Acquiring clients isn’t as simple as it once was. The recent years have been hard on lawyers trying to generate quality leads. Simply put, the legal field has become saturated, and consumer behavior has taken drastic shifts. This has made a very competitive landscape. If you are an attorney who has found it difficult to get a steady increase in leads, then there is good news and bad news for you.
The good news is, digital marketing campaigns can bring in qualified leads. The bad news? You will likely need some help to do it. There is some extra good news though, this guide was designed to help you do just that. You will get expert advice, tips, and a look into proven strategies that are backed up by several case studies.
Your clients aren’t the only ones that need to be bailed out. In fact, you are drowning and don’t even know it. So, to help increase leads for the legal field substantially at a cost that is affordable, this guide is easy to understand and even easier to follow. Your legal business will grow by boosting the bottom line with these strategies. Keep reading to find out what the best strategies are for legal lead generation.
6 Sustainable Attorney Lead generation Sources
- Websites
- SEO
- Online Reviews & Referrals
- PPC Search Ads
- Content Marketing
- Retargeting/Remarketing
Should You Be Paying Per Lead?
Developing a quality digital marketing strategy is no easy feat, and honestly, when you do it yourself, it can be more complicated. Attorney Pay Per Lead services are often in charge of client acquisition. It isn’t a big surprise. Some people shudder at the word “Sales” and don’t see the need to take the role of a salesperson. However, marketing and sales are way different than they were years ago. The sales process is usually in the hands of the modern consumer, and focusing on solving their problems is the best way to form a marketing strategy.
This shouldn’t be too difficult for you; as an attorney, you are a natural problem-solver.
Each month, there are over 2 million searches that use lawyer related keywords. That is only good news for you if you have the right digital marketing strategy. Think about the number of leads you could get out of that search pool. You could be capturing their attention, showing them how you can solve their legal problems.
Are Pay Per Lead Services Worth Investing In?
While effective, pay per lead service is hardly worth it. They can be costly, and there are alternatives to lawyer lead generation strategies. Frankly, the alternatives can be more reliable.
The thing about these services is that you only prosper if you continue to pay. Once you stop paying, you lose leads. If you are a small law firm, and can only handle so many clients, then this isn’t a bad situation to be in. However, if you are focused on growing your practice to further heights, you need to have a self-sustaining lead generation strategy. The six that were listed above are great examples. More on them later.
Can these services create a sturdy source of legal leads? That answer isn’t a straightforward yes or no. It all depends, really. You have legitimate and illegitimate services that you will encounter when you are looking at legal lead generation services. You don’t want to pick an unreliable service and be stuck hurting your name more than helping it. Even the services that are legitimate can have some downfalls, such as:
- Lack of Control Over Lead Quality
- Unreliable Numbers of Leads
- You risk associating your name with unsavory practices
- You encounter ethical issues
Reputable Pay Per Lead Sites for Lawyers
If you still feel the need to use pay per lead services, you need a reliable source of websites. However, you should know that some paid platforms will give you unsavory results sometimes. That being said, here are 9 of the most reliable website sources for lawyers:
Sustainable and Reliable Sources for Lawyer Lead Generation
Honestly, a targeted online marketing strategy is the best way to get a steady influx of leads. Now, we want to talk about 6 of the best legal lead generation strategies.
Professional Website
You have one major marketing asset that needs to be refined perfectly to bring in qualified leads, and it is your Website. It is a representative of your business 24/7. It can easily make your lead generation strategy a success. However, it can also break it in a heartbeat. That is why you need your website to be professionally designed. Most potential clients visit the website of a law firm before committing. These leads need to know that you are the best option they have, as they are probably in a place where they are vulnerable.
Put simply, your website needs to wow the visitor. If it doesn’t, you won’t earn their trust. Many consumers judge a company’s credibility on the design of their website. So, here are 6 factors that can help your website generate more leads:
- Fast Website- It needs to be quick to load and respond. If not, the user will go somewhere else.
- Mobile-Friendly Website- Most people who browse the internet for services will use mobile devices. In fact, devices such as smartphones and tablets are becoming more common than laptops and desktop computers. You are not going to convert any of these users if your website isn’t designed to cater to the mobile user.
- Easy To Find Website- Almost all of the consumers in today’s market use the internet to find local legal services. Most of them begin in search engines such as Google. Your website needs to be page one, or you may never be found. Only a portion of users makes it past the first page of the results of any search. The top three organic results are normally the most popular. More on this later.
- Appealing Website- A professionally designed website is oftentimes made to appeal to the audience. Your website needs that quality. Images that reach the lead, language, and jargon that is easily understood, and a user interface that is easy to use are required.
- Authoritative Website- No one wants a sub-par lawyer. They want a shark that will fight to the bitter end for them. They want positive results. It isn’t like you can bring clients to the courtroom to show off your legal know-how. However, bringing them to a website that represents your authoritative abilities is completely possible. All of your credentials, awards, affiliations, associations, and news mentions should be front and center on your website. Make blogs, case studies, amazing guides, and flaunt your knowledge. Get testimonials from previous and current clients that you can showcase on your home page for potential clients to see.
- Conversion Optimized Website- The average consumer won’t take action unless something prompts them to do so. It isn’t so much that they are lazy; they just need a helping hand in knowing the right action to take. Encourage contact between the potential client and yourself. You can incorporate many different nudges in your design, such as Contact forms, Contact Information, Live Chat, and/or E-Mail Newsletters.
