How to Create a Winning Law Firm Marketing Campaign

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Law firms are in a competitive business. They have to work diligently to attract new clients and retain their existing ones if they want to succeed and grow.

You might have the most knowledgeable and experienced attorneys in your area. But no one is going to hire your firm if they can’t find you online or learn something about your services when conducting some preliminary research.

The best way to have all of this fall into place is with a winning law firm marketing campaign. But what’s involved with that? Here are some tips for successfully getting your law firm’s message out to the right audience.

  1. Define Your Target Audience

There are many different areas of the law, so the clients your law firm targets may not be the same as the firm down the street. Each audience has specific needs that will prompt them to search out legal services. Before crafting a campaign, figure out whether you will be marketing to new clients, past clients, other attorneys, or someone else. You can even expand on this with typical client characteristics, such as:

  • Age
  • Location
  • Gender
  • Job title
  • Income
  • Industry
  • Needs

This information will be invaluable in figuring out where to reach these people and what messages will most appeal to them. In some cases, you may have more than one target audience. There’s nothing wrong with creating multiple client profiles.

  1. Map Your Client’s Journey

Mapping your client’s journey is an incredibly useful exercise in creating a satisfying marketing campaign. This consists of your typical client’s pathway as they progress from learning about your brand to signing on as a client. The journey generally has three main stages:

  • Awareness Stage — This is the initial stage in which prospective clients become aware of your brand. For example, they might see an online ad, run across your website through a search, or hear about you from a friend.
  • Consideration Stage — During this stage, prospects will conduct detailed online research of different law firms by reading practice area pages, blog posts, attorney bios, and reviews. They might subscribe to your email list or follow you on social media.
  • Decision Stage— In the decision stage, prospects will decide whether or not you are the best law firm to handle their needs. If they choose you, they will call you or contact you through your website.

To optimize your client journey and improve conversions, you can create a map that identifies the desired outcomes at each stage. For example, you might want prospects to browse your website or download an ebook at the consideration stage and fill out a contact form at the decision stage.

  1. Define Your Value Proposition

Your firm’s value proposition outlines what you can offer prospective clients to choose your law firm over a competitor. It forms the foundation of most marketing messages. For example, maybe you offer affordable services, aggressive representation, or 24/7 availability.

It’s important that your value proposition be concise enough to deliver across a variety of formats. You’ll need to convey it on your website, through social media, and throughout your content marketing campaigns.

  1. Differentiate Your Brand

You can use your value proposition to help define and differentiate your brand. Branding is how you will set your law firm apart from the competition. It includes your unique message as well as styling. Your firm’s brand should resonate consistently throughout its website, social media profiles, letterhead, and logo. Business cards, and anything else used to interact with potential and current clients.

  1. Evaluate Your Competition

Sometimes, it’s most helpful to see what’s working for your biggest competitors so you can emulate their tactics. Make sure you thoroughly evaluate the competition to learn what keywords they are ranking for and how you may be able to improve with your own strategy.

  1. Craft a Compelling Message 

To achieve your marketing goals, you need to create an effective marketing message. As a law firm, this involves crafting a message that:

  • Presents a solution to their needs
  • Answers common questions related to the law
  • Tells how your law firm has produced results for other clients
  • Explains what separates you from the competition

It’s important that your law firm avoid any language that could land it in hot water. For example, some states have specific rules about legal marketing, such as not allowing comparative statements like “We’re the best!”. You can check with your state’s bar association for specifics.

  1. Choose Your Marketing Channels

Another vital step is determining which marketing channels you will use to conduct your campaigns. Once you’ve defined your target audience, you will get a better idea of where they spend their time. For example, you’re more likely to find business clients on LinkedIn than on Facebook. But Facebook or Instagram would be excellent options for personal injury or family law practices. And targeting high rankings on Google will be beneficial no matter what area of law you practice.

The right mix of channels will depend on a variety of factors, including:

  • The demographics of your target audience
  • Your law firm’s specialties
  • The geographic area you serve
  • Your budget
  • Your specific marketing goals
  1. Measure Your Performance

One of the most critical aspects of creating a winning and sustainable legal marketing campaign is performance measurement. Every law firm’s goals are different, but they must be measurable. You can establish a variety of KPIs corresponding to your goals to measure performance and gauge when you might need to make adjustments. Some common KPIs include: Cost Per Lead (CPL), Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), and Lead Conversion Rate.

Creating a Winning Marketing Campaign for Your Law Firm

Law firms need every possible competitive advantage. One of the best ways to set your business apart from the competition is to create a strong online presence that showcases your brand and engages potential clients.

At Too Darn Loud Legal Marketing, we specialize in helping law firms become the business of choice in their markets. Our digital marketing specialists spend the time getting to know your firm and its goals before customizing a strategy designed to meet your particular needs. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation and website evaluation.

How to Market My Law Firm

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As a law firm, you might have a stellar reputation. But, if you aren’t proactively pursuing new clients and marketing your business, you will likely face some challenges. When someone is looking for a product or service, the most natural thing to do is to jump online. Hardly anyone uses a phone book anymore.

Your law firm’s marketing strategy will make it easy for those potential clients to find you. Even better, some of them may even recognize your name through some of your campaigns. You may not necessarily want to market your services, but it’s part of running a successful business. Here’s what you need to know about law firm marketing and some of the top strategies to get your message out effectively.

The Difference Between Sales and Marketing for Law Firms

It’s not surprising that many lawyers think marketing is the same as sales. There’s a difference. Marketing is everything your law firm does to get the message out about its practice areas, lawyers, and unique value proposition. It’s the messaging you put out that tells people who you are, what you do, and how well you do it.

Few attorneys get excited about having to “sell” their services. Fortunately, if your marketing strategy is on point, you won’t have to do much (or any) hard selling. By the time potential clients get to you, they know enough about your law firm to believe you can probably solve their issues. After you ask them a few pointed questions, you can usually convert these prospects into clients.

10 Effective Ways to Market Your Law Firm

If your law firm wants to grow and have qualified leads knocking on its door, it needs an effective marketing strategy. Here are some of the top ways to market your law firm.

  1. Create a Marketing Budget

Not every law firm has the same amount of cash to devote to legal marketing. What would be a mistake is not taking this part of your business seriously. Make sure you create a marketing budget that factors in the potential costs as well as the returns you’ll achieve by attracting new clients.

  1. Identify Your Target Audience

Understanding who your target audience is will help your law firm market its services more effectively. For example, if you’re an estate planning attorney, you likely know the average age of your typical client. This might dictate what type of content and social media marketing you will target.

  1. Define and Promote Your Brand

According to a study by Martindale-Hubbell and LexisNexis, roughly 85% of law firms find that a majority of their website traffic goes to attorney bio pages. That’s because people are looking to hire a lawyer, not a law firm. They want to read about the individuals before deciding if they will contact your law firm for help.

This means that your law firm and your firm’s attorneys should define and promote their brands online. Just as your firm will have its own brand, so will each lawyer since some may focus on different practice areas.

  1. Create a Well-Designed Legal Website

In today’s digital age, your law firm needs an attractive and engaging website that is easy to navigate. It should also be fast-loading, mobile-friendly, and secure. If it’s been a few years since you launched your website, it might be time for an update.

  1. Invest in Ongoing SEO

Just having a law firm website isn’t good enough. It’s essential that you invest in ongoing search engine optimization (SEO) to achieve the best possible rankings on Google. This involves identifying and targeting the right keyword phrases for your website content, using proper title tags, meta descriptions, URL structures, and much more.

