Law Firm Marketing

Having an engaging, attractive, and effective website is critical for a criminal defense law firm to grow in today’s digital era. Instead of running a television ad or paying for an expensive billboard in the hopes that our ideal client will pay attention at the right moment, the internet works like a magnet, attracting locals who are searching for the exact services that you offer.

Marketing Your Criminal Defense Practice Online

With organic online marketing, you create a website rich with information that is easily found by searchers, organically. This is a cost-effective solution, allowing your law firm to compete on a more even playing field without having to rely on paid advertisements like LSA or PPC.

Check out our information guides for marketing your law firm to your area of expertise:

Potential clients are typing in a variety of queries to find a criminal defense attorney. This may include broad phrases, but often times they are searching for very specific crimes and statutes. Savvy consumers want an attorney who is knowledgeable about the very specific type of legal issue they are facing. Having hundreds of specific pages will attract this traffic organically. As consumers land on a specific practice area page, they will get the impression that the attorney is dedicated to the specific area they need. By focusing on a particular niche area within the law, you also increase the authority of your website in the eyes of search engines and users.

It pays to be focused and dominate the search engines. While other attorneys are forced to take any case that comes in the door, you can attract your ideal clients.


Growing Your Law Firm Through Strategic Online Marketing


Avoid the “Shotgun” Approach

Many attorney websites take a shotgun approach to internet marketing. It is not uncommon to see a solo practitioner with a website that lists every practice area from commercial litigation to traffic ticket defense. Those websites are not successful for two reasons.

First: while the “jack-of-all-trades” attorney has a wide range of practice areas listed on his or her website, the attorney is not able to provide much information on any particular topic so nothing shows up in the search engines.

Second: potential clients who are somehow able to find the website will quickly realize that the attorney is not focused on their particular type of legal issue. This is similar to a person with a highly specific medical condition. They would prefer to see a physician that specializes in their ailment, rather than a general practitioner who may not be able to provide the highest level of service due to their broad knowledge base. The attorney’s marketing efforts are thus counterproductive since any potential client who does find the website is immediately repelled.

The goal of any law firm’s website should be to attract ideal clients. Your staff must answer the phone and screen the calls. If the majority of your calls are from clients who do not have attractive cases or from clients who cannot afford your services, then you are wasting money. Other marketing techniques take a shotgun approach. Internet marketing allows you to focus with laser beam accuracy.


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Consider the Perspective of Your Ideal Client

Few clients want a “jack-of-all-trades” attorney. Instead, they want to see that the attorney is focused on representing clients with their particular type of problem in their immediate jurisdiction. Like never before, individuals can use the internet to search very specific key terms to find out which attorney has the most experience or knowledge of the area their case relates to. Your ideal clients can screen several attorneys from the comfort of their home or office computers before they ever pick up the phone.

The internet helps the consumer by allowing them to find attorneys more specialized in their particular type of case. From the attorney’s standpoint, the internet allows the attorney to focus on the cases that fit their particular niche area (not to mention their most profitable cases).


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Consider the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Perspective

The search engines are designed to find a particular page on a website that best answers the consumer’s questions. The more detailed and helpful the information, the more likely other sites are to link to that page of the website as an authority on the topic.

The more websites that link to that particular page, the more likely that page will show up in the search engines. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of making sure your website shows up well in the search engines.

The key to optimizing a website for an attorney is developing tons of unique content on one particular practice area. Then the website must have more interior pages dealing with each issue related to that practice area. The search engines look at a variety of information:

  1. A well-designed website with an easy-to-use navigation system;
  2. Frequent edits or content additions to the website (easily facilitated by using a content management system);
  3. The quality of the website content and a logical organization structure;
  4. Specific pages about crimes, crime categories, statutes, and related issues;
  5. Unique content that discusses that main topic and all terms related to that topic;
  6. Links to other interior pages on the website related to each other;
  7. Pictures, images or videos related to each topic;
  8. A local telephone number and address related to a targeted geographical location;
  9. The number and quality of other websites that link to a page for search term used;
  10. Outbound links to other quality websites and local resources dealing with the main topic; and
  11. The level of user engagement across social media websites.

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Our Formula for Achieving Specific Marketing Goals

Law firm marketing can involve a complex combination of website development, search engine optimization, content distribution, and internet marketing. At Internet Lava, we focus on achieving results for criminal defense firms that will deliver a high return on their investment over the long term. Our plan will allow you to receive consistent leads from local consumers whose types of cases are most desirable to your law firm. We concentrate on marketing the specific niche areas that are most valuable to your practice. Many of our clients focus on the “bread and butter” areas within criminal defense, such as domestic violence, sex crimes, DUI, probation violations, expungements, theft, assault, juvenile defense, drug crimes, federal criminal defense, and specific crimes within each of these categories.

Our websites have a strategically structured hierarchy, allowing the search engines to have a clear understanding of how the areas you are targeting relate to one another. In turn, search engines can move through the website easier, making it clearer which major and minor keyword phrases you are targeting.

Another important aspect of our marketing strategy is the integration of location-specific search phrases and links, which allows your website to be found more easily by prospective clients in the targeted areas.

At its core, a successful marketing strategy involves outranking the competition in major search engines. For a lawyer, this can be achieved by having two things:

  1. A professionally developed, search-friendly website.
  2. A diverse link-building strategy that uses quality content and carries the lawyer’s branding and message throughout the web.

When these two elements are satisfied and enhanced consistently, you will be able to watch your search rankings consistently improve over time. However, the process of ranking can be made quicker for attorneys who focus on a niche area.

While you are building a more powerful website based on better content, find out why your competition is spending too much of its budget on expensive attorney pay-per-click campaigns that provide little return on investment when used by itself.


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Teaming with Internet Lava to Reach Your Goals

At Internet Lava, we provide law firms with a comprehensive marketing package that addresses the important factors that both search engines and users consider. Over time, we can establish a sophisticated online presence that will help you stand out from your competitors, stand out on the search engines, and stand out to your potential clients.

Successfully obtaining a sophisticated online presence will involve a great deal of work. We understand your time is valuable. By working with Internet Lava, you will be able to utilize the most efficient methods for achieving a successful marketing campaign for your law firm. Because we focus exclusively on internet marketing for lawyers, we have a strong understanding of the needs of small and mid-sized law firms in today’s marketing world. We take care of every aspect of your campaign, allowing you to focus on what matters most: your firm’s growth.

If you’re interested in learning more about how law firm marketing and managing your online identity can attract the cases you want call (800) 292-LAVA. Our search consultants will provide you with a realistic review of the strengths and weaknesses of your current website.

You can also learn more about the various search strategies that would be most useful to meet your short and long-term marketing goals. Contact Internet Lava today and take the first steps towards dominating the online world.


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