I was surprised to find out most law firms don’t have their own marketing department.

And if they do, their “department” is usually just one very overworked person with too much on their plate already.

Unlike mortgage lenders and other sales-oriented businesses we work with, I find that many law firms struggle with how to promote themselves. 

Lawyers tend to be much more cautious and careful with how they portray their law firm. They tried hard to escape that cheesy “ambulance chasing” style of advertising that was once so popular. 

Other law firms focus solely on public relations to get their name out there in a more positive light.

The fact is that law firms today need to take their digital marketing efforts more seriously than ever before.

Yes, it’s true that referrals are still very important, but the simple fact is the new majority of clients coming in are referred by Google, through a clever and thought out marketing plan.

At Kaleidico, we’ve perfected our proven marketing framework for law firms, and we’ll gladly share all of our secrets.

As you’ll see, implementing all of the pieces of this law firm digital marketing strategy will take time and expertise, but when completed properly, it’s guaranteed to deliver results — more case inquiries to fuel your business.

We’ll tell you exactly what to do, but you’ll see it’s a lot of work. After completing a few steps on this list, you’ll understand why many law firms choose to hire us to handle their law firm digital marketing efforts.

The Main Goal — Converting Visitors into Clients

This entire proven marketing framework has one ultimate goal — attracting visitors to your website, getting them to fill out a form, and converting them into paying clients.

The Must-Have Marketing Components Every Law Firm Needs

Every step on this list ultimately ties into the goal of attracting an audience and getting them to fill out a form on your website. 

Each method and category listed covers a different aspect of online marketing. All of which are necessary to properly get your law firm’s name out there. As well as generate content, bring people into your website, get them to fill out a form, and finally convert them into a paying client.

It all begins with the website.

Web Design and Landing Page Optimization

A lawyer knows they need to dress the part of a professional to portray an attractive and competent image. It’s unfortunate, then, that so many law firms’ websites are unattractive and outdated, filled with pop-up ads, pointless scrolling images, and too much clutter.

Remember, a website’s design isn’t just what it looks like, it’s how it works. 

This means designing a modern website that has the following elements:

• Intuitive navigation
• A clear and direct position statement above the fold (meaning visitors don’t have to scroll down the page to see)
• Contact forms and calls-to-action everywhere for easy contacting
• Landing pages dedicated to each practice area (medical malpractice, criminal law, divorce, probate, etc.)
• A company “About Us” page
• Attorney bio pages
• Testimonials and reviews

Right now, the average bounce rate for a law firm website is 60%. That means 60 out of 100 people visiting your website leave it within seconds of landing on it. 

But through proper web design and landing page optimization, we can get visitors to stay on your website longer. This will increase their likelihood of filling out a form submission and creating another case inquiry for your company.

Email Marketing

Many attorneys’ offices relied on referrals and word of mouth to stay relevant and bring in new business.

Today, email marketing is the new tool for keeping your law firm in the mind and inbox of prospects.

While many people filling out online forms need a lawyer right away, other people move slower before they make a decision. These people might take weeks or months before finally committing to working with a lawyer. 

Because the Statute of Limitations on many cases is two years, this leaves lawyers with a lot of time to reach prospective clients before it’s too late.

So how do you retain these prospective clients without spending too much time on them? Through email marketing.

As soon as a lead fills out a form on your website, their email address will be entered into a drip campaign, an automated series of emails that get sent to them regularly.

Every time your website publishes a new blog or piece of content, you can send out a quick email to your email marketing list.

Eventually, whether it’s weeks or months, a person on your email list may eventually decide now’s the right time to reach out to you. 

Or they might read an email and forward it to a friend or family member, “Hey, maybe this law firm could help you with this problem you’ve been having.” 

SEO and Content Marketing

Search engine optimization (SEO) simply means making your website really easy for Google to find.

To do this, your website will need to be filled with rich keywords that people are actively searching for online.

As we previously mentioned, this includes creating individual pages for all of your attorneys, key practice areas, and the company itself.

But this still isn’t enough to generate a lot of traffic to your website. This is where content marketing comes in, i.e. blogging.

Maintaining an active blog on your website is how you’ll reach those people Googling for lawyers online. 

We recommend writing blogs related to your specific practice areas. Write about client scenarios, specific trends, or comment on widely-known case rulings to show your law firm’s philosophy.

This way when people search “medical malpractice lawsuit attorney near me” or “can I sue my doctor for malpractice” they’ll stumble upon your website’s blog, and eventually fill out that contact form at the bottom of the blog post.

Maintaining a blog will generate regular traffic to your website and improve your website’s Google ranking. The blogs posted will act as “evergreen content,” meaning content that stays up all year and continually brings people into your website.

Content marketing isn’t limited to just blogs, however. Other forms of content can include:

• Case studies
• Infographics and PDFs
• Cheat Sheets and guides
• Checklists
• eBooks
• Videos

If you’re looking for a great way to enhance your content, we recommend adding videos to your website and YouTube. (YouTube is the second most used search engine after Google.)

PPC Campaigns

PPC campaigns and ads differ from the organic, or unpaid, forms of marketing such as SEO and content marketing.

With SEO content marketing, it can take months or years to rank first on Google’s search engine result page.

But with PPC ads, law firms can pay to have their websites promoted at the very top of Google’s SERP page, above the top ranking websites.

Typically, PPC ads and SEO work together. PPC ads act as an immediate way to attract people to the website. SEO is a long-term marketing strategy to improve the website’s Google ranking.

PPC campaigns are carried out on Google, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Bing, using their large treasure trove of user data to provide very specific targeting opportunities to marketers.

Social Media

Running free social media accounts for your law firm may seem like a no-brainer. It’s a free form of advertising that can quickly create an audience and can give you insights into which people are more receptive to your content.

Some law firms may be wary of running a Facebook page or social media profile, however, but we recommend all law firms should try some form of social media marketing.

Don’t feel like your law firm should be on every social media platform out there. TikTok probably isn’t for you, but Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube might be perfect places for people to stumble upon your content.

Pick whichever platform you feel more familiar with and personally use. You may find that you can easily build an audience online that can act as a referral source or a spring of potential future clients. 

Schedule Your Discovery Session Today with Kaleidico

Kaleidico is a law firm digital marketing agency with over 15 years of experience.

We excel in web design and development, branding, content marketing, email marketing, SEO, PPC ads, and other strategies to generate more case inquiries for your law firm!

Our digital marketing tactics and proven framework will form a robust online presence for your law firm, making your website more accessible to potential clients actively searching for lawyers in your practice areas.

Are you a lawyer, marketer, or owner of a law firm looking to improve your web presence? We want to work with you.

Do you have any questions for us? Email our owner, Bill Rice at bill.rice@kaleidico.com. Do you want help implementing any of these strategies?

Schedule a discovery session with our agency and team at Kaleidico.

Photo by Canva Studio from Pexels