“Discover how law firms are getting more calls to their office and cases through their doors with the help of digital efforts like PPC and SEO.”
Did you know that more consumers are using Google to evaluate local businesses than ever before? A recent consumer behavior study confirms that the majority of consumers begin their research online. More specifically, 81% of users are searching online today compared to 63% the previous year. Take a look at the findings:
A better understanding of consumer behavior, precisely your firm’s consumer behavior, is critical in today’s digitized world if you want to be where the clients are, which is online. Besides that, one of the most apparent reasons to have an online presence is because you can be the best lawyer in the world, but if prospects don’t know your firm exists, they can’t hire you, and will instead hire the most seemingly reputable lawyer that shows up on search engines like Google.
Law firms shouldn’t miss out on tremendous opportunities for more calls and cases. If you want to find out more about these 2 undeniably profitable methods your firm can leverage for success, read on.
Thriving in Today’s Buyer’s Market
Before diving into the 2 profitable methods, it’s instructive to take a step back and evaluate the current state of the legal market.
Today’s market is known as ‘a buyer’s market,’ meaning that clients have choices because supply exceeds demand. While this does mean that competition in the legal arena is challenging, firms are learning how to distinguish themselves in the oversaturated legal market with the help of combined digital efforts.
For starters, the majority of firms recognize websites are powerful at:
- Helping them communicate their messaging
- Boosting their brand awareness
- Easing the burdens of day-to-day communications
- Improving the lawyer-client relationship
- Nurturing prospects down the sales funnel
This is evident in the numbers. As the latest tech report from the American Bar Association found:
And there’s more! Law firms also get solid leads and cases through other mediums like family and friends, reviews, online searches, legal digital directories, and referrals.
This brings us to an important question.
The million-dollar question – how can law firms get more clients today?
The answer lies in better use of your firm’s website, specifically by implementing: SEO and PPC.
SEO refers to search engine optimization. With the help of SEO, your law firm can achieve better organic (non-paid) rankings and increase visibility, thus improving the quality of cases coming to your firm’s doors.
- This effort focuses on your firm’s long-term organic success.
PPC refers to pay-per-click, which is the bidding process to place your ads in visible positions for relevant search queries in search engines like Google and social channels like Instagram.
- This effort focuses on your firm’s short-term paid success.
For example, if you Google ‘new york estate planning attorney’, you’ll get a combination of both SEO and PPC. Take a look:
- Local services ads (LSA) are a type of paid advertising where you pay per lead.
- Local pack includes a mix of paid and organic results.
- Organic results are organic results that appear based on relevancy. Those that rank on page 1 have most definitely implemented SEO strategies.
Greater Command and Greater Conversions With PPC and SEO
The combination of SEO and PPC is powerful because it goes beyond what you have just seen. Here are some other unique ways these efforts help your firm’s bottom-line results:
1. Improves the client’s experience
Now that we’re living in a buyer’s market, all your firm’s digital practices should revolve around the client. The more attentive you are to your client’s pains and desires, the better their experience.
For example, on-page SEO focuses on optimizing your internal web pages. One way it could improve your client’s navigation is by having automated appointment scheduling. This is a win-win for you and the client, as it eliminates the friction and time loss associated with scheduling appointments.
2. Collects your prospect’s contact information
Firms leveraging digital strategies should help get clients down the sales funnel. For example, you can engage prospects through an educational piece you promote on channels like Facebook. The piece of content could be gated, meaning there’s a lead capture form before the content is given to the client. Again, this is another win-win because it provides the clients with information they need and, in addition, it provides your firm with contact information from a potential client.
Here’s an example of a basic content information form:
3. Keeps tabs on the most converting pathways
Want to know what’s working and what isn’t working for your firm? If you’re investing in PPC and SEO, this is possible! You don’t have to rely on gut feelings and intuition to make your next move. Instead, you can rely on trackable and measurable metrics, and both digital strategies give you just that.
In the end, your numbers won’t lie. By analyzing real-time data, you aren’t just keeping track of what strategies help you acquire the most clients, you’re gathering information that also enables you to develop an even better marketing strategy.
4. Boosts your firm’s reviews
Statistics show that the majority of people seeking financial and legal services consider reviews either important or very important.
People trust others, which is why online reviews are as valuable as a personal recommendation from a close relative or friend. With the help of SEO, firms can actively seek and acquire reviews in prominent places like Google Reviews. In the end, your reviews = revenue.
5. Increases the amount of traffic, clicks, and eventually conversions
Think of it as a domino effect. Your firm can increase its presence on search engines and social channels through highly personalized and targeted campaigns. This eventually helps your firm acquire even more significant traffic and clicks, which ultimately means more cases.
Want to see legal SEO and PPC in action?
Read The Case of the Firm Ryan Bisher Ryan & Simons
Be Where Your Clients Are
The idea that firms should be client-centered to be more successful is not new. Forward-thinking law firms have been taking this approach and succeeding past their goals for years.
SEO and PPC are excellent complementary strategies that can help place you in front of the client that needs you and, conversely, the clients you need. However, it requires an excellent command of search engines, keyword bidding strategy, constant optimization, and more. If you’d like to learn how SEO and PPC works without the roadblocks and headaches – we’re here to help.
