Expensive Legal Marketing Missteps - Above the Law

If you feel your costly marketing strategies are not providing the expected results for your law firm, you may be making some serious mistakes. An effective marketing plan must be evaluated regularly. Adjustments must be made based on the market, the economy, and what is working for your specific industry. Learn how to avoid expensive legal marketing mistakes in this article.

Outdated Websites
An outdated website will have higher bounce rates than a consistently current website. A high bounce rate will lower Search Engine Optimization (SEO) because when visitors bounce, it means that your potential clients are not receiving the answers they are looking for on your website.

Additionally, if you do not upkeep your website regularly, links stop working, the material becomes disorganized, and navigation is difficult. This will turn users away from your site and onto another competitor's site. Make sure that whoever you have updating your law firm's website is doing so consistently and accurately.

Wrong Demographics
Smart marketing efforts include demographic research to ensure you are reaching quality leads. Content, tone, and voice will draw your targeted audience to your site. An effective way to lure ideal future clients is to provide user-friendly legal content like question/answer posts that provide straightforward responses to common questions. This allows you to establish credibility while providing a useful service to possible customers. They will remember your clear, concise advice when it is time to hire or recommend a lawyer.

Disorganization and/or Lack of Planning
Not having a clear digital marketing plan is a mistake. It is important to set goals and incorporate strategies to meet those goals. If your plan is unclear, your marketing efforts will seem disjointed and will not generate quality leads. If you are unsure how to create a digital marketing plan, consider visiting with a professional legal SEO agency that can work with you to create a structured plan and help you to follow it.

Low-Quality Content
Relevant and useful content is a must. Getting sloppy with your content can lead to a high bounce rate. You must establish your firm as an expert, and providing irrelevant or low-quality content will harm your reputation, and your SEO rankings will plummet.

Discounting Social Media
Social media is an efficient way to generate traffic to your site. Linking blogs, posts, and important content to your social media accounts is like free advertising and should never be overlooked. Consumers spend a lot of time on social media accounts and often click on posts and links that interest them, often leading to buying services and/or products.

Not Being Mobile Friendly
Most people use their phones for more than just texting or talking. They shop, search, and buy services on their mobile devices. If your law firm's website is not mobile-friendly, Google will drop your SEO ranking. This will keep you from acquiring the targeted potential clients you need. What potential clients see on their mobile devices must match what is seen on their desktop computers. A mobile-friendly site should be easy to use, quick, and professional.

Not Using Google Business Profile
If you want your law firm to appear on Google searches and maps, you must claim your Google Business Profile, which is a free business profile provided by Google. A Google Business Profile allows you to:

• Complete and claim your business profile listing
• Utilize current contact information
• Add pertinent and timely links
• Post consistent and regular posts
• Add relevant images and pictures
• Stand out from the competition

Not using this free service could be the difference between first-page search results, 3rd-page search results, and not showing up on a Google map.

Not Optimizing Search Engines
To compete in the digital marketplace, your law firm must rank high on search engine results pages. Your website must appear early on a search, so potential clients have the ability to find you easily. Search engine optimization is crucial to successful marketing plans and cannot be ignored.

How Can You Optimize for Search Engines?

• Keyword research – this is an important aspect of SEO. An effective legal SEO agency will know just how to research the best keywords and pinpoint the terms you need to capitalize on to drive that targeted traffic to your site.
• Relevant content – a successful marketing plan identifies targeted demographics and what type of content they want to read. Your content should be aligned with the needs of your potential clients.
• Meta descriptions and title tags – meta descriptions and title tags are the first things users see when they search. It is crucial to pay attention to these features of your site. Keywords in the descriptions and tags help your site with searches.
• Efficiency – many factors are considered when Google establishes a ranking for a website, but usability is a key factor. Slow speeds and missing links will lower your rankings. Be sure to provide potential customers with an efficient, user-friendly desktop and mobile site.
• Backlinks and internal links – strong internal backlinks will improve a visitor's experience on your website. Ensure your links work and send users to relevant and current online places.

In addition to the above aspects of your site, you must also optimize all other features, including alt tags, URLs, and images.

Not Being Data-Driven
Free platforms like Google Analytics and Google Search Console will provide important data regarding your site's rankings and features. This data will help you to update and improve your website to warrant higher SEO rankings. Using this data will provide you with a better understanding of how your website works to generate quality leads. You can create client lists and profiles and use marketing strategies to drive them to your website. Today's businesses and law firms are data-driven. Make good use of this crucial information, as disregarding it could be costly.

Digital Marketing Next Steps
Are you aware of the mistakes your firm might be making when it comes to marketing? If not, you could be costing your firm thousands of dollars in misspent digital marketing dollars. Consider taking time to do an analysis of what is working (and what is not working) for your law firm with regards to your digital marketing strategy.

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Annette Choti, Esq. graduated from law school 20 years ago, and is the Founder of Law Quill, a legal digital marketing agency focused on small and solo law firms. Annette wrote the bestselling book Click Magnet: The Ultimate Digital Marketing Guide For Law Firms, and hosts the podcast Legal Marketing Lounge. She is a sought-after keynote and CLE speaker throughout the United States and Canada. Annette used to do theatre and professional comedy, which is not so different from the legal field if we are all being honest. Annette can be found on LinkedIn or at at annette@lawquill.com.