So, what happened in April? Let’s dive in!

Marketing Updates

SEO

• Google launches thousands of updates per year. In total, they run approximately 700,000 tests annually. In 2023, that led to 4,700 changes to Search. 
• Google Maps and business profiles get an upgrade to combat fake reviews. What Google says about this change: “We trained a new model with the help of Gemini that identifies potentially suspicious profile edits. A business that changes its name from ‘Zoe’s Coffee House’ to ‘Zoe’s Cafe’ isn’t suspicious—but a business that suddenly changes its category from ‘cafe’ to ‘plumber’ is.” 
• Google AI Overviews reaches 1.5 billion monthly users. 

Paid Advertising               

• Google recently sent out a subtle but impactful policy update to advertisers, confirming changes to its long-standing “Unfair Advantage Policy”. The policy’s enforcement date began April 14th, 2025.                                                                                                                                             

Social Media

• TikTok is here to stay–at least for another 75 days or so. The new extension date is June 19th.
• Instagram’s new edits app is now available. The app is meant to be Instagram’s version of the video editing app Capcut. 
• Facebook announces new measures to combat spam posts and comments. This means their systems will be searching more for irrelevant hashtags on posts. For example: If an attorney posts a testimonial and the caption is about how much they love dogs and has hashtags like #ilovepuppies instead of “Our clients are great! #clienttestimonials #personalinjuryattorney” — the puppy caption would be considered spam.

Antitrust Cases

• Google’s antitrust trial enters remedies phase. DOJ wants Google to sell the Chrome browser. 
• FTC antitrust case against Meta heads to trial.
• Did Meta allow TikTok to grow intentionally in order to dilute their own FTC Antitrust case? This article discusses that possibility in depth. 

AI

• Google adds image search to AI Mode, expanding to more users. You can now upload pictures and ask questions about them. 
• Chat GPT expands memory capabilities.
• As much as we learn from AI, it’s also learning from us. 

See You Next Month!

Thanks for catching up with us. Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter to get next month’s news straight to your inbox. We’re always here to help you stay ahead in the digital world!

The post April Digital Marketing Industry Updates appeared first on Consultwebs.

While you sleep at night, a sales assistant is working for you 24/7 – your law firm’s website. However, does the work stop once you have a professionally built website? The truth is that today the most profitable legal websites remain on top because they’re consistently keeping their design elements and user experience up to date.

The “behind the scenes” of a website are more important than you might think. Research shows that 94% of a website’s first impression is based on its design, but what keeps users on a website is a positive user experience. When done right, a website can increase conversion rates by up to 400%!

Beyond looks, a robust website should help: 

• Increase on-page conversions
• Boost quantity and quality of traffic
• House all your stellar content in a secure web portal
• Improve local SEO and Google My Business activity
• Work alongside PPC efforts, e.g., by housing your advertisement landing pages

Perhaps the most unique feature of a tailored website is that it provides a safe space and complete control over your firm’s voice. This probably explains why more firms are investing in their websites, from 77% in 2018 to 94% in 2021.

If you want to get inspired, continue on and explore some of the top law firm websites, their unique design elements, and pro-tips you can start implementing.

Olson Law Firm

From the get-go, Olson’s homepage is visually appealing. Take a quick look:

Please note: Feel free to click on the image above and explore the rest of the firm’s website.

Olson Law Firm makes the most of its main page by adding the following elements: 

1. A video
2. Quick social proof based on their results
3. Clear CTAs (Call-to-Actions)
4. A free downloadable piece of content – the word “free” is one of the most enticing and powerful words. Besides, who doesn’t love gifts?!
5. An image of the attorneys that helps put “a face” to the firm.

Besides a visually inviting home page, they’re also leveraging the power of visuals through their video library. Here’s a snippet:

What your firm can learn from this website

Did you know that the brain can process visuals 60,000 times faster than text? It’s possible to build credibility with the help of videos. With video, you can provide clients with success stories, verdicts, and answer FAQs. On the flip side, it gives your firm a face and places you as the expert in all things law.

Erez Law Firm

Erez’s homepage has a solid visual hierarchy. Take a look:

Please note: Feel free to click on the image above and explore the rest of the firm’s website.

In web design, a robust visual hierarchy includes the following design elements: 

1. Sizing and scale: Anything scaled larger should attract attention. In this case, the headline and the financial recoveries are what initially catches the eye.
2. Balance and symmetry: The images, text boxes, and menu bar are aligned and add geometric balance.
3. Color: In the science behind colors, blue helps signal professionalism, power, security, and success.