  1. Produce Engaging Legal Content

Another way to get the attention of prospective clients is by posting valuable legal content. This helps your search engine rankings and draws visitors to your website who may wish to hire your firm. Create a list of the most frequently asked questions by clients related to your various practice areas. Then, dedicate a blog post or video to each of them. You can also produce content focused on changes in the law, seasonal topics, and interest pieces about your firm.

  1. Claim Your Free Online Profiles

Your law firm’s website is just one place potential clients can find you. But there are others, whether you participate in the listing or not. So, you should claim any free profiles available on sites like Google Business Pages and various legal directories.

  1. Foster Your Social Media Presence

Many of today’s consumers are active on social media. They use various platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter to connect with friends and different brands. Make sure yours is one of the brands people see online in a helpful way, not an annoying one. Create a presence where you share information and even answer questions to boost your brand recognition.

  1. Consider Online Advertising

If you want lightning-fast online marketing results, it’s going to cost money. But it’s possible to produce some clicks and engagement on your website using online ads through Google and social media. One of the benefits of Facebook ads is that they are easy to target in terms of geographic location and demographics.

  1. Manage Your Online Feedback

A 2021 Legal Trends Report found that 82% of consumers sought client reviews when seeking legal counsel. When consumers read reviews, one of the things many of them look at is how the company responds. Clients will likely leave feedback for your law firm on Facebook, Google, and various legal directory websites. It’s critical that you monitor these sites for any online feedback so you can respond quickly and appropriately.

Your firm may not need every one of these items. What’s important is that it develops a strategy designed to reach new clients, engage existing ones, and grow the business.

Partner With a Results-Driven Legal Marketing Agency

Knowing how to market your law firm in a continually changing environment is only the first step. You won’t get the results you need unless you take some decisive action. And most attorneys already have enough on their plates without having to worry about the marketing side of the business. This is why you need help! At Too Darn Loud Legal Marketing, we are dedicated to helping our legal clients achieve growth and boost revenue.

From small to big firms, we have helped legal clients dominate their markets and achieve game-changing results. Our strategies are completely customized, meaning we only recommend the services you need and that will deliver results. Give us a call at (800) 649-1764 or reach out to us online to schedule a free initial consultation.

Consider These 5 Things When Choosing Your Next Law Firm Marketing Agency

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Few things are more important to the success of your law firm than generating new business. Whether you are a large, multi-office firm, a sole practitioner, or something in between, you need new clients coming in consistently to remain profitable. And for your law firm to remain competitive, it needs a powerful and effective marketing strategy.

If you’re like most attorneys, you don’t have time to wear multiple hats. Your strengths lie in representing clients, not building websites, figuring out SEO strategies, or social media marketing. You probably need some help to achieve the best results. But who can you trust to provide it?

If you’re like most law firms, you probably get emails, calls, and mailers ad nauseum from companies trying to sell you law firm SEO services. They might make outrageous promises, like guaranteeing the “number one spot on Google for your desired keyword for just $300/month.” It’s important to understand that those ads are scams, and you will not get the results you need from that type of business.

Digital marketing for law firms is highly competitive, so you need a partner that is honest, knows what they’re doing, and can produce results. But there are so many options! How do you know if you are making the right choice? Here is what you need to know about legal marketing and several things to consider when choosing your next law firm marketing agency.

What is Law Firm Marketing?

Law firm marketing is a strategy for attracting new potential clients to your legal practice. A law firm marketing plan will be customized to suit your particular needs and goals. But it might include a mix of website design, SEO, digital ads, social media marketing, content creation, and more.

No matter how you approach it, marketing your law firm can easily consume a significant amount of your time and energy. Most lawyers struggle with creating a robust digital marketing strategy that reaches their target audience and persuades them to become clients. The right legal marketing agency can help achieve positive results while the legal professionals in your firm focus on what they do best — serve clients’ needs.

Benefits of Marketing Your Law Firm

First, not marketing your law firm can be a major mistake. Unless you practice an area of law that is so specialized you have no competitors, you need to find a way to set your law firm apart. Here are just a few of the most important benefits of legal marketing.

Grow Your Client Base

The most direct benefit of law firm marketing is the ability to grow your client base and boost your firm’s overall revenue. The right digital marketing strategy will produce qualified leads that are already searching for your law firm’s services. You can easily convert these leads into new clients by nurturing them. This new customer base represents a golden opportunity to attract new business through repeat business and referrals.

Boost Your Law Firm’s Reputation

Another great benefit of marketing your law firm is that it gives you the resources necessary to improve your firm’s reputation. How the public perceives your brand is vital for building the trust you need to attract new prospects and convert them into clients. Through ongoing marketing, you can create name recognition and establish your law firm as a reputable authority in its field.

Learn More About Your Target Audience

When you’re marketing your legal services, you need to know as much about your target audience as possible. You might think you understand their wants and needs, but you’ll learn so much more about them through your legal marketing efforts. Using social media, email marketing, and other strategies, you’ll gain more insights into what your audience wants, allowing you to better meet their needs and focus your marketing efforts.

Inform Your Overall Growth Strategy

Finally, you’ll be amazed at the way legal marketing can save your law firm time and money when it comes to lead generation. An effective digital marketing strategy helps you attract more clients, produce more revenue, and set your law firm up for success as it continues to grow.

Consider These 5 Things When Choosing Your Next Law Firm Marketing Agency

When you’re looking for a law firm marketing agency, it’s vital to remember that not all agencies are created equal. A lot of factors must be given consideration when making your decision. Here are five things to think about when choosing your next law firm marketing agency.

  1. Experience and Expertise

When you choose a legal marketing agency, it’s important that you consider the agency’s level of experience and expertise. The digital marketing landscape is changing constantly, so you need to choose a partner that is up-to-date on the latest trends.

A reputable marketing agency will have extensive experience working with law firms of every shape and size. They will also have a deep understanding of the unique opportunities and challenges that come with marketing in your industry. For example, the American Bar Association has created rules of professional conduct for lawyers and law firms that market their services in the digital marketing age.

  1. Legal Marketing Services Offered

What services does the marketing agency you are considering offer? Not all agencies offer a full complement of services. You’ll want to find an agency that offers a wide variety of legal marketing services, such as web design, SEO, social media management, content creation, digital advertising, video production, branding, and more.

What’s just as important is that the agency you choose creates a customized plan to meet your specific needs. If an agency tries to sell you a cookie-cutter package, it may not be the best option. When you meet with the agency for an initial consultation, the marketing professionals will learn more about your law firm, its clients, and the goals you want to achieve.

  1. Reputation and Client Feedback

You don’t want to be a guinea pig for someone launching a new marketing business. Search for a legal marketing agency that can produce a body of work and some positive client feedback. Most consumers (over 50%) do online research before they buy a new TV or switch doctors. There’s no reason you shouldn’t do some detective work when hiring a legal marketing firm.

Look for an agency that has handled marketing for law firms similar to your own. Review their websites and ask the agency for testimonials if they don’t have any posted online. Any reputable agency will be happy to provide you with this information.

  1. Communication and Transparency

Communication and transparency are essential when working with a legal marketing agency. Without open and clear communication, it can be challenging to understand what the agency is doing, why they’re doing it, and how it affects your business.

Even more, transparency ensures that both parties have accountability for their respective parts. When your agency is transparent about its tactics and strategies, this builds mutual respect and trust. Because of this, both parties are more likely to be satisfied with the relationship.

In short, you want to work with a marketing agency that keeps you informed at every stage of the process, from the initial strategy session through implementation and regular reporting. And your agency’s communication style should match what works best for you. In other words, if you prefer email versus phone calls or vice versa, your marketing team will be able to accommodate your needs.

  1. Pricing and Your Budget

Marketing agencies provide a critical service to law firms of all sizes. But pricing can be a major determining factor when it comes to choosing a digital marketing agency. While your law firm might be drawn to the lowest-priced option, it’s important to consider the value that a high-quality legal marketing agency can provide.

