By Lisa Vaughn and Adam Draper, Gladiator Law Marketing LLC
Where were you in September of 1998? The Asian stock market crisis was still in full swing, we just heard the name Monica Lewinsky, and the song at the top of the billboards was from glam band Aerosmith: “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing.” It’s all coming back now, isn’t it?
For two graduate students at Stanford University, 1998 is a milestone year for another reason. Twenty years ago, Larry Page and Sergey Brin officially launched their research project: Google. Today, we struggle to imagine how daily life could function without Google – even Italian grandmothers are getting in on the Google action.
For attorneys and law firm marketing agencies, search engine marketing (SEM) has continued to evolve and to present new challenges during the past few decades. Today, law firms are under attack by increased competition, swamped by outside advertising dollars, and they struggle to keep pace with the changing search environment.
If you wake up in the middle of the night worried about what voice search means for your digital marketing, then you understand the fight you face.
Online marketing is no longer just about search engine optimization (SEO) – nor is it all about jumping on the social media train or pouring all your money into pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. A diversified strategy is critical to the success of results-oriented Web marketing campaigns.
Successful Web marketing campaigns are the result of a strong partnership between your firm and your Web marketing agency as well. You must do your part alongside the professional digital strategists of your online marketing company.
In short, the highly competitive Web marketing environment of 2018 has come a long way since 1998, and you can’t afford to “Miss a Thing.” To ensure you don’t miss anything, use these three tips to help position your firm for success.
Tip #1: Know If You’re Winning
Recently, we were invited to speak with a closed peer group for attorneys. There were a handful of marketers present to address questions from our various areas of expertise. To add weight to the message, attorneys successful in their online marketing also presented. Without any prior coordination between us, every presenter came armed with materials about tracking leads. In fact, one entire presentation was dedicated to this topic. It is that important.
Despite its significance, we can’t tell you how many firms neglect this aspect of their business. Why? Usually because the attorneys don’t feel motivated to do it. It’s not fun. It doesn’t offer immediate gratification. It can require developing new processes and having difficult conversations with staff. To add yet another obstacle: no lead tracking system is 100% perfect. How do you determine the source for the client who calls while visiting your website, but who first saw your billboard ad? And that was after they talked with their neighbor?!
Faced with what feels like stumbling blocks, and less than accurate results, why bother?
Because if you don’t, your business will fail. Period.
Law firms that market themselves successfully know what expenditures are worthwhile, which deliver returns, and where to invest. This knowledge stems from gathering data.
You must track your leads to know if you’re winning.
Case Management Software
You need to store you lead data. Every intake system available offers your firm the ability to track leads. However, you must train your staff to ask for and input the information.
- Where did the potential client hear about you?
- Where did they see the phone number they called?
- Did you take the case?
- How much was it worth to your firm?
Because your office is run by imperfect humans, you must track your tracking. Continue to follow-up with staff, audit your intake, listen to your calls, and ghost call your system to make sure it follows your defined processes. Skip any of these steps and you can hurt your leads. Less leads = less wins.
Online Call Tracking
This is the best way to capture call data. Humans can forget to track a call. An automated system won’t. We recommend a program called CallRail.com to track calls from your website and PPC advertising. Call Rail offers a treasure trove of information about your callers: from where their site visit came, their location, the length of their call, and if they called you before. Because it stores all this data, it is an easy tool to audit your intake system.
Google Analytics (GA)
GA offers both Event tracking and custom Goals that allow you to track form submissions, online chats, texts, and even phone calls. If you don’t know if your Analytics are setup to track these key metrics, find out today. Go. Right now.
So, Are You Winning?
Not only is this lead tracking information invaluable to your business, it is essential for your marketing agency. Your on-the-ground activity helps provide insight as to which Web marketing strategies work best for your practice.
Know if you’re losing, too. This data can help identify problem areas sooner rather than later, allowing you to make adjustments. For example, if your firm received an unusual number of referral cases, this could mask a possible issue because your attorneys are still busy. If you don’t have data on the source of your leads, you might feel like you’re winning when you could be losing. Then, six months go by and the phone is quiet.
While tracking leads can seem tedious and unrewarding in the short-term, if you’re serious about marketing your practice, “Don’t Miss a Thing.”
Tip #2: Align Your Online Strategy with the End User
Flashback: In 1998, the search results page had just 10 blue links. Oh, the simple days gone by.
Now there are ads, maps, business listings, organic listings, rich snippets, and a few other ways to show up. When we, as humans, mature, we start to become aware of and prioritize the needs of others. The same was true of Google as it matured.
Google started to recognize that ten people could do a search using the same phrase, but all be looking for something different. Google became aware of, and wanted to meet the needs of, all their users, not some of them. It began to offer search results in multiple forms.
