Not all leads are created equal. Here are six ways to attract high-quality leads for your legal practice.
Any digital-facing business needs their website to generate high-quality leads, and that includes law firms. But how can you tell a low-quality lead from a high-quality lead, and how do you find more high-quality leads?
By breaking down the qualifiers for a high-quality lead, you can then get into the specifics of optimizing your website to attract them, and bring you the kind of traffic that will be beneficial to your bottom line.
What is a high-quality lead?
A lead is a potential client. Someone who has researched your website and submitted a form or has contacted you in another way, such as an email or phone call. What differentiates a high-quality lead from the rest is how likely that specific person is to become your client.
Identifying high-quality leads comes down to a few defining factors:
- Relevance: High-quality leads are more likely to have a genuine interest in the services offered by your law firm. They align with your target audience and have a higher chance of becoming valuable customers.
- Engagement: These leads demonstrate active interest with the your firm through actions like signing up for newsletters, downloading content, attending webinars, or engaging in meaningful conversations.
- Qualifications: High-quality leads often meet criteria specific to your firm, such as demographic fit, budget availability, decision-making authority, and needs that you can address.
- Value: High-quality leads have a higher lifetime value for your firm. They are more likely to make repeat purchases, refer others, and become loyal advocates.
It’s critical to focus your resources on identifying and attracting high-quality leads. They are more likely to yield positive results and contribute to long-term growth and profitability.
1. Identify your target audience
The first step in finding high-quality leads is defining who exactly you’re targeting as a client base. Design your ideal client from the ground up. Get as detailed as you can, defining every aspect of this fictional person’s life. Psychology, social status, lifestyle, family, even hobbies are all useful information to have.
Once you have a profile, create your marketing materials with this individual in mind. They don’t exist, but many people who match one or more of your criteria do, and they will feel like your content is speaking directly to them.
If you don’t have a clear idea of your target audience, start with some research. You can start with demographic data matching your client base. For example, divorce attorneys can investigate the demographics of couples that stay together versus those who split up. Actionable information is available. All you need to do is look for it.
If your target client is men ages 24-40 who are likely to be in a car accident, tailor the information on your website and marketing materials to that specific audience.
2. Get to know the buyer’s journey
The buyer’s journey consists of three core stages: Awareness, Consideration, and Decision. Preparing for every stage in advance helps nurture a relationship of trust, which encourages an interested party into signing with you for representation.
In the Awareness stage, the individual has a legal problem that you can assist with. If your practice specializes in personal injury, maybe this individual slipped and fell in a big box store. This person is aware of their problem and knows there are several options on the table to solve it. The way to prepare for this stage is to have a solid marketing presence and an SEO strategy that ensures your website will be seen.
The Consideration stage involves research. The individual has typed in something like “personal injury attorney near me” and has unearthed a collection of websites, each offering representation. Your goal here is to have an attractive, professional site with relevant information, prominent calls-to-action, and a lead form that is short, informative, and to the point.
In the Decision stage, clients pick their horse. At this point, you will have had some form of contact with the individual. Here is where your sales skills come in. You need to talk to the individual and persuade them that you are the best option on the table.
By understanding and preparing for the customer journey, you are automatically increasing the quality of the leads coming in. Potential clients find you more easily, like what they see, and give you the opportunity to close the deal.
3. Scope out the competition
It’s impossible to know how you’re doing in relation to the competition without knowing what they’re up to. Watch not only the major law firms that practice in your area, but the smaller ones as well. See what they do well and try to incorporate that into your skill set. See where they fall short and avoid those potholes.
A great resource for competitive research is through client reviews and testimonials. Reading through the reviews of your competitors will tell you what they excel at, and where they are lacking, straight from the horses mouth. Use this information to answer your potential clients questions and address concerns through your own marketing efforts.
Thorough competitive research is vital to creating your marketing materials and will go a long way in your effort to attract high-quality leads.