In many cases, an agency’s pricing is directly related to the expertise and experience of its team. More experienced agencies that produce the best results typically charge higher rates. But they also offer an elevated level of service.

When choosing a digital marketing agency, you certainly want to consider your budget. But don’t forget about the value you are receiving. You don’t have to handle this part of your business on your own. And the increase in conversions you get will easily produce a fast return on your investment.

Partner With a Results-Driven Legal Marketing Agency

Choosing the right law firm marketing agency can be challenging. But your choice can make the difference between getting the results you need and continuing to struggle against fierce competition. At Too Darn Loud Legal Marketing, we specialize in helping our legal clients increase revenue and achieve growth.

From big to small firms, we have helped legal clients dominate their market to achieve game-changing results. Our approach is completely customized, meaning we only recommend the services you need, and that will produce results. Give us a call at (800) 649-1764 or reach out to us online to schedule a free initial consultation.

The Importance of Client Reviews and the Most Effective Way to Get Them

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In law school, the last thing that you were likely thinking about was how to market yourself as an attorney. Instead, you probably assumed that by doing good work and providing effective legal counsel, as well as by establishing or working for a reputable firm, clients would come to you. But the days of word-of-mouth marketing are all but are gone; today, more people than ever before are turning to online information as a resource that influences their purchasing decisions of various types, including who to hire for legal representation.

If your law firm is still relying on out-of-date means of client retention and acquisition, you’re missing out on a big opportunity to reach more people. At Too Darn Loud Legal Marketing, our legal marketing team can help you to understand the importance of client reviews and the most effective way to start cultivating reviews today.

Why Are Client Reviews So Important?

When it comes to understanding why client reviews are so important, the following statistics say it all:

  • Those who are in need of a lawyer aren’t just going to ask around to find one; instead, 75 percent of consumers seeking an attorney will use online resources to identify who they plan to hire. Again, by not having online information about your firm, including online client reviews, you could practically be sending clients to your competitors.
  • Not only are ¾ of people who need a lawyer using online resources to look for one, but nearly ⅔ of people say that online reviews greatly influenced their decision in selecting an attorney.

The bottom line: people are using the internet to learn more about a business before making a purchasing decision – this includes those who are in need of legal services. By failing to provide information to potential clients about your business in a variety of forms, including client reviews, you’re missing an opportunity to connect with a potential client in a valuable way; this opportunity will likely be snatched up by other attorneys in your field.

The Most Effective Ways to Get Client Reviews

Now that you understand just how important client reviews are for your legal practice, the next consideration is how to start building a collection of client reviews on your website.

Lawyers often fail to get reviews for a variety of reasons, starting with the fact that they don’t maintain the right spaces for clients to leave reviews (i.e. Facebook, Google, etc.). Second, lawyers often fail to ask clients for reviews, which is a critical step in the process of actually getting reviews. Third, if a lawyer does ask a client for a review, they often go about it in the wrong way. To get more reviews, consider the following:

  • Choose the right platforms. The first thing that your law firm needs to do is ensure that the right platforms for client reviews are in place. Facebook and Google are both great options – Facebook has more than one billion active users, and consumers say that Google reviews is their favorite source for online reviews. In addition to Google and Facebook, also consider using Avvo, which is a review site specifically for lawyers.
  • Start asking for reviews. It’s not just about having the right platforms in place; you’ll need to actually ask your former clients for reviews. This can be daunting and even feel uncomfortable, but there is a way to do it appropriately and effectively.

How to Ask Clients for Reviews

As you start to ask clients for reviews, there are a few key things to keep in mind for maximum effectiveness.

  1. Make sure your reviews are current by asking clients to leave you a review as soon as possible after representation has been completed.
  1. Ask for reviews from clients who had a positive experience – the goal is to have positive reviews reflected on your website and the various review platforms.
  1. Make it personal by asking for a review in person or by picking up the phone and calling them. Simply sending a generic email to a client you’ve been working with isn’t nearly as effective as personalizing it. If the client agrees to leave you a review, then you can immediately follow up with an email containing the relevant links to review sites.

Know How to Make Reviews Work for You

Finally, once reviews start coming in, you’ll need to know how to make these reviews work for you. Make sure that positive reviews are shared on your website in an area that is easy for prospective clients to find. Show recent reviews first.

Another tip for making reviews more effective is to respond to former clients’ reviews, both positive and negative. Be honest, empathetic, and use a negative review as an opportunity to admit fault when appropriate and highlight how much you care about your clients.

Work with a Professional Digital Marketing Team Today

At Too Darn Loud Legal Marketing, we are experts at helping law firms like yours improve their online presence and start attracting more clients. Not only are we skilled digital marketers, but we also understand the unique rules and regulations that you face as a lawyer, including client confidentiality rules and the consequences of fake reviews. To learn more about how we can help your firm, reach out to our legal marketing team by phone at (800) 649-1764 or online today.

How to Get Reviews from Clients

Getting reviews isn’t something you can sit back and trust people will do. You have to actively have a review-requesting plan in place, and train their staff – from managing partners down to their receptionists – in the best ways to ask satisfied clients for reviews.

Here are a few suggestions:

In Case-Closing Letters

Do your clients send a final letter to their clients with their settlement checks or copies of final judgment documents? Include specific instructions on how to leave their firm a review within these letters.

If your client sends copies of these letters via email, include direct links to their review profiles to make it easy.

In Text

Part of the problem with getting clients to leave reviews is them knowing how to. Remove those barriers by texting a link to their business’s Google profile. Here’s how.

In Person

The most powerful way to ask for a review is in person where your client can say, “I appreciated working with you. It would really help more people who need my help find me if you would leave a review online.”

Follow up this conversation with a texted link.

Too Darn Loud Legal Marketing has extensive experience with helping lawyers obtain positive client reviews. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation to learn more about our review management programs and other comprehensive solutions for law firms.

Six Blogging Tips for Attorneys: How to Write Client-Focused Content

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There is wide agreement among online experts that blogging is one of the core strategies that should be integrated into an effective digital marketing plan. This is true for virtually every industry, but it is especially the case for law firms. People encounter all types of legal trouble, and these days, one of the first places they go to try to make sense of their legal issues and solve them is the internet.

Before a typical legal consumer contacts an attorney, they will want to read as much as they can about the issue that they are dealing with so they at least have a basic understanding of it, and so they will know what questions to ask a lawyer when they finally contact one.

Attorneys and law firms that take the time to produce content that answers consumers’ questions stand out from their competitors by sharing free information with the public and demonstrating their knowledge of the law. Done correctly, blogging will drive targeted prospects to your web properties, a certain percentage of which should become clients. Dollar for dollar, this is one of the most cost-effective ways to grow a legal practice.

Developing an effective blogging strategy is not really all that complicated. It does, however, require a time commitment and consistency. A small to medium-sized law firm should be willing to produce at least one to three blogs per month. This could take three to 10 hours or so of your time to write the articles, edit them, and post them to your website.

If you or someone in your office is willing to put in the time, then you can turn blogging into a winning strategy that will grow your clientele. The traffic will trickle in at first, but if you stick to it, your website visits will begin to multiply, and you will produce successful long-term results.

To help ensure that you write a good blog post every time, here are six steps to follow:

1. Understand your Audience

It is very important to understand who you are writing the blog for and what its purpose is going to be. Primarily, a law firm blog is written for legal consumers (as opposed to other attorneys, etc.) because they are the ones who may eventually become your clients. So, when you prepare to write a blog article, put yourself in their shoes and think about what they are going through. What are their pain points? What kind of resolution are they hoping to obtain by reading your post?

