Why Invest In Online Law Firm Marketing?
Houston law firms face a competitive and saturated market for gathering leads and turning them into clients. It might seem like the most prominent law firms can just pour more money into marketing and take all the legal work. But smaller firms can leverage effective digital marketing without overspending to get all the clients they need.
While some law firms think that referrals are preferable to the Internet for legal leads, that is not always the case. Referrals can be an excellent source of future business, but most Houston law firms do not receive enough referrals to survive financially. A strong Web presence and digital strategy will result in more client leads for your Houston legal practice.
Now, we will dig into the best law firm marketing practices for your law firm:
Create A Strong Website
Approximately 90% of law firms have a website. In addition, almost all legal clients today expect to find your firm on the Internet, so it is essential to have an excellent site.
A well-designed website increases your law firm’s credibility. It also gives an impressive introduction to your legal services. A robust website is a fantastic sales pitch and information source in one. Your website should do the following:
- Talk about your law firm’s specialties, such as car accidents, truck accidents, bus accidents, and medical malpractice
- Offer contact information on every page
- List successful settlements and verdicts
- Demonstrate the values of your law firm
- Provide detailed, informative answers to common legal questions
Your Houston law firm website should be intuitive and user-friendly. This means it should be simple for consumers to browse on mobile and desktop platforms. In addition, every page should have a clear call to action, so the visitor knows who to contact for questions.
Focus On Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Your law firm may have the most fantastic website in Houston, Texas. But if no one can find you, what good is it? SEO marketing should be an integral part of your digital strategy. SEO for lawyers in Houston is how you improve the quantity and quality of people who visit your site.
Consumers search Google and other search engines daily for information they need. In the legal field, they type in searches such as ‘personal injury lawyer Houston’ or ‘medical malpractice attorney in Houston.’ If you want your law firm to rank high for these search phrases, SEO is one of the things that make it happen.
Search engine optimization aims to obtain leads by placing critical keywords in your content writing, website, and social media channels. Every successful law firm with credibility on the Internet relies heavily on SEO to rank higher in Google and get more clients.
Remember Local SEO
Ranking high in local searches is significant for regional law firms. If your law firm gets most of its clients from the Houston area, it is not as helpful if your site ranks highly in Miami or Chicago.
Google collects data from your firm’s links, social media channels, content, and citations to decide your local SEO rank. The search engine determines where every law firm in the city is located and connects them to Google maps. This allows potential clients to see where your law firm is and contact you.
Almost 50% of search engine inquiries look for local law firms. Therefore, excellent local SEO practices can help a Houston law firm show higher search engine results in the local area. It also is a big plus if the firm has many positive Google reviews to stand out from competitors.
Leverage Social Media Platforms
Ranking high in Google is a big help. But you will gain more new clients if you also engage in effective social media marketing. When your law firm creates a dynamic presence on social media, it is critical to understand how each social media channel operates. Also, you should understand the social media websites your legal clients are most likely to use.
For instance, Facebook targets people who are related to family and friends. On the other hand, LinkedIn is geared toward business professionals. Your firm can grow its presence on both networks, but the content you provide on each will be markedly different.
An excellent place to start with social media marketing for Houston lawyers is Facebook. It is by far the most popular social media channel in the world. Lawyers regularly utilize Facebook to make pages for their law firms, promote their unique brand, and engage with clients and prospects.
What should you post on Facebook? Many successful attorneys repurpose their blog posts into Facebook posts. For instance, if your firm writes a blog post about the 6 Worst Mistakes After A Truck Accident, some highlights of the item could be posted on Facebook.
Another Facebook marketing strategy that some of our law firm clients utilize is Facebook Live. Clients will do the live video then we will post it on their YouTube channel as well as post the transcript and video on their blog.
Next, increase your Facebook followers by showing your firm’s achievements, community outreach, and answering common legal questions. The more you interact with your social media audience, the more clients you earn.
Not every social media platform is a good fit for attorneys. There is no reason why a Houston attorney would want to market Snapchat. On the other hand, Facebook and Instagram are used by 70% of US adults daily. So these are effective places for a law firm to be active.
Use Attorney Pay Per Lead Program
An attorney pay-per-lead program involves paying for legal leads from a third party. A pay-per-lead program for lawyers can be a valuable tool in your digital marketing arsenal. It is a popular choice for small legal practices with smaller budgets or not as much marketing expertise.
The best programs use forms specific to your practice, gather vital client details, and send you the leads almost immediately. In addition, some programs provide real-time notification so you can get on the lead as quickly as possible.
Connecting with potential legal clients at the same time they want a question answered increases the odds of a conversion. There are many lawyers out there, and if the consumer does not get a quick answer, they will go elsewhere.
Use Video
Many Internet users prefer to absorb content from videos instead of text. As a result, law firms that use video marketing on their website and social media channels should increase engagement. Video content also can humanize attorneys and support staff, so it helps to have short video bios on your attorney pages.
It could be worth your investment if you pay an experienced videographer to make your legal videos. High production values make a big difference in impact.
Invest In Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising
Putting money into SEO and content marketing is essential so clients can find your firm in organic searches. Additionally, investing in PPC advertising for lawyers can get you highly targeted clicks to your website. For example, paying for Google Ads can put your company’s name at the top of the search results. As a result, paid ads can boost your number of legal prospects and can be an essential part of your digital strategy.
However, relying on PPC advertising alone is not recommended to find Houston legal clients. Instead, the best strategy is an all-of-the-above approach using blog marketing, SEO, social media, PPC, and more to find new clients.
Strive For Good Reviews Of Your Law Firm
Lastly, one of the essential parts of effective legal advertising is offering the best legal services. When you provide clients with effective legal representation, they will write positive reviews online about your practice.
Excellent online reviews on Google Reviews and other platforms are critical. Why? One study says 93% of people read reviews online before they make a purchasing decision.
Offer the best legal services in Houston, then ask your clients for online reviews. It also is essential to engage with clients on all online reviews. Whether the review is positive or negative, be sure you or your staff respond to each review.
If there is a negative review once in a while, it is not the end of the world. The average of your online reviews matters most. If there is a negative comment from a client, acknowledge the review online politely and ask them to contact you privately. If the law firm handles a negative review appropriately, it will not significantly impact the business.
Law Firm Case Studies
This case study shows how a single-attorney family law practice started attracting more high-asset, financially complex divorce cases.
Click here to read about a family law firm that increased its caseload five-fold in a few months.
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Contact Our Houston Lawyer Marketing Team
At FORWARD Lawyer Marketing we believe in taking a “leave no stone unturned” approach when it comes to our legal clients. With that in mind, we employ extremely experienced people in the industry.
Our SEO Director has been marketing online for well over two decades and oversees all SEO tasks including editing content and performing on-page optimization as well as internal and external linking.
Creating a comprehensive lawyer marketing strategy for Houston does not need to be overwhelming. However, if you focus on the basics mentioned here – SEO, social media, content marketing, and website design – you have a fantastic start for digital marketing.
Our specialty is law firm marketing and SEO for lawyers at FORWARD Lawyer Marketing, call us at (888) 590-9687 to discuss how we can increase the revenue of your law firm.