Attorney Marketing Advisers

The Google Display Network

Why it works for Attorneys

I love the Display network for law firms. I know some people in the business think it’s a waste of time.  Why?

Because they are operating on assumptions that are outdated or they work in industries where  the display network IS outdated. But things have changed, and for law firms, the display network is definitely the place to be.

Gone are the days when you can be at the top of the search network for Foreclosure Attorney for a few dollars a click. Everything to do with the legal profession is outrageous now.

A few things to know about the Display Network. First, you need to know what you’re doing. Just like the search network if you do nothing but create the campaign, set the bidding for Auto and let it fly, you’ll make a lot of money… for Google. You need to be smart. You need to be targeted. And you need to track results.

I have a few tips.

First, use image ads. Image ads are great for several reasons. First, they are big and colorful, and since the display network is not permission marketing so much as interruption marketing, that is great. Second, it takes up the entire real estate of the ad space. Text ads are usually one of five. But a display ad is one of one. Third, they come in many sizes, and so the competition is far less that text ads, where everyone gets a shot. With image ads, you actually have to create an ad in that size to be eligible. Most people don’t bother.

Which is exactly why you should. Because it’s not hard, and it can pay dividends. You can use the Google Ad creator or, better yet, have one created for you. It’s about 100 dollars and well worth the money to have  professional ad made.

The benefits are this. You get clicks at far less than the search network. Second, you get all the benefits of branding and you don’t even have to pay for it. What do I mean? Simple, if someone is on their Gmail account or some other website they frequent, and your ad keeps popping up to the right, maybe they don’t click on it because they don’t need a lawyer. But they see it, just like they see a billboard. And when the time comes they do need a lawyer, what name might pop in their head? Yours.

The reality is that the high cost of search ads on Google has almost forced attorneys to go to the display network. It’s an essential part of an law firm’s advertising campaign.

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Pay Per Click For Attorneys: The Costs Are Skyrocketing

Knowing that the costs for PPC is going up dramatically for all terms related to the legal profession, I decided to check out what many people consider to be the most expensive term in all of Pay Per Click: Mesothelioma. I wanted to see just how much it now costs to get to the top of the search engine page for that ever so desirable term. I wondered how much it would be: 50 dollars, 60 dollars, 80 dollars?

And the number I found?

Well, it shocked even me.

Over 200 dollars!! For a single click.

That means for a good conversion rate of 5 percent, you would have to spend 4,000 dollars for each person who contacted you. And who knows if that person actually has a case or will sign up for your firm. (There are plenty of firms who will take these cases, if you didn’t know.)

The costs are skyrocketing for all pay per click terms. I know this personally as my own campaigns aimed at marketing for attorneys terms have gone of 500 percent in the last six months, so much so that I have cut way back on the advertising for those terms.  It’s not what I would like to do. But hey, new realities require new strategies.

Some what are some of the things I am doing that you can do as well?

First, advertise on Bing and Yahoo. The clicks are much cheaper and the competition is less… at least for now. Yes the traffic is far less, but still it is worth doing, especially when it is so easy to migrate them from your adwords account.

Second, advertise on the Google Display network. The display network isn’t nearly as expensive for terms like this. And though it isn’t as targeted, it has several benefits:

  • The ads can be images.
  • They can create branding for your firm without even spending money.
  • You can choose sites which rank high organically for competitive terms and advertise on them fairly cheaply

It’s a new world out there in the world of Pay Per Click and you have to keep up. Just like you used to have to do with other forms of media. It’s just that the online world moves much quicker, and changes just as fast. You must keep up or be left behind.

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Marketing Strategy For Law Firms

Why Small law firms must be marketing on the internet.

We’ve all heard the phrase “The rich get richer,” and unfortunately it’s true when it comes to attorney advertising. The problem with advertising is that most law firms tend to simply dabble in it. Vast amounts of research has been done on the subject and it all points to the same conclusion. You need to interact meaningfully with your potential clients multiple times (a standard number is 10 times) to make an impression.

So running a radio ad once a week for 30 seconds just isn’t going to do any good.

So you’re a small law firm and you don’t have a budget for 20 radio spots a week for 52 weeks. What do you do? There are billboards, which remain effective. But that could cost several thousand dollars per month. There’s media of course, but that is easier said than done.

So that leaves the internet.  The problem I see with internet marketing is usually one of expectations. People expect it to be cheap (or even free) and to pay dividends immediately.

It does neither.

Internet marketing is like any other advertising medium, it has its strengths and weaknesses. But for a small law firm, it can be your best (and least expensive) source of new clients. So here is my guide for internet marketing for small law firms.

First, have a strategy, a goal, and a budget. Internet marketing is not magic, so don’t expect it to be. You need to understand the medium, pick your niche within it, and get a budget which satisfies the above mentioned strategy of creating multiple interactions with people.

