SEO, SEM, PPC—with all the initialisms, it’s no wonder that attorneys can feel lost in the internet marketing world. But pay-per-click (PPC) marketing and other paid search strategies aren’t just for the most experienced legal marketers out there; even smaller law firms with little experience in online attorney marketing can take advantage of these attorney advertising strategies to drive more traffic to their website. This article breaks down exactly what PPC marketing involves, how it can benefit your law firm when done the right way, and how to get started.
Pay-per-click marketing is one type of paid search advertising, whose purpose is to basically buy website visits in order to potentially increase client conversions. One way to do this is through search engine marketing, where law firms bid on keywords related to their practice so they can appear in the advertisement space at the top of a search engine results page. For example, a personal injury firm might bid on “personal injury attorney San Francisco” so that their ad might appear in the top four Google results like in the image below.
That’s the million-dollar question. Yes, in addition to other attorney marketing strategies like content marketing and SEO, PPC marketing can be a cost-effective and worthwhile investment for law firms. Think about it—you may spend $2 per click to your website, but if one of those clicks becomes a client that brings in $10,000 to your firm, you’ve spent peanuts in exchange for a hefty profit. However, like many other forms of attorney marketing, PPC marketing should be considered an investment. Law firms must first spend time understanding how to build powerful PPC ads before they will see a steady payoff. Luckily, the information below can get you started on the right path.
When delving into PPC marketing as part of your attorney marketing arsenal, Google AdWords is a great place to start. It’s the most expansive and popular platform, particularly because the worldwide population completes 3.5 billion Google searches every day (according to Internet Live Statistics). Google AdWords operates like an auction, where users establish a budget, bid on keywords, and write advertisements to potentially see their ad in the cherished ad space at the top of the results page. Users only pay when their ad is clicked, and the good news is that the highest bidders don’t automatically land a place in the ad space; Google bases its decision on multiple factors above and beyond bid such as:
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There are several things that your law firm can do today that can increase your odds of earning a spot in the coveted ad space at the top of results pages.
A well-designed website is a cornerstone of all effective online attorney marketing strategies, including PPC marketing. The more organized, relevant, helpful, and user-friendly your website is, the greater your chances of being ranked higher by Google and landing in an ad spot. Revisit your website and ask:
If your law firm’s website is lacking in any of these areas, reach out to an experienced legal website designer for help.
Because one of Google’s ranking factors is ad relevance, it is important to craft an advertisement that specifically answers potential visitors’ queries. For instance, a Google user searching for “personal injury attorney Salt Lake City” is looking for something a bit different than a user scouring Google with the query “Is my boss responsible if I’m injured on the job?” Nail down the type of client or business you’re looking for as well as the various queries that this audience would search, and keep these elements in mind when writing multiple ads.
When it comes to creating the keyword list for your online attorney marketing, bidding on long-tail keywords can be less expensive and more effective at sending the right kind of business your way than the most popular phrases. For instance, instead of “personal injury attorney,” which has a lot of competition, consider bidding on a keyword phrase like “workers’ compensation law firm for construction workers Austin.” You will receive less traffic but the visitors you do see may fit your ideal client profile much better, and therefore convert at a higher rate—all at less cost to you, since you’re bidding on keywords with far less competition.
Law firm advertising isn’t easy. At one time a yellow pages ad or a television commercial would net you hundreds of new clients. Today, you must diversify your advertising techniques and include a healthy dose of digital marketing. With a dynamic set of tools, law firm marketing can be done successfully.
One of the most useful digital marketing tools for law firms is paid search. If you’re not using paid search techniques, your business will likely decrease over time. Although people still react to traditional marketing messages, things like pay per click (PPC) advertising are showing increasingly successful results.
Digital marketing can be challenging. Paid search, in particular, requires a significant amount of research and investment of time and energy. Even with experience, PPC can be difficult. You will be competing with thousands of other lawyers to climb search engine results pages (SERPs), and you will want to do it for the least amount of investment possible.
Legal keywords that include “lawyer” and “attorney” are some of the most expensive keywords across the board. On Bing, such keywords can easily cost over $100 per click. Terms like “personal injury attorney” and “DUI lawyer” are some of the most expensive. It’s likely that your highest priority practice areas correspond with expensive PPC keywords. In fact, many larger law firms spend as much as $100,000 per month on PPC campaigns. This is a formidable challenge.
The more expensive your keywords are, the more competition there is but also the potential ROI is greater too. Many lawyers are bidding on the same popular keywords, targeting keywords known to convert. As a result of this supply and demand, Google raises the price of competitive keywords. You’ll need to come up with a strategy that fits your budget and goals, ultimately resulting in a positive return on investment.