As with the previous firm, they also leverage the power of visuals with a video FAQ section. What’s more, they’re making good use of their page’s space by redirecting the user to other relevant parts of the website:

What your firm can learn from this website

In design, navigability is what helps us get from A to Z. For example, add the navigation bar at the top (just like they did for their homepage), and for the other pages, interlink relevant pages with the help of a navigation bar to the right side.

Kreger Brodish Law Firm

From the start, the orange pop of color on Kreger Brodish’s homepage attracts the eye towards immediate actions like, “Contact Us For Your Free Consultation.” Yet, they remain on-brand with the firm’s logo and consistently use typography, colors, space, position, and size of images.

Please note: Feel free to click on the image above and explore the rest of the firm’s website.

For this specific firm, a unique element that stands out is their secure payment portal. They realize that people today want the convenience of online payments. Although this is common in other industries like fashion and shopping, the legal profession is still getting accustomed to this practice.

What your firm can learn from this website

Legal payments can be complicated, but firms are starting to reduce the work of manually accepting and managing costs by leaving it to secure legal payment portals like LawPay.

Herrman & Herrman Law Firm

The psychology of colors has taught us that colors evoke specific reactions and moods. In this case, Herrman & Herrman is using the color green, which is calming and refreshing, yet motivating and optimistic. Check it out:

Please note: Feel free to click on the image above and explore the rest of the firm’s website.

Like the other firms, Herrman & Herrman is leveraging the power of visuals, live chats, enticing calls to action, and an amplified menu bar. Apart from that, they’re reinforcing their branding by:

• Adding empathetic copy like the one found on the homepage, “we’re here for you,” and “we can make a difference in your life.” 
• Tapping into the Hispanic audience by having their website completely revamped in Spanish!
• Integrating other equally important marketing resources like a blog post section, a monthly downloadable newsletter, and a podcast. See how they use their blog post section well by linking their articles and podcast episodes.

What your firm can learn from this website

To secure success means tapping into your users, and these questions can help you tap into their world:

• How do they behave? How do you think they act?
• What do they want?
• What problems do they have?
• How can you educate them? Inspire them? And most importantly, how can you help them?

What do the best law firm websites have in common?

The best websites all actively maintain a visually appealing website that helps them convert calls and cases without headaches by partnering with the experts in all things legal marketing: Consultwebs.

If you want to assure your firm is keeping up and surpassing expectations,- we can help you take your website to even greater heights.

The post Get Inspired By The Best Law Firm Websites appeared first on Consultwebs.

The ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act, was created in 1990 and it prohibits discrimination against those with disabilities, ensuring they have the same rights and opportunities as those without. This act covers all sectors, from public transportation to government facilities.

And, where’s the catch for law firms?

Well, in 2010, the Department of Justice (DOJ) passed the ADA for Accessible Design. In short, it mandates all information technology like websites to be accessible to those with disabilities by law.

So, why is an ADA-compliant website such a big deal?

1. Your website should be designed to meet the needs of all different users in need of legal services. This includes users with, e.g., visual or hearing impairment.
2. Courts are starting to see more compliance-related lawsuits. This is partly because the web and mobile applications have become more necessary in our everyday lives.

We want to point out that while the ADA does not offer a set of web compliance guidelines, many follow the Web Content Accessibility Guideline(s) – WCAG.

Stay with us as we explain the importance of these guidelines and actionable steps you can take today to ensure your firm’s website is ADA compliant.

“Why should my firm care about the Web Content Accessibility Guideline?”

Many people with disabilities use assistive technology that enables them to use computers. Some of these involve the use of separate computer programs that include but isn’t limited to screen readers, text enlargement, voice control, etc. Fortunately, this is where WCAG comes in.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines cooperate with individuals and organizations around the world. Their main goal is to explain how your firm’s web content can be more accessible to people with disabilities. The most recent guideline is the WCAG 2.1, and its purpose is to ensure your firm’s website is:

• *Perceivable: The content is presented in an easily perceivable way.
• *Operable: The navigation is easy to operate.
• *Understandable: The content is easily understood.
• *Robust: The content can be interpreted by different devices and platforms.

*We’ll explain some of the best practices in the following chapter.

Overall, with the help of WCAG, firms allow all users to feel comfortable when navigating the site. Thus, end up using it for its intended purpose(s) like finding more information, learning about your practice areas, filling a form, booking a call, contacting a specialist, etc.

The best way to have an ADA-compliant website

Now that we’ve clarified why a compliant website is a must, let’s look into what makes a compliant website.

1. Evaluate your current site

According to Hackernoon, two programs rate your site’s usability.

