Clients are what keep law firms and attorneys employed. Without clients, you wouldn’t have a practice or law firm. It’s imperative that you have a lead generation strategy to ensure you have a regular influx of clients.
But which lead generation channels are the best ones for attorneys? Schedule a complimentary strategy session with OppGen to find out which ones may be most effective for your law firm.
There is not one single answer, but the following details some of the best lead generation channels available today:
Google Ads
Google Ads happens to be one of the best channels for generating leads, regardless of field. Advertising on Google comes in a few different options:
Search Ads
Search ads, sometimes referred to as “PPC” (pay-per-click) for shorthand, are ads that appear on Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs) and look like individual search results. They are placed at either the top or bottom of each SERPs page.
One of the perks of these search ads is that they can only be shown when a prospect searches for a specific query that you set parameters for. Simply put, you can make sure these ads are being seen by people who are looking for your services in a set area. PPC leads are usually high-quality leads because they are actively searching for your services, meaning they’re more likely to convert.
Another perk? You are only charged when a prospective client clicks on the ad.
The cost for search ads is determined by a bidding system, in which you bid on how much you’re willing to pay for certain keywords. This doesn’t mean you should go with the lowest possible offer, though — Google rewards advertisements with higher quality ads and higher bids by placing them in more advantageous positions.
Ideally, you want your ad to be placed on page 1 of the search results, preferably at the top of the page. The second page isn’t bad, either, but anywhere beyond the second page is no-man’s land. Relatively few people go beyond the second page of search results, and fewer are going past the first.
It’s worth noting, however, that certain practice areas of law are more competitive and as a result, are more expensive. Depending on your marketing budget and law firm’s practice area, you may want to consider other lead generation channels outside of search ads.
Display Ads
Display ads are not placed on the SERPs; instead, these image-based ads are placed on relevant websites and take a prospective client’s search history into account. These ads are best for retargeting, a strategy that aims to have prospects who have bounced from your site go back to it and take a specific action.
If you’ve ever left items in a virtual shopping cart, you might have seen ads on another website featuring those items. Even if you don’t click on the ad, there’s a good chance you’ll go back and check out the items you’ve left in the cart. That’s a prime example of retargeting.
Local Services Ads
Google has recently started offering local services ads for certain types of law firms and other businesses.
Should your law firm specialize in one of the areas Google has opened up for local services ads, it’s well worth looking into.
It takes a bit of work to set up a campaign, as the process includes a background and verification check, as well as a Google My Business account (more on that later). But it’s worth it, especially because these ads allow you to dispute leads. If one of your leads wasn’t one that came through, you can contact Google and they will likely refund you for the less than ideal lead.
Given that local services ads aren’t available for every type of business out there, it’s a little less competitive in that regard, too.
Facebook is yet another great channel for generating leads. Because social media platforms like Facebook take users’ information upon registration (such as their name, age, job, location, sex) and pay close attention to the pages they like and content they share. This allows Facebook to push highly relevant, targeted ads to prospects. Facebook ads often use some kind of visual element, such as images, slideshows, and videos, along with text.
Another way you can utilize Facebook is through a Facebook business page, where you can share helpful information, legal advice, and more to prospective clients. Setting up a Facebook business page is easy and free, so there’s no reason not to have a page for your law firm.
The end goal with a Facebook page is that eventually, when a prospect is in need of your law firm’s services, they’ll reach out to you.
With its visual media options, powerful ad targeting tools, and business page, using Facebook to generate more leads for your law firm is a fantastic strategy.
Organic Traffic
Paid search and paid social ads are a great short-term strategy for generating leads, but if you want to generate leads consistently, focusing on boosting organic (or unpaid) traffic is the way to go.
A search engine optimization (SEO) strategy can improve your organic traffic by improving your law firm’s SERPs position for relevant keywords and phrases.
At OppGen, we recommend using a four-step approach to SEO:
1. Technical SEO
Technical SEO is all about your website’s speed, organization, and accessibility. Your website should be fast on all devices, especially mobile devices. Google has started ranking websites using sites’ mobile versions first, so if your website doesn’t operate well or quickly on mobile devices, it’s going to hurt your ranking.
Your website should also be easy to navigate and accessible to all users. A simple design is almost always going to be better than one with all of the bells and whistles. In the case of website design, less is more. Not to mention simple designs tend to perform better on mobile devices as well.
Website design is easier than ever before, but that doesn’t mean you should go ahead and design it on your own. It’s a good idea to reach out to web design experts who can optimize your website’s lead conversion rates and see what they can do for you.
2. Local SEO
Assuming your law firm isn’t a national brand, a local SEO strategy is a must. Local SEO focuses on getting your law firm to rank high on local searches. You can do this by claiming a Google My Business page and creating a Facebook Business page, as well as making sure your law firm is listed in relevant local directories.
When setting up these pages, make sure your law firm’s name, address, and phone number are all correct across the board, from your website to each and every listing entry your law firm is included in. Mismatching or incorrect information will hurt your SERPs position, and worse yet, could confuse prospective customers who may find the services your law firm offers elsewhere.
