If you own a law firm, you know you must use different marketing strategies to dominate the competition. But with so many strategies, it can be difficult to know which ones are worth your hard-earned dollars.
While organic marketing or social media may be your first choice, don't forget the power of PPC services. PPC for law firms marketing is a form of advertising where your business ranks for different search terms, and your ads appear on other websites. You only pay when someone clicks on your ad or your website, so it's still cost-effective. In a survey, 79% of companies said PPC was a huge sales driver for them.
There are other advantages of law firm PPC. Continue reading this guide to know why you need to optimize your marketing strategy for PPC.
Advantages of PPC for Law Firms
There are several PPC benefits. This type of advertising will make you more competitive, will appear higher on Google search engine results, have more control, can adjust your campaign, tracking your success is easy, and you're sure to attract the right audience.
Other Law Firms Use PPC
Your competitors are using between 3%-10% of their revenue toward marketing, and there's a good chance this money is going toward PPC. In this case, PPC isn't an option—it's a necessity.
But there are other reasons why PPC makes your business more competitive. Since your visibility will increase, this is a good opportunity to explain more about your law firm, your services, and what you have done for other clients.
Higher on Search Engine Results
When you enter a query on Google, do you notice the results on top that say "sponsored"? Those are PPC search engine results. Those companies invested Google AdWords, which is a program where businesses can bid on certain keywords. In this case, you will bid on law-specific keywords to appear higher on search engine results, so they even dominate those who rank higher on organic search engine results.
You Have More Control
PPC is one of the most versatile advertising strategies. You can choose to invest more in Google AdWords or display ads. Law firms have more leverage when targeting their audience, choosing where to display their ads, and how much money they want to spend. You can even choose the landing page that your ads lead to.
Unlike many other forms of advertising, you have more control with PPC. This is one of the many reasons why other law firms have success with PPC.
Make Adjustments
What if your PPC strategy isn't as successful as you anticipated? No worries. You can always make adjustments to your strategy. For example, you can choose to invest less in Google and use those marketing dollars toward social media PPC. Or maybe you want to use visual ads as opposed to search terms.
No matter what changes you make, you can make them swiftly, and the changes usually go live right away.
Easy Tracking
Do you want to keep up with your PPC success? No problem. You can easily track your campaign with Google Analytics. Google Analytics is a freemium platform where you can track your audience demographics, website traffic, conversions, and more. The data is updated in real-time, so you can always make an informed decision about your campaign.
Target the Right People
There are many ways you can target your audience with PPC. Some key methods that other law firms use is by bidding on certain local keywords and the legal services that you offer. Many law firms also use demographics to create a strategy. This includes searching by location, age, and pain points.
Fast Results
Before we dive into this benefit further, we must mention that a PPC timeline varies—and this includes the success that you may achieve. For starters, some law firms may see PPC results in one month. However, complex campaigns may take as long as one year to generate results. There are other factors involved, such as the search terms you bid on, how much time and resources you devote to your campaign, and more.
With that being said, most law firms can see PPC results quicker than other forms of marketing. Since your ads are being displayed on top of search engines, social media channels, and various websites, you'll enhance your visibility more than if you solely relied on organic marketing strategies.
Local Options
As a lawyer, you're likely targeting clients in your local region. Because more law firms are targeting local clients, your competitors likely use local SEO and similar strategies. What many lawyers may not know is you can create a local PPC strategy. You can bid on geographical keywords and display your ads on local sources, such as law firm directories.
Budget-Friendly
Let's use AdWords as an example. When you begin your PPC strategy, you'll see different keywords have various prices. This is called cost-per-click (CPC) and represents what you pay when a lead clicks on your ad. Since you have flexibility when selecting search terms, you can choose the ones that fit your budget.
In addition, the bidding practice is also flexible. There are various bidding strategies, and many law firms take advantage of these smart bidding after they have been using PPC for some time. This way, you maximize conversions and are still conscious of your budget.
Types of PPC Marketing
Now that you know all the benefits of PPC, it's time to create your campaign. But with so many different types of PPC, which one should you try? Here's a breakdown of the PPC strategies favored by law firms.
AdWords
As stated previously, Google AdWords is a service where you bid on different keywords. When a potential client searches those keywords, your website landing page will appear as the top search result. The only time you pay is when someone clicks on your ad.
Some examples of search terms that lawyers may bid on include:
- Medical malpractice lawyer in San Francisco
- Auto accident attorney near me
- Personal injury attorney
More than half of respondents in a survey stated they use Google to find new businesses, which makes an AdWords campaign a smart investment.