The best kind of content for a blog post is content that connects with your audience and speaks to their concerns. For example, someone who was injured in a car accident is likely to be under a great deal of stress about the medical bills they have to pay, being out of work, and how long it will take to resolve their legal claim. Someone who was arrested for drunk driving is probably worried about the heavy fines they will have to pay, losing their driving privileges, the possibility of jail time, and maybe even losing their job.

By identifying your audience and understanding what they are concerned about, you will be better able to produce content that is compelling and engaging. This will help you establish an emotional connection with them, which will keep them interested in what you have to say.

2. Write for Topics over Keywords

You have probably heard a lot about search engine optimization (SEO) and the role it plays in getting your content found on the Web. Ranking for keywords that your target audience is searching for is one of the major goals with blogging, but you should never allow the quality of your content to be compromised for this purpose.

“Keyword stuffing” is a practice from a bygone era, and thankfully, it is no longer an effective SEO strategy. Google’s algorithms are far more sophisticated these days, and they are better able to interpret the context of an article and its relevance to various keyword queries.

The best approach for writing legal blog posts is to choose topics that your target audience cares about. One way to do this would be to make a big list of the most frequently asked questions you get from your clients and write blog articles that answer these questions. You could also look in places like Yahoo! Answers and Quora to find some common questions that are being asked.

Create blog posts about topics that are relevant to your target audience, and do not worry as much about keyword phrases. If your content addresses their most important issues, the search engines will reward you for that and your posts will be found.

3. Make your Content Coherent and Understandable

As a lawyer, you need to project a professional image for you and your firm. As such, you need to make sure that the content you write flows smoothly and is grammatically correct. At the same time, however, make sure it is not overly technical. Remember, much of your audience is not familiar with a lot of the legal terms that are part of your everyday vernacular. When you write a legal blog that is geared toward average consumers, your job is to make complex legal concepts understandable to your target audience.

4. Make your Content Informative and Useful

Your readers should be able to understand your content, and further, they should find it interesting, informative, and useful. Sure, your ultimate goal is for them to contact you and become a client, but you should not be continually trying to sell that within your post. Instead, give your readers practical information that they can take away from the article and put directly to use, so they believe that it was worth their time to read it.

5. Show Yourself as an Authority

Avoid talking too much about yourself within the article and instead show your expertise by discussing the legal topic and providing helpful information to the reader. The place to talk in more detail about your credentials is on the area of practice (AOP) pages of your website. Blogs can direct readers to AOP pages when appropriate, and you should do this from time to time. But within the blog post itself, show readers your in-depth knowledge about the subject. This will help establish you as an authority in your area of practice, which builds trust among your target audience and makes them more likely to become clients.

6. Include a Call to Action

You should end your blog with a paragraph or two that moves the reader toward a desired action. This is one place where you could discuss your credentials while inviting readers to contact your firm for more information and to schedule a consultation. If you are writing a fairly long post, you could also insert a brief call to action in the second or third paragraph for readers who know they need legal help and/or do not have the time to get through the entire article. This is optional and it is entirely up to you.

About Too Darn Loud Legal Marketing

Now here’s our call to action. We know that for a lot of attorneys, even fitting in an extra five to 10 hours a month for blogging and other types of digital marketing can seem like an impossible task. And this is where we come in. Too Darn Loud Legal Marketing specializes in helping law firms by reviewing their current online footprint, developing a comprehensive internet marketing plan, and implementing every aspect of that plan.

We work with attorneys and legal practices in whatever capacity they need us. For some, we just build a professional lawyer website and host it for them while they do their own blogging and other web marketing activities. For others, we implement their entire marketing strategy – from website construction to SEO to content marketing to social media, paid advertising and beyond.

To find out how we can help your firm, call us today at (800) 864-1764 or message us online for a free website evaluation and internet marketing assessment. We look forward to serving you!

The Importance of Content Marketing for Law Firms

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In recent years, law firms have begun to realize the importance of establishing their brand in the digital market. Historically, law firms received the bulk of their leads through networking events, referrals, and traditional ad space channels (billboards, Yellow Pages, etc.).

But the most successful lawyers are now dominating the search engines and social media with content and even establishing themselves as thought leaders in their field. This has only become possible through focused content marketing campaigns that deliver engaging content and follow a long list of legal content marketing best practices.

What is Content Marketing?

Content marketing is the practice of creating engaging and useful content that is aimed at a particular online audience. For law firms, content marketing involves the creation of original content, such as blogs, white papers, and web pages. The content is posted on your website and shared in a way that promotes your legal practice’s services.

The goals of content marketing will vary. But to be successful, your firm’s content should aim to fulfill at least one of these goals:

  • Increase brand awareness
  • Establish expertise and thought leadership
  • Generate leads and new clients
  • Create an online community

The type of content you post will vary depending on your goals and the needs of your target audience. When done right, content marketing can be a valuable addition to your digital marketing strategy.

The Importance of Content Marketing for Law Firms

Content marketing is a big deal for any business, but it is particularly vital for law firms. The average consumer has become blind to traditional advertising methods like print, television, and even some online ads. This constant noise drastically reduces the chances that one of these tactics will sell your service to a prospect.

But content marketing can succeed where other methods fail. When a person has a legal issue that they need to solve (or any issue, such as needing last-minute dinner reservations), they are more likely than ever to turn to Google for their answer. This is where you have the greatest opportunity to connect with a prospect in the most meaningful way through your useful and targeted content.

Some of the ways content marketing can benefit your law firm include:

Content Marketing Improves Your Reach

Content marketing allows potential clients to find you who otherwise might not have. That person that is worried about the potential “DUI penalties in Alabama” or wants to know “How to appeal an SSDI rejection” might find your recent blog post and contact you.

If your content is useful and interesting, they might also share it with friends and social media followers. Someone that wasn’t searching for your law firm will see your name and remember it later when they do have a need.

Legal Content Can Improve Your SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is vital to the success of your online marketing efforts, and content marketing can help improve your website’s organic rankings. When you have a lot of informative content on your website that begins to pull in traffic, Google will notice and reward you accordingly.

Local search is essential for law firms that serve a limited geographic area. By adding your city, county, or other location data to your content, you can improve your local search rankings. So, when a person looks for a “personal injury lawyer near me,” you are more likely to get one of those top spots.

Blogging Establishes You as an Authority

People want to hire a law firm that knows what it is doing, and you can establish your authority through content marketing. A frequently updated blog gives you the opportunity to showcase your knowledge on a topic while you are addressing some of your target audience’s most pressing concerns.

A blog is also an effective way to promote your practice among your peers. When you establish authority in your field, you are more likely to get referrals from other firms that are outside your area of practice or geographic region.

Getting Your Law Firm’s Content Marketing Strategy Right

Content marketing differs a bit from traditional advertising. When most people think of law firm advertising, they picture a lawyer’s face on a billboard or bus stop imploring them to call some version of 1-800-ACCIDENT. Content marketing for law firms is a bit more subtle and can be far more effective than traditional advertising when approached correctly.

It is simple enough to produce a few blog posts and send out some tweets and then label that as your law firm’s content marketing efforts. But, to build your brand and get the most out of content marketing, you need a focused strategy.

Some of the things your legal content marketing strategy should include are:

  • Defining Your Audience – Who are you trying to reach with your content, and for what purpose?
  • Optimizing Your Website – Is the content already on your website optimized for your target audience and the search engines? Can you repurpose any of your best-performing content to extend your reach?
  • Producing a Content Marketing Strategy – Your content marketing strategy should include keyword research and a content roadmap to plan your approach.
  • Creating Compelling Legal Content – The next step is to research, write, edit, and publish content that targets a specific practice area, audience, and set of keywords.
  • Marketing Your Content – Some content ranks quickly organically, but you can also “share” content on social media sites and promote it to get it in front of the right audience.
  • Assessing Your Results – Every content marketing campaign should carefully track progress and assess results to determine what is working and what might require some adjustments moving forward.

