The keywords "lawyer" and "attorney" are some of the most expensive in the PPC business. That means every misstep in your next ad campaign can cost your firm hundreds or thousands of dollars in missed leads.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't use PPC ads — they're one of the most effective ways to reach potential clients when they need you most. Follow these tips to design your next campaigns right down to the granular details so clients find you at the right time and place.
1. Use the language your clients use.
You might be familiar with the details of probate and what classifies an event as 'catastrophic,' but your target market probably isn't. So before you select your next target keywords, do a bit of SEO research. Keyword search tools like Moz or AnswerThePublic can let you know what the most popular searches are surrounding a topic and can even give you a bit of insight into your competitors.
Keyword research gets detailed quickly. You need to decide which keywords you want to use to target searchers when they're preparing for a future event or in the middle of an event at that moment.
2. Create landing pages for each keyword.
Once you have selected keywords that will best reach your target market at a particular point in time, you need to decide where you want to send them. A prospective client searching for information about how to set up a trust will have very different needs than a beneficiary who has been denied access to a trust. So create tightly tailored landing pages that:
- Direct the first client to a landing page where they can register and download a helpful ebook. They're in the information-gathering stage of their customer's journey.
- Tell the second client to contact your office as soon as possible. This client may be looking for information, but they'll also be in a hurry.
The more landing pages you have, the better. Not only does that mean you can match prospective clients to the right call to action, but you can also measure the effectiveness of each page to optimize your pipeline.
3. Set up tight geographic areas for each of your campaigns.
Geographical restrictions on your campaigns are absolutely essential. You don't want to pull in searchers from across a whole state: most of those visitors won't become clients. If your office is in a large metroplex, you might not even want clicks from people in another city. Depending on which service you're running your PPC ads through, you can restrict your range down to the zip code. You can even draw boundaries on a map to include or exclude certain pockets of your city.
You may receive fewer clicks if you tightly bind your PPC campaigns, but that's a good thing. Don't measure your campaign effectiveness by the number of clicks. Measure it by:
- The percentage of click-through visitors who fill out an online form or contact you, and
- The percentage of click-through visitors who become paying clients.
4. Match your prospective client's urgency level.
Your ads themselves also need to speak to prospective clients based on what they need the instant they see your ad. Someone who just had a family member arrested wants to hire you immediately, not compare different law firms. So make it clear in the graphics or text of those ads that your office is open and you can respond immediately.
If you're reaching out to prospective clients who don't need your help immediately, take a different tack. Still encourage them to call you as soon as possible, but establish yourself as an expert resource so they remember you as they're shopping around.
5. Gear your ads toward mobile devices.
Convenience is key no matter who your target market is. The majority of searches for legal services come from mobile devices, and that percentage skyrockets for emergency situations. So build your ads to be easy to read on smaller screens, and build your landing pages so visitors can easily tap the screen to reach you. Hyperlink your phone number with calling functionality, reduce the amount of typing they have to do, and make all of the on-screen buttons bigger.
For more ways to manage your PPC ad campaigns for better conversion rates, contact our team at Cox Media Group Local Solutions.