3. On-Page SEO
On-page SEO is all about your website’s content. Content comes in many forms these days, and it’s a good idea to use as many content mediums as possible, provided they’re offering high-quality content and information that can help prospective clients.
In-depth, well-researched blog posts can be great resources for potential clients and also prove to them that you know what you’re doing when it comes to the law. With blog posts in particular, you’ll want to make sure it’s something that the average person can understand, so keep jargon to a minimum. Avoid keyword stuffing, too. Though keyword stuffing was once an effective SEO strategy, Google’s bots will crawl your pages and flag potential keyword stuffing. Plus, these bots can read content close to how humans can, so making sure they understand what you’re discussing is a must.
You can create a YouTube channel and embed videos into blog posts that discusses the content of these videos in a slightly different way. You could do the same thing with podcasts and summarize the discussion or include a transcript of the podcast.
If you’re ever running low on content ideas for your law firm, we have a list of over 27 blog topics that can help you come up with more. Although the ideas are more specific to personal injury law, many of these ideas are still applicable to other areas of law. At the very least, it can help you brainstorm.
4. Off-Page SEO
Off-page SEO focuses on spreading the word about your law firm and the content you’ve created. This is done through creating a backlinking strategy. Backlinks are links to your website that are shared on another website.
When a trusted high-quality, high-ranking website shares a link to your website, that does more than bring in more traffic. It also tells search engines that your website is a good resource. In turn, search engines will reward your law firm’s site with a higher SERPs position.
You can start building some backlinks by sharing your content to your business’s Facebook or Google My Business page. If you run a YouTube channel or podcast, include links to your website in the video or podcast description, and be sure to drop a verbal call to action (or CTA) in the video or podcast, too, asking prospects to go to your website.
Off-page SEO is also about your reputation, which is why it’s a great idea to have a Google My Business listing or Facebook Business page (or better yet, both and other directory listings) where users can leave reviews. More positive reviews will also improve your SERPs position, so encourage your clients to leave reviews.
You should always respond to reviews, especially the negative ones. At the very least, responding to reviews shows you care about your clients and their experiences — even the ones that weren’t good, and that you did your best to work with them.
Remember: Reviews are often the final thing a prospect looks at before deciding whether or not they want to go with your law firm. So even if you aren’t interested in SEO, you should still be interested in reviews.
Referral Websites
There are many legal-specific referral websites that can help you bring in more leads, and many of them can even be part of your local SEO and off-page strategies.
Here are just a small handful of legal referral websites:
Avvo
Avvo is one of the largest websites in the legal industry, with millions of prospects visiting it every month. Avvo includes free legal Q&A services that help leads get their legal questions answered from real attorneys like you.
It also happens to be one of the largest review websites for attorneys, too. Building up positive reviews and a good reputation on several different websites can really help your law firm in many ways. It can boost your SEO ranking and make prospects be more likely to choose you based on the reviews they read.
Avvo serves all legal practice areas, so it’s a good idea to claim your Avvo profile as soon as you can if you haven’t done so already. Depending on the membership level you select for your profile, you may have the option to use targeted display ads and be recommended more to certain leads.
Nolo
Nolo, like Avvo, is another great source of free legal information and also receives millions of site visits each month. Nolo also allows you to create a lawyer profile page. It takes a more SEO-like approach by focusing mainly on content, and its pricing structure is based on a cost per lead.
Nolo has access to leads that may be shared with multiple attorneys as well as some exclusive leads, though these exclusive leads may be more expensive. However, the tradeoff is that despite the higher cost of an exclusive lead, these are leads who are more likely to convert to clients.
It covers all major practice areas, so unless your law firm is in a very niche specialty, you shouldn’t have a problem making a Nolo account.
FindLaw
FindLaw is a network of multiple legal directories and houses FindLaw.com, SuperLawyers.com, and LawInfo.com.
FindLaw combines the strengths of Nolo and Avvo into one website that offers both targeted advertising and SEO content. Unlike Nolo, FindLaw leads are never shared. FindLaw gives you an advantage for conversions because these leads are always exclusive and are not shared with anyone else.
The downside? You’ll probably pay more for each cost per lead.
However, FindLaw offers several different marketing packages that can help you and your law firm succeed.
Partnerships with Other Attorneys
Not all attorneys work in the same area of law. You can create a powerful lead generation channel by partnering with a local attorney whose firm doesn’t specialize in your practice area. Fostering good relationships with local attorneys can also be beneficial to all parties involved. You may find that the prospect you referred to a partner will think highly of you and recommend your law firm to others, even though you didn’t represent them. You’ll also have an ally in another firm who can refer prospective clients your way.
But be careful with who you partner with. Just because you decide to partner with an attorney does not mean that they are a good attorney. Your partnerships reflect not only your partner, but also you and your firm. Partnering with a law firm that has a history of ethics violations or handling cases poorly can and will hurt your reputation. Be smart about who you decide to work with.
Contact Us to Learn More About Lead Generation Channels for Attorneys
OppGen has built successful marketing campaigns for several attorneys and their law firms. Our marketing campaigns are tailored specifically for each of our clients, so we’ll be sure to help you determine the best lead generation channels for your law firm. For more information, contact OppGen today.
