15 Keys to Marketing Your Law Firm Online

Marketing your law firm online requires a mix of traditional online marketing techniques and

tactics specific to the legal industry. Your starting place is a traditional website that informs clients

about your legal practice and the lawyers that work there. From that starting place, you want to

incorporate the following best practices to maximize the efficiency of your online marketing.

HIGHLIGHT YOUR SPECIALTY PRACTICE AREAS

When trying to find a lawyer, the average person doesn’t need general

legal advice. They need legal assistance for a specific problem. This is why

your website should highlight the areas you specialize in. Include your

law specialty in the tags for your website, in the opening paragraph, and

regularly throughout the page.

2. USE MULTIPLE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

In addition to a website, you want your online presence on various social

media platforms. Most people use only one or two types of social media

in their daily life. Every platform where you aren’t present reduces the

audience that is likely to discover your law office. Even if you only use a

social media site minimally, providing links to your website will increase

traffic.

3. PUBLISH A FAQ

Approximately 0.36% of the population has a law degree. The rest have a

very limited understanding of the law and are certain to have questions.

By publishing a FAQ to your website, you are providing an easy way for

potential clients to find exactly the information they are looking for, even

without direct contact.

4. PUBLISH REGULAR AND ENGAGING UPDATES

One of the best ways to drive traffic to your website is to update it regularly.

Websites with new content receive a bump in Google ratings and are more

likely to appear on the front page of web results. Additionally, information

that is interesting to your clients will encourage them to visit your website

more regularly.

5. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF GOOGLE

Roughly 50% of mobile searches are for local services. In order to maximize

your visibility on local searches, you need to register your practice with

Google+ Local. This will provide Google Maps information for your law firm

and ensure that your law firm.

6. SUBMIT TO LAW DIRECTORIES

Websites in the first five search results receive roughly 50% of web traffic

and websites on the first page receive 95%. Do a search for legal services.

Law directories always appear in the sponsored results near the top of

the first page. Thus, even if your business doesn’t appear on the first page,

if you can be found in a law directory, there is a greater chance of being

found by a

new client.

7. OPTIMIZE YOUR WEBSITE FOR MOBILE

As of 2022, 63% of all Google searches were performed on mobile and

that number has consistently increased throughout the past decade. Any

website needs to be mobile friendly in order to be useful. Any investment

into getting your website optimized for mobile will definitely pay off in the

long run.

8. USE TARGETED ADVERTISING

Advertising dollars need to be spent as efficiently as possible, which

means targeting the right demographics. You want your ads to be seen

by people who are most likely to need the specific services you offer. For

example, if you specialize in estate law, you want your ads to be viewed by

older individuals. You can specify target demographics when purchasing

online advertising and you should.

9. COMBINE YOUR EFFORTS WITH OTHER ATTORNEYS

Even if you don’t work together, it is valuable to create online “alliances”

with other attorneys. This is an excellent way to get referrals when clients

need practices areas allied attorneys don’t provide, and all you need to

do is return the favor. Including links to their practice on your website (and

in return have them link to your website) will also improve your Google

rankings, due to having quality backlinks.

10. MAKE SURE YOUR WEBSITE LOOKS PROFESSIONAL

Clients expect professionalism from lawyers and that goes for your website

as well. If your website looks like it was designed by an amateur, potential

clients are likely to immediately leave your page. Hire a professional to

design your website and provide regular maintenance.

11. MAKE YOUR WEB PAGE EASY TO NAVIGATE

The average person spends an average of 2 minutes and 17 seconds

navigating a website. That means you have to engage with them quickly.

Having an easy to navigate website is a big part of that. The faster visitors

can find the information they are looking for, the more time they will spend

actually interacting with that information.

12. LEVERAGE POSITIVE REVIEWS

According to data from Reevoo, conversion rates increase by roughly 50%

between a website with no reviews and one with 10 reviews. Conversion

rates continue to consistently improve as more reviews are added. You

should leverage this by rewarding clients for providing reviews. Since you

choose which reviews go on your website, it doesn’t matter whether they

are positive or negative.

13. INCLUDE A CALL TO ACTION ON YOUR FRONT PAGE

A call to action offers two major benefits. First, it engages potential clients

with an activity as soon as they arrive at your website. Should they call you

or fill out a survey? You let them know. Second, it gives visitors easy access

to your contact information. Both of these benefits increase the conversion

rate of your website.

14. USE OPT-IN MARKETING

Similar to how a call-to-action lets your clients know how best to contact

you, opt-in marketing lets your clients easily tell you how it is best to

contact them. They choose what types of marketing to receive and how to

receive it, via text, e-mail, etc. Studies also show that opt-in marketing has

a much higher conversion rate than opt-out marketing.

15. USE OPT-IN MARKETING

Due to the area of law you practice, you expect a specific demographic

to frequent your website. For example, if you provide family law, you

expect parents will mostly browse your website. In that case, you should

include links on your site that are useful for parents, even if they are

only tangentially related to the law. Providing extra value for your key

demographic improves conversion rates.