If done well, paying for ads on the Google search and display network can be a cost-effective way of attracting more clients to your legal practice.
Why should you care?
Pick a legal service that you provide and I bet there are 100s if not 1000s of people going into Google and searching for that exact service in your local area.
How it works
There are numerous places online that you could make your business’s ads appear;
- the Google Display network – image and text ads that appear on other websites
- Youtube – text / image or video ads that appear when people are watching youtube videos
But the best starting point is looking at the Google Search Network because this is the place where potential clients are actively looking for services (you know how Google works).
A user enters a search term, let’s say “solicitors near me” and from there, they are presented with a number of options including solicitors websites near them and Google business pages. Above these listings are relevant ads.
Still not convinced? There’s a good chance that over 50% of all of your website traffic is coming from mobile devices. So when a potential client searches for services on a mobile device, the ads dominate the screen:
This gives you more even more visibility, more control and a greater chance of getting more website visitors. Google ads can be a profitable marketing for small law firms channel.
Google ads can be a profitable marketing for small law firms channel.
Here are 10 more reasons you should consider Google Ads to market your law firm..
1) You decide how much you spend
You have full control over budgets, decide how much you are prepared to pay per click and how much you are prepared to spend per day or as an overall campaign budget.
You can also pay per 1000 impressions (cpm) in the Google Display network. Think about how much it might cost to get in front of 1000 people on radio, tv or print advertising.
2) It’s not just “set and forget”
Unlike radio, print advertising and TV, if a creative is not working, you should be able to look at the data and find out straight away. You can then pause, change the creative, or worst case scenario, abandon all together. If it works, you can scale the budget accordingly. There is a skill in determining how long you need to leave a campaign to know that it will work.
3) It’s based on relevance
If you only want to appear in searches relating to one of your services, you can decide to only bid on close variations of that search term. Not only that, but Google has a system called Quality Score. This means that
you could pay less than competitors for a higher position in Google if;
- your account is well run
- the ad text is relevant to what the user is looking for
- your website is relevant to the ad text and search query,
- you have the best bidding strategy possible
4) You can clearly measure success
You can directly measure enquiries and other goals that occur on your website as a result of paid search activity, down to the ad and keyword that was responsible for the enquiry being made. You can also track calls by implementing Google call tracking.
This means that you can also compare the channel with other marketing and sales channels to see which are the most cost effective and where you should invest more money.
5) A fast way to get in front of potential clients
SEO for solicitors (search engine optimisation) is generally a long term strategy involving the authority of your website in the eyes of both Google and your target users. Google Ads are a great way of getting in front of potential users straight away, because you pay to (depending on how well your campaign is put together).
For many local legal firms, SEO has been complicated further by the increasing prominence of Google local pages.
6) Identify problems with your sales funnel
Do you know what percentage of visitors to your website don’t go on to enquire? You can address your landing pages by looking at ways to convert more visitors into enquiries. Google’s keyword planner will also give you insight into what users are searching for. e.g. you know people are looking for “divorce solicitors”, but did you also know that they are looking for “how much does a divorce cost”. This insight can give you great ideas for your website content to provide value to visitors.
7) Engage customers at every stage
Google ads let you create remarketing lists that are a powerful way of increasing your ad’s relevance to potential clients. A user visits a certain section of your site and you can create a list based on what they’ve viewed and even actions they’ve taken. For example you could look at anyone who has visited your property conveyancing page, but not enquired:
- create a remarketing list
- create a relevant messages by reinforcing why they should chose you for property conveyancing
- serve ads across the Google display network including Youtube
8) Ready made audiences waiting for you
Google has a number of audiences (or you can create your own) of users that have sown an interest in content that relates to your services. These are called “in-market audiences” and taking the example of property conveyancing again, real estate is a big one. You could then layer this with an audience that is also interested in purchasing home furnishings and these are the types of people who you want to see your ads.
9) Data
Find out what questions people are asking and adjust your ads, website content and even your brand as a whole, accordingly. What are the most common search terms? What devices do people use to see your content and similar content? What other websites do potential clients visit?
And finally,
10) Your competitors are using Google Ads
Every time a user searches for services like yours and you aren’t showing relevant ads. You’re missing out. And even worse, your competitors are benefiting as they increase their own market share for impressions in search engines. So if they are benefiting, you can to!