It can be hard to stand out in the law industry. With so many firms and practice groups focused on the same pool of clients, it is crucial to do everything possible to bolster client acquisition and improve marketability. While there are countless resources online—all touting a quick fix and a one-size-fits-all solution—this is rarely the case. Instead, focusing on three main strategies that can all be tailored to fit your firm and marketing strategy can show significant improvements to client acquisition strategies quicker than you may have thought possible.
By focusing on Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Paid Ads Online, and Email Marketing, your firm can reach clients seeking the services your firm offers but don’t know where to turn. Online searches are by far the most relied-upon form of searching for legal services, so ensuring your firm shows up in ads and at the top of Google searches can make or break a marketing strategy.
Below, you’ll find the most effective client acquisition strategies available today and some of the best tools we have discovered to bolster these efforts and ensure that your firm will not waste resources. So, whether you want to rank higher with a search engine algorithm, learn how to stop wasting money on pay-per-click campaigns, or assemble the perfect email marketing strategy, this article will give you the critical insight your firm needs to make the most out of each tool.
Focus on SEO
Search engine optimization, or SEO for short, is a term thrown around in the world of marketing and client acquisition quite often. While it seems simple on the surface, it is a complex and layered endeavor that can transform a marketing strategy if used to its fullest extent. By checking the boxes that search engines (primarily Google’s) look for and ensuring specific keywords are strategically picked and placed, your firm’s landing pages and targeted marketing are more likely to appear above other sources.
However, even dedicated employees may have difficulty forming an SEO strategy, researching your competing firms’ strategies, and continually updating yours to stay relevant and keep your advantage. For example, one of the critical components in forming an SEO strategy for client acquisition is researching keywords to pepper into your articles and marketing. These keywords are what the algorithm combs content for to find relevant results for searches. For example, a local personal injury law firm may find that keywords and phrases like “car accident,” “slip and fall,” or “injury attorney near me” are all popular searches.
These keywords change constantly, and what may work for you now may not be relevant for long. This is where online tools and automated keyword planners can make a significant impact.
Take Advantage of Semrush
One of the best tools on the market for forming an SEO strategy for your law firm is Semrush. Semrush is an online tool that will track competitors’ SEO strategies and relevant trends in client acquisition and handles your firm’s keyword research in one streamlined platform. From the reviewers at TechJury, who spent extensive time researching and reviewing Semrush:
Semrush is arguably one of the best SEO platforms on the market. It offers tons of tools for optimizing websites and digital marketing campaigns. It performs keyword research, rank tracking, and competitor analysis brilliantly.
Semrush provides on-page support to ensure your firm’s pages are SEO-optimized and sure to catch the algorithm’s attention. Not only this, but the platform will track your page’s ranking and your competition’s over time to show further insight into the efficacy of your keywords and overall SEO strategy. However, Semrush is primarily targeted towards firms who prioritize Google as their platform of choice to rank on, as it only accounts for Google data analytics. Still, this should not be a problem, as Google is the most-used search engine as of 2021, holding 92.47% of the market share, according to statista.com.
For most law firms looking to fine-tune their SEO strategy or take their current strategy to the next level, Semrush is an excellent platform to start on. Remember, it takes time for Google to recognize your pages and update its search results to potential clients—the sooner you begin your search engine optimization, the quicker you will see the effective ways your new client acquisitions can grow.
Utilize Paid Ads and Pay-Per-Click Campaigns
Paid ads are another great way to bolster your firm’s client acquisition strategy. Paying for ads ensures that your content will appear for potential clients when they input relevant searches into their search engines. Since these ads typically appear before any organic search results, this is a fantastic way to ensure that you will catch the eye of any potential future clients.
One of the most common ways these ads are created and targeted is through pay-per-click campaigns. Across search platforms, these campaigns generate potential leads that are more likely to convert by only showing your ads to those it believes may be part of your target customer base. By targeting the ad results, your content can be much more efficient and targeted than in standard search engine searches.
Since the way these paid ads are paid for is by click, this can open your firm up to unintended side effects. Spam clicks are the worst enemy of any pay-per-click campaign for paid ads and can cost your firm thousands of wasted dollars by ad clickers who have no intention of retaining your services.
To prevent this, tools online can be used to recognize and hinder spam clicks, and the cost of the tools can be recouped in just a few instances in many cases. For example, ClickCease™ can keep bots from clicking your ad and clean up paid traffic to ensure that only those interested in your services receive the ad.
ClickCease Is Your Best Friend
ClickCease is one of the leading tools available that can help your paid ads on Google and Facebook avoid spam clicks. It does this by eliminating bot traffic and filtering potential clicks for any suspicious traffic.
According to StartupNation’s Jordan Kasteler:
When it comes to search ad fraud detection, prevention and protection, ClickCease’s algorithms work in the background to block fraudulent IPs automatically. Their software tracks each click on your Google AdWords and Bing Ads campaigns, scoring it according to dozens of parameters and labeling it as innocent or fraudulent. The tool can even file claims for refunds on your behalf.
This is an impressive laundry list of benefits from one tool. So, whether your firm is just testing the waters of paid ads or attempting to bolster your current strategy, give ClickCease a try and see how it can revolutionize your approach.
Embrace Email Marketing with AWeber
Email marketing is one of the longest-standing methods of tried-and-true client acquisition. From Fortune 500 businesses to small law firms across the country, an effective email campaign can convert a large percentage of potential leads when looking for a new marketing strategy. However, this can take concerted efforts and many hours. Luckily, personalized email marketing with a level of quality that will catch your potential client’s eye is only a few clicks away.
AWeber is an excellent tool for firms looking to dive into email marketing or refine how their current campaigns appear to their customer. With high-quality and modern templates to “autopilot” options that can format the most essential information you provide into stunning email copy, this platform has it all.
Since it tracks your metrics and email marketing efficacy, AWeber is your one-stop shop for all things email. From an in-depth review of AWeber from SoftwarePundit: “With over 150,000 users, AWeber is best for small businesses that desire a basic and affordable email marketing tool with exceptional customer support.”
So, for a quality service that promises fantastic customer support and a new approach that can help you get into the email marketing sphere, look no further than this user-friendly and small business-forward tool. It takes much of the “fluff” out of formulating your firm’s email marketing campaign and leaves you and your employees time to focus on critical day-to-day operations. As an added bonus, it can even suggest an aesthetic to fit your firm’s current brand and voice.
Get Started Now!
There is no better time to jumpstart your law firm’s marketing efforts than the present. Each passing day means missing out on potential clients that could be converted with any combination of tools and strategies above. From refining your website’s copy and using Semrush to fine-tuning it to relying on AWeber to boost your email marketing success, don’t overlook the efficacy of automated tools for your marketing efforts.
With resources across the web to bolster any level of online marketing for law firms, the options are endless to get your firm on track to be an advertising star. And for our money, the tried-and-true choices mentioned above are an excellent place to start.
If you’re not currently using marketing automation, it’s time to start. Here’s a quick read on the Three Benefits of Marketing Automation and how just like social media buttons, marketing automation can help take your business to the next level.