It can be a challenge to navigate through the thousands of other attorneys who are using PPC. Without PPC, it can be difficult to get visibility, but deciding how to use it can be challenging. The key is to balance the use of expensive popular keywords with the use of less competitive, but still frequently searched keywords. Take part in the competition, but also blaze your own path.
Because many attorneys only take certain types of cases in specific circumstances, it can be difficult to find qualified searchers who are relevant to the firm. Although law firms can use limited demographic targeting, many firms still utilize expensive PPC keywords that are often not entirely relevant to their practice or desired clients. It can be difficult to get searchers who will become clients. This is where it becomes important to carefully research keywords and make educated guesses about potential clients. Partnering with a marketing agency who primarily works in the legal field is ideal because they have the data and experience to be successful.
Because so many law firms are using PPC, you need to do something to make your firm stand out. You should start by reviewing what your biggest competitors are doing. Search keywords you’re interested in and see who shows up. It should be easy to find your top competitors. However, most lawyers tend to do the same things with little diversification. In order to set yourself apart, you can:
This is a short statement about you and your firm, providing your contact information and prompting the reader to contact you.
Your competitors may possibly be using these as well, but you can make yours more complete and attractive. This includes locations, site links, call-outs, and more.
Instead of focusing on everything you do, point out the things that set you apart and make you a strong firm for your clients. This may be free consultations, 24 hour customer service, or extensive experience.
You are in a position to target specific geographic areas with your PPC. However, many firms forget this step or fail to properly geo-target. If your practice is in a large city, you should not be targeting an entire state. Most clients will not travel farther than is necessary. Determine an exact radius that makes sense for attorneys and clients, then target that area.
If you have more than one office location, you may choose to geo-target more than one area. In this situation, you should have separate campaigns for each location so you can target them appropriately. Geo-targeting that is too expansive or not targeted appropriately will cost you time and money when people click ads and call you without using your services.
You want certain types of clients, so target them with your ads. You will want to find people with a specific intent and at a certain stage of their legal process. If you want to find clients who are at the beginning of their legal process, then you may target questions that such clients would ask. FAQ pages and questions about how to hire a lawyer may help. Similarly, if you want to find someone who has already done their research, you can target different types of keywords. Structure your account so that landing pages, keywords, and ads match the intent and stage of search of your desired client.
You will likely be listing phone numbers on your ads, so you should make sure those phones are manned at all times. There are many services you can use to take messages for you if you’re unable to answer the phones. Don’t leave your potential clients to a recorded message. Instead, people who chat with or call your firm should speak with an actual person.
These ads provide clickers with a phone number immediately and don’t require them to click through to a landing page.
These buttons allow people to click and call immediately, often showing up easily on SERPs.
You should use numbers that can easily be tracked. This will give you an idea of where callers are finding you, and thus, where to invest more time and money.
People who are searching for lawyers will likely see multiple ads and websites before they make a decision. You need to make your content easy to ingest and interesting. Videos, pictures, graphics, and other dynamic content can encourage people to pick up the phone.
Videos that include an attorney are particularly important, as they give potential clients an idea of who you are. They will feel like they can meet you before coming into the office. It will let potential clients know that you are approachable and willing to help.
When engaging in marketing, you will want to build a brand that is memorable to the community and potential clients. With so much competition, this can be difficult. You want to utilize PPC and other marketing methods to infuse your brand message through the community.
Even PPC ads should include your memorable brand message. Although you want to use keywords, you will also want to include information about your brand in PPC. If you have a memorable phrase or description of your firm, you should use that often.
In addition to tracking calls, you should be compiling information about PPC and any other marketing you are doing. All phone conversations should be tracked as well as chat and PPC ads. You will want to know which ads are being clicked frequently and invest additional money in those terms. Keywords that result in bouncing searchers should be eliminated.
Although most people only utilize PPC on Google, you should also use Bing. As much as 20% of the search market uses Bing. Although that sounds low, it amounts for millions of people. In your geo-target area, you may reach thousands on Bing. Additionally, Bing is much cheaper than Google. You should invest in both Google and Bing.
A primary concern of many law firms today is keeping the phone ringing and an effective legal focused PPC campaign can make that happen. With directory sites taking up organic results and map results shrinking, it can be difficult to know what to do. Many firms reach out to agencies that have limited or stale ideas that do not produce quality leads. A solution that few attorneys are utilizing is creating effective call only ad campaigns. PPC for law firms can be effective if managed properly but without proper management, things can get out of control quickly. Call only ads consistently generate high-quality leads at a lower cost than display or text-only ads. As Google continues to make changes to their platform, there will be more opportunities to take advantage of new ad types, extensions, and other tools that can help your firm develop quality leads at a lower price point. It is essential to work with an agency that is investing the time and effort into staying on top of these changes, or you will likely be lumped into the same campaigns that produce lower than average results for your firm. Below is an overview of how call only campaigns work, but if you would like to talk to one of our PPC experts today, schedule an appointment and we will review your campaigns. We’ll let you know what we can do to help your firm improve lead flow and the quality of the leads.
