The purpose of digital marketing for attorneys is to attract potential clients.
How do clients find an attorney? According to Clio, the majority of clients get a lawyer referral from their friends or family members, from an attorney’s former clients, and from other attorneys or other professionals.
If referrals are the major lead generator for attorneys, what is the purpose of digital marketing?
Even if an attorney has been referred to a potential client, what is that person going to do next?
Look up the attorney online, and a law firm’s website could be the reason that potential client never calls. Research has found that a bad website can cost your firm potential clients.
What is the purpose of digital marketing beyond having a website that does not chase off potential clients?
Beyond having a user-friendly website created to meet current and potential clients’ needs, attorneys must employ other aspects of digital marketing to find potential clients where those potential clients are searching for legal help. Many consumers search for attorneys on their own, utilizing online search engines, lawyers directories, attorney’s blog/articles/videos, and social media.
What are the special considerations for attorneys regarding digital marketing?
As law firms and attorneys are held to a high standard of responsibility in connection to advertising and marketing, before creating a digital marketing strategy, know the ethical considerations, the rules of your jurisdiction in connection to advertising and marketing and follow the American Bar Association’s model rules of professional conduct.
What is the foundation of digital marketing for attorneys and law firms?
The foundation of your marketing starts by answering the question: what areas of law do you practice, for whom, and what is the stage of your business? Are you a family law attorney handling clients’ divorces, custody matters, and guardianships? Or a tax attorney helping clients preserve their estate? Are you a new bankruptcy attorney or an established corporate tax firm?
What are elements of digital marketing for attorneys and law firms?
Website
This marketing tool needs to be easy to navigate, mobile-friendly, and fast loading. Offer many contact options (phone number, email address, law firm social media profiles). Consider live chat so that potential clients can quickly find out if your firm can help them. Focus on what information potential and current clients need and have the website designed to be responsive to those needs.
At the very least, have a Home page (with information about services offered and the firm’s phone number prominently displayed), an About page (a gold mine for disclosing your unique differentiators in a crowded field), a Contact page, Testimonials (making sure the testimonials comply with ethics rules), and a Blog (useful and timely information for your current and potential clients).
A law firm’s website is a representation of the law firm; therefore, it is worth the investment in an experienced web developer, hiring a photographer for quality photographs, and utilizing the services of a copywriter.
A website is not a one-and-done process. Website audits should be performed on a maintenance schedule to ensure the site speed is acceptable and there are no broken links.
Make sure it is error-free and accurate. Double-check that the contact information is correct. Proofread all copy. Once again, as your representative, perfection is the goal.
While a bad website will chase off potential customers, an effective website will attract more clients.
Search Engine Optimization
At its core, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your website’s ranking on the page on search engines, such as Google and Bing, for relevant keywords. The higher your site ranks, the more visible your business is. Keywords are words or phrases that people type into the search engines. For example, if someone needs a tax attorney based in San Francisco, the relevant keyword phrase might be “tax lawyer San Francisco.”
Onpoint SEO gives you the best chance of competing with other pages and helps clients discover your law firm.
Local and Legal Directories
Online review sites and directories are another method by which clients search for legal help. Make sure potential clients find you on the legal review sites and directories. Complete your Google Business listing. The major legal directories are FindLaw, Avvo, Nolo, Martindale, and Justicia. Yelp is a non-legal-specific directory that potential clients use to find attorneys.
Create profiles for each directory to increase your opportunities to be found by potential clients.
Digital Marketing – Next Steps
Once you have your website designed and your profiles created, your next steps will be the creation of your social media and content marketing plan. Another tool in the digital marketing toolkit that will increase your visibility is online advertising. These topics will be addressed further in future blog posts.
To discuss your digital marketing needs, schedule a free discovery call.
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