankruptcy claimants may respond better to calming and peaceful hues of blue. A simple color change online can lead to thousands in additional profit.
Supplementing your efforts in the meantime…
If you’re interested in increasing your caseload, investing in additional marketing channels may be beneficial. eGenerationMarketing offers affordable Social Security disability, personal injury, workers’ compensation, and employment law leads across the country. While optimizing your site for profitability, consider supplementing your efforts with legal lead generation as well. To learn more about the lead availability in your area, give us a call today at 617.800.0089.