Law Firm Marketing Agency
Do you really need to spend money to make money? If your firm is new or small, and you have a shoestring budget, you can still succeed with online marketing. However, you must be prepared to invest some time or money (and in most cases, both), to achieve results.
There is no magic bullet when it comes to online success. If you go it alone, plan to spend 5-10 hours per week on marketing for results in a few months. For help, look for a trusted agency that can guide your strategy and help you execute it.
In this article, we are sharing three general tips that any attorney can utilize to boost their firm’s online visibility when money is scarce: focus on a niche, create high-quality content in that niche, and go beyond online content to make your mark in the real world.
Don’t cast too wide a net
For many new firms, the top priority is getting business in the door. To achieve this goal, firms often cast a wide net of multiple practice areas in which they can take cases.
If your focus is too broad, you may struggle to establish credibility or expertise with website visitors. Breadth can make it harder for your website to rank highly, too. Search engines rely on specificity and concentration of related information to rank your site as useful.
You can easily avoid this classic mistake—and you’ll probably save some money by doing so! We recommend that instead of casting a wide net, you focus your content on one area of law. Even better, target a specific vertical or a very specific case (good examples include Cabin Law, LaMaster Law, and restaurantlawny.com).
For example, if you are a business law attorney with extensive experience in medical practices, you could create specific content that speaks to this highly particular audience. This approach allows you to create an information-rich (and keyword-rich) website that demonstrates very clearly how you can help healthcare professionals.
Become a thought leader by producing high-quality content in your niche
Now you are laser-focused on a niche. The next step is to devote your marketing efforts to publishing high-quality content in your niche, which will help you become a thought leader.
Let’s quickly define high-quality content. First, high-quality content must address the keywords and questions that your prospects actually need answered. Do keyword research beforehand to confirm what people are actually searching (higher volume searches are better). Second, a high frequency of publication is essential. At least once per week, you should be publishing a new article on your website.
Thought leadership is the result of sharing valuable, specific, high-quality content on a regular basis. On a limited marketing budget, we recommend that you focus your weekly spend on a single valuable piece of content rather than spreading it out over less valuable content.
Expand your expertise off of your website
On the one hand, your website does play a critical role in establishing expertise. As we have established, high-quality content on your site builds credibility and impresses search engines.
However, your expertise can be put to work in many other places beyond just your website.
You can use your position as a subject matter expert to help you earn backlinks to your site from other reputable websites, which are incredibly important in the world of SEO.
Consider writing an article for a local paper with online syndication. Reach out to a local professional group to ask to publish on their blog. Help A Reporter Out (HARO) is a great way to find media opportunities without the need to pay a PR agency for placement—though you do need to stay on top of HARO since many reporters seeking experts have tight timelines.
Actively look for low-cost opportunities to share your knowledge, expand your reach, and bolster your website by securing links to your website.
Review and next steps
Money isn’t everything in marketing. With cleverness and hard work, even a shoestring budget can deliver surprisingly outsized results for your firm. An affordable way to succeed in online marketing is to focus on a specific niche, create high-quality content in that niche, and look beyond your own website to place content that will generate backlinks and expose your firm to new audiences.
The more you learn, the more you earn!