How to Market a Small Law Firm: 5 Strategies to Try

If you have a small law firm, creating a marketing strategy that produces an efficient return on investment can be unnerving. You’ve got different challenges than your larger law firm counterparts. With a smaller budget, you have to make sure you get the most bang for your marketing buck. 

If you’re wondering how to market a small law firm, you’re probably curious where to even start. Which marketing strategies are most important to a law firm? Which ones will bring you the most qualified clients? Well, that’s where Oamii comes in. We’ve put together this blog to serve as your marketing starter pack. We’ll walk you through five great marketing ideas that should be on your radar in 2021. 

1. Start a Legal Blog

These days, many clients begin the legal process by researching their legal problems online before they ever consult an attorney. In fact, it’s often how they find an attorney. Starting a blog can be a great way to answer your potential clients’ questions before they ever actually talk to you. Imagine someone who’s been injured from a fall at work; what might their search intent be online? They will likely be searching key phrases like these:

1. What to do after you fall at work and can’t pay your bills?
2. Who is the best personal injury attorney in (insert your city here)?
3. Should I hire a lawyer after falling at work?
4. Worker compensation attorney near me
5. How long do I have to file a worker’s compensation claim?

The number of questions people have in legal situations is many. That’s how you find your blog topics. By giving them a good answer to their legal situations, clients are more likely to trust you as an expert and ultimately contact you. 

Pro Tip: When you’re brainstorming blog topics, use tools like SEMRush and Google’s Keyword Planner to identify the most searched keywords related to your blog topic. Put these words into your blog posts to increase your chances of being found on the search engines. This brings us to our next hot tip on how to market a small law firm– increasing your SEO strategically by practice area.

Optimizing your website is how you show up on the search engines. You do this by ensuring certain SEO elements are in place to let Google know about your website and which searches you should show up in. Some examples of these elements include verifying you have appropriate page descriptions, your website is mobile friendly and your keywords are implemented correctly and throughout your website. 

It’s likely your law firm specializes in a few practice areas, so ensure that each of those areas has an optimized web page on your website. Here are a few elements you want to make sure to incorporate on each practice area page to let Google know you’re an expert in each:

1. Keywords – Like your blogs, your key practice area pages should include the appropriate keywords. Be careful not to keyword-stuff by writing your content for people, not just for the purpose of being found on Google. Keyword-stuffing knocks points off of your overall SEO score.
2. Title tags – These are HTML tags that show up as the title in search results and when people share your web pages or blogs on social media. To get the most traction, make sure these tags are clear, include keywords and are under 60 characters
3. Meta descriptions – These are small snippets that show up in search results that elaborate to users what your web pages are about. Ensure this summary is clear, relevant and includes the appropriate keywords.
4. Optimized images – This means including alt tags with your keywords on images and certifying that your images aren’t too large. Big images slow down your site, and that’s not good for your overall performance.
5. Internal links – This helps your site architecture and your SEO, sending the message to Google that your site is easily navigable and will provide quality information to online users. It also helps you better direct your potential clients where you ultimately want them to go– the contact form.

Guaranteeing that every practice area page is optimized with the above elements in mind will bring more traffic to your website, and with the right strategy, you can convert that traffic into leads.

Another way to get online eyeballs is by being listed on the right online legal directories. These directories are places where people might be looking for attorneys and are typically the first websites to show up in legal online searches. 

Additionally, being listed with accurate information on these websites helps your own website’s search rankings by providing your site with reputable backlinks (links on other websites that vouch for your website, thus giving you more Google credibility). Some of these directories are paid and some are unpaid. While some directories can provide you a lot of benefits online, some are a waste of money. 

It’s important to do some research or consult a legal marketing firm before you pay for any online directories. Some online legal directory examples include Avvo, Yelp, FindLaw, Justia, Yellow Pages and NOLO. It’s likely that your law firm is already listed on many of these websites, so it’s important to verify that your information is correct.

It’s true what they say about our attention spans– they’re very short. As such, many people are more likely to watch a quick video, rather than read an entire blog post. Additionally, having your face in front of your potential clients builds trust. Your audience will find your website more personable, trustworthy and knowledgeable. 

Hootsuite reported in 2020 that people watch over a billion hours on YouTube every day. In fact, YouTube is the second most visited website, right after its parent company, Google. And you guessed it, Google owns YouTube, so creating videos there is a good opportunity to increase your search engine visibility. Scratching your head on how to market a small law firm with video marketing? Here are a few video ideas for you:

1. Create videos to complement your blog posts – You’re already creating blog content. Why not create videos from the same idea and post them within the blog post? Some users will watch the video, and some will read the blog– many will do both.
2. Discuss legal current events – Legal current events happen daily, so there’s a lot of content potential here. Be the thought leader who breaks down the legal language for people. You’ll get more site visits, brand awareness, and credibility.
3. Post-frequently-asked-questions videos – These are the questions you’ve heard every day for years. Pro tip: Break these FAQs down by practice area, and add them to your practice area web pages.
4. Publish client testimonials – Client testimonials are great to have. When potential clients are deciding which attorney to contact, past client experience typically plays a large role in their decision.

Here are some other video marketing benefits and ideas to check out.

Just like past client testimonials, online reviews are vital for attorneys in today’s landscape. Today, online reviews are like word-of-mouth referrals. If you have those referrals, people are more likely to contact you than your competitors. If not, you’re probably leaving potential clients on the table. 

There are a few places you’ll want to make sure you have good reviews, including Google, Facebook, Yelp, Avvo and any other applicable directories. Not sure which directories you should focus on? A good tip is to Google your name or your law firm + “reviews,” and see which websites show up on the first two pages. Those are the places anyone looking for reviews about your law firm will see, too. 

So, how do you grow your positive reviews online? It can feel daunting to ask your clients, but you should. Asking clients who had positive experiences will give you the review leverage you need. Here are a few ways to increase your online reviews:
1. Send an email requesting a review once a case has finalized
2. Make it easy for clients to give you reviews by including links to review sites in your follow-up emails
3. Reach out consistently to receive timely reviews; more recent reviews hold more water with potential clients trying to learn more about you

Adding a review strategy to your marketing checklist is a great way to bring more clients your way. Being intentional with this strategy will also give you more control of your online reputation. Don’t forget to respond to your reviews (both positive and negative) to give an extra personable, authentic, and branded touch to your online reputation strategy.