Lawyers and digital marketing! What have bar professionals and attorneys go to do with search engine optimization or SEO? All other industries, be it Business-to-customers (B2C) or business-to-business (B2B) and direct-to-customer (D2C) are involved in appeasing search engines worldwide. Why, then, legal professionals not as involved when it comes to getting their websites and online presence optimized for search engines?
The relation between SEO and a law firm is no different than it is with other businesses. Optimizing your site for search engines is one of the time-tested methods to get the firm more clients – organic clients.
The legal profession is one domain where word-of-mouth and recommendations work a lot. Firms that are able to make a solid reputation for themselves in the market are able to command higher fees from clients; and vice versa. In the times of digital marketing and the internet where people search for almost everything online, your law firm needs to be one of the tops recommended by search engines like Google, Bing, or Yahoo to get the attention of the searcher and motivate him to click on the link appearing in the search results.
If you are nowhere there on the topmost page, as a legal professional, it means two things for you:
- Your digital presence is not working as your spokesperson in the online world;
- Your chances of expanding the business are negligible because new and potential clients have no knowledge about your firm.
Before we go deep into finding the reasons why law firms need SEO solutions, let us understand that investing in the right SEO approach helps your prospective clients obtain information about your services, your specialty areas, what are your areas of expertise, your experience, your success ratio, and so on. A well-planned and sound SEO solution is prepared, keeping the target audience in mind, and done in a way that only such people arrive on your site that is looking to hire attorneys and lawyers in your specific area of expertise. Remember that you have two ways to generate traffic to your site – first, paid form like advertising, and second, organic traffic that is free and unpaid for, and yet is one of the most cost-effective ways to get leads and traffic to your site.
Reasons why you should invest in effective SEO solutions for the website of your law firm
Let us first look at some key statistics:
– 96% of people who wish to seek legal help first use a search to gain information about law firms.
– Of these, about 74% are motivated clients because they visit the lawyer’s site so that they can take things forward.
- SEO helps you reach to a wider audience, thereby bringing in more publicity
While word of mouth works in a geographically limited context, SEO has no physical boundaries. Even a potential client searching for a legal professional, in a far-flung area gets to know about your firm if your site is well optimized to attract the search engine. Remember that the internet is used by millions and millions of people who are searching every minute for some or the other information. Of this, even if a small percent is able to come to your site for specific services that you are expert at, imagine the kind of publicity and leads you can get with the right SEO solution.
- More leads mean the likelihood for more business
This is quite simple to understand. In the virtual world, your website is your brand ambassador. Higher the number of people who interact with your site, the better the chances to convert them into sales. In your case, sales mean making them your clients. This means that if your site is thoroughly optimized to get augmented leads, your website gets to interact with more number of prospects. This directly means that you can boost your productivity or clientele by convincing these leads to avail of your services and hire you as their legal representative. Since people looking and searching for law firms are usually in the advanced stages of the sales funnel, you need to have not only an impressive website to convince them but an impressive track record too so that these leads can start engaging in conversations with you. When they talk to you either through emails, phone, or chats, you have the highest chance to make them your clients.
- Your law firm can boost ROI by planning SEO properly
This point is inter-related to the previous two points. Higher traffic means increased chances of conversions, which in turn means better revenues. This impacts your return on investment. It needs to be reiterated here that people who arrive at your site – thanks to a flawless SEO strategy – are generally people who are looking for professional help in the respective area pertaining to their keyword search. So, they are already motivated and maybe in their final stages of research to appoint a legal representative. Since the profession of law is a specialized area of work, your chances of client conversions are always high when you get good leads, thereby earning good revenue for your business.
- You stay ahead of your competition
Every business has competition – you may have in your nearest vicinity or in the next city. One of the best ways to beat your competition and stay ahead is to approach a digital strategy for your law firm. What should this strategy involve? An optimized website, social media handles, paid marketing, and other such tools. A website that is meticulously made with SEO in mind, should be your first priority. The objective should be to rank at the top of the first page. Once you are there, you are assured of a seamless flow of interested clients who can then be worked upon to convert as your business clients.
Conclusion
One thing that legal professionals need to remember is that SEO is not a one-time investment; neither is it a short-term tool. It is a strategy, a weapon in your hand that will work for as long as search engines exist and people use these search engines to look for information. You, therefore, need to understand the true essence of SEO before you decide to go ahead and invest in it.