SEARCH ENGINE RESULTS 101
97%
of consumers use internet when researching
local products/services. (BIA/Kelsey)
Think of the last time you searched the internet for a product or service.
Dry cleaning. Auto Repair. Physical therapy. What happened next was a result of a “search engine” doing its job.
Top Market Visibility
The key to maximizing internet leads is to achieve high search engine positioning in every geographic area, or market, served. For some, that market might be the city in which their office resides. For others, it might also include the next town over, the whole state, or the whole country. In the end, when a user searches for a specific service in a specific area (Lawyer New York, for example), they’re directed straight to the website that Google deems best matches their intent.
Search Engines
Search engines are services that take search terms provided by the user and relevant items, services, and websites on the internet. Common search engines include Google, Bing, Ask, and Yahoo!, with Google leading the pack by a huge margin.
Results Pages
“Search engine results pages,” or SERPs, are the lists of results that appear after a search is performed by a user. Businesses strive to “rank,” that is, appear in the top 10 spots on these pages. Why? Of all the clicks that users make after the SERP appears, 85% of them land in this area.
Top Visibility & SEO
High visibility in SERPs is achieved by knowing how Google processes information. It requires a deep understanding of Google’s (ever-changing) algorithm, which analyzes not only the words that appear on a website, but also the coding that supports those websites. The mastery of working with search engines is called “search engine optimization,” or SEO, for short.
Where Do Searchers Click?
SERPs have a few different areas, and not all areas are considered equal. At the top, “paid advertisements” appear. These paid ads are generated by Google AdWords, an advertising service from Google. Through the AdWords program, a business sets a budget and only pays when people click the ads. Paid ads are denoted by the word “Ad” in a little box.
Although these top-of-the-page positions seem ideal, they come with a few drawbacks. One is a high cost per click that increases over time. As more businesses compete to have their ad shown, they bid for limited ad positions. This drives the cost per click up. In fact, the average cost per click for a legal service AdWords ad is over $6, the highest of 20 industries surveyed. Depending on the practice area, the cost per click varies widely, with some practice areas fetching over $100 per click. Another drawback is user perception. While a business’s visibility will indeed grow with paid ads, studies show that internet searchers are actually less likely to click on a paid ad because they are less trusted.
On the other hand, “organic searches” have numerous benefits – if SEO is handled properly. Businesses that carefully craft their websites and digital marketing strategy can produce top organic search results by working with the Google algorithm rather than paying to beat it. And perhaps the most appealing advantage: the cost per lead through SEO is the least expensive of all marketing channels.
Investing in Digital Marketing & SEO
If your competition is ranking higher than you, chances are they’ve implemented an SEO strategy. The good news is that a huge part of your market potential is ready to be had. The higher you rank, the more site visits you’ll receive. This translates into more business. To start generating more case leads from people searching for your legal services, it’s time to invest in a comprehensive digital marketing and SEO strategy.
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Average legal client retention rate of over 7 years.