How to Recession-Proof Your Law Firm with Search Marketing

If there’s one thing the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us, it is to always expect the unexpected. It may sound cliché, but many of us were undoubtedly caught off guard by the global health crisis, proving that there’s always something unexpected lurking on the horizon. Although the UK legal service sector remained relatively stable during the pandemic, it didn’t mean that law offices would get lucky next time. For this reason, you must know how to recession-proof your law firm with search marketing. 

How Search Marketing Can Give You an Advantage during Economic Uncertainties

The Covid-19 pandemic has hurt hundreds of businesses across the UK, causing many to shut down and close their doors for good. Studies revealed that the legal service sector fared better than other UK industries. However, it didn’t mean that all law firms across the country came out of the pandemic unscathed. 

A survey by the Law Society showed that while some law specialisations thrived during the economic downturn brought about by the pandemic, some weren’t as lucky. Lawyers and solicitors specialising in dispute resolution, private legal services, commercial property management, and residential conveyancing admitted they received fewer enquiries during the health crisis. According to them, this, amongst other challenges, made it difficult for their legal practices to continue. 

Whether you belong in those aforementioned legal sectors or not, as a lawyer, perhaps your first impulse is to be conservative when implementing new marketing strategies. After all, we are still facing economic uncertainties. But the truth is now is an excellent time to invest in digital marketing, particularly SEO. 

Whether you want to recover from the effects of the pandemic or protect your legal practice from future economic downturns, here are three main reasons you should shift your focus to SEO or search marketing. 

1. Reach a wider audience

Research revealed that more people in the UK are online than ever, with 92% of the adult population spending time online in 2020. Also, related studies showed that more and more legal service consumers are using search engines to find legal representation. 

Optimising your law firm’s website for SEO enables you to take advantage of this growing trend. It allows you to build better brand awareness and establish a more prominent online presence, helping increase your chances of attracting new clients. 

2. Find better-quality leads

Search marketing is perhaps one of the most accurate marketing strategies there is. It allows you to target prospects who are actively searching for legal services. Incorporating relevant keywords into your website and other online assets will enable you to reach potential clients ready to enlist your services. 

3. Increase your competitiveness

When implemented correctly, search marketing can increase your law firm’s competitiveness, allowing you to compete against and even triumph over bigger and more prominent legal practices. This is particularly advantageous if you have a new or smaller law office. 

How to Grow Your Practice with Search Marketing

Similar to other marketing strategies, search marketing requires sound planning and implementation. It is not a silver bullet that will magically solve your law firm’s problems overnight. You will need to put in significant effort and avoid dirty techniques to obtain quality results. Here’s how to recession-proof your law firm with search marketing to help prepare it for any economic challenges. 

1. Know who your target audience is

The success of your search marketing campaign hinges on how well you know and understand your target audience. Therefore, before developing an SEO campaign, you should identify your prospects. What are their needs and pain points? As a lawyer, how can you help solve their problems? 

Conducting keyword research is also a must, as it can help you identify the words and phrases legal service consumers are using in their online queries. Moreover, keyword research enables you to get to know your prospects better. It helps you determine their demographics, the legal services they are looking for, and other online habits. 

2. Provide valuable content

These days, people spend more hours than ever consuming different types of web content. For this reason, providing your target audience with high-quality and valuable content is crucial. Besides contributing to your site’s SEO, it also enables you to make the most of thought leadership and establish yourself as a legal expert. 

3. Enhance client engagement and retention

Attracting new clients during an unstable economy is a monumental task for certain areas of law. This is why engaging and building a better relationship with existing clients is essential. Good thing search marketing can equip you with the tools you need to improve client retention. 

SEO is more than targeting relevant keywords. It’s also about improving your site’s usability to encourage web visitors to stay on your site and learn more about your legal practice. Furthermore, SEO encourages lawyers to follow up on their clients after enlisting their services. This enables them to learn about their clients’ experiences and convince them to review and rate their legal services. 

4. Build a robust online presence

As more legal service customers spend time on the internet and use search engines to find legal counsel, building a solid online presence can help recession-proof your law firm. This is why you will need to develop a comprehensive SEO campaign to make it easier for prospects to find you online and sign up for your services. 

Switch to Search Marketing to Recession-Proof Your Practice

While it is understandable to want to avoid trying anything “new” amidst an economic downturn, now is actually an excellent time to switch from old-school marketing to search marketing. SEO has been around for quite a while, and it has proven time and again how effective and reliable it can be when helping law firms attract new clients regardless of the current economic climate. 

As with any marketing strategy, developing and implementing a strategic plan is crucial to your success. If you neither have the time nor knowledge to create a good SEO strategy, we can help. At Kinetic Traffic, we specialise in law firm SEO to help legal practices like yours make the most of the opportunities Google and other major search engines can provide. Please speak with our team, and we’ll create an SEO plan tailored to your law firm.