Be Easy To Find And Easy To Contact

In this day and age, most contact from clients starts online.

Even where someone has been referred to you, the first thing they usually do is look you up.

They want to see who you are, what you do, and whether you look like the right person to help them.

So it is important to Google yourself and see where and how you are coming up online.

Not just your name.

Search for what you think you are.

Search your practice area.

Search your location.

Search the sort of work you want to be known for.

Then look at what actually comes up.

Your website still matters

I still think websites are very important.

For validation as well as sales purposes.

You should have a website, and it should be a good clear operative website.

It should be up to date.

It should say what you do and who you help and easy for people to contact you.

Preferably, it should also have a blog that you update regularly. A blog gives people a sense of how you think. It also helps show what you do and what you are interested in but it needs to be current and relevant. There is no point having a blog that looks abandoned.

You should also be able to update your own website, or at least have a simple and inexpensive way of keeping it current.

Check the basics on your website

Check your contact details.

Check the spelling.

Then get someone else to re-check the spelling because there is only so much you will see after reading your own material two or three times.

Lawyers are hired because of attention to detail.

Clients notice it too.

If your own material has typos, poor spelling, out of date information, broken links, or unclear wording, it does not help.

Test your contact form and make sure it actually goes through as an enquiry to you.

If your phone is diverted, check that it is being diverted properly to a message service, that is checked regularly or automated.

Think about what happens after hours.

Review where you appear online

Review and update your Google Business Profile.

Look at your LinkedIn profile.

Look at any other handles or profiles you have - Instagram, Threads, X, YouTube, TikTok or anywhere else you appear online.

What is your online presence overall?

What do you want it to be?

Does it match the practice area you are in?

Does it match the legal work you want?

Does it properly reflect your location you want work from?

How does it all read on a mobile and on a desktop.

Reviews and testimonials

Check your Google reviews.

Deal with your Google reviews. If there are negative reviews, deal with them sensitively. Do not ignore them.

Use your good reviews and client testimonials where you can. Put them on your website. Use them on LinkedIn. Use them on social media if appropriate.

These all help people validate you before they contact you.

Ask AI about yourself

One of the bigger things now is AI.

Ask AI about yourself.

Ask what you are known for.

Ask it to summarise you.

Ask it to identify other lawyers in your niche. Not necessarily competitors, but lawyers working in the same sort of space.

What is your niche?

What are you findable for?

What are you known for?

That is becoming more important.

People are not only using Google anymore. They are using AI tools to search, compare, summarise, and validate.

So ask the question:

What does AI think you are known for?

That is sometimes called generative engine optimisation. It sounds a bit grand, but the practical point is simple. If AI tools cannot work out what you do, who you help, or where you fit, then your online presence may not be clear enough.

Make it easy for people to contact you

The aim is to make everything as easy, frictionless, and seamless as possible.

Your firm name, phone number, email, website, contact details, and basic description should be consistent everywhere they appear online.

People should be able to find you, understand what you do, and contact you without having to work too hard.

That is the point.

You are helping them validate you before they get to you.

Market when you are busy and when you are slow

You should be marketing when you are busy, and you should be marketing when things are slow.

Marketing should be steady.

Be easy to find.

Be easy to understand.

Be easy to contact.

If this has triggered something for you, we have a Practical Marketing Checklist for Solo Lawyers available on our website that is designed to show what you should be doing.

We work directly with solicitors, barristers, and consultant lawyers on the decisions that shape an independent practice - structure, positioning, pricing, systems, capacity, financial control, AI use, and strategic direction.

This is practical, experience-based advisory work for lawyers who want a stronger, better-run practice and clearer judgment about what needs to change next.

You can work with us through a Strategy Session or a Solo Law Firm Tune-Up.

We also offer practical tools, guides and webinars for lawyers who want to get on top of these issues properly.

Details are on www.paulippolito.com.au