1. Wave – This is an excellent place to start your site’s audit. However, you’ll run the possibility of bumping into a few false positives.
2. Lighthouse – Helps generate reports on potential issues.

2. Follow the ADA-compliant graphics

If you’re investing in quality captivating visual content, you’ll want everyone to enjoy it! Here are some best practices to ensure this:

• Include graphics and if they have flashes, make sure to add a flash warning, and it shouldn’t flash more than three times per second. Otherwise, it could induce a seizure in the person watching.

3. Add alt-text

The alt-text captions allow site readers to describe the image with audio. For example, people with a visual impairment might use a refreshable Braille display that translates text into Braille or use screen readers.

• There are no specific rules for this but try to describe the image as precisely as possible, keep it short, use a few keywords and avoid using “image of” or “picture of.” Here’s an example of an image with alt-text:

4. Add readable fonts.

Ensure there’s a high contrast between the text’s color and background. Besides that, pick a font that’s easy to read because research has shown that users over 45 and people with visual impairment find the following letters and symbols confusing.

• i / j
• B / 8
• D / O, 0, o
• r / v / Y
• k / R
• a / o
• F / f
• g / q

On this note, it’s also best to limit greens and reds to make it more readable for people with color blindness.

5. Allow multiple settings in multimedia like videos

For the most part, videos are captivating, but they present a problem for people with hearing and visual impairment.

For this, videos have to incorporate more features such as:

• Adding audio descriptions.
• Providing text captions that are synchronized with the videos/images.
• Including skip navigation allows people who use screen readers to ignore the links.

6. Make sure it includes logical features

Users want a unique but logical experience on your website. To make it this way, here are a few basic rules to follow:

1. Put a clear “X” to any pop-ups.
2. Keep essential pages like “Contact Us” with a predictable and straightforward copy.
3. Use an icon like a magnifying glass and add “search hear” to make the search bar stand out.

7. Keep up to date with the ADA and WCAG compliance

The ADA doesn’t explicitly address these best practices. However, firms keeping up with these best practices are one step ahead.

The gist of it

People with disabilities should always be accounted for in your website’s design. In addition to that, new changes in technology bring new solutions to the table. In this case, you’ve learned how certain contents and formats pose serious barriers for some people.

But, you can ensure your awesome web content is accessible to all and converts calls and cases ( without the headaches of having to do it yourself!) How? Pair up with a team of legal marketing experts that’ll do all of this for you.

The post How to Design an ADA Compliant Website appeared first on Consultwebs.

Every so often, the Internet evolves. Just think back to the early 1990s when the Internet’s primary purpose was to share information (anybody remembers Windows XP? We sure do…). Ever since then, the Internet has grown and continues to do so. Web 1.0 was coined by Tim Berners Lee, the Web’s original inventor. Following closely, we found ourselves working with Web 2.0, which is also where we currently stand. Web 2.0 focuses on interactivity, and under this umbrella, many tech giants like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube were born. What’s more, during the era of Web 2.0, other giants like Amazon and Google grew to insurmountable proportions and virtually exploded! The Internet is evolving as we speak, and this is where Web 3.0 comes in.

Web 3.0 integrates automation, live tools, and AI management into the digital culture. All in all, this new process aims at understanding humans better and provides us, the users, with much more relevant and faster results. This means two things for law firms:

• From the customer’s point of view, they’ll connect to the Internet and get an even more personalized search results page. In addition, they’ll get an even more customized user experience with the help of, e.g., chatbots or AI-driven scheduling tools.
• From the law firm’s point of view, they’ll be more accessible to potential clients online. Consequently, firms can reach more potential clients, expand their business, network, reach, and pretty much expand across all horizons.

The nature of Web 3.0 is still complex, growing, and largely unknown. Therefore, we’ve decided to break down all the findings that we could find for you, and bring you the most reliable information with what the world currently knows about Web 3.0 and what this entails for your firm. In our first part of Web 3.0 for law firms, we covered the history of Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and what Web 3.0 implies. In addition to that, we also provided six actionable steps so your firm prepares for Web 3.0.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s start peeling the rest of the layers.

What are the secret ingredients of Web 3.0?

What are the characteristics and properties of Web 3.0?

For starters, the first noticeable characteristics under Web 3.0 are:

1. Open: Anyone in the world should be able to access records.
2. Trustless: Users will interact publicly or privately without using a third party, e.g., Facebook. This is a significant shift from Web 2.0. Under today’s Web, big giants like Google, Facebook, and Amazon dominate the Internet. All the user data collected by them is then sold to others, and this is a growing data privacy concern for users. Under Web 3.0, it is predicted that users will own their data or at least have much more transparency when it comes to who owns their data and what’s being done with it.
3. Permissionless: Similar to the previously mentioned point, anyone can participate without a governing body, e.g., without the big tech giants. In other words, it aims at becoming decentralized.

