Making the Most of Pay-Per-Click Advertising for Law Firms
Making the Most of Pay-Per-Click Advertising for Law Firms
Unlocking Growth and Client Acquisition in a Competitive Legal Market
By Taylor Lake
For law firms, having an effective digital marketing strategy is essential. One of the online marketing tools that lawyers must master to boost their online presence, generate qualified client leads, and drive business growth is pay-per-click advertising.
What Is Pay-Per-Click Advertising?
Pay-per-click advertising uses a bidding system on keywords in your online ads. Each time someone clicks on one of your pay-per-click ad links, you pay the bid fee to the pay-per-click provider and the prospect is automatically taken to where you want that person to go, usually to your website landing page but sometimes to other pages that you want to direct specific prospects to.
What are the Advantages of Using Pay-Per-Click Ads?
Pay-per-click advertising offers law firms multiple compelling advantages over more traditional forms of advertising. We will cover several of them here, but to summarize, some of the most important reasons to use pay-per-click ads are:
- They are highly targetable to the kinds of clients you want to attract.
- They provide a return on investment that is readily measurable and faster than methods like website-based search engine optimization strategies.
- They are adaptable to many kinds of online platforms, including mobile devices.
- They allow you to closely monitor the effectiveness of your ad campaigns in real time and are ideally suited for split testing methods that let you capitalize on what works and not waste time on what does not.
How Do Law Firms Use Pay-Per-Click Advertising?
Several popular pay-per-click platforms are available for law firms. The most well-known are Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising; others include LinkedIn, YouTube, Meta, and local service ads.
Google Ads
Google Ads is the world’s leading PPC advertising platform. It is frequently used by law firms. A good Google Ads result can put your firm’s name at the top of Google search engine page results immediately after a prospect makes an online search using your relevant keywords, giving you high visibility to the clients you want to attract in the timeliest way.
Google Ads has tools to help you target your prospects with search ads, display ads, video ads, and other formats and to measure the effectiveness of your ad campaigns. It has a wealth of resources to help you get started and to learn how to use the platform effectively. It should be a cornerstone of your pay-per-click advertising strategy.
Microsoft Advertising
Microsoft Advertising does not have the same audience share as Google Ads, but it is effective in reaching older prospect demographics and anyone who uses Microsoft Bing as a search engine. Microsoft Advertising also has a lower cost-per-click than Google Ads and reduced competition.
It is an effective way to supplement your Google Ads pay-per-click advertising to maximize your reach to prospects using the Microsoft Windows operating system on their computers.
LinkedIn Ads
If your firm is focused on business clients, then as a leading professional networking site LinkedIn can be a valuable platform for pay-per-click ads, allowing you to target prospects based on their industries, company sizes, job titles, and more.
YouTube Ads
YouTube has a large user audience that likely includes clients in your preferred demographics and online search interests.
Meta Advertising
Meta includes Facebook Ads and Instagram. For law firms these are not generally used to directly capture client leads, but they can be useful in promoting brand awareness and for follow-up targeting of people who have visited your firm website or another of your ads.
Local Services Ads
Local Services Ads are Google-screened ads. They are not pay-per-click in nature but pay-per-lead: the difference is that you pay not when the prospect uses a keyword but when they respond through the ad itself.
An important characteristic of Local Services Ads is that they appear at the top of search results on search engine results pages and are thus highly effective as lead-generation tools.
What are the Advantages of Pay-Per-Click Ads?
What makes pay-per-click advertising so effective is its combination of advantages that make it unique among digital marketing tools at your disposal. Here are five ways a pay-per-click campaign can pay dividends for your firm.
Speed of Results
Many kinds of attorney advertising and marketing take time to fully develop for lead generation and branding. Pay-per-click ads produce immediate results in getting your firm highly placed on search engine results pages and in giving prospects real-time information they need to find you.
Highly Granular Prospect Targeting
Pay-per-click is based on the value of specific keywords to your firm, based on the likelihood that your prospects are going to use those words when searching for your legal services. This works in two ways, positive and negative.
Positive keywords are those that are directly relevant to the services you offer. Examples include “DUI defense,” “Divorce attorney,” or “Personal injury lawyer.”
