Many attorneys have turned to blogging to engage prospective clients — in other words, to generate leads. However, your law firm blog will not perform to your expectations if you focus solely on its content. You need to be employing other tools that encourage engagement and lead them to contact you for follow-up.

Blogs hold a unique position in the online media landscape because they have become an accepted source of information. When used properly, a blog becomes a clear, consistent voice for your practice. It entices prospects, referral sources, colleagues, clients and thought leaders to engage you in dialogue. It keeps you top of mind and builds visibility among your target clients. Ultimately, it earns you more of the kind of client you most desire.

The infographic below details five key areas you need to focus on in order to develop a law firm blog that delivers qualified leads, including:

Structure — organizing your blog for maximum visual appeal and ease of navigation is important for engagement.

Call-to-action — showcase one clear call-to-action on your blog home page and position it on the page where it is easily visible.

Social sharing — empowering engagement through social sharing — linking your blog to your social media pages and using Share plug-ins allow users to pass along your content, thus doing some of the lead generation heavy lifting for you.

Opt-in forms — enabling opt-in forms for a subscription to your blog or newsletter helps you grow your email list.

Page speed — page load speed is important since research shows more than 40% of people will abandon a site if it takes more than three seconds to load.

Review these suggestions and make the necessary updates to your blog in order to maximize its lead generation effectiveness for your firm.