In addition to these characteristics, the properties that make up Web 3.0 include:

1. Semantic Web: This is an extension of the world wide web, and it allows users to create, share, and connect. This is based on understanding the real meaning behind keywords and numbers placed in the search bar.
2. 3D Graphics: They will be widely used in websites, online video games, e-commerce sites, etc. It’s similar to the metaverse concept.
   • Metaverse is a technology that implements augmented reality, virtual reality, and video – in other words, people can work and interact in these virtual settings. Facebook changed its name to Meta for a reason: they want to build a metaverse of their own. They’re prepared for Web 3.0 and aim to help users take their accounts/avatars from site to site.
3. Artificial Intelligence: Specifically, natural language processing (NLP) allows computers to comprehend language in the way we speak it. For example, if we search the Web for ‘Apple,’ we could get two completely different results: either the fruit or the tech company. NLP aims to understand the context of the user’s search intent and provide quicker and more relevant results.

What are the opportunities and challenges with Web 3.0?

One of the main benefits of Web 3.0 is that prospects will be able to explore the Web with more complex search queries. Other noticeable opportunities with Web 3.0 include:

• Better business opportunities will emerge due to faster and more efficient search results. Plus, it’s good to remember that being found online is key to your firm’s survival.
• New technology will facilitate your business processes, e.g., chatbots that answer FAQs or more relevant advertisements.
• Better security from hackers.
• Trust from your users since they’ll have more control over the usage of their own data.

However, there are some challenges with Web 3.0, and that includes:

• The population is increasingly wanting more privacy and transparency. They want to know where and how the data is used.
• Although this new Web aims at being decentralized, our current Web is dominated by big giants, so it’s difficult to discern what this new decentralized format will look like.
• It’s still in its early stages; therefore, it’s challenging to determine what’s to come with absolute certainty.

Why does Web 3.0 matter?

Although there are challenges and gaps to fill in, Web 3.0 matters, there’s a growing increase of users concerned with their data privacy. Studies have shown that an increasing number of users are concerned with their data privacy. To be exact, based on a study, 86% of respondents feel a growing concern about their data privacy. Additionally, 78% expressed fear about the amount of data collected. This is a significant concern for not only users but for businesses as well. On one side, enterprises need data to give the users the most optimized and personal experience. On the other side, users increasingly distrust companies with their data, in part due to data leaks and lack of transparency. This is a problem that Web 3.0 aims at solving.

Although this is still in the works, your firm can take some actionable steps to secure privacy today:

• Be more transparent with what you’re doing with your users’ data.
• Give users more control of their data. This means allowing the user to opt-out of sharing some of their more sensitive data.
• Create a corporate data responsibility page on your website and explain how the data is used and protected.

Move Faster, Better, and Stronger

Although it’s still not 100% clear how long it will take to reach a fully functioning Web 3.0, one thing is certain: Web 3.0 will change our lives both personally and professionally. As we dive deeper into the Web 3.0 era, online will be an even more indispensable part of our everyday lives. On top of that, more and more users are opting to search for online services. This implies your firm’s digital efforts must be optimized to fit these upcoming new norms.

As Web 3.0 evolves, so must your firm – you will need to move faster, better and stronger today and tomorrow with the help of legal digital marketing experts by your side to ensure your spot as an industry leader. While we hope our blog posts offer the latest and most enriching legal marketing information, we also understand that putting in the actual marketing plan to work by yourself requires a mass amount of effort, expertise, and time. But, worry not! Whether you have more questions about Web 3.0, comments, ideas, or, better yet, want to get a head start, our legal marketing experts are always here to help.

The post Everything Your Firm Needs to Know About The Evolution of Web 3.0 appeared first on Consultwebs.

But the truth of the matter is, when it comes to website design, most law firms favor something within standards, rather than something outstanding.

We’ve scoured the Internet for what we think are the very best examples of legal websites – websites from strongly branded firms featuring a clean design, simple copy, and a sense of humor and style.

An actual homepage for a law firm…that works out of a barn? Only for barn enthusiasts?

So here are our picks for Best Attorney Websites of 2019.

Small.Law

A brilliantly understated web design, Jeremy Hessing-Lewis, a Vancouver-based business attorney, has totally embraced his solo/small law firm identity and matched it with a spartan aesthetic to create this masterpiece of a homepage.

Responding to the oft-complained problem of “just being a number” that clients typically have when dealing with larger law firms, Small. Law cleverly uses design to positively frame the “small’ narrative and highlight the benefits of hiring a solo attorney.