Negative keyword features allow you to filter out keywords that are irrelevant to you, so you can avoid having your ads appear in searches unconnected with your firm’s services.
The more specific your pay-per-click keywords the more refined your prospect targeting can be. You can target prospects by:
- Demographics
- Location
- Industry, occupation, and income level
- Specific services needed
- Past search behaviors
Pay-per-click ad campaigns give you the ability to focus your marketing on prospective clients who are showing a high level of demonstrated intent to use your services and to direct them to your firm’s landing page. This makes pay-per-click advertising second to none in its value as a lead-generation tool.
As you may imagine, the more relevant and desirable a keyword is to your firm and your competition the higher you will have to bid to use it in your pay-per-click advertising, but in terms of immediacy and relevancy of results the returns are worth it.
Immediate Measurability of Results
Many digital marketing methods and tools take time for you to know how well you are doing with your return on investment. Not so with pay-per-click ads, which have reporting and analysis tools to let you monitor the effectiveness of your click-through rates and lead conversions right away and on an ongoing basis.
Cost Control, Optimization, and Adaptability
Precision in prospect targeting and measuring campaign effectiveness is only the beginning of the control that pay-per-click ads give you. You can fine-tune how much you spend, make bid adjustments to buy high-intent keywords, and increase, decrease, or pause your ad campaigns. There is no minimum ad spend amount, so firms of any size or even sole practitioners can build a pay-per-click ad strategy to fit their budgets.
In the same way that pay-per-click advertising lets you gain an immediate and accurate sense of how well your ad campaign is working, it also enables you to make ongoing adjustments based on measurable results.
For example, pay-per-click advertising is ideally suited for split or “A/B” testing of multiple ads, allowing you to continually refine your advertising to reinforce success. You can also adapt your pay-per-click ads with customizable ad extensions like location information, call buttons, and links to specific pages on your website to improve click-through rates and to use different ads to focus on specific legal services.
Complementing Your Other Marketing Strategies
By now it should be plain that pay-per-click ads may be the most valuable investment you can make in your digital marketing. But pay-per-click also works well with the other elements you should be using in your comprehensive lead generation and conversion strategy.
Here are some of the ways that pay-per-click advertising can make your overall marketing plan:
- SEO, branding, and social proof support, sending prospects to review and testimonial pages as well as to your landing page.
- Supporting follow-up with visitors who have already been to your website.
- Optimizing ads for mobile device support, which today accounts for about half of all Internet traffic globally.
KPC Marketing: Your Strategic Partner for Pay-Per-Click Advertising
For law firms, pay-per-click advertising can increase your online reach and significantly boost your click-through and conversion rates. It can mean the difference between being one in the middle of the pack with your competition or leading it.
Some lawyers may have a background in digital marketing. Most do not. Pay-per-click methods like split testing, implementing customizable ad extensions, and mobile device optimization require technical proficiency and the ability to keep up with constant changes in advertising platforms.
If you do not already have expertise in these and other areas of technical proficiency, then learning them on your own can be a job in itself—one that takes away from serving your existing clients while you are searching for new ones.
Fortunately, you don’t have to be a pay-per-click expert to realize its benefits. You can partner with KPC Marketing Services instead.
We are not just digital marketing experts. We specialize in digital marketing for law firms, including pay-per-click ad strategies. When you use KPC Marketing to manage your online marketing, you can expect the following benefits:
- A comprehensive, integrated digital marketing system that not only generates leads but converts them. Making it to the top of the search engine results page is not enough. Once a prospect clicks on your pay-per-click or ad, your landing page must convert that prospect. We help you to build a landing page that is fast-loading, compatible with mobile devices, and uses easy-to-understand contact forms and click-to-call buttons for easy conversion.
- We help you to set up digital campaign strategies that are specific to your target clients, with reasonable goals and measurable metrics to help keep your marketing on track.
- We will build a pay-per-click marketing approach that works with your firm’s budget. Even if you are a small or mid-sized law firm with a starting budget of less than $5,000 per month, we can help you to create a pay-per-click budget to drive traffic to your website and convert quality leads.
- We regularly review your pay-per-click ad results and make necessary adjustments to keywords, ad copy, and bidding strategies.
