Marketing For Lawyers 101

Investing in law firm marketing is an investment in your firm’s future. You may have a well-run firm full of experienced and brilliant attorneys—but if you don’t have clients, none of that matters. In this article, we’ll cover important components of lawyer marketing, as well as best practices, so you maximize client intake and conversions.

Why is Attorney Marketing Important?

Expecting your firm to grow and succeed without any marketing efforts is like expecting a plant to grow without water and sunlight. When done well, marketing law firms can extend reach, help attract and retain clients, set the firm apart from the competition, improve brand awareness, and increase credibility. 

Important Components of Marketing for Lawyers

In lawyer marketing, understanding some key components and terminology will contribute to developing better campaigns and measuring success.

Return on Investment (ROI)

ROI is a key performance indicator that measures the value that your firm gets out of each asset. An ROI calculation lets you know which marketing initiatives are working, so you can double down on successful efforts and gain insight into which efforts are draining funds without a profitable return. 

ROI is calculated by dividing the net income by the cost of the investment. For example, if you invest X amount of money in an ad for your law firm and you gain Y amount of money in case revenue from clients that hired you through those ads—you’d determine your ROI of those ads by dividing Y by X. 

Marketing Lead

A marketing lead is a potential client who has shown interest in your firm. They may have visited your website, clicked on an email link or social media ad, filled out a “Contact us” form or called you.

Conversion Rate

The percentage of marketing leads that convert into clients is your conversion ratio. A conversion rate is calculated by dividing traffic or lead metrics by the number of conversions—then multiplying that by 100. 

For example, if you gained 50 leads with 10 client conversions from a social media ad, you’ll divide the 10 conversions from the 50 leads and multiply 100—equating to a 20% conversion rate. This can apply to a range of marketing efforts such as a specific page on your site, an ad you’re running, an email you sent out, or your entire website. 

Reviewing conversion rates can help you determine which initiatives are producing the best results and adjust your law marketing strategy accordingly.  

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization, or SEO, refers to writing and optimizing digital content so it ranks (ideally) on the first page of online search engines like Google. This includes on-page optimization, which involves the use of relevant keywords, questions, and phrases in your content. So, when someone Googles these associated words and phrases you used, your content will more likely show up in the results. 

For example, let’s say someone Googles “California divorce attorney” and you want to show up in that search.

1. You’ll want to write a blog article, social media posts, or any other digital content with that phrase. 
2. You’ll also want to add two to three references of that phrase in relevant content and web pages for the best results. 
3. Lastly, you’ll need digital content that loads quickly, doesn’t lead to broken pages or images, and is easy to navigate. These elements of technical SEO impact search rankings. 

4 Quick Tips For Marketing Law Firms 

1. Plan your law marketing budget

Before you dive into building a marketing campaign for your law firm, you’ll need to create a budget so you know how much you can invest in your initiatives. When setting this budget, consider:

• What are your revenue goals? How many cases do you need per year to meet those goals? 
• What stage is your law firm in? Is your firm newly established or has it been around for a while? A newer firm may require more upfront investment. 
• What does your competition look like? Take into account your practice area and location. A large corporate firm in New York will likely have a higher marketing budget than a small family practice in Nevada.  
• What will you use your budget for? Are you going to run ads or invest in billboard placements? Are you using any legal technology to market your firm? This includes content creation solutions, SEO apps, email marketing tools, and anything else that impacts your budget.

2. Develop a strong social media presence

The Hootsuite 2022 Digital Report states that in 2021, there were 4.62 billion people using social media, and $154 billion was spent on social media advertising. You can bet your competitors are included in those numbers. 

Social media is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to drive business to your firm. There are several ways to market your firm on social platforms with and without paid advertising. For example, you can engage with thought leaders in the legal industry on Twitter, share content such as blog posts and articles on your LinkedIn page, or create a Facebook advertising campaign that is tailored to your target audience.  

For more information on growing your firm through social media, refer to this guide. 

3. Demonstrate credibility and authority

When a client reviews your website or social media presence, you have the opportunity to demonstrate your authority in your practice area. Blogging consistently can help you become an industry thought leader and drive traffic to your site—which can lead to more potential clients.

The content you post can include blog posts, industry-related articles, or trending news relevant to your practice area. Be sure that all content you share is valuable and tailored to your target audience. For example, if you are a personal injury lawyer you could share an article on what happens when a client experiences medical malpractice. Or you can write about tips on recovering from a car accident injury. This type of content will build your credibility so that clients are more likely to consider your firm’s services. 

In addition to industry-related blog posts, sharing news about your firm can boost your  credibility. If your firm has won an award, share it. Take this Facebook post from Snow Jensen & Reece, for example. It’s simple but shows that they won a recent award from U.S. News. This establishes their credibility and shows potential clients that they are a firm worth investing in. 

4. Optimize SEO efforts

According to Hubspot, 34,000 searches are conducted on Google every second and 75% of searchers never scroll past the first page of search results. You may have a well-designed website with killer content, but what good is that if no one sees it? Optimizing your SEO efforts can help your firm show up on that first page of search results. 

To get your firm started on SEO, there are a few tasks you should execute: 

• Keyword research: First off, you’ll need to do some SEO research to determine the keywords you want to target. What is your ideal audience typing in that search bar? SEO research tools like Semrush can make this process much easier. 
• Content creation: Next, you’ll want to work these keywords into your website through titles, subheadings, descriptions, and optimized images. Consistently posting fresh, relevant content will help your SEO. Don’t forget about the font as well!
• Link building: When creating content, include links to relevant and reliable sources such as bar associations to improve SEO and build credibility. Getting other credible sources to link to your site can also boost your ranking. You may be able to work out a trade with a source (you link their site and they link yours) or invest in a promotional post that links to your site. 
• Load time: It’s also important to make sure that your site loads quickly, as a slow load time can damage your ranking. A good load time for a page is one to two seconds. Anything longer and a potential lead may lose patience and close out the window. 
• Google Business listing: Create a Google Business listing to attract potential clients in your geographical location. Google Business listings take into account basic information such as your location, a description of your services, and contact information. When someone conducts “near me” searches (such as “criminal defense attorney near me”), your firm may show up. Any Google reviews your firm may have will also populate in search engines and can help persuade a client to click through to your site. 

For more tips on SEO best practices specifically for lawyers, check out this comprehensive guide.

Marketing for Lawyers: Get Started Today 

The world of digital marketing is constantly evolving and there is an always-growing checklist needed to maximize attorney marketing efforts. Staying up-to-date with trends is easier when you have the right tools. 

With MyCase, you can easily build a fast, responsive, reliable custom website for your law firm. Plus, it can connect directly to your MyCase legal practice management software, so you can easily streamline processes like client intake and communication.  MyCase can also help you with reputation management!

Get started today with a risk-free 10-day free trial. You’ll see firsthand how MyCase can help you market your firm, manage your cases, integrate with all of your favorite apps, and ultimately increase your revenue.