Law Firm Marketing: A Comprehensive Guide

Law firm marketing is the practice of attracting new potential clients to your law firm. A law firm marketing plan may cover a mix of digital marketing, SEO, blogging, print, and digital ads. Your marketing plan may also include many other tactics, including leveraging law firm marketing technology to automate various tasks. But no matter how you approach it, marketing your firm can easily consume a lot of your time and energy.

In this guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about properly marketing your law firm—from SEO to networking and everything in between. This guide will help you understand key law firm marketing terms, steps to take to start building your marketing plan, and how to measure your efforts. Plus, you’ll learn helpful stats to inform your marketing choices, best practices and industry insights, and the best law firm marketing technology and tools to use.

Law firm marketing terms

It’s important to understand the basics of law firm marketing before moving into planning and execution. We’ve put together a handy list of the most important marketing terms you need to know.

Of course, there are many,manymoremarketing termsyou can read up on, but this short list provides a good start, especially if you’re new to law firm marketing.

Marketing leads

A marketing lead is a potential client for your firm. It’s more than just someone who simply visits your website. A person becomes a marketing lead once they take an action that shows they’re interested in speaking to you. For example, they might fill out a “Contact Us” form, call your firm, or provide their contact information in some other way.

For more information, read our guide onLead Generation for Lawyers.

Conversion rate

Your conversion rate is the ratio of people who visit a certain webpage or ad to people who eventually “convert” to a lead. You can track the conversion rate of just one page, or your entire website. You can also look at how well yourintake processis converting leads into paying clients.

Call-to-action (CTA)

Acall-to-action, or CTA, is a clear request of a site visitor or lead to take the next step in their journey towards becoming a paying client. For example, this can be a button that leads to your “Contact Us” form, or a button in a paid ad that links back to your website.

Landing pages

Alanding pageis a website page built to get visitors to take a specific action, such as clicking a link, filling out a form, booking a consultation, or making a phone call. For more information on landing pages, check out the postShould Lawyers Use Landing Pages?

Search engine optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization, or SEO, refers to the practice of optimizing websites so they appear near the top of search results for relevant keywords.

Keywords (also called keyword phrases) are words or phrases that represent the topics you build your pages around. For example, if you’re a divorce attorney based in Manhattan, you might target a keyword phrase such as “NYC Divorce Attorney.”

Simply put, these are the search terms that internet users enter into Google or other search engines. Your keyword—and/orsemantically similar variationsof it—should appear in key places on your webpage to signal to search engines that your page is relevant to that topic.Yoast SEOis a comprehensive SEO tool you can easily add to your WordPress website. Learn more about Yoast SEO and other WordPress plugins by reading aboutWordPress Law.

Return on investment (ROI)

Return on investment, or ROI, is a performance metric used in many business areas, but is especially important when it comes to marketing. To grow your law firm and keep your business profitable, you’ll need to make sure that you’re getting good returns on the investments you’re making across your marketing initiatives.

Pay-per-click (PPC)

Pay-per-click, or PPC, is an online paid advertising model in which advertisers pay a set amount each time a site visitor clicks on their ad.

To learn the basics of Google ads, read ourGoogle Advertising 101 for Lawyerspost.

10 steps for marketing your law firm

With the right approach, you can easily develop and execute a marketing plan for a large or small law firm. You can use the following steps to help you achieve your goal, whether you want to create a sustainable solo practice or rapidly grow your firm.

Here are nine areas to consider when creating a marketing strategy for your law firm:

1. Create a marketing budget

A well thought-outmarketing budgetis a key component of anylaw firm business plan. To figure out how much you’ll need to invest in your law firm marketing initiatives, you’ll need to identify your goals and determine how much revenue you need to make it a reality. Then, you’ll need to look at how many cases per year you have to bill to meet that revenue goal. This will vary depending on your practice area.

Once you’ve done the groundwork, you’ll be able to figure out your overall law firm marketing budget. Take note of the stage of your law firm, i.e., have you just launched your practice or is your firm well-established? Also, consider how competitive your space is. For example, are you a business attorney trying to build a client base in a competitive city like New York, or are you the sole family lawyer in a small town?

Since law firm marketing technology may be part of your overall marketing strategy, don’t forget to factor those potential costs into the budget. For example, examples of law firm technology you may use include content marketing solutions like HubSpot, or individual apps for SEO, social media scheduling, or email campaigns.

Once you’ve created your law firm marketing budget, it’s important to stay within its limits. In the end, getting more cases won’t help your firm grow if you’re not watching the bottom line.

2. Build a well-designed law firm website

In the digital age, your law firm’s website is often a potential client’s first impression of you. It’s your chance of making a great first impression on website visitors who are looking to hire a lawyer.

As a good start, use quality photographs and a greatlaw firm logo. Then, clearly and concisely state the services you provide and practice areas you cover. Highlight any awards, recognitions, or important experiences you have and make sure your contact information is prominently displayed.