- We make sure your digital marketing is compliant with ABA ethical standards as well as those of your state and local bar advertising rules, including compliance with restrictions on disclosure of personally identifiable information, the use of disclaimers as appropriate and avoiding pitfalls like misleading claims of guaranteed outcomes.
At KPC Marketing, our team of JD-trained professionals and licensed attorneys knows what it takes to help solo practitioners and mid-sized law firms grow their brands, attract ideal clients, and rise above the competition.
With over 25 years of combined experience in legal writing, branding, and strategy, we craft pay-per click campaigns that capture your voice, reflect your practice’s strengths, and connect with clients on a deeper, more strategic level.
Call us at (866) 457-2627 to speak with one of our attorney marketing specialists. Or you can use our online contact page to book a free consultation with us.
Your firm needs pay-per-click advertising to thrive. We can manage your digital marketing so that you can keep your focus where it needs to be, on your clients. Call us today or click here to learn more about the services we offer.
Law Firm Advertising Secrets
Law Firm Advertising Secrets
By Attorney Allegra Abramson
In crowded legal markets, the most effective way to stand out to potential clients is through targeted advertising. However, for many lawyers aiming to expand their firms, it can be difficult to differentiate themselves from the crowd. One may easily be lured into the trap of flashy gimmicks, unrealistic claims, and vague promises. What’s worse, lawyers can get themselves into trouble by not closely heeding the professional ethics guidelines in place governing how attorneys may describe their services.
As a lawyer, it’s important to strike a balance between effective marketing and ethical advertising practices, while also promoting your brand and cultivating client relationships. Read on to discover our five top law firm advertising secrets, so you can get started right away building your brand.
1. Familiarize Yourself with the Fine Line Between Puffery and Persuasion
Clients are looking for expertise and trustworthiness, not empty promises. Lead with verifiable results, realistic and truthful client testimonials, and clear value propositions. Remember that, when describing your firm and the services you can provide, you should not use overwhelming superlatives like “the best” or “most successful.” Instead, use detail to describe your successes in clear terms.
2. Don’t Sleep on SEO
You most likely never learned this in law school. Still, legal marketing companies can reveal the law firm advertising secret that search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most crucial tools you have on the digital battlefield. Effective SEO ensures your firm will be a popular hit on search engines, driving more client traffic to your website. Billboards and old–school print advertisements are likely not enough to build your reputation these days. Keep in mind that when clients seek a new attorney, their first step is usually to open a search engine to find a local lawyer. Local SEO can help you stand out!
3. Build Your Niche
We’ve mentioned it before, but establishing your niche is one of the most effective strategies to develop a healthy client base. Effective firms tailor their law firm advertising to the niche markets they excel in, whether that’s technology start–ups, tax law, or immigration assistance. Generalized advertising, while tempting, is less effective than targeting the niche where you truly excel.
4. Use Client-Focused Messaging
Don’t forget who you’re addressing on your website; you want your clients to understand what you have to offer them. Rather than just listing your years of experience and background, focus your law firm advertising on the client’s concerns and the reasons they are seeking assistance from a lawyer. For example, “Injured at work and struggling to pay bills?” is an effective way to reach potential workers’ compensation claimants. Engaging with clients by recognizing and meeting their needs is an excellent way to attract attention from potential clients.
5. Include Client Testimonials
Client testimonials are an excellent way of reaching clients. Ensure any testimonials included are truthful, and it’s also best practice to post a disclaimer explaining clearly to clients that results in one case don’t guarantee similar results in their case. Still, hearing from other real people who have had success with your firm is sure to resonate with website visitors considering hiring you. Check the Rules in your jurisdiction to make sure any testimonials you include are compliant with local regulations.
Law firm advertising secrets are relatively straightforward as long as you remember that your goal is to truthfully communicate clearly with prospective clients. Your website is the first opportunity you have to build trust with the community. The most powerful secret in your toolkit is knowing how to show up where your clients are, with a message that resonates with them.