Google matured. It adapted its offerings. This shift exemplifies, in a nutshell, why your Web marketing strategy must take a diversified, comprehensive approach. When Google changed, your marketing strategy should have, too. When your marketing changed, your lead tracking should have, too. Why? Because you must to consider the needs of your potential client.
Perhaps it’s time your Web marketing matured.
Let’s look at how you should shift (i.e. mature) to keep up with Google and meet your clients’ needs.
- Google Maps / Business Listing(s)
Some searchers specifically look for a local attorney near them. If you aren’t nearby, your office location won’t show up here. If you are local, then you have an advantage: Your Google business listing can help you reach those potential clients who search with “local intent.”
Set up a Google business listing, and your marketing matures. Want to grow more? Did you know you can tag your business listing with Google Ads for additional visibility? Or that you can update your Google Business Listing with recent news, headlines or blog articles?
- Organic Search Listings
There are two key methods for securing visibility in the organic listings: get your website to rank and/or pay to be included in a legal directory(ies). Google will show both directories and individual websites. Why? Because different users have different needs and preferences. (Don’t forget about that diversified marketing strategy!)
- Potential clients who prefer to do research by reading about different firms gravitate toward organic listings. Decades of attorney advertising have taught potential claimants well. They know when they have a potentially valuable case.
Paid ads fill in the gaps. For example, perhaps you want additional, targeted visibility in a location where you don’t have an office. Google Maps won’t show your business listing, but PPC ads can help carry the load. Additionally, for those Web users who will click on the first attorney that shows up, PPC ads are your tool for getting to the top of the page… for a price.
Want a Real-life Example?
Consider for a moment that you want more truck wreck cases. Do the point-and-click, immediate response needs of PPC users align with the needs of truck accident victims who take the time to research and compare different firms? Perhaps PPC advertising isn’t the most effective strategy to secure those cases and you should consider SEO as the primary tool for that audience. What about geography? If that truck accident victim lives 50 miles away where your Google business listing won’t show up, but a directory that ranks at the top of organic search results will. Your directory listing might get you that case.
Understanding the different needs of your potential clients and how those can trigger different online behaviors – depending on their intent – allows you to guide your budget and marketing strategy toward success. Congratulations. Your marketing campaign matured. You didn’t miss a thing.
Tip #3: Get Your Reputation in Check
In what year were you born? How many Google reviews do you have? You should know the second answer as quickly as the first.
Reviews. Reviews. Reviews. You can’t ignore them. Review signals account for 13% of the overall ranking factors for websites. Your goal should be to get at least 10% of your clients to leave a positive review. Reviews help in two different ways:
- Reviews are directly correlated with your rankings. If you have more reviews that are positive, you are more likely to rank. In addition to getting reviews on a consistent basis, you should also respond to those reviews. Whether the reviews are positive or negative, you should thank the client for the review and address any concerns they raised.Hint: Google also looks at how quickly you respond to reviews.
- Reviews increase conversions. We know that often, people will diligently investigate your reviews after they visit your website. Or, they could look at your reviews after someone referred your office to them. If you don’t have any reviews, there is a chance you will lose that lead to a competitor.
“Don’t Miss a Thing”
Google your competitors. See how many reviews they have. Then, roll up your sleeves and get to work. Reviews are only gaining in importance and it is one area of Web marketing that you can influence directly through your client relationships.
Which Is Your Hit Song for 2018: “Look Alive” or “The Middle”?
Do you have confidence your Web marketing isn’t missing a thing? Will the theme song of your 2018 be “Look Alive” or are you aiming to be in “The Middle”?
Now is the time to get aggressive, and adaptive, with your marketing. When we compare 2017 to 2013, there are fewer law firms marketing now. Sounds good, right? Well, those firms that are marketing are spending more. The competition has increased and will continue to do so. The firms that are going to be successful in two or three years are those that have an established and proven funnel of clients. That takes a multi-tiered strategy and time, so don’t miss a thing. Look alive: mature your marketing and increase your leads.
Lisa Vaughn is President/Owner with Gladiator Law Marketing, a full-service Web Marketing company focused on providing custom-crafted solutions for law firms. Lisa Vaughn is a highly experienced Web-marketing specialist who has, for the last fifteen years, provided hundreds of attorneys results-driven Web marketing campaigns. With expertise in all aspects of legal website development and marketing, Lisa has worked with law firms across the country, from solo practitioners to those on the Largest 150 list, to maximize the performance of their Internet investments.
https://gladiatorlawmarketing.
Adam Draper is the CEO/Owner of Gladiator Law Marketing. Adam has a diverse background from experience with the military and Fortune 500 sales. He has a can-do, strategic focus to help law firms understand their market and control the future of their firm.
https://gladiatorlawmarketing.