Craig, Kelley & Faultless*

This Indiana personal injury law firm’s website hits all the right notes – strong branding with a video, simple copy focused on the practice area, several points of conversion above the fold, and social proof iconography.

Another great example on Craig, Kelly & Faultless of focusing web design around a type of case, is the creative asset, Fatal Thursdays

This immersive dive into statistics around trucking accidents in the state of Indiana, offering alternative routes, provides a strong signal to potential clients, and search engines alike, that this is the law firm to handle trucking cases in Indiana. *current client

Thiessen Law Firm

One thing about being an attorney online is that you’re constantly being researched and vetted by opposing counsel, other law firms, judges, potential clients, and current clients. You have to maintain a certain level of representation and reputation management. That’s why the Thiessen Law Firm website is so boss! Pristine design, strong sales opportunities, and this bad-ass photo of the lead attorneys and a doberman? What’s so fantastic is that Mark and Taly embrace their brand, are 100% the nicest people on the planet , and they know this website has one job – stand up for them and represent their brand. Well done!

YLaw Group

YLaw Group, an award-winning Vancouver family law firm, states right on its homepage, “At YLaw we do everything differently, that’s why we’re successful.”In regards to their website design, you can clearly see they’ve embraced their mission to stand out. Extremely free of copy and reliant on humorous imagery, packed with points of CTA (calls-to-action), trust icons, and links prominently displayed, this design gets the nod, not only for the design itself but because the design sets the tone for the firm experience. So much more than a business card.

Autumn Witt Boyd Law Firm

Your website isn’t just a place to close the deal or get the million-dollar call. It can also be a place of education, connection, and a chance to close on a more important deal – a long-term (and billable) relationship with clients. Autumn Witt Boyd is a business and IP attorney working in Tennessee who has embraced content marketing as a business development strategy, as well as offering services not as a single template, but based on a client’s needs.

Instead of waiting to discuss options with potential clients, the AWB Firm provides guidance upfront with how-tos, videos, lead-generating templates for common business forms, and options for a more in-depth consultation. Your website is a chance for you to provide value upfront, and the AWB Firm captures this sentiment perfectly. If you’d like to hear more about how Autumn uses content marketing for her law firm, listen to her interview on LAWsome.

Palace Law

Patrick Palace, a workers’ comp lawyer in Tacoma, Washington, and the main shareholder of Palace Law, isn’t like most attorneys. In 2016, the Law 500 recognized Palace Law as one of the top law firms nationwide for its growth and innovation. Patrick has been president of the Washington State Bar and currently serves on the National Council for Bar President’s Executive Council. Whether on webinars, podcasts, (our podcast), radio shows, keynote presentations, or his own TV show, Patrick is an outspoken practitioner of law, and he has traveled the world spreading the legal gospel. His most recent project is a legal tech summit for lawyers. He also owns his own winery, Sunken Cellars, and preaches and teaches mindfulness and yoga.

So it’s little wonder that his website is a standard-bearer for attorney website design. Extremely simple and clean, visual focus on the practice area, several points of contact as well as an amazing chatbot called “PatBot,” which uses machine learning to gather intel on potential clients and provide them, if possible, with legal advice for their workers’ comp case.

Women’s Divorce & Family Law Group

This Illinois family law firm has a fantastic website, a clear brand connection, elegant copy, and a strong focus on educational content marketing. Not only does the site have the classic distinctions of a high-converting landing page, there is an extremely useful graphic that outlines the firm’s entire process when handling divorce.

The firm’s Roadmap to Divorce is a fantastic example of how easy it can be to deliver value and education when design and marketing combine. Not only does the roadmap help current clients, but it can also help potential clients correctly set their expectations earlier in the case process, saving innumerable staff hours explaining the process again and again.

Bick Law LLP

When stunning natural photography and graphic design meet up on this California environmental law firm’s site, it’s plain to see why Bick Law’s website is the perfect site to close this year’s honorees.

With an amazingly playful focus on their practice area, Bick Law combines their taglines with nature, the environment, and the human world to create an intoxicating blend that just works.

With a very pristine design, and super clean, strong, bold, branded copy paired with high-contrasting images, this website is the perfect illustration of what an attorney’s website could become.

Interested in an award-winning web design for your law firm? Click here to learn how Consultwebs can help, or Get In Touch! Want more content on law firm marketing? Sign up for the Consultwebs newsletter, follow us on social media, and subscribe to the LAWsome Podcast.

The post Best Attorney Websites of 2019 appeared first on Consultwebs.