Navigating Lawyer Advertising Rules in Illinois: A Practical Overview
Navigating Lawyer Advertising Rules in Illinois: A Practical Overview
By Attorney Allegra Abramson
As legal marketing continues to evolve to suit the needs of lawyers and clients in the digital age, attorneys must remain mindful of their professional obligations under the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct. While online platforms offer tremendous growth opportunities, they can also present unique ethical concerns that mandate careful attention. For Illinois practitioners, compliance with Rules 7.1-7.5 is essential for any advertising or solicitation strategy. Read along to view our top tips for protecting yourself and your clients when it comes to advertising your services online.
Rules to Remember: The Basics
Illinois lawyers looking to expand online presence through digital marketing should closely review the Illinois Rules for Professional Conduct dictating Information about Legal Services—Rules 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, and 7.5 Illinois has adopted these crucial ABA rules, with some state-specific modifications, to govern advertising and solicitation in the state, which protects both you and your clients.
- Rule 7.1 stipulates that communications must not be false or misleading. This includes both express misrepresentations and omissions that could lead to misunderstandings. It’s essential to choose your words carefully and consider whether there’s any risk that your audience could misinterpret your statements. According to the Rules, an attorney’s communication is false or misleading if it has a misrepresentation of fact or law that is material, or the communication is provided outside of the necessary context.
- Rule 7.2 allows advertising but prohibits giving anything of value in exchange for recommendations. (This rule contains specific exceptions.)
- Rule 7.3 addresses the direct solicitation of clients, which is particularly important for maintaining proper emailing, text messaging, and direct messaging practices. Lawyers may not, by in-person, live telephone, or real-time electronic contact, solicit professional employment from a prospective client when a significant motive for the lawyer’s doing so is the lawyer’s pecuniary gain. Keep this in mind when directly communicating with clients via direct messaging or using targeted ads—ensure that anything said to a prospective client is fully compliant with Rule 7.3.
- Rule 7.4 states that an attorney may list their practice areas online, but may not use the terms “certified,” “expert,” specialist,” or other similar terms to describe their qualifications. These terms may only be used if they can be demonstrated to be truthful, verifiable, and not misleading, and the website must explicitly state that the Supreme Court of Illinois does not recognize certifications of specialists in the practice of law. Be especially cautious when using terms that imply you are an expert in a particular area.
- Rule 7.5 dictates the requirements for firm names and letterheads. For example, a firm’s name is prohibited from implying a partnership exists if there is not one in actuality. Firm names are not allowed to mislead the public and may not contain the name of a partner who withdraws from the firm to work elsewhere.
Other Key Considerations when Designing Your Attorney Website
Practitioners must be conscientious when using superlatives like “top-rated” or “the best,” unless these claims can be objectively verified. Similarly, client testimonials, which are common and effective in online attorney marketing, must not create unjustified expectations or imply guaranteed outcomes.
Any statements regarding past successes should include explicit disclaimers to avoid misleading potential clients into believing that a prior win guarantees them any result. When posting previous case results online, attorneys must ask whether a reasonable person could be misled into believing the same results could be achieved for a prospective client’s similar legal matters. Tread lightly here—the words you choose matter!
To mitigate risk, attorney online marketing should include disclaimers. On your website, post a disclaimer on each page that clearly states the following:
- The information included on the website is for general purposes only and should not be interpreted to guarantee any result will occur in a client’s specific legal situation;
- Information on the website does not constitute legal advice;
- The communications on the website do not create any attorney-client relationship;
- The Supreme Court of Illinois does not recognize certifications of specialties in the practice of law, and no such certificate, award, or recognition is a requirement for practicing law in Illinois.
If you’re not sure where to start with crafting your disclaimer, online attorney marketing experts like us can assist you. Don’t skip this step—it’s a requirement for responsible attorney marketing.
For any attorney seeking to grow their practice and reputation, digital marketing is a powerful tool; however, it’s essential to pay due diligence to the Model Rules of Professional Conduct when crafting an online strategy. Reviewing Rules 7.1-7.5 should be the first step any attorney online marketer takes when refreshing their website or enhancing their digital presence. Remember that these Rules exist to clarify safe boundaries for advertising your services, and recall that professional legal marketers can assist you if you need extra help ensuring compliance with these critical standards.
Escaping Personal Injury Attorney Advertising Pitfalls