If you already have a website, or are thinking of building one yourself, make sure you’ve reviewed ourlaw firm website checklist. It covers all the key components of a high-quality and high-converting website for law firms.

If you’re looking to hire an expert to help you create or maintain your website, read our post on the11 questions you should ask when hiring a law firm website designer. These tips will give you the knowledge you need before signing any contracts.

3. Ensure your site is search engine optimized

If you create a law firm website to market your firm, but no one finds it when they search online, will potential clients ever be aware of you?

To get the most out of your law firm website, you need to ensure your site followsSEO best practices. Ensuring your site is well-designed is critical. This includes having useful, quality content. This is what search engines like Google—and the people who use them—are looking for.

You’ll also want to make sure your content is targetinglong tail keywords. For example, instead of just using the word “lawyer,” also include the name of your city. Using long tail keywords will give you the best chance of competing with other pages and being found by potential clients.

If you need to attract potential clients in a particular geographical area, make sure you also set up aGoogle Business listing. Make sure to provide a clear, useful description of your services, as well as contact information.

For more information on effective keyword research, local SEO, and law firm SEO best practices, readThe Quick Guide to Law Firm SEO.

If you want to learneven more,Gyi Tsakalakis of AttorneySyncis an expert on the subject, and we highly recommend his content.

4. Claim your free online profiles

Your law firm website isoneplace potential clients can find you, but it isn’t theonlyplace they might find you. From review sites like Yelp to your local state bar listing, there are plenty of opportunities to claim online profiles for free.

Here are10 ways for lawyers to advertise online for free. Review this list to make sure you’re taking advantage of all the available options.

5. Make sure your law firm has a social media presence

To attract new clients through online advertising, you’ve got to go where they are. In the digital age, this meanssocial media. There are plenty of social networks to choose from, so you’ll need to figure outwhich social media platforms are the best for your law firmand practice area. With some thoughtful investment, social media advertising can significantly impact your law firm’s growth.

Here are a few ways to use social media in your law firm marketing:

• Followlegal leaders on Twitterand engage in thoughtful conversation.
• Set up an effectivelaw firm LinkedIn page. Make sure it’s separate from yourpersonal LinkedIn profile, which you should also optimize to help you stand out amongst peers and potential clients.
• Create a Facebook advertising campaignto position yourself as an authority in your space and attract new clients. Learn about the process of getting new clients by reading abouthow to get clients as a lawyer.

Finally, make sure you’re followingethics and advertising rules within your law firm’s jurisdiction. For example, don’t call yourself a specialist or an expert unless you’ve been formally certified as such, and be mindful of creating inappropriate lawyer-client relationships.

6. Manage your law firm’s online reviews effectively

Once you have a number of online profiles up and running for your law firm, clients might start giving you reviews. These are critical to manage. According to the2021 Legal Trends Reportfound that 82% of consumers looked for client reviews and 81% of consumers looked for referrals when seeking legal counsel. While a few negative reviews won’t hurt, an ongoing stream of them might turn potential clients away.

Make asking for an online review at the close of every case part of your process, especially if a client is extremely satisfied. However, double check your state bar’s advertising rules to ensure your request is compliant. If you encounter a negative review, don’t ignore it. Follow best practices foronline reputation management for lawyerswhen it comes to responding to your client’s feedback directly.

7. Try your hand at content marketing

You already have a knack for the written word, so put those skills to use to grow your law firm. Blogging, and more generally, content marketing, is a great way to build your brand and authority.

You can use content to show off your expertise in a given area. If you can provide helpful answers to general questions potential clients might have, you’ll build trust and confidence with them. Demonstrating that you’re an authority in a particular area makes it more likely that they’ll eventually hire you.

If you decide to start a blog, take a thoughtful approach and try to identifylegal-related evergreen content marketing topics. Make sure your content has a clear focus, stick to a regular cadence, and ensure you’re providing quality, helpful information (without offering specific legal advice, of course).

If you’re interested in learning more about blogging for lawyers, read ourguide to starting a legal blogandguide to powerful, persuasive legal writing.

8. Invest time in networking and business development

If you’re going to spend timenetworking with other legal professionals, ensure you’re getting value out of the conversations. Create aconversation strategyfor how and where you’re going to spend your energy and time. Be prepared to engage in meaningful conversations that build your brand and lead to referrals.

Referrals from fellow attorneys are always a key component of any law firm’s business development and revenue growth. So, figuring out how tobuild referral relationships with other attorneysis a worthwhile investment to ensure a sustainable law firm.

9. Know your audience: Who are you marketing to?

Understanding who your target audience is will help you create valuable content your prospective clients will actually want to engage with. For example, if you’re a divorce attorney, you likely know the age of your average client. This might dictate what social media applications you should use to connect with them.

