There are seven main categories of lawyer marketing that should be your firm’s focus in 2024.  Each area has, at least, three specific ideas on how you can improve your marketing quickly and easily.

You can read our full guide to law firm marketing, but, we created this post to be a quicker read. We encourage you to read up on all our helpful tips.

Website Design Improvements

1. Tell a Story & Create a Brand

Visit your website home page. What pops out to you in the first three seconds?  Do you have a good visual?  Can a user tell what your practice areas are right away?  Do you have a unique selling proposition?  What is your story that will engage a potential client?  What makes you different? You need to answer that all with engaging visuals, specific copy, and headlines that are still SEO compliant.

2. Improve Your Practice Area Pages

Have you reviewed your practice area pages lately? Has the law changed in your area? What does each practice page say about your firm?

Some tips for practice pages:

• Every page should have one specific goal.
• Your page needs a Unique Selling Position.  What makes you unique?
• What social proof/badges/testimonials do you offer?
• Can you solve the pain point of the user with clear benefits?  Did you address their doubts?
• What is your call to action?  Did you tell the user how long it will take to contact them?  What do they agree to when contacting you?  Costs?  Next steps?
• Do you have really good images?

3. Establish Your Reputation with Badges, Testimonials and More

You need to have proof that you are a good lawyer.  Make sure your various badges are prominent on the website. Be sure to showcase your client testimonials.

Technical Improvements

4. Speed Matters – Google Page Speed Insights and Content Load Times

Your website needs to load fast.  Check out your stats on Google and then forward that report to your web design team.  Have them review the report and make changes to get the site speed higher.

5. ADA – Don’t Get Sued for Not Helping Your Site Visitors

While not a pure marketing play, this is more about protecting and helping people.  If your site is not ADA compliant, it needs to be by now. Check out https://wave.webaim.org/ for a free report.  If you need further analysis, contact an ADA website audit team like us.

PPC Ads / Google Ad Improvements

6. Segment Your Audience

In Google, you can segment your audiences.  You can show unique messages to different audiences.  You can exclude or include various groups and only show your ads for those specific users.

7. Responsive Display and Mobile Ads

If you create responsive display ads, then the format will automatically change to fit the browsing window.  You can create your message and let Google do all the work.

8. Diversify Away From Just Google with Your Lawyer Advertising 

Google owns the majority of search-related phrases and ad networks.  However, there are other opportunities for attorney advertising.  Check out Facebook, LinkedIn, Reddit and Microsoft Ads, among others.

Content Marketing Improvements

9. Create a Publishing Plan for Your Lawyer Marketing Campaign

The first step to ranking highly is creating informative content.  The best first step for that content is to develop a plan.  Research potential practice areas you want to target, then create a plan with the page name, link to the copy, due date, approval date, and where it is going live.

10. Get into Video and Explainer Videos

You should try out creating videos for your website.  Law firms have been slower to leverage the marketing power of video. There’s a perception that production and filming are too time-consuming and expensive for there to be a measurable ROI for the average lawyer. Though not all video marketing is expensive, law firms should consider the budget-friendly option of explainer videos.

11. Create Guide Books and Digital Downloads

The key to ranking high in a specific area is creating THE definitive resource on a topic.  Become THE source of information for car accidents, probate, or divorce law. Produce a 2,500 to 5,000-word guide that is online.  Create it as a PDF download too.

For example, if you specialize in family law, consider creating a comprehensive guide on family law marketing ideas to effectively promote your own practice and establish yourself as a leader within the field. Guides can provide valuable insights and strategies for attracting clients, establishing your brand, and standing out in competitive markets.

Social Media Improvements

12. Post Frequently About Local News and Popular Culture

To have a good social program, you need to post frequently.  You don’t have to hit it every day, but at least a few posts a week. You can schedule all your posts for the month in advance and use a program to auto-distribute them on set days.

13. All Posts Should Have Images

Every single post needs an image.  Images are viewed more, engaged more, and shared more.

14. Brand Your Social Media Channels

Make sure all your channels have your logo, hero shots, and overall branding.  It does not take more than a few hours to update all and make them consistent.

15. Create a Podcast and Connect It to Your Social Media Campaign

Nearly 40% of Americans listen to podcasts. True crime and advice-based podcasts are among the most popular for listeners, so jump in and seize a piece of this market before if becomes saturated. Record your show monthly and share a link to the podcast on all your social media accounts.

Newsletter Improvements

16. Create a List and Send Monthly

The process for creating a newsletter campaign is quite simple:  Create a list, find a program to send out your email, and add it to your website.  This takes no more than a few hours to finalize everything.  Then you can begin writing content.

17. Create Compelling Headlines and Calls to Actions

The key to any newsletter is having a compelling headline.  People decide in the first few seconds whether they will read your content. Your subject line is key.  Moreover, you need to have a good call to action in your newsletter.  Have one specific call to action that you want them to perform– call you, share, visit your website, contact form, purchase, subscribe to something, or download.

18. Make Sure You Have Targeted Content That Informs

Your content should not just be about your firm.  Sure, you can mention a big win or someone new to the firm, but you will want to produce a newsletter that informs your clients and fellow attorneys.  Keep it interesting and informative.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Improvements

19. Silo Content for Practice Areas 

The key to ranking highly these days is producing content for every practice area — meaning more than just one page for that content.  Want to rank high in Boston for Truck Accidents?  Then have a good portion of your site just about that.

The silo can include related claims or break down aspects of particular claims — just be careful not to repeat information.

20. Long-Form Content is Instrumental for Lawyer Marketing

We have found that long-form content is better.  It typically ranks higher.  Why?  You are more detailed about the topic, so you have more relevancy.  The content is more informative, so it is shared.  The content is good, so it is read longer and user metrics are better for your clients.  Create detailed guides on all your topics.

21. Use Related Search Questions and Rich Snippets

Ever get writer’s block when thinking about what content to include on your website? Act like your potential clients and conduct a Google search. After listing the appropriate search results, Google suggests related terms and questions connected to what the user was looking for. These are great inspiration for what your clients need to know. 

22. Reinforce Your Content with Internal Links

Adding internal links is an easy SEO tactic that appeases search engines and your potential clients. Google uses these links to see the structure of your site, so relevancy is enhanced with strong connections. Further, adding links within your content helps site visitors navigate to additional pages that connect to their claim.

23. Cater to Your Location

Your location plays a key role in your SEO campaign. Where your office is physically located is often where you’ll rank the highest. Include the location as part of your keyword phrase and include supporting local content where you can.

24. Utilize AI for Inspiration but NOT Content Generation

ChatGPT and other content generators exploded onto the scene in 2023. In some ways, AI for content generation is quite the boon — it’s a great source for topic ideas and writing non-SEO content. Thank you letters, standard client responses and other minor content items are great uses for AI. If you’re looking to improve your rankings, however, AI content is not the way to go. Content from sources like ChatGPT is often to generic to rank highly and can be too similar to what others post on their sites. Thus, use the tools for framework and inspiration, but have a human finish the job!

Lawyer, geek & father of twin girls and a boy, who chose the path of starting a web design & marketing company.