As an attorney, you must be aware of the importance of local SEO to get more clients. However, do you know about hyperlocal law firm marketing and its immense potential? Many lawyers are still in the dark about hyperlocal strategies that can drive good results. This article intends to provide useful information that legal practitioners can use to target audiences in their exact location. As mentioned before local SEO has become an integral part of law firm internet marketing. Hyperlocal promotion takes it a step further by targeting potential clients in an even more specific location. Let’s say you are a DUI lawyer in a town and have been optimizing your business for local searches originating from that place. You can use hyperlocal strategies to target the audience in your immediate neighborhood. This will improve your visibility amongst people who are located in your vicinity and increase the chances of winning more clients. Following are some tips that you can use to formulate a hyperlocal marketing plan for your law firm.
Table of Contents
1. Create Localized Messaging That Resonates With The Audience
Most legal firm owners use generic messaging while promoting themselves. Instead of this approach, it will be better to use localized messaging as it has a better chance of resonating with the audience. Let’s say you are a divorce lawyer in XYZ city. Then it will be better to project yourself as someone who is “guiding people in XYZ through stressful divorces” rather than an attorney who is an “experienced divorce attorney”. People going through a separation will identify with the sentiment echoed in the first message which terms divorces as stressful. Moreover, the mention of XYZ city will generate a good response from individuals needing a divorce lawyer in that place.
2. Align Your Content With Hyperlocal Requirements
It will be pertinent to align your content with the requirements of the audiences living in your neighborhood. Mention not only the city but the name of your locality as well as prominent landmarks in your blogs. Moreover, the material must also talk about the topics that people who are situated around you are interested in. For instance, if your corporate law firm office is located in an area filled with technology startups then it will be sensible to talk about their concerns. You can post material about the importance of IP protection for tech companies or the compliance requirements they need to fulfill.
3. Mention Your Location In The Meta Data
Elements like page titles, meta descriptions, and image alt tags help search engines understand your website. You must mention the name of your neighborhood in such metadata so that search engines register the fact that you are situated in that specific geographical location. In case, you are using a title like “divorce lawyer in XYZ city”. Then you must modify it by adding the name of your specific area and the title must look like, “divorce lawyer in Eastside XYZ city”. This will improve your chances of appearing in searches conducted within that locality.
4. Try To Win More Positive Reviews
You cannot build a successful hyperlocal law firm marketing strategy without strong positive reviews. People want to know about the feedback from existing and past users while assessing the suitability of an attorney or a firm for their purpose. Moreover, good reviews can help a firm appear in prime real estate on a SERP. Conduct a search for your practice area on Google and take a look at the results page. The first few entries will be adverts followed by the local 3-pack which lists relevant firms with start ratings and basic contact information. Positive feedback can help you become a part of this 3-pack and appear even before organic results on a SERP.
5. Forge Localized Partnerships With Other Professionals
Referrals are a major source of new clients for attorneys. They can get recommendations from friends, colleagues, clients, and even other professionals. It will be pertinent to forge partnerships with professionals who cater to the same audiences like you. This will help you get more referrals. For example, if you are a corporate lawyer then you can build relationships with chartered accountants or CPAs besides other legal practitioners like IP lawyers based in your locality. It will also be beneficial to join professional forums which are active in your location. You can use such platforms to network with other professionals.
6. Include Exact Local Details In Google My Business Listing
Another way to get into the local 3-pack is to create optimized Google My Business listings. Make sure that the NAP (name, address, phone number) details are consistent across all platforms like website, social media, etc. You must clearly mention your locality in the listing. Mention your practice area in the primary category and law firm in the additional categories section. An optimized GMB listing gives you the chance of appearing in near me searches conducted in your geographical area.
7. Ensure Your Website Is Mobile-friendly
Local SEO grew more important as mobile searches increased. Most people using a smart device for search are looking for solutions near them. They are also more likely to convert than users based in other locations. It is, therefore, essential to ensure that your website is mobile-friendly. It must be responsive so that it is displayed perfectly in all browsers on all devices. Moreover, the buttons and CTAs must be optimized for touch actions. Mobile-friendliness is necessary for successfully targeting local users.
Conclusion
More and more people are looking for legal solutions in their immediate neighborhood. This makes it essential for attorneys to have a well-defined hyperlocal law firm marketing strategy. It will be difficult for them to find more clients without an effective plan for targeting local audiences.