Everything you create and share should serve you prospective clients. Have them in mind whenever you’re writing a blog post, email, or updating your website.

10. Measure your law firm marketing efforts

No matter how you decide to market your law firm, it’s important tomeasure the return on investmentof your efforts. Without measurement, you’ll have no idea which campaigns are bringing in new business—and which are failing. Identifying which marketing tactic isn’t performing well will help your marketing strategy succeed, enabling you to stop investing in the methods that don’t work and invest more on those that do.

Maybe you want to build a new website to help bring in more clients. Or maybe you’ve built up a lot of goodwill over the years and are getting many positive reviews from past clients. There’s only one way to find out—look at the numbers.

Start by asking clients how they heard about you. While this is a pretty low-tech method that yields only anecdotal results, it’s a good place to start. But you’ll need to do more in-depth analysis to truly know how your marketing is working.

The best way to track your law firm digital marketing efforts is by implementing website tracking. The free version ofGoogle Analytics—an analytics tool that helps website owners get insights into traffic to their sites—is a good solution for most law firms. Here’show to install it on your site.

Google Analytics will help you identify useful metrics, such as which website people visited before they came to your site (also called a “referring domain”), how long a given visitor stayed on your site, and of course, the number of visitors to your site.

Learn more about how tomeasure the ROI of your marketing efforts.

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Law firm marketing: 4 best practices for lawyers

Before you invest thousands of dollars into a brand new website, an SEO specialist, or social media ads, take a moment to think about what’s going to guide your success. If you’re not following a few critical principles, all the marketing dollars in the world won’t help your law firm grow.

Keep these four best practices in mind as you move forward with your law firm marketing efforts:

1. Take a client-centered approach to marketing

In the age of near-instant Amazon deliveries and on-demand transport from ride-sharing companies like Lyft, the client experience reigns supreme. It’s critical at every stage of the client’s journey—from when a client first becomes aware of a service to when they make a hiring decision.

Law firms are a business like any other, and clients now expect their experience with their lawyers to be on par with the experience they have with companies like Amazon. Competitive law firms that focus on providing aclient-centered experiencein their operations and marketing will be better positioned to stand out and succeed. In fact, the2021 Legal Trends Reportfound that law firms that emphasized providing a client-centered experience using technological solutions were the most successful.

What does this look like from a law firm marketing perspective? Consider your client’spain pointswhen crafting messaging for your website. Focus on showing empathy and addressing those pain points rather than just highlighting the services you offer.

Follow-up with leads quickly, so that potential clients know you’re there to help. A well-designed website contributes to a client-centered experience as well. An easy-to-use site shows clients you’ve been thoughtful about what they need and how they’ll navigate your site.

Always put your clients first in your marketing efforts. You won’t just build trust and goodwill—you’ll be positioned to attract more potential clients and convert leads to paying clients more quickly.

2. Invest strategically in marketing activities

When it comes to law firm marketing, there’s no need to overextend yourself. In fact, you’ll likely see better returns from a few focused strategies than by trying to do it all.

For example, if you’re going to invest insocial media marketing, don’t try to maintain a presence on every social network. Think carefully about your goals and your practice area. Pick one or two networks to focus on, and craft strategies that reflect the resources you have to invest in them.

If you’re going to start a blog, be honest about how much time you can devote to it. Don’t plan to post a new article once a week if you only have the capacity to post once per month.

Level-up your marketing efforts by learning from16 lawyers and their successful marketing habits.

3. Invest in extra support if needed

Depending on your goals and marketing budget, it may be worthoutsourcing legal processesor hiring alaw firm marketing consultant, web designer, SEO specialist, or other types of marketing service to help with your firm’s needs.

You’re an expert at practicing law, but you also have a business to run. So, if marketing isn’t an area you’ve got a lot of experience in (or an area you have time to learn about), bringing in help might be a good option. Just make sure you thoroughly vet your options before agreeing to work with a marketing contractor.

You may also want to think about law firm marketing technology and tools to help execute your marketing strategy (more on that below).

4. Track the performance of your campaigns

Measuring the success of your law firm marketing efforts is key to making sure that all the hard work you do actually helps your law firm grow. Make sure you know how clients are finding out about you. How many people are visiting your website and converting to leads or paid clients? How many people are clicking on your social media ads? Consider all metrics that are relevant to the marketing campaigns you’ve launched. And, while we’re on the topic of tracking, don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled fordigital marketing news– you never know what you’ll learn!

In need of more inspiration? Here areeight ideas to grow a legal practice.

Conclusion

When it comes to marketing a law practice, the best approach is to simply get started. Make a small investment, try something new, measure your success, and take what you’ve learned to improve. Instead of overextending yourself, focus on a few key marketing areas. Create a thoughtful marketing budget (and stick to it), and use law firm marketing technology and tools to support your efforts.