A lawyer in New York needs a lawyer in San Diego (that’s where you are) who does what you do. He’s got a client he needs to refer. Will he find your site? Will he like what he sees enough to recommend you?
An attorney across the street has a client to refer and doesn’t know anyone who does what you do. Will he find your site? Will he recommend you?
If you want to get more referrals from other lawyers, your website should have content for other lawyers.
Start with keywords.
A lawyer may include keywords in his or her search that are different from those used by prospective clients. He may want a lawyer who belongs to a certain bar association, for example, or who has a certain designation (i.e., “Certified Specialist”). He may use certain geographic keywords in his search that a local would not use.
Make sure your pages and posts are optimized for those keywords and phrases.
Set up landing pages specifically for other attorneys. Greet them “lawyer to lawyer”. Tell them about yourself the way you would if you were meeting in person or speaking on the phone.
Offer them lawyer-like content (articles, posts, white papers, briefs, etc.) that demonstrates your bona fides and makes them see you as a peer. Use terminology and examples likely to resonate with a practicing lawyer.
Talk about how you work with other attorneys. Provide stories and testimonials from other attorneys who have given you referrals. Talk about referrals you have given, too. If appropriate, talk about referral fees and how you handle them.
Provide content that helps lawyers do a better job for their clients. For out of state lawyers, for example, you might write an article on, “What out of state lawyers must know about [your field] in [your state or province]. For local lawyers in other practice areas, “What every [your state or province] lawyer who doesn’t handle [your field] needs to know about [your field]”.
Once you’ve done this, do the same thing for non-lawyer referral sources.
Your attorney website content shouldn’t be limited to prospective clients. Professionals and others have clients, customers, or patients to refer. Help them find you, give them reasons to trust you, and you will get more referrals.
For help with your attorney website content, get my Internet marketing course for attorneys.