However, law firms must be smart with their strategy. Google only selects specific businesses to display on top. The ranking factors Google uses include:
- Ad quality
- Bid
- Ad optimizations (such as creating a really compelling landing page)
This doesn't mean that Google will prioritize the law firms with the biggest budget, but the quality of your bid and any ad optimizations will also work in your favor.
Display Ads
As the name suggests, display ads are an image or videos. These ads can appear on different websites or other Google products such as YouTube. Display ads can also appear on social media if you're investing in social PPC. The visuals are meant to entice your potential clients to click on the ad and learn more about your business or schedule a consultation.
Remarketing PPC
Remarketing is a strategy where you target past clients. You can also use remarketing to nurture existing leads down the sales funnel. For example, if a client lands on your website or subscribes to your email newsletter, you can use PPC to retarget that client. How do you target existing leads? Most law firms do this by optimizing their strategy for local PPC and focusing on platforms they used in the past.
How to Start a PPC Campaign
After reading this guide, do you feel ready to start a PPC campaign? If so, follow these steps.
Step 1: Create a New Campaign
The first step in creating a PPC campaign is by going to the Google Ads website and creating an account. Once you create your account, click the "New Campaign" button. Google will take you through different queries, one of them is to choose a goal.
There are different goals you can choose from, including:
- Gain sales
- Generate leads
- Increase brand awareness
- Gain offline sales
- Promote your website/app
The goal you choose determines your strategy and how Google will assist you.
Step 2: Decide Which Type of Campaign You Want to Try
As stated previously, there are various PPC campaign types. When you sign up for a Google account, you'll choose which PPC service you want to invest in. Google will give you these options:
- Display
- Search
- Video
- Shopping
- Discovery (ads appear on other Google products, such as Gmail)
- Smart (automated ads)
If you're new to PPC, most lawyers choose a manual campaign so Google can learn your audience, key demographics, and what converts your leads. Search is a good place to start since it's simple and affordable. Again, the type of campaign you choose depends on your goals and preferences.
The next queries depend on the PPC campaign type you choose. But the next step is the same for everyone.
Step 3: Personalize Your Campaign
There are many customizations you can make to your campaign. You can alter how long you want Google to run your ads and your audience demographics. If you have a search PPC campaign, you can choose which keywords you want to bid on, and change them throughout your campaign.
For example, let's say you bid on the keyword "truck accident lawyer." Down the line, you realize you want to target more of your local market. You can change your bidding strategy to invest in a localized keyword, such as "truck accident lawyer Orlando." You'll not only reach clients in your geographical location more, but Google will better understand your business and can better target your audience.
You can also do this by setting your geographical location in Google and on your Google My Business profile, so they will continue targeting local leads, even if you don't even use geographical keywords.
These aren't the only examples. You can further personalize your campaign by setting multiple languages and more.
Step 4: Set a Budget
One of the best aspects of a PPC campaign is you can easily set a budget. On your Google Ads account, Google will ask the maximum daily amount you want to spend on PPC. This way, you can never surpass your daily limits, saving you money while still experiencing conversions.
How do you set a budget? Most law firms look at the CPC for each keyword and factor in the ideal number of daily impressions. You should also factor in competition.
When conducting keyword research, look at the keyword difficulty (KD) rating. A high KD means other companies are using and/or bidding on that keyword. If that's the case, you'll want to set aside more funds for your daily PPC budget. If you have a strict daily budget, smaller law firms use keywords with low difficulty. That way, you can still convert leads while sticking to your budget.
Step 5: Create Ad Groups
Once you set a budget and a general strategy, you can create ad groups to make your efforts easier. Let's use AdWords as another example. Your ad groups can consist of different keywords you're bidding on.
Ad groups are helpful for law firms bidding on multiple types of keywords. For example, let's say you're a personal injury law firm and are targeting keywords for all your services. You may bid on keywords for car accidents, slip and fall, dog bites, medical malpractice, workplace injuries, construction accidents, and assault. To keep your marketing team organized, you can create ad groups for all these ads, separated by service.
PPC for Law Firms: Do You Need Help With Your Campaign?
PPC for law firms offers many benefits, but starting your campaign can be difficult. If that's what you're facing, you should consider hiring a professional to handle your PPC strategy.
This is where we come in. Our digital marketing firm is a Google and HubSpot Partner. We offer multiple marketing services, including PPC, to expand your reach and gain new clients.
To schedule a consultation, fill out the contact form on our home page. In the meantime, you can click here to read more about PPC for lawyers.