The days of plastering your law firm's name and pictures of your partners on the sides of buses and billboards are quickly coming to an end. Inbound marketing has comprehensively proven itself to be a much more cost-effective way to create quality leads. The goal of every law firm should be to use a solid online marketing strategy to bring in as many "ideal" clients as possible, keeping the dockets full and the money flowing in.

Marketing Strategies for Law Firms

To accomplish this, you will want to develop a marketing strategy that works. Whether you have an online presence already or are just now creating one, there are some simple steps that you can follow to ensure your law firm draws in the right types of clients. The last thing you want is a back log of appointments from clients that you will want to either turn down or strangle!

For starters, you should view your website as the bottom of your sales funnel. Every digital platform out there should be a road that leads directly back to your website - this is the mouth of your sales and marketing funnel. The wider your funnel, the more traffic you will pull into your website.

Creating Multiple Avenues for Web Traffic

For example, having a Facebook page gives you a great way to connect with clients looking for information. Sharing your blogs, press coverage and info that is helpful will keep people connected to you. Twitter can be a great vehicle for quickly answering questions, giving you a way to get people into your office. This type of immediacy and availability is not only appreciated by the public, it is quickly becoming expected.

You should also set up a Google Places page for your law firm. This will ensure that your firm's information is current and uniform across the web since many directories pull info directly from Google (e.g. hours, directions, partners, specialties, etc).

Your Google Places page will also get you more real estate on search engine results pages (SERPs), thus giving your competition less room. Your law firm will appear on Google Maps when your site appears on a SERP. Your law firm's ratings and reviews will also show up directly on the SERP, letting clients know that you are a quality, respectable law firm - provided you are!

Optimizing Your Law Firm's Website

Of course, the biggest component of your online presence is your law firm's website. You should optimize the content to be as helpful and informative as possible. The more information and quality content on your site, the better you will rank. Provide case studies, testimonials, lawyer bios, press coverage, case results and an informative blog.

Don't worry too much about optimizing your site around a million keywords - if you create the content with the sole intent to provide as much helpful information as possible, your keywords will occur naturally. Creating a site built with the customer in mind will directly result in building a site that search engines prefer.

Local Searches and Specificity

Do place lots of specifics in your content, especially concerning the firm's location and your areas of practice. Think about your ideal client and provide information they would search for. If you write more about criminal law on your site, those looking for a criminal lawyer will find you - the same with personal injury topics. Omit words that don't relate to your specific expertise.

Local markets are easier to conquer, so instead of being a "NYC law firm," be the "lower east side law firm." Then, enjoy all of your new clients!

Should you have questions, concerns, or have an urgent need to discuss your law firm's marketing goals with someone who can help you achieve them contact me below or sign up for my Law Firm marketing newsletter.