Research your local competitors to get an understanding of what you’re up against. Use that knowledge to create marketing campaigns that draw potential clients away from them.
4. Run PPC campaigns
PPC or pay-per-click ads are a necessity for an effective digital marketing strategy, and it’s one that bypasses concerns like organic traffic and SEO (Search Engine Optimization). You create an ad, paying the search engine whenever someone clicks on it. By tracking which leads convert the best, you can tailor your PPC campaigns and maximize your ad spend.
Here are a few tips for your law office to get started with PPC campaigns:
- Start with a clear goal: Define your objective for the PPC campaign. Whether it’s driving traffic to your website, generating leads, or increasing brand awareness, having a clear goal will help you focus your efforts.
- Conduct keyword research: Use keyword research tools to identify relevant keywords and phrases that your target audience might use when searching for legal services. Incorporate these keywords into your ad copy and landing pages.
- Craft compelling ad copy: Write attention-grabbing and persuasive ad copy that highlights the unique value you offer as a lawyer. Use language that speaks to your target audience’s needs and pain points, and include a strong call-to-action.
- Create dedicated landing pages: Instead of directing visitors to your website’s homepage, create dedicated landing pages that align with your PPC ads. Optimize these pages for conversions and provide relevant information to visitors.
- Monitor and optimize: Regularly monitor the performance of your PPC campaigns and make adjustments as needed. Test different ad variations, keywords, and landing page designs to see what works best for your audience.
- Leverage ad extensions: Take advantage of ad extensions offered by PPC platforms. These extensions can enhance your ads with additional information, such as phone numbers, location details, or links to specific pages on your website.
- Consider remarketing campaigns: Implement remarketing campaigns to target users who have previously visited your website. These help reinforce your brand and increase the chances of a conversion.
PPC ads are a powerful tool for generating website traffic and ultimately, more sales. While they are effective, creating and running PPC campaigns can be a time-consuming and costly endeavor. Partnering with a digital advertising agency to help you manage your ads is often the best solution.
At Lead Science, we have two decades of experience running PPC campaigns that generate high-quality leads for our clients. Schedule your discovery call to learn more about our digital advertising program.
5. Create targeted content
If you want to drive organic traffic to your website, targeted content is a wonderful way to do it. Take your ideal client that we talked about in the target audience section. Create content—blog posts, podcasts, videos—that specifically address issues that resonate with that individual. Your content should be entertaining, informative, and more than anything else, factual.
A side benefit is that high-quality content also assists with your SEO, so you’re killing two birds with one stone. Seeding your content with relevant keywords and updating it regularly are important components to a good SEO strategy.
Creating content for a specific target audience generates website traffic comprised of your ideal client. Once you have them engaged, you can convert them into leads.
6. Build your email list
Search engine algorithms are in constant flux as companies tinker with them. Your email lists are completely immune to these changes and give you the power to reach out to a dedicated and interested client base. Additionally, your email marketing can display a personal touch for both you and your prospective clients.
Use the content you create on your website and social media to build out your email subscriber list. Encourage interaction, and always respond to questions and comments.
A subscriber is the best kind of lead to get. They are very interested in who you are and what you do. It’s a short trip from there to client.
Lead Science is the partner you need to find high-quality leads
All of these methods positively impact the quality of the leads you generate, from weeding out the noise to targeting those more likely to be interested to applying the final nudge to interested parties. Learning these techniques is vital to putting your firm on a positive footing.
Of course, there is no substitute for experience.
At Lead Science we use a scientific approach to generate leads. Using structured data and advanced SEO techniques, our websites instantly boost your traffic. Our sites take advantage of the higher traffic with strategically placed CTAs and design elements that encourage visitors to submit a lead. We utilize rigorous A/B testing to ensure that your site is always working to its potential.
Schedule your Lead Science discovery call and we’ll show you how our platform generates more leads and more sales for your firm.
