When it comes to digital marketing for the legal industry, pay-per-click advertising, or PPC, is a top channel for lead generation - and for good reasons.
But with so many law firms advertising via pay-per-click ads, it can sometimes be tough to make your firm stand out. To put it simply, competition is high and costs can be, too.
It is also important to note that no matter how much you spend on your PPC ads, there are certain techniques your firm should use to increase the number of leads generated from its pay-per-click ads.
So whether you are currently running PPC ads for your law firm or considering running them, here are seven things you absolutely need to know about legal PPC advertising:
1. PPC drives qualified traffic.
One of the main reasons PPC is so effective for law firms is the fact that it targets people who are searching for a specific legal service.
In fact, statistics show that over one third of potential legal clients start their attorney search online, which proves that search engines are a great place to spend marketing dollars. The leads you generate from your PPC ads are most likely in immediate need of the services your law firm provides.
2. PPC can be very expensive for law firms.
It is important to note that even though PPC can be extremely effective for law firm lead generation, it can come at an extremely high cost.
In fact, Google AdWords data shows that “attorney” is the fourth most expensive keyword category with the highest search volume. For many legal terms, single clicks on a PPC advertisement can cost upwards of $200 (and that’s not even for the lead – it’s just for a click to your site).
These high costs are caused by high competition. In most cities, competitive law firms are spending big money on the same keywords, which drives up cost.
3. PPC does not affect organic search (or SEO).
Unfortunately, PPC ads do not help boost organic search rankings for your firm’s website. You should, however, apply the insights you gain from your PPC ads to your organic search keyword strategy. In other words, you will be able to see which keywords are most often used by your ideal clients and use these keywords when optimizing your website’s SEO strategy.
4. PPC is a great way for lawyers to target specific service offerings.
Because PPC ads target keywords of your choosing, they are a great way to target specific service offerings from your law firm.
For example, if you’re looking to get more personal injury cases, you can run PPC ads for keywords specific to people who have recently gotten in a car accident in your local community.
In other words, instead of blanket advertisements that list all of your firm’s service offerings, you can advertise a service specific to an audience that is actually searching for it.
5. PPC ads should link to targeted landing pages, not your homepage.
One of the main reasons pay-per-click ads fail for many law firms surprisingly doesn’t have to do with the ad itself. The issue is that many firms link their PPC ads to their website’s homepage, which doesn’t provide helpful, targeted information for the viewer.
It is crucial to link your PPC ads to a dedicated landing page that provides a targeted message specific to your ad. This landing page must provide immediate value to the viewer and include a clear call-to-action paired with an easy-to-fill-out form. This will increase the number of page viewers that convert into leads for your firm.
6. Conversion rates are more important than click-through rates.
While it may feel good to get lots of clicks on your pay-per-click ads, it doesn’t prove that your ads are successful. The most important metric to track is the conversion rate, or the number of visitors that clicked on your ad and then filled out the landing page form to become a lead.
But be careful – once a lead is generated, it is crucial to follow up and nurture the lead to increase the chances of them picking your firm.
Statistics show that 42% of the time, law firms take an average of three or more days to respond to a message from a new potential client, which means the lead is likely to slip through the cracks and choose a competitor law firm.
Make sure your firm has an immediate follow-up plan set before launching your PPC ads. The number of new clients you get as a result of your PPC ads will prove the overall ROI of your campaigns.
7. If PPC visitors don’t convert immediately, you haven’t lost them yet.
Another major advantage to PPC ads is that you are able to continue targeting people who clicked on your PPC ads, even if they didn’t initially convert into a lead.
Sometimes people aren’t fully ready to make a purchasing decision. Using retargeting techniques you can continue showing online ads to the visitors of your landing page that didn’t convert. This keeps your firm top of mind and increases the chances of them ultimately picking your firm.
To sum it up, when done correctly pay-per-click advertising can be an extremely effective way to generate quality leads for law firms.
The key is to do extensive keyword research to make sure you are paying for keywords that your top prospects will be searching for. Once you’ve chosen these keywords, direct your PPC ads to dedicated landing pages that have targeted messaging specific to the ad.
Then, the most important step is to have an automated follow-up and nurturing system to convince your leads to choose your law firm over the competitors. By taking these steps, you are guaranteed to build a powerful lead generation machine for your law firm using pay-per-click advertisements!
Do you know which marketing channels will make the biggest impact towards law firm growth? Don't miss this FREE legal marketing guide to learn more!
