Google Analytics is very simple to install for your web development team or a member of your staff who is familiar with HTML.
Once up and running, you will likely not know what data to start with. Fortunately, Google Analytics was designed for users with even the most basic knowledge of analytics. A key metric to follow is your conversion rate.
What is a conversion rate?
Simply put, a conversion rate is the percentage of people who have decided to take an action, known as “completing a goal.” You can set goals yourself on Google Analytics. Common goals most webmasters use are signing up for a newsletter, filling out a “Contact Us” form, or downloading a document.
Most attorneys will want to set their goal to be filling out a contact form, as you’ll want to track inbound interest.
How do I know if my conversion rates are good?
This is a tricky question—different businesses can expect different conversion rates. According to Search Engine Land, about 25% of websites convert at around 1% or less, which is pretty low. You do not want less than one of 100 visitors to choose to contact your firm. The average conversion rate across the board is around 2.35%, but one of every four websites is converting at 5.31% or higher!
If your firm’s site is converting at 2%, you’re doing “average,” but there is a lot of room for improvement. Even the smallest change in conversion rates can make a huge difference in your signed clients and cost per case. For example:
Your homepage converts 3% of traffic. In one year, you have 25,000 visitors find your firm’s site. This means that about 750 choose to contact your firm after finding your site.
If you were to increase your conversion rate by just half a percent, up to 3.5%, you would get 125 new potential clients reaching out to your firm every year! This could lead to tens of thousands of dollars in additional income from cases won, all from just half a percent increase.
How do I increase my conversion rates?
Increasing conversion rates is always tricky. In some instances, you can’t boost a conversion rate because your traffic is coming in from bad channels. If you have a bunch of people visiting your website from Facebook because you posted a funny meme, you can assume that most of them weren’t actually looking to hire an attorney.
Some ways attorneys can improve their conversion rates are small and simple: Changing the color of their sign-up form, making their site more navigable and user-friendly, and using copy that encourages consumers to contact a firm. If you cannot offer clear value on your website as to why a potential client should contact you, nobody will want to work with your law firm.
Increasing conversion rates is challenging, and may take a fair amount of A/B testing to determine what works best with your consumers. But once you find what does convert well and resonate with your visitors, you’ll be able to sign more clients than ever before!