Quality Legal Content That Sets Your Law Firm Apart

At Too Darn Loud Legal Marketing, we create content that helps our clients express their brand’s voice. While you focus on running your firm, the content our team creates for you will drive traffic to your website and convert visitors into new clients.

Some examples of the results-driven content our copywriters create include:

  • Practice area pages
  • Blogs
  • White papers and resource articles
  • Press releases
  • Staff biographies
  • Newsletters

Every piece of content you receive is well-researched, SEO-optimized, and 100% unique to address your needs and the most pressing concerns of your target audience. Contact Too Darn Loud Legal Marketing today at (800) 649-1764 or online to connect with us for a free consultation.

5 Myths About Law Firm SEO

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How Well Do You Understand Search Engine Optimization For Your Law Firm

When you are eager to see your law firm’s digital marketing efforts perform well, you might be willing to try just about anything. But there are many SEO myths that won’t get you the results you want, or worse, could result in a penalty from Google. Here is what you need to know about some top law firm SEO myths so you don’t go too far down that rabbit hole.

First, what is SEO? Search Engine Optimization is the practice of getting organic (free) traffic from the search engines to your website. Most consumers today use Google to find and connect with brands, so your law firm’s goal should be to achieve high search engine rankings on Google as well as additional positions on page one through local search, social media, and featured snippets.

Why the First Page of Google is Important

How Google derives it’s search results is becoming more complex, with local results, videos, answer boxes, knowledge panels, and more. With so many ways for your firm to stand out, focusing on SEO to garner some of these top spots is worth the effort.

Here is why ranking high in Google is vital:

Better Click-Through Rates

It’s a fact that the higher you rank, the higher your click-through rate will be. One study concluded click-through rates were 36.4% for the top result, falling to 12.5% for position #2. These click-throughs are going to boost your website traffic and leads.

Improve Your Visibility

You can improve your brand awareness with a top search result. The more people who see your name, the more likely you will engage them if they need your services.

Establish Authority and Trust

One of the best ways to earn new business is to establish authority and trust. You can accomplish this by taking the steps necessary to achieve high organic search engine rankings.

5 Myths About Law Firm SEO

We’ve established why you want to make your firm’s SEO a priority. But which parts are of SEO are more important than others? This is where it can get confusing. Here are five common myths about legal SEO that help you steer you in the right direction.

Myth 1: The More Times You Use a Keyword, the Better

This was true in 2003. If you decide to try “keyword stuffing” today, Google views this as a negative ranking factor, and it could hurt your efforts.

There’s no doubt that conducting careful keyword research is still essential to successful SEO. But, how you use those keywords in your legal content is just as important.

Here are a few facts about keyword integration in content:

  • Your keyword density should remain at around 3%.
  • Keywords should be used in the copy where they flow and fit naturally instead of being forced to get a page to rank.
  • Using related keywords and phrases in your content can help your SEO efforts just as much.

Myth 2: The Content Doesn’t Matter As Long As You’re Targeting the Right Keywords

It’s a common misconception that keyword targeting should take priority over content. Simply sprinkling the right keywords throughout terrible or mediocre content isn’t going to get you the results you want. In today’s online environment, the quality of your law firm’s content matters more than ever.

Google has placed significant emphasis on the user experience and even uses an AI-powered engine called RankBrain to ensure that consumers are getting what they want from the search results. If you want to rank a web page for “DUI penalties in Georgia” and place that search term throughout a page that doesn’t actually list the DUI penalties in Georgia, the user experience will probably be subpar. Your bounce rates (people hitting the “back” button) will go through the roof, and Google will take notice quickly.

Instead, it’s vital that your content addresses the subject matter thoroughly and is well-written and engaging enough to capture your audience’s attention and improve your rankings.

Myth 3: You Just Need More Backlinks to Outrank Your Competitors

This is another falsehood that could get your website in trouble with the search engines. Years ago, it was a common practice to search out low-quality, spammy links to quickly rank a website. Google caught on to the technique and put a stop to it.

You still need high-quality backlinks for SEO, but the emphasis is on quality over quantity. Buying links is explicitly against Google’s policies and could get your website penalized.

The best approach is to continue creating high-quality content that others will want to link to naturally. There are some other legitimate methods for achieving quality backlinks that your legal marketing firm can discuss with you.

Myth 4: Having a Secure Website Isn’t Important

Even if your law firm’s website is only informational and you don’t store client data, having a secure website is vital for SEO. And this isn’t anything new.

As far back as 2014, Google announced that it wanted to see “HTTPS everywhere,” meaning websites needed to start thinking about getting an SSL certificate installed. Not long after, the search engine giant began using security as a ranking factor. Specifically, sites that have an SSL get a ranking boost, and those without security appear to get penalized.

It’s a simple enough adjustment, and your clients will appreciate it as well. More consumers now notice site security and could make a decision about your law firm based on this factor.

Myth 5: SEO is a One-Time Thing

If only this were similar to Google “ruling” once that your website was worthy of a top search engine ranking and the case was closed. Unfortunately, Google re-assesses the merits of your case many times each day, so you might have top billing in the morning and find that it has slipped by dinnertime.

SEO is an ongoing process similar to healthy eating and fitness. If you neglect it, there’s a better than good chance that you’ll see your results erode over time. This happens for several reasons:

  • Google changes/updates its algorithm.
  • Your content is no longer as “fresh.”
  • Your competitors are working on their SEO harder than you.
  • You begin to lose backlinks.

Instead, you should be consistently following up on your online marketing strategy to maintain and improve your results.

Discover the Truth About Law Firm Marketing

It’s simple enough to get caught up in the various myths surrounding legal marketing. But you’re probably busy enough as it is and just want someone to give it to you straight. You might get a few short-term benefits by applying a few questionable tactics, but the long-term results may not be what your law firm wants or needs.

Too Darn Loud Legal Marketing is dedicated to helping its legal clients achieve results with proven digital marketing solutions. There is a significant amount of time and effort that needs to go into your firm’s digital marketing strategy, and our goal is to be a partner you can trust to separate the true from the false.

Contact us online or call us today at (800) 649-1764 to schedule a free consultation.

The Importance of Design in Law Firm Websites

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In the past, if you needed to hire a lawyer you opened the phone book and searched it’s pages for the most eye catching ad. Today, potential clients search out an attorney the same way they look for restaurants and the best brand of shoes – with an online search. From the consumer’s perspective, your website is your law firm. It sets you apart by creating a lasting first impression of who you are and how well you can satisfy a client’s legal needs.

Website design is vital to capturing a visitor’s attention and communicating the right message. Your window of opportunity is very small. You only have a few seconds to persuade a visitor to give your firm a chance. Your online presence is an integral part of your marketing and your legal practice as a whole.

Why It’s Important to Have a Great Law Firm Website

Now that roughly 95% of the U.S. population is online, it’s a safe bet that your target audience is searching for your services. And your website can make it easier for them to find you, trust you, and ultimately, hire you.

If you haven’t gotten serious about law firm marketing in the past, it’s time to begin paying it some attention. Unless your website is better than your competitors on many levels, there’s a good chance you’re losing potential clients without even knowing it.

Here are a few of the reasons why it’s important to make law firm website design a priority:

  • Your Website Directly Represents Your Brand

Every law firm has a brand, whether it realizes it or not. The real question is, how well do you control the message, or is the market doing it for you?

If your website design is outdated and visitors have a hard time finding what they need, this is a direct reflection on your business. And it doesn’t place you in a positive light. According to one UK study, 70% of online users refuse to purchase from a business with poor website design.