To properly use call only ads for law firms doing PPC, you first need to understand the mind of the person searching. First, determine what the searcher is trying to find or solve. Consider:
If the answer to all three of these questions is “yes,” then call only ads are appropriate for the searcher. This type of ads will provide immediate contact and quick answers to the users’ questions.
Once you determine that your industry is a good fit for call only ads, you need to prepare your business for them. To set up systems to handle call just ads, you’ll need the following: 1. Call tracking for call recording 2. Trained staff First, you will want to set up call recording through tracking systems so you can analyze the actual calls that come in. Secondly, you’ll want to have a set of staff who know how to manage a call seeking information from your business. Next, test your call systems by having a friend call your business. You should listen to the call on the speaker phone while your staff navigates the interaction. Assess the experience that the caller receives. How long did it take your team to answer the phone? Was your staff friendly and knowledgeable? Was your caller put on hold? The tighter the experience, the more likely you’ll score the lead. A lack of preparedness of existing staff is a primary reason that call only campaigns are not successful. It’s important to prepare your team with training and practice before your call only ad campaign launches.
Understanding that call only ads is a good option for you is the first step. Next, you need to create call only ads that are successful. This process requires an artistic hand.
The first step in setting up a successful call only ad campaign is understanding your market. You should perform some searches using your phone to discover competitors and ads for your top keywords. Assess the ads that come up, evaluating:
These considerations can help you develop a solid foundation for a call only ad campaign. The goal is to create an ad that encourages the person searching to press call. You have to prove that you’re worth their click.
The next step is to evaluate the keywords you’re using in your call only ad campaigns. You can use the previous questions that were presented to establish intent behind your keywords. The intent of the searcher should match your goals so that you’re getting successful calls. Additionally, there is a range of keyword modifiers that make you more likely to get calls, including: “near me” “quote” “cost” City or locale names In addition to doing research into which keywords to use, you should also include these simple modifiers. It’s likely that they can boost your calls.
For call only ads, the copy you present in your ad is like a landing page. To be successful, you’ll want to create a dynamic ad copy. You have to convince the person who is searching that your ad is worth the click and call. A few questions to consider when writing your ad copy:
Effective call only ads will answer these questions in their copy. Direct answers are not necessarily required. For example, the ad might say, “free consultation,” or “best price in the city.” These answer questions about service cost. Addressing the primary concerns of the searcher are key.
Most importantly, successful call only ads require effective interaction with the caller. You should evaluate your approach to Google Ads and get feedback from the customer. By using call tracking and recording, you can listen to the calls and customer concerns. The information you obtain by listening to your calls can be used in creating compelling ad copy. When callers express concerns or want, that can be directly translated into ad copy targeting those needs. Compelling ad copy can increase conversion rates. Furthermore, you can also use call information to extrapolate search terms and keywords in your call only ads. The better your keywords and copy, the more clicks you will get.
Lastly, instead of focusing only on data, advertisers should also consider context. You need to know how searchers are using terms and what they are looking for. Establishing the intent of the user is key. Consider:
By using these questions to create effective call only ads, you can develop an effective local search campaign that will result in your phones ringing off the hook.
