When someone is facing criminal charges, he or she is in almost certainly in panic mode and probably has no idea where to turn. When faced with this situation, many people head directly to Google to find a criminal defense lawyer in their area. Your firm has professional, experienced legal counsel and guidance to offer, but making the connection is the tricky part.
In order to reach across the internet and inspire this potential client to make the call, your online presence needs to be not only up to date and relevant but also to communicate that you are ready, willing, and able to help. Perhaps more than any other type of legal client, criminal defense clients are looking for a solid connection that inspires trust and confidence, and fortunately, there are four powerful law firm marketing strategies that can help you convert potential clients to actual clients.
Strategy 1: Think Organic
When you’re considering your criminal defense clients, remember that they often go to the organic results first. Clients who are in need of counsel in the criminal arena are also looking for reassurances, and finding pertinent and informative literature on your firm’s website can increase your rankings and connect with potential clients. Criminal defense clients aren’t in need of trendy temptations; they’re in search of real information that resonates for them personally – after all, criminal charges are personal. To relate to potential criminal defense clients, your conversion strategies should include:
Provide your clients with content that connects. Criminal law is often more relatable when you share actual examples, such as interesting cases in your area, cases from your own archives, and evolving criminal law. Criminal law is a dynamic topic that lends itself well to compelling content, so take advantage of this fact.
Don’t forget to cater to your locality – frame your online offerings within search terms that trend in your area.
Criminal defense clients are hungry for information, and if you provide them with solid content that keeps them on your pages, you stay ahead of the game. Don’t forget that embedding cogent links and strategic videos not only helps you enrich the viewer’s experience but also helps you strengthen your Google cred.
Bolstering your standing with Google helps you reach potential clients more seamlessly, and these goals dovetail. When you play well with Google, you move past content that works as a superficial placeholder and delve more deeply into content that counts.
Strategy 2: Add Up Google Ads
Google Ads are no longer an option; they’ve become imperative, and this means you need to get busy with Google. When your potential clients are looking for counsel related to criminal defense, they head to Google, and Ads are there waiting for them. AdWords is Google’s pay-per-click advertising platform that allows you to bid on keywords that translate into written soundbites that represent your firm’s energy.
AdWords has the built-in flexibility of allowing you to turn it on and off at your discretion. While optimizing an Ads campaign takes effort takes effort, hitting that groove can help you connect with clients while you are improving your rankings in the organic results.
Strategy 3: Don’t Forget the Rank and File
Your rank on Google Maps matters. Your criminal defense clients are looking for legal counsel now, and they’re probably not interested in doing a deep dive to find it. This is where your Google Maps listing comes it, and it’s a local thing. When it comes to local traffic, your Google Maps listing outranks even your organic status, and that’s saying something.
This is where customer reviews hit the ground running. Racking up positive customer reviews drives your listing rank as it speaks to potential clients, and it’s no wonder. These reviews are like word-of-mouth advertising on a grander scale, and it isn’t difficult to imagine what a criminal defense client might find useful in such offerings.
Strategy 4: Come Clean
Your website should inform, not overwhelm. For better or worse, today’s consumer has a bullet-point attention span, and you do yourself a favor by tapping in. Providing a clean, visually appealing, easily navigable online space that requires minimal digging while providing maximum results is what you’re going for, and it’s less difficult than you may imagine. Keeping content spare – while providing access to more in-depth offerings – will help you connect with and convert potential criminal defense clients.