Most consumers show up on your virtual doorstep knowing nothing about you, meaning they’ve found you through some generic search term such as “how to beat a DUI in Mississippi.” You have a short time to make a first impression, and a modern, engaging, and visually appealing website can help you accomplish this.

  • Helps You Stand Out from the Competition

There are roughly 1.3 million lawyers in the U.S., so the competition is fierce. Statistics show that consumers will visit about 4 or 5 law firm websites before deciding which one they will contact.

Most people who are dealing with a legal issue are frustrated and looking for a combination of answers and encouragement. Overall, they’ve probably never hired a lawyer before, so they have no idea what to expect.

The best way to stand out from the crowd is to provide the information they want and the compassion they need. Let them know what to expect, that you have the experience and skills necessary to help and give them the next steps to take to get started.

  • Boosts Your Organic Rankings

It’s going to be tough for potential clients to learn about your law firm if you don’t have any online visibility. Specifically, your firm’s website needs to show up in the results when someone searches for a “divorce lawyer near me” or asks Google, “how can I appeal an SSDI claim denial?”

A properly designed website will be optimized for the correct keywords to help you achieve some of those valuable organic rankings. It will also pay attention to technical SEO items like page speed, mobile-friendliness, HTML tags, navigation, and link-building.

  • Improves the User Experience

A good website design delivers a positive user experience (UX). This is something that can also impact your rankings because Google has made it clear that providing a positive UX is one of its latest priorities.

But what does that mean? Specifically, your content should match the intent of the searcher. In other words, if a person is searching for an estate planning attorney, it would be a poor experience if they were taken to a personal injury page.

Great website design delivers what it promises quickly and efficiently. And this builds trust with both the search engines and your potential clients.

  • Maximizes Your Conversions

While driving traffic to your website is essential, it’s even more important to get those visitors to call your law firm or submit their information through your contact form. That’s the only way you’ll ever make the connection that will lead to signing up new clients and growing your business.

Great website design is about much more than just getting your website to the top of Google’s search results. If you hit number one for all your targeted keywords, this is an incredible accomplishment. Having tons of people visit and read your blog is also noteworthy. But, neither of these is adding anything to your bottom-line results.

Your website should be structured in such a way that it continually guides visitors to contact your law firm for further assistance. There should be a sense of urgency built into some of your content that warns visitors about the potential consequences of trying to handle a matter on their own or waiting too long to act. Further, there should be plenty of calls to action giving the reader clear direction about how to contact your firm to get the help they need.

Take Action to Bring Your Law Firm Website to Life

You probably already know how competitive the market is for law firms. Getting your business to stand out from the crowd has a lot to do with the quality of your online presence. This starts with your law firm’s website design.

First impressions are vital, which is why you should consider professional assistance when planning and designing a website. At Too Darn Loud Legal Marketing Group, we specialize in creating beautiful, engaging, and functional custom law firm websites that are geared toward your target audience. Contact us today for a free consultation to review our top web designs and learn how our services can help your law firm improve its results.

The Future of Law Firms in the United States and the Impact on Your Firm

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Traditionally, the only place to get legal representation in the United States has been at a firm owned and run by one or more attorneys. This is because of a longstanding rule requiring such a setup.

It’s entirely possible, however, that this could change. In fact, several states have already loosened their rules about this, and others are considering following suit. If this happens, how will law firms look and operate going forward? Is this something you should embrace, and how do you prepare for it?

What is Rule 5.4?

Rule 5.4 prohibits lawyers from partnering with non-lawyers and prohibits non-lawyers from investing in law firms. The rule is called “Professional Independence of a Lawyer.” According to the ABA, law firms and associations are not permitted to:

  • Share legal fees with a non-lawyer except under certain specific situations;
  • Form a partnership with a non-lawyer for the purposes of practicing law;
  • Practice with or in the form of a professional association or corporation authorized to pursue profits if a non-lawyer owns an interest or has any control in the organization; or
  • Allow a person who employs, pays, or recommends the lawyer to render legal services for another to regulate or direct the lawyer’s professional judgment.

Rule 5.4 was originally intended to protect the professional judgment and interests of lawyers from the potential influence of non-lawyers. As you can see, it has many rules against the involvement of outside holding parties and investors in the legal landscape. But, many argue that it holds law firms back and doesn’t give legal professionals enough credit as far as safeguarding the integrity of the profession.

Does a Single Rule Limit the Access to Justice?

When consumers need legal assistance the most, how accessible are the services? Here’s a troubling statistic – The United Stated ranks 126 out of 139 countries in access to legal services.

For many Americans, it’s challenging to get qualified help for a variety of reasons. In fact, two-thirds of American adults report having a civil issue in the past year, but only one-third of those were able to get any assistance.

As a personal injury or family law attorney, these are serious concerns. People are facing severe personal and economic hardships due to injuries, domestic violence, divorce, and other civil issues.

Small businesses face troubling legal issues as well. Yet over half of small business owners are unable to access the legal services they need to pursue relief for issues that could impact their business and livelihood.

Sure, there are pro bono and legal aid options. But those alone are insufficient to address the lack of access to legal services. And law firms are able to charge the rates they wish for their services, but not everyone can afford to pay them.

One of the reasons the legal industry is so inaccessible is that rule 5.4 requires that law firms be owned, financed, and run exclusively by lawyers. That’s a pricey proposition, particularly for professionals who are trained to be lawyers, not business people.

How Rule 5.4 Currently Limits U.S. Law Firms

The only thing constant is change. What worked for law firms and the legal industry over three decades ago may not be appropriate today. Here are some of the reasons that Rule 5.4 currently limits law firms in this country.

Law Firms Have Limited Access to Capital

Because Rule 5.4 prohibits non-lawyers from investing in law firms, this leaves many firms with cash flow issues. Not only are some firms unable to maintain their current operations, but they also don’t have the capital they need to invest in modern technology and expansion.

The ABA’s rules state that private-sector lawyers can only deliver legal services under three types of entities – sole proprietorships, LLCs, or legal partnerships. Because lawyers are unable to secure investments from non-lawyers, their only sources of capital are loans or revenue. This is a poor arrangement for several reasons:

  • More lawyers may be reluctant to provide investment capital for long-term growth as lateral movement among law firms increases.
  • Because lawyers are expected to bear the firm’s entire financial burden, law firms are more vulnerable to economic downturns.
  • Lawyers don’t have access to modern financing alternatives like many other businesses.

This limited access to capital means that law firms are unlikely to invest in efforts that will deliver long-term returns. These might include creating a strong online presence through an engaging website, posting frequent educational content, and being active on social media.

When law firms fail to invest in themselves, they are unable to create the strong brand and name recognition that is necessary for a customer-oriented business. Because of this, law firms lag behind other industries like medicine, accounting, and insurance in adopting technology and business processes to provide higher levels of service at competitive prices.

Law Firms Fail to Benefit from Business Expertise

Rule 5.4 prohibits lawyers from partnering with non-lawyers in business ownership. Lawyers don’t receive business training in law school, yet are expected to emerge knowing how to start and run a business a successful business.

Private practice lawyers spend a significant amount of their time on administrative and business development activities. In fact, private sector lawyers report an average of just 2.5 billable hours per eight-hour work day. This doesn’t leave much time for the actual practice of law.

At the same time, professionals with substantial business experience are unable to take an equity stake in law firms. In business, it’s become customary to partially compensate executives in the form of stock options. Currently, this isn’t possible.

Because law firms can’t attract and hire business talent, they lack innovation in areas like project management, financing, marketing, technology, and more. This is particularly vital for law firms that want to become the best in their class and provide a winning client experience.

