Law firms that market most effectively diversify their tactics. A little bit of paid advertising, a little bit of building organic search results. Sprinkle in some review management, and engagement tools. It’s like a recipe – maybe it looks weird all mixed together in the bowl; but, it all comes together beautifully in the end.
Of course, it does help to squeeze every advantage that you can out of your marketing, like each advertising endeavor was a toothpaste tube with only a little bit left to give. So, if you’re going to pay to advertise your law firm (which you should), do as much as you can, at no cost, to make that paid advertising even more effective. This is not about being cheap; it’s about being dominant.
But, even if you’re not yet paying for advertising, you can influence your results, using a simple tactic.
You know potential clients who have been referred to you are not just taking their referral source’s word for it. Trust but verify is the byword of Google search. So, when referrals are looking you up online, what do they see?
Most lawyers don’t actually know, because they don’t Google their own names, like those referrals are doing.
But, if lawyers did run vanity searches on Google more regularly, what they would find is that many of the page one results tend to be social media (LinkedIn, Instagram) and directory (Avvo, Yelp) profiles.
So, the very first step to better managing your search results as a lawyer, is to understand what comes up on page one of Google for a search of your name.
Then, the fun starts: Claim the profiles you don’t own. Build up those you do. Get reviews.
Your clients are looking a gift horse in the mouth; make sure they like what they see.
And, doing so won’t cost you a thing.