Law firms – introduction to online advertising
Whether your law firm informs people on debt, on divorce, or personal injury, you may have already looked into online advertising. We’re going to cover the basics to highlight your potential knowledge gap – let’s find out…
PPC & social media advertising
PPC stands for pay per click, and is split across what is known as ‘search’ and ‘display’. Search refers to displaying your ads at the top of search engine results pages (you may have noticed the ‘Ad’ sign next to the top pages in Google results, for example). Display refers to displaying your ads in the ad space on websites that have been deemed suitable. The basic principle is that bidders place bids on keywords, such that when that keyword is searched by users, ads from the top bidder for that keyword will appear at the top of Google and on relevant pages visited by the user.
Social media advertising does exactly what it says on the tin. This form of online advertising involves placing ads on social media, targeting demographics such as the age or location of the user. If you don’t know what you’re doing, using a Facebook advertising service for lawyers could be easier and more beneficial for your business.
Website
Don’t underestimate the importance of a website. Anybody who is anybody, whether handling high profile legal cases or simply selling home-made crafts and trinkets, has to have a smoothly designed and functional website. Without a clean and modern looking web presence, you cannot expect to compete in the online market for clicks.
Attempting to build your own website from scratch if you have never before attempted such a feat can be a daunting task, with much to learn about things like using templates, basic HTML coding, how to upload content through a CMS (that’s ‘Content Management System’), and how to present your website in terms of layout and keywords that search engines and visitors will recognise as high value. You’ll also need images, a brand logo, and regular updates (such as a blog section) that lets the public – and search engines – know that you are open and trading. Websites that are rarely updated may lose ranking due to the fact that search engines cannot be certain as to whether the lights are on and if anybody is there to answer the phone. Again, blogging and social media updates come with their own learning curve.
All of this means that approaching a digital marketing agency may be in your interests if you do not have the time to learn the skills you need and if you wish to save money on hiring an in-house team.
Conclusion
Your law firm’s online presence won’t happen overnight. It’s going to take planning, execution, and maintenance. Your choices are to hire an in-house team or consult with a digital marketing agency if you want your law firm’s online presence to thrive. In general, in-house teams tend to cost more.