Law Firms Can’t Meet Consumer Expectations

Today’s consumers have more expectations than ever of the brands that get their business. Many don’t want to go to a different company for their insurance, banking, and legal needs. They’d rather have integrated, seamless services under one roof.

But Rule 5.4 currently prevents lawyers from providing these services under the umbrella of a large company like USAA or bringing in partners to offer integrated services.

Law firms that want to become mass-market providers have been stymied by these rules. And some have voiced their displeasure the best way they know how – through the courts. Jacoby & Myers, a large consumer law firm, has sued the state bars of Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York, arguing that it can’t take advantage of scale, upgrade technology, or expand its offices due to the restrictions.

Law Firms Can’t Compete With Non-Lawyer Legal Businesses

Several online businesses have exploded in the past several years that lie outside the current 5.4 rules. Sites like RocketLawyer and LegalZoom have either no or little lawyer ownership and are pulling business from smaller firms. Traditional law firms are having a hard time competing.

According to one survey, 14% of traditional law firms were losing business to alternative legal providers. Some estate planning, tax, and litigation support clients have also turned to accounting firms as an alternative to traditional law firms. And accounting firms don’t have the same ownership and operating restrictions, allowing them to offer a wider range of services and enjoy better economies of scale.

How Regulatory Changes Could Re-Shape the Legal Industry

There is probably a long list of advantages to changing Rule 5.4 and letting non-lawyers get involved in the legal industry. Here are just a few of the ways changing these rules could impact the legal industry.

More Innovation

Repealing or modifying the rule will give non-legal entrepreneurs and capital firms an opportunity to invest in the legal industry. This will allow law firms to expand their services in such a way that it solves all of a client’s issues instead of just one. For example, a small law firm can offer estate planning services as well as sell insurance products.

Improved Collaboration

The ability to share ownership and profits with non-lawyers gives law firms the power to collaborate with highly qualified experts who will help further their business goals. Business authorities can join the team to help law firms improve services and create a better client experience.

Increase in Business Volume

Investment and input from non-lawyer entities will likely enable small- to mid-sized law firms to be more productive and efficient. This means that they will be able to offer a wider range of services and increase the volume of fee-paying clients.

Lower Legal Costs

If you can make legal services more accessible at a lower price and still make more money, why wouldn’t you? On all sides of the rule change issue, experts note that there is the possibility of lower legal costs.

Things like innovation, better use of technology, and increased access to capital can certainly make your business more efficient. Instead of spending a majority of your day on administrative tasks, you might be able to actually practice law during those hours and charge a bit less to do it.

Better Access

Nearly 80% of civil cases today involve at least one party without a lawyer, doubling the percentage of self-represented litigants over forty years ago. Many of these underserved people will gain better access to legal services through a rule change thanks to improved innovation and the potential for lower rates.

Are There Valid Concerns With Rule 5.4 Changes?

There are some misconceptions about the potential harm that Rule 5.4 changes could bring to the legal industry. Specifically, opponents of change believe that there will be ethical concerns as well as the potential for “Walmart-style” legal services. Both concerns appear to be unfounded.

Ethical Issues

The argument that allowing non-lawyers into the legal industry will make it purely profit-driven and unethical doesn’t hold much weight. Lawyers have worked within accounting firms, insurance companies, and major corporations for years, and there is no evidence that these arrangements have destroyed their judgment.

Washington D.C. adopted a modified version of Rule 5.4 in 1990, allowing lawyers to form limited partnerships with others. So, over the past 30 years, we should see an increase in public discipline in that jurisdiction due to ethics violations. In fact, the District has the third-lowest percentage of public discipline filings in the nation.

The independent judgment of lawyers is sufficiently protected by other aspects of the Model Rules. For example, Model Rule 1.7 prohibits a lawyer from representing a client if there is a conflict of interest, and Model Rule 1.8(f) says that third-party payers can’t influence a lawyer’s professional judgment. Given these protections, there’s no reason that Rule 5.4 can’t be changed.

Low-Quality Legal Services

Another concern is that when non-lawyers become involved, cookie-cutter legal services will become the norm. In other words, you’ll have Walmart-type entries of massive providers that will dominate the industry and harm traditional firms.

Although there likely will be some new large entries into the market, the truth is that there are already some massive law firms that generate multi-billion dollar revenue. In fact, some of those firms might have to subdivide to take advantage of regulatory changes, making them more competitive with smaller firms.

And there’s no evidence that changes in the rules will lead to lower quality legal services. Instead, it will simply bring greater access to services and more innovation.

What’s the Status of Changes to Rule 5.4?

The idea of changing Rule 5.4 isn’t new. In the early 1980s, the ABA’s Kutak Commission was first formulating these rules, and there was a proposed version of Rule 5.4 allowing the division of fees with non-lawyers. But the Rule adopted in 1983 did not follow this proposal, and subsequent attempts to change the rules haven’t been successful. However, there have been international changes over the past 15 years, and several states have made provisions that allow Alternative Business Structures (ABS).

Washington D.C.

Non-lawyers have been partners in Washington D.C. law firms for years. In the nation’s capital, law firms have found it beneficial to incorporate non-legal experts as co-owners, and the D.C. Bar’s unique rule modifications permit such an arrangement.

New South Wales, Australia

In 2001, New South Wales, Australia, eliminated its restrictions on non-lawyer firm ownership and investment, becoming the first common law jurisdiction to create alternative business structures.

The UK

The Legal Services Act of 2007 (LSA) eliminates bans on non-lawyer ownership and allows lawyers and non-lawyers to work together in ABS.

Arizona

Arizona became the first U.S. state to completely eliminate Rule 5.4. In August 2020, the Arizona Supreme Court announced the elimination of the rule that prohibits partnership between lawyers and non-lawyers.

Utah

Also, in August 2020, Utah created a seven-year “regulatory sandbox” pilot program to test out different ABSs for law firms. The Utah Supreme Court established the Office of Legal Services Innovation to oversee non-lawyer-owned entities or legal entities in which non-lawyers are partial owners.

Florida and Other States

Florida has joined a growing number of states that are investigating changes to Rule 5.4 in an effort to improve the delivery of legal services to consumers. While Florida’s attempts appear to be stalled at the moment, an effort similar to Utah’s is underway. Other states that are exploring changes include California, Illinois, and New York.

Evidence From Other Jurisdictions Indicates Reforms Would Be Beneficial

Evidence from other jurisdictions indicates that reforms will be beneficial for both law firms and their clients. First, no country or state that has repealed or modified Rule 5.4 has found the need to change it back.

England and Wales started licensing ABS firms in 2011, so there is over a decade of data on them. According to reports from the Solicitors Regulation Authority,

  • ABS firms are more likely to use technology, with 91% of ABS firms having a website compared to just 52% of independent firms;
  • ABS firms are up to 15% more likely to offer new services: and
  • ABS firms are more likely to have recent organizational and service innovations.

Even more important, consumers are getting better service. For example, ABS arrangements made it possible for 45% of consumers to get fixed-fee family law services, with 62% saying they receive value for their money.

A few examples of innovative services and firms that have emerged due to the changes include:

  • Co-Op Legal Services, run by a successful consumer-owned grocery chain, has used its positive brand recognition to begin offering family, employment, will-writing, and other consumer legal services at affordable rates;
  • Z Group, a London accounting and architectural firm, now serves as a “one-stop-shop” for those services, plus legal counsel; and
  • Parental Choice, a company that assists families with au pair and nanny location, also now helps them understand their legal obligations.

Put Your Law Firm in the Best Position Possible for the Future

Permitting non-lawyer ownership of law firms may be on the horizon. But no one knows when those changes will take effect. But when they do, the legal industry will change quickly and drastically.

