By Arkady Bukh
Source: Entrepreneur
If you’re trying to introduce your law practice to a new level of online marketing, you may be feeling overwhelmed. A mere glance at the stats can scare you — the prospect of forking out up to $500 for a single click to your website isn’t appealing to everyone.
However, I have seen far too many lawyers who heavily invested in their organic performance — and successfully, for some time — only to see their entire online assets evaporate after another Google algorithm update.
I recently had a conversation with Nicholas Wooldridge, a high-profile lawyer who has been generating a huge chunk of his business online.
I asked him to share the secrets of his digital marketing strategy. Here are five tips he says you should take into consideration if you are serious about effectively marketing a law firm or law-related business online.
Tip 1: Properly position yourself in your chosen market.
Question: According to the American Bar Association, there are more than 6,000 licensed attorneys in Nevada. How do you set yourself apart in such a competitive marketplace?
Woolridge: Whether there are 6,000 attorneys or 60,000 attorneys, it does not change the fact you need to get in a proper mindset and skillset. You need a niche. You also need to fully understand online prospects are so much different from a peer referral. The clients you obtain online are generally more demanding, they like to shop around, and they usually ask for a rock bottom price for your services. You also need to expect loads of phone calls and free consultations. Even with a sterling reputation, expect to encounter resistance and mistrust as you are attempting to convert a trepidatious online contact to an actual client. This is why you really need to love your work and be persistent in order to thrive long-term.
Tip 2: It all works as a whole.
Question: What do you think is a more effective form of digital marketing, organic search or paid search?
Woolridge: In my experience, everything works. My strategy is to take the “totality” approach where you must be visible to your prospects simply anywhere they search. In this regard, I like to be present in paid searches (both branded and keyword-specific searches), all legal directories and major customer review portals such as Yelp, Avvo, Lawyers.com, and so forth. We have an in-house team that manages our organic campaigns. The team includes attorneys who submit and edit content, a search engine optimization (SEO) unit, outreach specialists, media person, supervisors, as well as an IT unit that keeps the things up. Although some businesses refer to organic traffic as “free” traffic, I would say the investment in organic promotion is comparable to paid promotion.