A 2022 survey by legal marketing agency AttorneySync found that 17.2% of consumers would turn to Google if they needed to find a lawyer, making that the most popular source; the second most popular source, cited by another 11.7%, was “the Internet” in general. So to help your personal injury law firm bolster its online presence, CloudLex hosted the webinar “3 Digital Marketing Essentials for Your Personal Injury Firm.”
The webinar (click here to watch the full presentation) was led by Gyi Tsakalakis, the president and co-founder of AttorneySync, who is a former practicing personal injury attorney as well as an SEO and marketing expert. According to Tsakalakis, those essentials are:
Improve your firm’s local rankings on Google
Optimizing your free Google Business Profile is key. And that means focusing on relevance, distance, and prominence. The profiles that are the most relevant to a search term, are in proximity to the searcher’s location, and are deemed by Google to be the most prominent or best-known are most likely to show up in the Google Local Pack. This trio of results show up, accompanied by a map, near the top of the results page for a search with “local intent.”
Even if your firm doesn’t show up in the Local Pack, the relevance, distance, and prominence of your profile determine its placement among the subsequent SEO listings—and placing on the first page of results rather than the second or third can make a major difference in visibility.
To improve your Google Business Profile, Tsakalakis offers the following tips:
Implement demand generation
Search results ranking “is only important if it converts a potential client,” Tsakalakis notes. Ensuring that your Google Business Profile has relevant information to encourage conversion is of course vital. So is demand generation, or heightening awareness of your law firm. “You want to find ways to get people thinking about you, searching for you” by name.
Tsakalakis believes that social ads are the most effective, and cost-effective, way to create awareness of your legal practice. Social ads don’t have to be direct response ads. Instead focus on your community involvement, awards, and the like—“the same type of thing you would do organically on social media, but you boost it with actual ad dollars.”
Measuring the effectiveness of such marketing can be challenging, but don’t discount its importance. “Client journeys don’t always just go search, click, call, hire,” Tsakalakis says. Demand generation can be what encourages potential clients to click your Google listing rather than the one above it or below it. “Consumers want to do research. They want to talk to five personal injury lawyers. They’ve become a lot more sophisticated in their shopping.”
Seek new ways to use referrals to find customers
Participating in community events and trade organizations is a tried-and-true way of networking and gaining referrals. Ditto becoming involved in affinity groups about hobbies or interests you’re passionate about. Keep in mind, though, that “affinity groups are being formed online now,” Tsakalakis says. Search Facebook Groups for communities of like-minded individuals, ideally with some sort of local connection. Also seek out online lawyer-to-lawyer communities, such as Maximum Lawyer on Facebook or LawyerSmack (formerly Lawyer Slack).
And make a point of staying in touch with previous referral sources and former clients. Connect on LinkedIn and comment on their posts, for instance, or send birthday cards or emails (the latter can be automated).
“A few minutes a day can help you stay top-of-mind with a lot of people in your network,” Tsakalakis says.
Ready to watch the full presentation? Click here to watch it on-demand!
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