Online client acquisition for law firms

For many lawyers, it is becoming increasingly difficult to reach and win over new clients in the traditional way. There are many reasons for this, ranging from increasing competition to a fundamental change in the way people search for lawyers. This is because many people with legal issues now no longer rely on recommendations from family and friends, but use the Internet to find out about law firms and their services. It is therefore important for law firms to expand their online presence and take advantage of the numerous opportunities offered by online marketing in order to attract new clients. In this article, you can learn about the advantages for law firms and the role that measures such as SEO, SEA, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok Ads can play in client acquisition.

The advantages of online marketing in client acquisition for law firms

Whether after a separation, a traffic accident or problems with the landlord: More than half of all people consult Google first when they have legal questions or search for information on social networks. For law firms that want to compete, acquire new clients and grow in the long term, it is therefore important to be visible to these users. Online marketing for lawyers offers an effective way to acquire clients. Through measures such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search engine advertising (SEA) as well as Advertising on social networks can sustainably increase the visibility of the law firm and make it easy to win new clients. It is also possible to specifically address certain target groups (e.g. start-ups, companies or wealthy private clients) and convince them to contact the firm and - ideally - to award a mandate with advertising messages tailored to their individual needs.

Another advantage of online marketing in client acquisition is the possibility of sustainably enhancing the reputation of the law firm. Effective means for this can be a professionally designed law firm homepage, SEO, blog articles, e-books, podcasts and posts (images, texters and videos) in social media that demonstrate the lawyer's expertise and position him as an expert in his respective field of law. Last but not least, the higher cost-effectiveness compared to traditional forms of advertising also speaks for the use of online marketing in client acquisition. This is because measures such as SEO or the development of reach via social media channels pay off not only in the short term, but also in the long term, in contrast to advertisements in print media, for example, and form a solid foundation on which to build.

Be found better: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for Law Firms

An important component of successful online marketing for lawyers is search engine optimization (SEO). The aim of SEO is to sustainably improve the visibility of the lawyer's website in Google's organic and local search results and to place it ahead of competitors for relevant search queries. Because: The higher a website ranks in the SERPs (search engine ranking pages) is listed, the more likely it is to be noticed and clicked on by potential clients. Good and effective SEO optimization involves careful planning including a thorough Keyword research. This involves identifying search terms that are frequently used by potential clients and for which the lawyer's website should rank well (we know almost all of them :)). For users who are looking for a specialist lawyer for inheritance law, these could be terms such as "estate planning for the self-employed", "lawyer for inheritance law Cologne" or even "inheritance lawyer".

Within the framework of the OnPage optimizationwhich is an important part of search engine optimization, these keywords are integrated into the website in a meaningful way. If there is no relevant content for individual keywords yet, this content is created. When writing the content, however, it is important to always have the client and his intention in mind and less what pleases the search engine. Other factors of a successful OnPage SEO are, for example, optimizing the website for smartphones, shortening the loading times and developing a meaningful structure. The counterpart to OnPage SEO is OffPage SEO. It includes all measures that take place away from the website, such as building backlinks from external websites or creating a Google company profile. The latter is the basic prerequisite for the law firm also appearing in searches for local queries (e.g. "attorney in Cologne" or "patent attorney in Berlin"). In this way, new clients can be gained with little money.

SEO for law firms at a glance:

Long-term increase in search engine visibility
Optimization of visibility to local search queries
Increasing credibility and reputation
Development of new target groups
High cost effectiveness

Good to know: The successes of SEO do not become noticeable suddenly, but through a long-term increase in visibility.

Win clients & pay per click: SEA (search engine ads) for law firms

In contrast to search engine optimization, which is designed for the long term and takes time, search engine advertising (SEA) delivers qualified visitors virtually at the push of a button. The system makes it relatively easy to create ads and deliver them to the desired keywords in the search. Payment is based on the pay-per-click principle: Google receives an amount for each user who clicks on an ad. The amount is determined by a bidding process. This is a system that can be useful to both small and large law firms in acquiring clients. But it also carries the risk of "burning" money.

To minimize the risk of spending a lot of money unnecessarily, careful campaign planning is indispensable in SEA. Among other things, it includes a careful keyword analysis, the optimal matching of ad texts and landing pages, and tracking the conversion rate (e.g. the ratio of clicks to contacts). These and other factors influence the so-called Google Ads quality factor, which in turn is largely responsible for the performance and costs of the campaign. Since the Google Ads system is very complex and many pitfalls lurk, it makes sense for law firms to commission an experienced agency with the ad placement.

SEA for law firms at a glance:

Fast and targeted placement of advertising possible
High flexibility (e.g. reaction to current events)
Convenient billing with Google/Bing on a pay-per-click basis
Ideal for targeting new and local users

Facebook, Instagram & TikTok Ads for law firms

Ads on social networks like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok can usefully complement the online marketing mix of SEO and SEA and make it easy to win new clients. In contrast to search engine advertising, ads in social media offer extensive targeting options. For example, advertising messages can be delivered specifically to people with a predefined age, profession, gender, household income or hobby. Facebook & Co. are also flexible when it comes to designing ads: In addition to classic ad formats with images and text, it is also possible, for example, to run videos as ads. These make it possible to establish an emotional connection with the user and, for example, to strengthen the reputation of the law firm with insights into the day-to-day work of the law firm or entertaining explanations of legal topics.

Social media ads are billed similarly to search engine advertising on a pay-per-click basis. In some cases, the CPM (cost-per-mille) method is also used. In this case, the advertising firm pays a certain amount for every 1,000 times the ad is displayed. TikTok also offers the CPV model (cost-per-view), in which costs are only incurred once the video ad has been played for at least a few seconds. But be careful: as with SEA, the design of the ad, the targeting and, if necessary, the landing page must be optimally coordinated for social media advertising. In addition, constant monitoring of success is essential. Otherwise, there is also the risk of spending a lot of money unnecessarily.

Social media ads for law firms at a glance:

Simple and fast switching of ads possible
Ideal for reaching younger target groups
For certain areas of law
Numerous targeting options
Various ad formats (incl. videos)
Interaction with the target group (likes, comments, shares)

Conclusion: Online marketing offers law firms many opportunities for client acquisition

For law firms, online marketing is an important building block for client acquisition. A balanced mix of search engine optimization, search engine advertising and social media ads is best suited for this purpose. They lead to more inquiries from potential clients both in the short term (SEA and social media) and in the long term (SEO), thus contributing to the growth of the law firm. However, careful planning and implementation is important to avoid unnecessary costs.

By the way: Almost all of the online marketing measures mentioned can be carried out in compliance with the German Federal Lawyers' Act (BRAO).