Remarketing is the practice of targeting people who have visited your website but have not committed to book an appointment with your law firm. This method of advertising is widely used by online retailers and it is very suitable for legal practices as well. When someone is searching for legal services, they are very likely to check out at least 3 practices before committing. However, many people close a tab once they have visited the site on it and then forget how to get back to that page. If you manage to get spotted in search engine results, and then actually make a good presentation on your site, you can still lose out on business because people don’t bookmark your page. Remarketing solves that problem because it ensures your ad pops up on any of the Web pages that the searcher visits after leaving your page. They won’t forget you. Search Engine Journal has some very good advice on starting a remarking campaign. This practice also extends to capturing addresses for an email campaign, and you will read about those strategies, too. Search Engine Watch has an interesting article on free tools this week, which will come in handy if you are setting up your marketing campaign. What is the Best Way to Use Retargeting? The method that implements remarketing is called retargeting. The two terms can be used interchangeably. This article explains the strategy behind remarketing. It is a way to keep reminding potential clients of your existence. The behavior of clients looking for legal services is not exactly the same as retail sellers. For example, someone might aspire to buy a Jetski, but not have the money yet, so they might visit a Jetski website with the intention of buying in a year’s time. The conversion period for legal services is a lot shorter. Other than corporate clients looking for a long-term legal services provider on retainer, most searchers only start looking for a lawyer when they are in immediate need. However, remarketing is still a useful tool for law firms. The Guide to Launching Your Remarketing Campaign If you decide to start a remarketing campaign, you might get swamped by all the research you need to do in order to find the right platform and learn how to use it. If you haven’t got time for that, plump for the Google Display Network. It’s part of Google Adwords and one of the biggest advertising networks in the world. This article gives very clear instructions on how to set up your retargeting with Google’s tools. What Makes Ebooks a Powerful Business Tool Retargeting involves secretly copying a little program, called a cookie, onto the visitor’s computer. You might not be comfortable with that. If you find the subterfuge of retargeting morally objectionable, then there are other methods you can use for a remarketing campaign. Ebooks fall into this category. If someone is searching for legal services, the chances are that person could do with an education in how the law applies to their situation. So, if a visitor goes to a specific section of your site that covers a particular practice specialty, you have a rough idea of what that person’s problem is. If you write up an ebook on that situation, the visitor is likely to download it to study offline. Your law firm’s name should be all over the book and you should include links in the text that the reader can click to get to the appointments section of your site. Your firm’s contact details should also be clearly visible in the book. By this method you manage to maintain visibility with potential clients even after they have left your site.
Download our free guide and learn about the importance of key performance indicators (KPIs)
How to Get an Email Marketing Gold Medal An email marketing campaign is another method that you can use for retargeting if you don’t like the idea of tagging site visitors. The concept here is that you set up a series of emails and then schedule them to be sent out at regular intervals to the people that you have in your mailing list. Other than the need to write that content, upload them to an email management system and maintain the mailing list, the job is pretty much done for you. Combining the power of ebooks with email is a very effective way to put together a remarketing campaign. Rather than letting the visitor download the report, you get them to enter their email address. The email field is directly linked to your contact management software and you make the ebook delivery email the first in your series of emails to contact. Thus, the general public enters their own address directly into your mailing list and you don’t have to do anything. 40 free digital marketing tools to help grow your business So, how do you set up an email campaign? Check out the Email section of this extensive list of free marketing tools. You will probably get the most user-friendly experience with MailChimp, but try out the other email tools mentioned in the list because you can use any of them for free.
Now we answer the most common questions attorneys have about law firm PPC. Mostly because we receive calls from dozens of firms a week, most frustrated by their current marketing company for one reason or another, but primarily because they are getting taken advantage of and paying top dollar for poor quality leads. The problem for most attorneys and firms is they know very little about the process and what their agency should be doing for them. This lends itself to marketing agencies taking advantage of the firm and creating more problems for agencies who do good work and are honest in their approach.
Educating clients is a top priority for our company and is something we take a lot of pride in. Below are some common questions we often get regarding paid advertising, I hope they help you better understand how law firm PPC works and how it can help your firm grow.
If you would like more information on our law firm PPC services, schedule an appointment with our team today. We are happy to review your current campaigns or give you a market analysis and opportunity report.
1. Why pay for clicks when traffic can be obtained for free?
2. Which law firms are candidates for PPC ads?
3. How much does a typical PPC campaign cost?
4. Does PPC work better for some specialties than others?
5. Between Google and Bing, where do you recommend we place ads?
6. Can a team member or I create and manage these ads ourselves?
7. How long does it take to get a PPC campaign up and running?
8. What work is done once a campaign is in place?
9. What percent of law firms succeed with their PPC efforts?
10. How soon will I know whether PPC will be effective for my firm?
11. How much work will be required from me?
12. What questions should I ask prospective PPC providers?
13. If I already have a PPC ad program in place but want that effort reviewed, what will you examine?
It used to be the case that only law firms who wanted to rapidly and aggressively expand their lead flow needed to invest in pay-per-click advertising (PPC).
But three trends have converged to make PPC a critical element of marketing plans in far more law firms:
The small screens of smartphones limit what is seen without scrolling. Pay-per-click ads appear at the top of searches – above both local results and organic listings.
The vast majority of searches for lawyers thus result in only paid listings initially appearing on screen.
PPC ads used to appear on a yellow background that distinguished them from the free listings. That background has been removed and now over half of searchers do not discern between paid ads and free listings. Ads now occupy more space. Three ads formerly were shown at the top of the listings. Four ads now regularly appear. And each PPC ad used to be smaller. The size of each ad has been increased.
