Most lawyers generate business locally or nationally, so this post is going to highlight the reasons why lawyers have to think about local search strategies in order to attract more clients.
For those lawyers that might not know about Google places. local search, etc… take note as this is really important if you want to use social media effectively to grow your practice.
When potential clients go online to look for lawyers that can help them solve major problems, there are two forces in play:
- What information is available that answers specific questions they have and which shows them how to solve their problems:
- How many lawyers are located nearby who can then help them achieve their desired objectives, and if none can be found locally, where are they located?
Many lawyers will say they can deal with anyone (including international or national clients), and don’t simple want to be known as covering a smaller local area. That may be true, but it misses the point. The vast majority of people who search online for lawyers want to know who is in their neighbourhood, and of those that are, which ones they should select for legal services.
Given this, lawyers should make sure they optimise their websites, blogs etc so that they can be found easily when people search for legal services within a given area. They should also know about servics such as Google Places which will help improve their rankings in local searches.
Localisation is a hot topic in marketing now, and for a good reason. There is so much content readily available because of Internet access, and you need to be aware of the need to make it easier for people to zone in on what you offer despite all the information and services available.
The key to being selected amongst all the other options available is to make sure your website or blog does not simply have the list of services you provide or commentary on complex legal cases / precedents. When this happens, you might appear top of many search rankings and then fail to maintain interest because you don’t say anything that answers the questions going on in the readers’ minds.
How do you find out what information people want then?
First of all, ask clients and prospects. Don’t make any assumptions about what people might want to hear. Secondly, you should learn how to analyse search terms used by potential prospects or get someone to show you how to do so. If you don’t have time, get help (it does not have to cost a bomb). There are numerous website and search analytics tools you could use, and which are a vital compenent of any successful social media marketing strategy.
Once you nail local search, you can then broaden your targeting comfortable in the knowledge that you have a steady stream of leads coming into your practice.
