Check out this article from the National Law Review from two years ago if you’re still unsure about whether digital marketing makes sense for a law practice. The article includes various statistics, such as the following: 74% of consumers visit a law firms website; 96% of people use search engines to obtain legal advice; 38% of people look for an attorney online; and 62% of all legal searches do not include the name of a practice (such as Tucson divorce attorney, for example). Remember that these figures are from a few years ago, so the number of persons seeking legal advice online has increased.
To put it briefly, people search for attorneys online, thus any law company that hopes to succeed in business will want to engage in digital marketing. More specifically, it should engage in search engine marketing to make sure that, when prospective customers look for terms like “injury lawyer in X or Y,” their website appears higher in search results.
Law companies will want to engage in local search marketing in order to do this.
People who live nearby require attorneys
First and foremost, local search marketing benefits law firms because, with few exceptions, people need lawyers in their area. You will look for and engage a Parramatta lawyer rather than an Orlando, Florida lawyer if you live in Parramatta, Australia. When looking for a lawyer in their area, people nearly always specify their location since they need someone who can represent them in the local court.
People often look for lawyers with location-sensitive inquiries because they want to have a conversation with their lawyer in person at some point. This is another reason why people want to sit down with their lawyer. While you can give advice over the phone or even over email, in-person meetings are something that every relationship needs to experience at some point. People desire to meet someone nearby who they won’t have to travel half a day to see because of this. Your neighbors will be your clientele, so it’s important that they can locate you.
People prefer attorneys with local knowledge
Finding a local lawyer is essential since local laws can be quite peculiar in some situations. Finding a lawyer with local legal knowledge is a major component of the legal search process. Local law firms will not only be familiar with the rules and regulations of the area, but they will also have connections that can support their clients’ arguments. They will have connections to local law enforcement, emergency rooms, and other institutions that may prove useful in the future.
Google is aware of everyone’s whereabouts
Google already knows where everyone is and has developed its engine over time to deliver results that make sense to everyone, even if the clients weren’t utilizing location operators. When it comes to law companies, Google will know precisely where a prospective client is if they search for “criminal lawyer near me,” which will enhance local results depending on this location. Additionally, you should rank for your actual location rather than for “criminal lawyer near me.” Simple keyword searches are a thing of the past.
Site aggregators are too powerful
Yelp and Avvo are two examples of aggregator websites that have grown too powerful and now control the majority of local company results. You want to avoid fighting with them. You should really rank in them and use them instead. In the long run, this will make sense, but it will require profile optimization and maybe even paid advertisements with those aggregators.
