Four Types of Digital Advertising for Law Firms

Someone looking for a lawyer rarely hears about a firm in only one place. They search, glance at a map listing, read reviews, scan a website, and sometimes click an ad along the way. Digital advertising for a law firm means showing up well at each of those moments. It takes more than a website and a social media profile.

Four types of digital advertising cover that ground. They are paid search, search visibility (SEO, maps and directories), social media and reviews, and content. Each does a different job, and each carries its own cautions for a law practice.

One note before the details. This article is general marketing information, not legal or ethics advice. Advertising by lawyers is regulated, and the rules are set state by state, so read the rules for every state where your firm practices before an ad, page or post goes live, and ask your state bar when something is unclear.

What it is

Paid search, often called pay-per-click advertising, places your ad on a search results page when someone enters a phrase you have chosen. With search ads you pay when a person clicks. Google Ads and Bing's advertising platform are two examples.

How it works

You set a budget, choose keywords that describe the matters you handle and the places you serve, and write ad text that describes the service plainly. Whether your ad appears, and where, depends on your bid and on how relevant the ad and the page behind it are to the search. That is why the destination matters. Send clicks to a page about that specific type of matter, with a clear way to reach the firm, instead of to the home page. The guide to building a landing page explains how to do that well.

Why consider it

Paid search reaches people while they are actively searching, can start soon after ads are approved, lets you set and change a budget, and shows which searches produce phone calls and form submissions. In competitive practice areas clicks can be costly, so set limits, review the search terms people actually used, and keep ad text factual. Nothing in a paid ad should promise an outcome. For pay-per-click as a service, see interactive advertising and PPC.

Not everyone clicks ads, and many people go straight to the regular listings and the map. Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the work of making your website easier to find and understand in those listings: pages that match what people actually search for, such as a type of matter plus a place, clear page titles, a site that works well on a phone, and content that reads as trustworthy. No one outside the search engine can promise a ranking, so treat any such promise with suspicion.

Your Google Business Profile deserves equal attention. Keep the firm's name, address, phone number, categories and hours accurate, and keep them the same on your website and in every directory listing. Claim your listings in the legal directories that matter in your market, keep them current, and check how each one describes the firm.

Local focus helps. An Atlanta-area firm should name the places it actually serves and avoid a stack of near-identical pages that change only the place name, because those add little for readers or search engines. SEO is also continuous work. Competitors keep publishing, search engines keep changing, and progress can slip if attention lapses. See search engine optimization for how this fits into a wider plan.

Social media gives a firm a place to be seen by potential clients and by the people who refer them. The right platforms depend on the audience: Facebook for community and local connection, LinkedIn for referral sources and business clients, YouTube for short explanations in your own voice, Instagram for a look at the people behind the firm. Set up professional profiles that match your website, post useful general information, and answer comments and messages politely. Do not give advice about a specific person's situation in public comments. Invite that person to contact the firm instead. See social media marketing for the related service.

Reviews are the modern form of word of mouth. People read them before deciding, and they weigh heavily on credibility. Invite honest feedback in a low-pressure way, never offer anything in exchange for a review (review sites generally forbid it), and reply briefly and courteously. Confidentiality duties still apply when a review is public, so keep replies general and avoid confirming anything about a client's matter. If you plan to show client feedback on your own site or in ads, check your state's rules first.

Content means the articles, FAQ pages, guides and short videos that answer what people ask before they hire a lawyer. What happens first? What should I bring to a first meeting? How does the process generally work? Write for a worried reader who is not a lawyer, in plain language with defined terms and short sections. Keep it informational and general, say that it is not advice for an individual situation, and date and update pages, because laws and procedures change.

Stay relevant. An article about getting in shape for summer does nothing for a law practice, while a clear explanation of the general steps people consider after an accident, or a page that answers common questions about a first consultation, speaks to the people you want to reach. Write the questions the way people ask them, in full sentences, since many searches are conversational, whether people type them, say them aloud or ask an AI assistant. A well-organized FAQ page is a good way to start a relationship with a prospective client before they call.

Content builds credibility with readers and search engines over time, and it gives the firm a human voice. A real person is on the other side of the screen, often under stress, and good content is written by someone who understands that.

Whatever channels you choose, a few questions are worth settling in writing before anything is published, and your state's rules should drive the answers. How may the firm describe its services and experience? May past results be mentioned at all, and if so, how? Are client reviews or endorsements permitted, and under what conditions? Is any disclaimer or label required? How may the firm contact people who have not asked to hear from it? Some answers differ from state to state and can change, so build a habit of checking before a campaign launches and of reviewing older pages from time to time.

The four types work together as one path. An ad, a map listing or an article brings someone to a page, the page makes it easy to call or send a message, the firm answers promptly, and tracking shows which source produced each inquiry so that budget follows what is working. Email can follow up with people who asked to hear from you, with their consent and with content that is useful rather than pushy.

Digital also sits beside other channels. Kirk Donovan Enterprises, an Atlanta-area advertising consulting firm founded in 1984, does media buying and creative for radio and television as well as digital advertising, web marketing and social networking. A firm deciding where to advertise is rarely choosing digital instead of everything else, and the media buying page covers the traditional side. For further reading, see the other digital marketing posts on this blog.