Online Advertising

This is a broad title but we’re really focusing on Google Adwords, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn though there are numerous other online options.

Google Adwords is a highly targeted way to drive visitors to your website when they type a specific word or phrase into the search engine.

Try typing ‘Solicitors name of your town” into Google now and see who comes up. Each time someone clicks on one of the sponsored (paid for) adverts at top of page the business incurs a fee hence the term ‘Pay per click (PPC)’.

The main benefit of Adwords is that, unlike other forms of advertising, you are positioning your firm in front of clients actively looking for your services. You can also set a fixed daily budget and get detailed reports on the performance of your adverts.

Some tips for law firms using PPC:

  • Target the right locality. Most firms say they get work from all over the country, but realistically if your practice is in Yorkshire do you want it to appear to someone searching in London? Perhaps, but the more specific and targeted your selection the better results you should see.

  • Go niche. It would seem obvious to advertise for terms such as ‘solicitors’ but even if you keep your geographical targeting very tight, these more generic terms are usually more expensive than longer phrases and less likely to convert into an instruction.

  • Think about the web page you direct the client to. These are called landing pages and should be relevant to the search term the client has used, provide them with a very clear message on how you can help them and tell them what you expect them to do next (your call to action). The more specific the search term is, the more specific the landing page should be.

  • Don’t forget mobile. Ensure the website / page you are sending the client to is mobile friendly and set your ads up to appear on mobile devices.

  • Test, test and then test again. The great thing about PPC advertising is the ability to constantly test new adverts and the conversion rate of the pages they click through to.

Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn

If you can use PPC to target people who are actively looking for your services then why bother with anything else? Well for starters, whilst the numbers are increasing, not everyone looking for a Solicitor will go straight to Google. We would also never suggest a client focuses too heavily on one advertising channel and in the long term the cost per click is only likely to increase.

Interestingly for law firms, both Facebook and Twitter enable you to target your existing clients. This is a great way to get your firm name back in front of people who are more likely to use your services again than anyone else. You can also exclude these people from an advertising campaign if you only want to advertise to new clients.

It’s that level of targeting that makes this such an interesting area. If you want to target affluent clients within 10 miles of your office you can, if you want to reach people thinking about moving home, new parents, property investors – the list goes on.

Your existing clients and new clients are out there using social media and it’s easier than ever to find them. To discuss how we can help your business get social, click here.