Web Marketing for Lawyers

Search marketing is a growing trend amongst businesses as more and more consumers are going to the web to find the goods and services they need. Purchasing a sponsored link using keywords is one way to get more people to come to your website.  Paying for keywords can be a valuable marketing tool if you know what you’re doing. The first thing to understand is that you aren’t paying for placement in the regular, or organic, search engine results. Instead, your listing will appear under “sponsored links” on the right hand side of the search results. Opinions differ as to whether or not it is better to spend money on a sponsored link or on a campaign to generate higher organic search engine placement. You will have to be the ultimate judge for your own marketing investment. Following is a primer on buying keywords using the Google Adwords program and tips to help you succeed.

The most popular way to buy keywords is through the Google Adwords program. Go to https://adwords.google.com/select/Login. You decide which keywords you want to buy and bid on them. Adwords will tell you the current price for a top listing. For example, in early November 2008, a click on “car accident attorney” would set you back $21.34, while “car accident attorney Minnesota” was priced at over $39. “Divorce attorney NJ” was $13.82 per click, but in other cities the demand for divorce attorneys was higher. “Houston divorce attorney,” for example, was $17.96. “Vioxx lawyer” came in at $10.66 a shot. Ready to bid? You set a top bid for the keyword or search phrase and set a budget. You’ll also have to compose some ads for Google to run when your keywords are searched.

When someone enters your search phrase, Google decides if your ad will run. You only pay if someone clicks on your ad. This is a bonus for two reasons. First, because you get more value for your advertising money as you are only charged when somebody shows an interest in your firm. Second, it gives those whose bids are not the highest a shot at getting their ads on the page. An advertisement with a high bid but poor ad copy may not get any clicks. In which case, Google doesn’t make any money. So Google may decide instead to run a lower-paying ad that generates more clicks, and therefore income.

Four Things to Remember About Keywords

1. Bidding on common keywords is pretty pointless. You want to bid on specific keyword phrases that people are likely to enter into a search engine when they are looking for the services that you offer. So avoid “DUI” in favor of “Arlington drunk driving” or something similar. The bids for the latter will be lower, and you are much more likely to reach someone who is looking for a DUI lawyer in your town.
2. Use the reports and statistics that Google makes available. You’ll be able to tell which terms generate clicks and which ones don’t, and you’ll also be able to see which ones are worth the money. Be sure to read future issues of this newsletter for an article about these keyword tools.
3. Monitor your website logs. You can tell how many site visits you get from the Google results.
4. A click through is not the same as a conversion. Your goal with web advertising is to get more clients—not persuade people to visit your website. While that’s a start, if it’s all you do, you’ll soon be out of business. If you are getting a lot of site visits from your advertising, but not many clients, you may need to rethink your keyword campaign and your website. Perhaps your ad attracts people who aren’t really looking for legal services, such as students, or your website needs more work in order to demonstrate the professional quality of your services.

Keywords can be a successful way to generate leads and, ultimately, clients. You should evaluate carefully whether buying them is worth the time and money, but if you do decide to go down this road, pay close attention to the results.