3 Online Marketing Tips for Law Firms

Amanda
July 26, 2012

How well you market your law firm can most definitely determine how many clients you’re able to acquire, especially if your law firm is relatively small and new. Firms that have been around for decades may have a good enough reputation to forgo marketing. The majority of law firms aren’t so fortunate. They have to do everything in their power to spread the word about their firm, without investing too much of their valuable time, energy, and money into marketing. Since most consumers research legal services online, it’s critical that struggling and new law firms find ways to increase their online visibility and connect with potential clients online. If you’re trying to figure out how to market your firm online, here are a few tips to assist you:

1. Get active on Google + Local

In a previous YouBlawg post about marketing, the author mentioned that Google Places, Google’s directory of businesses, would become a more important marketing tool for firms in the near future. Google has since changed Google Places to Google + Local, a similar directory that ranks businesses in local search results based on reviews and other factors.

Google has started to provide its users with individualized local search results based on where they live, and the search engine company has also started placing links to Google + Local pages at the top of local search results. Because of this, Google + Local is emerging as one of the most powerful online marketing tools for law firms. Firms that are listed front and center on Google + Local lists are the firms that clients have the easiest time finding on Google.

If you want your firm to be listed at the top of a Google + Local list when potential clients in your area search for law firms, you’re going to have to create a Google + profile and encourage your clients to write favorable reviews about your firm. Your Google + Local profile page should include photos of your law firm’s staff and information about your law firm. A Google + Local page is relatively easy to create, so don’t wait to start using this new Google feature.

2. Seek help from qualified freelancers

You’re trained in the field of law, not in the field of marketing. Because of this, it’s often best to let the experts take over when it comes to marketing. This could mean that you hire a full-time marketing director, or it could mean that you outsource your most time-consuming marketing tasks. Outsourcing to freelancers is the most cost-effective option.

If your website design and content needs some work, you can pay a few freelance graphic designers and writers to get your website on the right track. If you need to increase your search engine rankings or want to get involved in pay-per-click advertising, you could ask a freelancer with a marketing MBA to help you out. In the UK, Moore Legal Technology are experts. Seeking help from qualified freelancers or professionals means you get to do what you do best: practice law.

3. Start a blog

Starting a blog is the oldest trick in the online marketing book, and it’s still quite effective. A blog will help you and your partners establish yourselves as experts in your legal field. The key to blogging success for lawyers is writing in-depth posts about legal matters other lawyers aren’t writing about on the web.

There are large numbers of online users searching online for every legal issue you can think of. If you can write about something before anyone else does or better than anyone else does, people will find your blog, and they’ll trust your firm to be highly knowledgeable and competent. Additionally, many of the people who visit your blog will inevitably visit your website, and some of them will likely end up doing business with you.

If people can’t find you online these days, they’re a lot less likely to do business with you. So, consider the tips listed above, and start successfully building your online brand and increasing your online visibility.

Amanda Watson is an experienced freelancer blogger who covers web-based businesses and higher education. She writes about the latest online mba news and current trends among online entrepreneurs. You can reach Amanda at watsonamanda.48@gmail.com.