65% of people who are looking to spend money (as opposed to, say, answer a question) click a paid ad while 35% click an organic listing.
So someone who searches “personal injury attorney Austin Texas for truck accident” is almost two times more likely to click a paid listing than a free listing. But someone who searches for “how soon must I file a claim for a truck accident?” is more likely to click a free listing.
The end result is that the volume of clicks from paid ads has been steadily increasing year-over-year while clicks from free listings have held steady, and more important to you, searchers ready to retain counsel overwhelmingly click paid listings over free listings.
Unless you believe smartphone use is going to decline, or that Google will stop driving searchers to its paid listings, or that searchers will change their habits, you will want to weigh the potential ROI from pay-per-click advertising against that of your current marketing efforts.
Cost per lead, cost per new client, and quality of each are what really matter, not what channel delivered those leads and clients.
Your firm needs two items in place to move forward with paid listings:
If you are not successfully working your existing leads, there is little point in paying to get more … no matter how good they will be.
For example, we handle the marketing for one law firm which was using an answering service to receive all its leads. The problem occurred not due to that scenario, but in the handoff. The law firm was receiving its leads so tardily and returning the calls so slowly that when reached the prospects had already set appointments with other firms.
If your total marketing spend is capped at $1,000/month, your firm is better off investing that sum in local SEO and online reviews. We recommend a minimum of $1,500/month for an effective law firm PPC campaign.
Marketing automation is a necessity for a firm who has PPC campaigns in place. We believe running PPC campaigns without automation setup is a bad practice and ultimately will increase your cost per hire. Technology has improved significantly over the last two years and when paired with great content that our team develops for each client conversion rates increase by more than 20% across all practice areas.
$2,000/month. $1,500 is invested in ads and $500 in campaign management.
Larger firms can and will invest more, but $1,500 is a good budget to begin with. After lead flow increases and your client intake is effectively handling those leads, you can consider expanding further.
Law firm PPC works for all industries and we strongly recommend putting the majority of the budget toward ads facing consumers who are actively searching for your services. The first 3 to 4 results of any high-intent keyword phrase will be ads.
We like and use both. Bing ads have much lower traffic, but also costs a lot less. For each new campaign we test both Google and Bing ads. We recommend tracking and A/B testing to determine the best ROI for your budget and practice. Bing pulls a particular and different demographic from Google.
If you are fortunate enough to have a Google Adwords certified team member with extra time available, sure. Otherwise, we recommend against going it alone with law firm PPC ads.
Unlike other marketing efforts like blogging, with PPC you are paying for each click obtained. If you lack experience and sophistication, it is easy to generate the wrong kind of clicks and quickly burn through your budget generating unsuitable traffic.
Similarly, regular monitoring and testing are required with law firm PPC. You cannot set it and forget it. If you get distracted with client or firm management matters, you are likely to waste funds on inefficient spending.
If despite this admonition you still want to move forward on your own, be sure to:
2-3 weeks is typical. If a lawyer is prompt about providing approvals, the time can be shortened.
The initial time is spent learning what types of clients are desired, researching the competition’s ads and spending, writing ads, designing landing pages, and setting up ad tracking.
The main tasks are monitoring results, testing improvements, hearing from you about lead quality, providing guidance on client intake, and adjusting the campaign as needed.
We will talk to you every other week immediately after launch, and then monthly once the campaign is running smoothly.
Law firms with a strong client intake process nearly always succeed. Lower success rates occur with firms that don’t have their intake procedures fully dialed in.
If needed, we can provide guidance, scripts, content, and training helping improve your lead conversion results.
Two months of spending will be sufficient. Since most law firms succeed with PPC, the primary question will be how many more good leads will be received, not whether they will be obtained at reasonable cost.
For campaign setup we will want you to review and approve the ad copy and landing page proof.
We ask that you defer to our expertise regarding mundane landing page matters like layout, colors and the like. The ultimate arbiter over time will be results from A/B tests, but due to our experience with campaigns for other law firms we have a good sense of what to begin with.
After the campaign is in place, we ask that you take a few minutes each month to review with us the results received.
We handle everything else.
As with nearly every type of work project, what counts most is the quality of work done by the individual handling your job.
Ideally, before deciding whether to move forward you will talk directly to the person who will be managing your campaign. At a larger law firm PPC provider, your initial conversation will likely be with a salesperson. In that case, ask to also speak with the individual who will be doing the work.
To determine how and where results of your law firm PPC spending can be improved, we review the following during our audit:
You have enough on your plate—let our experienced team handle your online attorney marketing and save your firm money. Start with a FREE audit of your marketing spend!
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