Ways to do this are through Pay Per Click. First is the Search Network.  Bid on keywords, track the budget and performance, keep good records, and adjust until the required ROI is met.

Second is the Display Network. Often overlooked, the display network is a great resource for small law firms looking to make an online marketing splash. Get a good ad, both text and display. Choose  good themes, and then choose good website to advertise on.

Advertise on G-mail. Google offers an option to advertise within their clients G-mail accounts. So when someone on G-mail mentions the word divorce, your ad can appear. This greatly increases the relevancy to them as well as the chances of them responding favorably.

Advertising on G-mail is a great alternative as well. This is an option in pay per click campaigns. It puts your firm in front of people who are chatting about your subject.

Lastly, of course, have a good website which converts. Nothing is worse than paying for visitors and getting no response. And how do you achieve a good conversion rate?  A great ad and a great website design.

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Maximizing Your Marketing Dollar

Came across a good article from Finance & Commerce about how law firms can maximize their marketing dollars. One of the techniques mentioned is blogging. Here is an excerpt.

“Blogging, or keeping a Facebook page forces the attorney to stay current on the law in their practice area and it’s not as painful as some people think. The way the forum is designed, you are supposed to keep it short and sweet,” Ginsburg said. “[Blogging] gives you a forum to say something and provide information to clients. It says this person is staying current in the law, and provides more information to clients than where the attorney went to law school 25 years ago.”

It talks about the timeless nature of good advertising being connecting with people, building connections, and then providing good service. It also talks about how social media fits in to the marketing mix.

Read the entire article on attorney marketing.

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Legal Firm Web Design

Can A Website Be “Too Flashy?”

legal web site designThe simple answer is yes. Overly elaborate web designs shouldn’t be part of any attorney marketing campaign for several reasons.

Reason #1: Slow Page Load Times

Elaborate websites tend to be filled with large files and therefore tend to load slowly. Page load speed is now a ranking factor in search engines and so an excessively large website will actually hurt your search engine ranking. Worse yet, large websites might not even load at all on slower computers with slow internet connection. Web browsers will simply time out, sending the web surfer off to find what they are looking for somewhere else. Also, people love to click their way through websites and if it takes too much time between pages, their patience will wear thin very quickly. A couple of times waiting for a loading flash presentation and again, they are gone.

Reason #2: Confusion

Elaborate websites, though they may look pretty, can actually confuse people. Java script navigation buttons, objects moving all over the page only draws attention away from the aspects of the site that actually drive people to make purchasing decisions. Sure, people ae impressed by a pretty face. But no one is going to actually going to buy something from a sight that simply looks nice.

Reason # 3: Pictures are not content

Search engines rank your site largely according to its content, and when your site is filled with pictures and movies, the search engines can’t tell what it’s about.

The keys to a web site that actually converts

The three keys to a successful website are this:

  • Get their attention
  • Establish trust and authority
  • Create urgency

Everything you do on your web site should add to one of these three things. Flashy web sites only succeed on the first point, which isn’t enough to get people to act.

Other things to consider about legal web site designs:

  • Don’t add wild colored backgrounds… especially mixed with colored text. It may look cool at first, but if it’s hard to read, people simoply won’t bother.
  • Don’t add blinking text. Besides smacking of “amateur,” it can trigger epileptic seizures. So don’t do it. Ever.

When it comes to web designs, keep it clean, keep it elegant, keep it simple. Build attention, authority, and urgency and you’ll have a website that you not only be proud of but will make you money as well.

» Learn More about Law Firm Website Design

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Attorney Video Hosting

Where Should You Host Them So you want to jump on the video bandwagon. Great. Videos should be a part of any attorney internet marketing plan. They are a great way not only to communicate with potential clients, but also to attract them. Why? Because search engines love videos. Did you know that YouTube gets…

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Law Firm Blogs

The Bottom of The Marketing Iceberg A good way to think about a lawyer blog is to compare it to an iceberg. The majority of the iceberg is underwater. So it is with an attorney blog. Though your blog may be largely unseen by internet surfers, what it does is give your website mass. And…

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Attorney SEO

Why You Need to Understand SEO For Lawyers When it comes to marketing for attorneys, the real question is this: how many clients will the marketing effort produce, and how much are each of those clients going to cost? Two things make search engine marketing special. First, search engines produce the largest (and best) pool…

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Commercial Attorney Marketing

What You Need To Know About Commercial Legal Marketing The internet provides the single best opportunity for small law firms to generate new business. Small to medium sized firms, as well as specialty fields can use the internet to attract clients directly in their specific legal niche. In this way, a small firm can dominate…

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Divorce Attorney Marketing

Does A Divorce Attorney Need To Be Marketing Online? The internet provides the single best opportunity for small law firms to generate new business. Advertising online provides a smaller law firm the opportunity to reach targeted prospects in their specific field. Specialty law firms and small to medium sized firms can dominate their local markets…

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