Using the internet to conduct a lawyer marketing campaign should begin with search engine optimization. In terms of efficiency, law firm seo produces some of the highest return on investment. However, getting return on your seo lawyer marketing investments, requires some basic knowledge about which techniques are effective and which are not.
When it comes to lawyer internet marketing through SEO, the goal is to increase your firm’s placement in search engines for your core, relevant keywords. As you implement more law firm SEO strategies, your site will climb the “search engine ladder” and become more visible to those who are searching for it. More visibility means more traffic. When this traffic is targeted, it will turn into new potential client opportunities for your firm.
Law firm search engine optimization speaks to your website’s ability to “rank” in the organic search results section of a search engine. Organic results are not to be confused with paid results or “sponsored” listings. It is worth noting that many consumers recognize the difference between the organic results and the paid listings. In fact, over seventy percent of total search traffic click on natural listings over paid listings.
Obviously, the biggest distinction between natural listings and paid listings, is that your pay for clicks on paid listings while you pay nothing for clicks on organic listings. In terms of return on investment, ranking in the natural results opens the possibility for much higher returns on investment as your cost for traffic acquisition remains fixed. In paid search, your acquisition will grow depending on your conversion rate (a topic for a different article).
Having success with lawyer search engine optimization is critical to most other forms of lawyer internet marketing. For example, social media marketing and press release marketing will both greatly benefit from search engine optimization principles and techniques. It is much easier to start with an SEO campaign and branch out than to have to re-optimize your existing campaigns. That is why having search engine optimization in mind from the beginning is so important.
When it comes to outsourcing your law firm’s search marketing, make sure you hire a company that understands the unique regulations and requirements of marketing a law firm. These requirements vary from state to state and can lead to ethical violations if not taken into consideration. It is wise to ask about those types of issues prior to selecting the company to handle your online lawyer marketing.
Leveraging the power of the internet in your law firm marketing must begin with content. Without content, you don’t have a website. I always find it helpful to remember that the internet began as a platform for academic citation. If your publication was good, it got cited. Learn more about lawyer internet marketing on our blog.