Our team first worked with Catherine O’Connell, a Tokyo-based New Zealander, in the start-up phase of her business several years ago and launched her first website at that time, which focused on a broad array of legal services. As Catherine’s firm evolved, and her profile grew thanks to her podcasting and speaking, she was ready for a fresh approach to her marketing that reflected her personality, work, and goals.
Using our Aligned Authority™framework, we asked deep-diving questions before the project ever got underway. We worked with Catherine to define her destination, clarify her long-term business goals, and better understand the experience she wanted potential clients and podcast collaborators to have with her distinctive brand.
Balancing the Personal Brand & Business Growth
As Catherine and her team outgrew the website’s structure, new content and design no longer blended with the existing content. This led to less brand recognition and more time-consuming work to make the new content fit the existing structure.
Since Catherine had worked with us before, she reached out to our team to explain the business’ current progress and updated goals and asked for our help to create a new website that better showcased her brand, personality, and offerings.
After strategizing with Catherine and her assistant, Laura, our team proposed a solution to bring Catherine’s impressive accomplishments and unique legal solutions to the forefront while showing off her fun side so she could make an immediate personal connection with her audience.
A new (but familiar) platform for an always-dynamic brand
We proposed moving her website to the newest version of Squarespace (a move from 7.0 to 7.1) to take advantage of new features, design options, and a full SEO strategy with implementation to ensure her ideal clients found her via organic searches, as well as copy consulting. We also incorporated new branded graphics and her updated photography for a cohesive, branded feel.
We then did extensive keyword research around doing business in Japan, legal entrepreneurship, and other key components of Catherine’s business model so she could attract more perfect-fit clients and listeners.
Finally, we knew that Catherine wanted it to be crystal clear that she is more than “just a lawyer.” She wants to be known as a mentor and coach for lawyers going through their career journeys. Because she’s an avid podcaster and extremely engaged in the local community, it was essential that we spotlight her thought leadership through the podcasts she produces and the networking she does as an integral member of the Tokyo community. Her new visual design does exactly that.
Catherine’s new online home is more than a pretty face—it’s a powerhouse.
Catherine O’Connell’s new website is simply stunning. But, better yet, it’s cleverly organized so that potential clients can understand her signature offer and seamlessly reach out to her via the updated, hard-working contact page.
Catherine’s two podcasts also get the real estate they deserve, leading potential clients down a unique marketing funnel to work with her in new ways.
Our team is delighted that Catherine O’Connell Law is now ready for the next phase of growing her business and personal brand. This brand-new look and a robust, human-centered design—with killer SEO on the backend—will bring better search engine results and continue to grow Catherine’s profile in Japan and New Zealand. Here are a few of the small, powerful details that will support Catherine and her team for years to come:
Sarah Moon & Co is a Portland, Oregon-based small boutique SEO-first marketing & website strategy firm that helps audacious change-makers, thought-leaders, and transformational causes get found and make an impact. SM&Co is one of the original Squarespace Specialists, and the first design/marketing studio to optimize SEO services for Squarespace users.
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