Interactive Page Elements and Your Law Firm: What You Need to Know

One of the primary functions of any business’s website is to influence your users and potential clients to take action. This desired action will be different depending on the purpose of the business, but common examples include actions like viewing and buying a product, signing up for an email list, contacting the company to book a service, or engaging with customer service. These predetermined actions are known as conversions, and they serve to indicate how effective your website is at influencing both user engagement and business revenue.

While SEO can help you drive more traffic to your law firm’s site, you of course don’t have complete control over a user’s activities. However, your page content can improve the likelihood that a user will convert into a client, and one proven way to increase conversions is to add interactive page elements to your website. These web design elements can include items like chat boxes, buttons, pop up forms, and promotional videos.

Why Are Interactive Page Elements Important?

There are several ways in which interactive page elements can help your website and improve conversions, search engine rankings, and more. Increasing user engagement demonstrates to search engines like Google and Bing that your site is popular among internet users searching for relevant keywords. If a user navigates to your site, spends time there without bouncing away, and proceeds to fill out a form or click a button, they have shown interest in your site’s content. Conversely, if users frequently bounce away from your site without interacting, search engine algorithms may assume your site provides little value to most users and could diminish your search engine ranking.

Interactive page elements hold more concrete value, as well. Making your site simpler to navigate and highlighting critical resources is key to improving user experience (UX). Interactivity can also serve to boost the visual appeal of your site and draw user attention to your firm’s positive attributes.

How Do Interactive Page Elements Increase Conversions?

While it is certainly possible to provide simple hyperlinks to conversion elements like contact pages, customer service, and fillable forms, interactive page elements have a critical advantage. In fact, there are multiple psychological and technical reasons interactive page elements can help improve your conversion rates. Though you may have had similar content elsewhere on your page, making it interactive helps for these reasons:

• Dopamine boosts. A primary brain chemical, dopamine, is one of the most critical chemicals involved with the feeling of reward. While the concept seems basic and almost childlike, we are much more likely to engage with a large button than a link or an on-page form. Including a large button or other interactive element instead of a link subconsciously influences users to click on it for the small dopamine rush it provides.
• Information availability. Many interactive elements simply make conversion options and additional resources more readily available to the user. For example, a user may want to supply their email address to access a newsletter or request more information about a topic but without a clear place to do so, they will likely give up. However, if an interactive form conveniently appears to request this critical contact information, they are much more likely to supply it. Humans have demonstrated time and again that they want to exert as little effort possible for optimal reward, so if you want a customer to convert, you must make it simple for them to do so.
• Even in the legal field, it is important to create a website that is attractive and entertaining to users. Internet users will judge your firm initially by its website alone, then on the merits of the content provided. If your firm’s website is bland, predictable, and boring, it is unlikely that a user will connect with you or seek additional information about their concerns. Adding interactive elements like chat boxes, buttons, and informative video is a professional way to bring entertainment to your users without sacrificing professionalism.
• Attention span. The human attention span is getting shorter and shorter. Because the modern human brain is constantly inundated with information, we rely on a significant amount of stimulation to stay engaged. Use this to your advantage with interactive media and page elements. These additions can re-engage user attention while providing them with valuable information about your law firm, your practice areas, and the experience they might expect if they hire your firm.
• Improved bounce rate. Because interactive page elements re-engage users, you will likely see a positive impact on your bounce rate. Bounce rate is the frequency and speed with which a user visits your site and then immediately leaves it again. With every second that goes by, a user is more and more likely to leave your page and seek information somewhere else. Adding a visual opportunity for interaction minimizes the likelihood that users will immediately leave and increases your chances for engagement and conversion before they do click away.

Types of Interactive Page Elements

There are several different types of interactive elements appropriate for use on a professional website. The elements you choose will likely depend on what you want users to do once they land on each particular page, as well as the types of conversions you value for your firm. Some examples of interactive page elements include:

• Interactive charts, infographics, and calculators. These elements help to provide useful information in an approachable and engaging way. For example, you could include a graphic designed to perform a rough child support calculation with user input.
• Including explainer videos, client testimonials, and personal greetings can help engage and inform your users.
• Self-assessment quizzes. These are wonderful for law firms, as they can help users discover what type of legal services they may need.
• Interactive forms. These provide a streamlined way for the user to request more information and provide you with valuable contact data.
• Chat boxes. Chat boxes can provide potential clients with 24/7 access to your firm, ease the process of finding information, and prompt them to request services.
• Buttons, sliding toggles, animated icons, and more

Tracking Conversions

For many law firms, the primary appeal of incorporating interactive website elements is the ability to drive conversions and track those that occur via the interactive element. When you choose conversions you want to highlight and measure the interactions that move the user to take your desired action, you can see how your digital marketing efforts translate into more clients. This is a quantifiable way to track your firm’s progress toward conversion goals.

For example, if you want to collect email addresses so that you can pursue leads, you can track your conversion rate—how many addresses were generated with a pop-up interactive form per 1000 interactions with your page. Comparing this figure with the number of contacts generated without the interactive element will give you a quantifiable measurement of your improvement.  This, in turn, can be compared with your number of new clients or actual revenue to reflect the return on your investment.

Contact RizeUp Media

The process of implementing interactive page elements and using them to track conversions can be complicated, and often requires more time, effort, and expertise than is available to a busy attorney. This is where the value of a professional digital marketing agency comes in. Here at RizeUp Media, we specialize in creating high converting websites for law firms. Our expert digital marketing tools and services can help your firm improve your website, boost conversions, and track your progress without sacrificing your time.

For more information or to get started, contact us via our website.