SEO Leads to Leads
SEO (Search engine optimization) is a process that allows your website to rank higher in search results for the keywords and key phrases of your industry. This is the single, most reliable way to get new legal leads. In fact, you are able to increase your organic traffic so much with SEO that it is a stand-alone strategy that almost all businesses in any industry utilize. You can have the same results as them if you can make it to the first page of results from search engines. Here is where you should focus on to get your business on the first page of Google’s results for your key phrases and keywords:
- Secure Website
- Mobile-Friendly Website
- Schema Markup
- Quality Content of your Web Pages
- Content-Length
- Page Speed
- Domain Age
- Quality Backlinks
- Search Intent
- Image Optimization
- Social Signals
The trick with SEO and getting leads with it is making sure you are picking the correct key phrases and keywords to use. For law firm leads, you are going to want to optimize for these search term types:
- Keywords related to purchase
- Competitor and Branded Terms
- Contact Keywords
- Cost, Comparison, and Pricing Terms
- Location Specific Keyword and Key Phrase Modifiers
Recommendations and Referrals (Online)
An evergreen method of gaining qualified leads would be recommendations and referrals. However, these referrals and recommendations were once generated face-to-face; nowadays, they are happening online. There are many ways for these referrals and recommendations to travel. For starters, review sites, testimonials, and social media are the top sources of these organic lead generating factors.
In fact, there are websites and directories that focus solely on reviews and recommendations for legal services and law firms. There are also social media platforms that focus on the same goal. Even the common platforms, such as Facebook, are a great source of recommendations and reviews for consumers who are on the fence about a company.
Just a tip for increasing leads by online referrals; make sure you are claiming and monitoring all of your profiles on the directories and review sites. These sites include:
- Google My Business
- Yelp!
- Nextdoor
- Lawyers US Legal
- Law Info
- Justia
- Law Guru
- Best Lawyers
- Superlawyers
- Avvo
- Nolo
- FindLaw Websites
It is recommended that you have existing clients offer up their testimonials and reviews online. Most of them will do this without being prompted. However, there is nothing wrong with an effective e-mail prompt.
PPC
PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising for lawyers is a tested and proven method of lead generation. You can see it for yourself. Just travel over to Google, and search for a common key phrase or keyword in your industry. You will see the top 3 or 4 listings being advertised by Google Ads. These listings are usually optimized for local results, so making sure you focus on location-related keywords and phrases will help bring in more traffic to your website, which in turn results in more clients and leads.
People do click on these paid ads; in fact, over half the Google users will trust one of these ads over a banner ad on a related web page. The reason being, ease of access to information that the user is searching for.
Here is another tip to increase your PPC advertising leads. Keywords, just like with SEO, are vital. Focus on those with high commercial intent. Don’t just use keywords from your own brand; competitor keywords can help you show up in the results of searches for other law firms as well.
Content Marketing
You will find many types of content marketing that should be given special attention, such as:
- E-Books
- E-Mail Marketing
- Webinars
- Blogs
- Videos
- Infographics
- Guides
- Whitepapers
- And everything found on your website
The above list will help to increase leads. The more content, and its quality, you have will equal to be more leads. Custom content builds trust in a brand, and it helps users connect on a different level with the business that they are interested in (in this case, law firms). They grow closer to companies that have custom and quality content, not just documents and blogs, but images and videos as well. Implementing a content marketing strategy will help increase the number of and quality of leads.
The best way to use this to your advantage is to build a website that answers any and all questions that a lead would have before signing on as a client. Case studies that prove your worth, whitepapers, and other authority-building content are seen as the best methods to implement.
That being said, you want to generate regular content too. Make sure you share it with your e-mail marketing list, social media, and other platforms where leads are gathered. That being said, the content you share can influence users in a different way. A simple link and picture that represents your blog aren’t enough. Nowadays, people prefer to watch a video as opposed to reading an entire article. Get creative.
Here is a tip for generating leads from a Content Marketing Strategy
Like we said before, answer every question you can before a client decides whether or not they want to go with your law firm. A FAQ page, general information page, and informative blogs with images and videos are great at developing trust between your law firm and the lead. This is how they convert to being a client, and your brand grows. Here are some suggestions of topics that are effective at generating leads from content marketing:
- How Do I Choose The Right (Specialization), Lawyer?
- Are there free lawyer consultations?
- What kind of lawyer should I get?
- How Much Are Good Lawyers?
- Lawyer Fees, Are They Tax Deductible?
Remarketing/Retargeting Ads
You should know that only 2% of the visitors to your website will convert. So, your goal is to target the other 98%. You do this by remarketing and retargeting ads. The best way to explain a remarketing ad is like this; If you have ever searched for a product online, didn’t purchase it, and then shortly after, seen an ad for the same product, that is remarketing. It brings back the interest and reminds users of their needs for that product.
In your case, you are remarketing to individuals that have visited your website or web pages without converting. This tactic is one of the best ways to generate leads. The reason for this is because it engages an audience that is already aware of you, interested in you, or visited you in the past. It helps build trust and familiarize your name with your demographic. Retargeting ads are responsible for converting a good amount of leads that you lose to indecisiveness.
Comprehensive Marketing Services Generate Leads
If all this information makes your brain want to melt, then maybe you need to consider investing in a lawyer marketing company. If you want your practice to grow, you need a company that has the knowledge of the legal industry’s ins and outs. This includes the regulations that are set for advertising and marketing your services.