Law firms need every competitive advantage they can get. One way you can set your firm apart is to have a strong online presence that showcases your brand. And the right partner can help you hold your own against any coming changes.

At Too Darn Loud Legal Marketing, we specialize in helping law firms become the business of choice in their markets. We offer comprehensive digital marketing services but never cookie-cutter solutions. We will spend the time to get to know your firm and its goals before recommending things like website design, SEO, content marketing, digital ads, and social media marketing. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation and website evaluation.

Google Local Service Ads (LSAs) and Law Firms

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Are You Using Paid Ads? If So, You Need Google Local Service Ads

What if your law firm’s information could show up at the top of every Google search results page, even above the Google My Business three-pack and the pay-per-click ads? You’d probably receive a substantial increase in traffic to your website, calls to your business, and number of new leads.

This has become possible in many markets with Google’s Local Service Ads (LSAs). For over a year, Google has been testing LSAs in various places across the country. This is a significant development for law firms that rely on local search, but there is plenty that you need to know about LSAs before you decide to put them in your marketing budget.

What Are Local Service Ads?

Being able to find businesses “near me” has revolutionized search over the past several years. Consumers love that they no longer need to enter their address, zip code, or city when searching for local businesses. Google just “knows.”

Going beyond giving consumers a map with business listings, the search engine now offers what is called Local Service Ads. This is the most prestigious real estate on a search engine page. Why? The LSAs appear at the very top of the search results. And instead of clicking through to a business’ website, the consumer can instantly call or message the business instead.

Local Service Ads are only available for certain industries. Some examples are plumbers, locksmiths, electricians, and painters. They are now available for some professional services such as financial planners, realtors, and yes – law firms.

Lawyers in just about any practice area can now purchase LSAs that target specific zip codes and communities. LSAs were once only available in a small number of U.S. markets, but these continue to expand as the program enjoys more success and helps consumers get the assistance they need.

How You Pay for Local Service Ads

If you’re accustomed to pay-per-click ads, these are different. LSAs are pay-per-lead ads, and you only pay for what Google calls “valid leads” for your business. Google will charge you for the ad if certain actions take place after it gets shown to a consumer:

  • You get a text message from a potential client.
  • You receive a call and speak with a potential client.
  • You receive a voicemail from a potential client.
  • You miss a call from a potential client but contact them back later via phone, text, or email.

If you are charged for an ad that you don’t believe was a valid lead, you can dispute the charge with Google.

What is the Benefit of Using LSAs for Law Firms?

The fact that Google keeps expanding access to LSAs is telling. Not only are these ads providing a better user experience but they are also giving businesses the results they want. If you’re on the fence, here are some of the benefits that your law firm can experience by adding LSAs to its digital marketing strategy:

  1. Better Conversions

If you’re pouring all of your marketing budget into PPC ads, you might be dismayed at your results. PPC ads are costly, and they sometimes don’t convert well. But you’ll get much more bang for your buck with LSAs, which promise to connect the right service provider with a searcher.

  1. Build More Trust

Searchers will notice the badge that appears next to your ad that says you’ve been “screened.” This not only catches the eye on a busy SERP page, but it also looks like an endorsement from the world’s biggest search engine. If Google has checked you out, it’s probably worth a closer look.

  1. Expand Your Reach

LSAs give you another way to reach consumers that are looking for your legal services. They aren’t meant to replace organic listings or even your traditional search ads. Consumers search in different ways and have varying preferences, so having your business positioned in multiple places is a benefit. LSAs also help you reach people who are using voice search, which is a growing type of search query for local businesses.

  1. Highlight Positive Feedback

Every LSA includes a link to the law firm’s ratings and reviews. This is one more way that you can highlight the positive feedback you’ve received from prior clients and use it to continue building your business.

What Will Your Firm’s Local Service Ad Look Like?

As a law firm, the number one question on your mind might be, “How do LSAs actually show up in search results?”

LSA ads appear at the very top of the search results. The ad will have your law firm’s name with its Google star rating and a link to its reviews underneath. Next, there will be a green checkmark, and the words “Google Screened,” followed by your years in practice, phone number, and office hours. In some cases, Google is even including your headshot with an LSA, which can increase the potential for clicks.

When you set up your ad, you don’t have to deal with those bothersome keywords. Instead, you choose from a list of categories within the legal industry. These might include things like:

  • Bankruptcy
  • Criminal Defense
  • DUI
  • Estate Planning
  • Family Law
  • Personal Injury Law

When a person’s local search matches the criteria you’ve selected for the services you offer, your ad will be eligible to show. But, that doesn’t necessarily mean your ad will appear or be first. Google still ranks ads using its own set of criteria.

How Google Ranks Law Firms in Local Service Ads

Similar to Google Ads and even organic search, your LSAs must meet certain criteria to rank in a decent position.

Your ranking is determined by several factors:

  • Your firm’s proximity to the searcher
  • The services you offer matching the searcher’s need
  • How many positive reviews you have
  • Being a “verified” business by Google
  • Your business hours

Google even tracks how responsive you are to customer inquiries. If searchers click on your ad to send you a message or call your law firm, and they don’t get a response, your LSA rankings are likely to suffer.

Even if you decline a lead or fail to generate positive reviews, Google will notice, and there’s a chance that your rankings will drop. But the opposite is also true. When your business is responsive to client inquiries and generates positive feedback, this can improve your rankings.

How to Get Started with Local Service Ads

If you want to use Google’s LSAs, you’ll need to jump through a few hoops to make them work the best for you. Here’s what you need to do:

  1. Make Sure You Qualify

Provided you’re a law firm with a local office in a participating market, you should qualify for LSAs. The program covers most practice areas. Google does require that you have a Google My Business profile with at least one review and a minimum average rating of three stars.

  1. Get Google Screened

Before your ads can go live, Google needs to vet your business. This is where you can set yourself apart from other firms that won’t take the time to go through this process. It involves:

  • Confirming you’re licensed to practice law
  • Providing proof of legal malpractice insurance
  • Undergoing a basic background check
  1. Set Up an Inbound Call Structure

Since Google uses your response time to determine your LSA rankings and decided whether to charge you for a lead, this last step is vital. Make sure you have a process in place to take calls, respond to messages, and qualify leads.

Should LSAs Replace Your Legal PPC Advertising or Other Strategies?

Many law firms would rather pay per lead than per click. You can stop stressing over Google’s confusing bidding system, and the flat fee per lead seems like a more effective model. But, that doesn’t necessarily mean you should completely abandon one program for the other.

Local service ads are a powerful digital marketing tool for law firms, but also a new one. In general, you’ll want LSAs to complement rather than replace other marketing channels like PPC, social media, SEO for organic search, and quality content.

Today’s legal consumers are savvy and likely to use a variety of tactics to find the best law firm to meet their needs. So, even if you rank well with LSA’s, a prospect is still likely to read your reviews, check out your social media profiles, and visit your website before making a choice.

If a prospect sees that your firm shows up in several places instead of just one, this will boost brand awareness and increase the chances that you’ll get the call instead of one of your competitors.

Too Darn Loud Legal Marketing Group Helps Law Firms With Results-Driven Solutions

Local Service Ads are still somewhat new, and now is your firm’s best opportunity to take advantage of this digital marketing strategy. As more law firms sign up for LSAs, the expectation is that competition and prices will begin to rise.

Staying on top of changes to Google’s algorithm and ad network rules can be a full-time job. As a busy law firm, you shouldn’t have to shoulder this burden while you work to solve your client’s legal issues.

Too Darn Loud Legal Marketing specializes in creating strategic digital marketing solutions that produce results for law firms. These include website design, SEO strategy, content and video engagement, and paid ad strategies. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.