Having a strong online presence is crucial for law firms.

Most people looking for a lawyer take to Google, making search engine optimization (SEO) an essential part of your law firm’s marketing strategy.

But SEO is just one of many marketing strategies available to law firms. Others include social media marketing, email marketing, and paid advertising like Google Ads.

In this blog, we’ll look at how SEO compares to other law firm marketing strategies by examining cost and effectiveness. We’ll also give you tips for optimizing SEO and creating a multi-channel marketing strategy that uses all strategies.

---

---

What is law firm SEO?

Law firm SEO refers to the process of optimizing a website to improve its visibility and rankings on Google and other search engines.

It involves working on a website’s structure, design, and content to make it attractive to both search engines and humans. This increases your chances of appearing at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs) when someone searches for keywords relevant to your law firm’s website.

In the context of law firm marketing, SEO for lawyers is critical to the success of any law firm wanting to flourish online — even those who only serve local clients.

Law firms who prioritize maximizing their visibility online will attract more clients and ultimately make more money than those who don’t.

---

Benefits of SEO for lawyers

The most significant advantage of SEO over other marketing channels is the increased visibility and traffic to your law firm’s website.

Optimizing your website for SEO will bring in more potential clients, help your law firm build trust and credibility with your audience, and even establish your firm as a leader in your area.

Simply appearing at the top of Google is enough to convince searchers that you’re reputable and trustworthy.

Unlike other marketing channels, SEO is a long-term marketing tactic that doesn’t stop producing results when you reduce your budget. It’s the most sustainable and cost-efficient marketing strategy in the long run.

---

3 additional law firm marketing strategies

While SEO is essential to law firm marketing, it’s not the only effective strategy.

Social media marketing, email marketing, and paid advertising are three other marketing strategies used by law firms.

Social media marketing involves using social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to promote a law firm’s services and engage with potential clients.

This strategy can be effective for certain practice areas, like criminal defense or personal injury, who deal with the public.

Social media can help you reach a larger audience, build a community and increase your brand and reputation. But it’s also time-consuming and generally not the best way to attract new leads.

Email marketing involves sending promotional emails to a law firm’s subscribers to promote services, share updates, and provide valuable content.

It’s an effective way to nurture leads brought in by SEO. We recommend combining email marketing with other digital marketing strategies, particularly SEO and paid advertising.

Paid advertising involves paying for ad space on search engines, social media platforms, or other websites.

We recommend Google Ads specifically to drive immediate qualified traffic to your law firm’s website. However, it can quickly become costly and generally requires outsourcing or a steep learning process, as it’s easy to throw away money using poorly optimized ads.

---

Legal SEO vs. Google Ads and pay-per-click advertising

Legal SEO and PPC/Google Ads are two distinct marketing strategies that aim to increase visibility and generate leads.

But their approach is different.

SEO is an investment with compounding returns. The content you create and the backlinks you acquire will always exist, even after the budgets run out.

That means the assets you create to boost your SEO are owned. The positions you secure on SERPs ranking for relevant keywords are yours for the foreseeable future.

And it’s much more cost-effective than any other marketing strategy out there. The caveat is that it’s a long-term strategy requiring patience and continuous effort to maximize and maintain consistent results.

How long does SEO take?

Google Ads involves paying for clicks on ads that appear at the top of Google, which are targeted at relevant keywords and demographics you think will lead to new clients.

When done right, they can generate immediate results and bring in highly qualified traffic. But they’re more costly than SEO and only produce results as long as you have the budget.

But you’re essentially renting a spot on Google. Once you stop paying, you lose the marketing visibility you relied on to bring in those leads.

And the cost of rent is extremely high for legal-related keywords. On average, it could cost you over $300 per click for keywords like “slip and fall lawyer.”

We recommend combining both strategies, as they fill in the gaps the other leaves behind.

---

Law firm SEO vs. social media marketing

By now, you’re well aware of the benefits of SEO.

But did you know that search drives 10x more traffic than social media?

It makes sense that SEO should be your priority, but there is a place for social media in a lawyer’s legal marketing repertoire.

Social media is a place to establish your brand, build a community, and connect with a different pool of your audience who you might otherwise not reach. The goal is to engage with your community, so you’re top of mind when they need legal services.

It’s more informal and a great brand-building tool. We recommend all law firms have a presence on social media, with a LinkedIn profile being the bare minimum.

---

Law firm SEO vs. email marketing

Email marketing is a direct method of communication with contacts who have already expressed interest in your firm or services.

Someone visiting your website by clicking a link (a link you’ve established on Google through SEO), they’re looking for signals that you’re trustworthy and worth hiring.

And sometimes, they aren’t ready to hire a lawyer. That’s where email marketing comes in.

Email marketing is used to directly target existing and potential clients with personalized messages about special offers and updates from your firm. It keeps you top-of-mind of prospects so that when the time comes for them to hire a lawyer, you’re the first person they think about.

Both SEO and email marketing are essential for law firms, but the key is to ensure you have a balanced approach. You want your website optimized for search engines so potential clients can find it, but you also need to use email marketing to engage with existing and prospective customers.

By creating a comprehensive strategy that incorporates both SEO and email marketing, you can maximize your chances of success.

---

SEO synergizes with other legal marketing channels

While SEO is vital to any law firm’s digital marketing strategy, it’s not the only option.

In fact, the other strategies we mentioned all synergize well with SEO. Each tactic has its place in the marketing funnel, and when they’re all working optimally, you’ll start to generate more high-quality leads than you would with SEO alone.

Just remember that SEO is a long-term investment that requires patience and effort over a long period of time. But at the end of the day, it’s more cost-effective and efficient than any other marketing tactic.