Legal Digital Marketing Archives | Hennessey Digital https://hennessey.com/blog/category/for-law-firms/legal-marketing/ Fri, 05 Jan 2024 18:40:13 +0000 en hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.2 How AI and ChatGPT Are Transforming Personal Injury Law Firms https://hennessey.com/blog/how-ai-and-chatgpt-are-transforming-personal-injury-law-firms/ Fri, 08 Dec 2023 20:57:46 +0000 https://hennessey.com/?p=37950 Are you ready to witness the power of AI and ChatGPT in revolutionizing personal injury law firms? With AI-powered tools, lawyers can analyze vast amounts of legal data, saving time and money while enhancing research quality.  AI algorithms can predict case outcomes and settlement values, empowering lawyers to make better-informed decisions. Additionally, ChatGPT is becoming ...

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Are you ready to witness the power of AI and ChatGPT in revolutionizing personal injury law firms? With AI-powered tools, lawyers can analyze vast amounts of legal data, saving time and money while enhancing research quality. 

AI algorithms can predict case outcomes and settlement values, empowering lawyers to make better-informed decisions. Additionally, ChatGPT is becoming an indispensable tool for lawyers by streamlining workflows and assisting with tasks.

As the Vice President of SEO at Hennessey Digital, I am constantly exploring how these cutting-edge technologies transform the legal industry. We’ve already discussed how ChatGPT will affect SEO, so now join me as I dive into the transformative power of AI and ChatGPT for personal injury law firms.

The Emergence of AI and ChatGPT in Law Firms

As a lawyer, you are getting a front-row seat to the emergence of AI and ChatGPT as transformative technologies in the legal industry. AI integration revolutionizes how legal professionals interact with clients and conduct their work, and the efficiency gains through AI are remarkable – particularly in case evaluation and legal research improvement.

  • With AI-powered tools, lawyers can analyze vast amounts of legal data, including court opinions, statutes, and regulations. This enables them to conduct legal research more efficiently and effectively, saving both time and money for clients.
  • AI algorithms can also predict case outcomes and settlement values by analyzing data from past cases. Lawyers can weigh this information to make better-informed decisions, and consider approach and client advice accordingly, potentially improving accuracy in predicting settlement values.
  • Artificial intelligence streamlines the litigation process with the ability to analyze medical records and other evidence, helping lawyers build stronger cases and reducing the need for expensive expert witnesses. It simplifies the discovery process and increases efficiency throughout litigation.
  • AI-powered applications can assist in drafting tailored legal documents by analyzing past cases and legal precedents. This saves lawyers a significant amount of time and improves the quality of legal documents, ensuring they meet the specific needs of each case.

Understanding the Role of AI in Personal Injury Cases

To effectively understand the role of AI in personal injury cases, you need to recognize its impact on legal proceedings and the overall attorney/client relationship. Below are key ways AI is transforming personal injury cases.

The Impact of ChatGPT on Client Communication

One major advantage of ChatGPT is that it allows you to automate client communication, providing timely updates and addressing common queries. With ChatGPT, you can streamline your task management by automating routine client interactions, such as providing case updates, answering frequently asked questions, and scheduling appointments. This automated client communication saves you time and ensures that your clients receive prompt and accurate information.

ChatGPT can also enhance the accessibility of your legal service. You can provide 24/7 support and improve responsiveness to client inquiries by automating client communication. This can be particularly beneficial for personal injury law firms, as clients may have urgent concerns or require immediate updates regarding their cases.

Efficiency Gains From AI and ChatGPT Integration

There are several efficiency gains from AI and ChatGPT integration for personal injury law firms.

Client Communication

You can maximize the efficiency of your law firm’s daily operations by integrating AI and ChatGPT into your client communication. This will save you significant time and cost while ensuring client satisfaction with seamless interaction.

You can do this through:

  • Personalized Chatbot Assistance: AI-powered chatbots can handle routine client inquiries, freeing your time for more critical tasks.
  • Automated Appointment Scheduling: ChatGPT can integrate with your calendar system, allowing clients to schedule appointments effortlessly.
  • Reminders and Updates: AI can send automated reminders and updates to clients, reducing the need for manual follow-ups.

Automated Case Evaluation

Automate your case evaluation process and achieve efficiency gains by integrating AI and ChatGPT into your law firm’s operations and processes. With automated case evaluation, you can leverage the predictive analysis capabilities of AI algorithms to assess potential case outcomes and settlement values.

This streamlines the litigation process and enables efficient case management. By automating legal research, you can save time and enhance the quality of your research, providing accurate analysis of legal precedents. Plus, when integrating ChatGPT into your firm’s operations enhances client communication you can allow for more responsive and personalized interactions.

The combination of automated case evaluation and enhanced client communication empowers your firm to make better-informed decisions, provide more efficient services, and ultimately deliver higher client satisfaction.

Faster Legal Research

AI and ChatGPT can be used to Improve the efficiency of your legal research. This allows you to conduct research faster and more effectively. AI-powered research provides time-saving solutions and enhances analysis, leading to improved legal research and more efficient decision-making.

Here’s how integrating AI and ChatGPT can transform your legal research process:

  • AI-powered tools analyze large volumes of legal data, including court opinions, statutes, and regulations, saving you time and effort.
  • ChatGPT can assist in finding case law and court opinions, helping you quickly access relevant information.
  • Together, AI and ChatGPT streamline workflows, boost efficiency, and generate tailored legal documents, saving you significant time and improving the quality of your work.

Enhanced Task Management

To enhance your task management, integrate AI and ChatGPT, allowing you to streamline your workflow. By leveraging these technologies, you can optimize your tasks and boost productivity.

By now you should start to have an understanding of the time-saving benefits now possible with AI and ChatGPT, enabling you to accomplish more in less time. With AI-powered tools, you can automate repetitive tasks, such as legal document drafting and research, freeing up your time to focus on high-value activities.

This integration improves your efficiency and allows you to provide better service to your clients, leading to increased client satisfaction and referrals. By embracing AI and ChatGPT, you can revolutionize task management in your personal injury law firm and unlock new productivity levels.

Now, let’s explore more on how AI and ChatGPT can assist you in case research and preparation.

AI and ChatGPT in Case Research and Preparation

Law firms can use AI and ChatGPT to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of case research and preparation. These tools offer automated case evaluation, faster legal research, enhanced task management, and predictive analysis capabilities.

With AI-powered legal research tools, you can analyze large volumes of legal data more efficiently and effectively, such as court opinions, statutes, and regulations. This saves your clients time and money while providing accurate legal precedents analysis. AI algorithms can help predict case outcomes and settlement values, allowing you to make better-informed decisions and advise your clients accordingly. They can also analyze medical records and other evidence, helping you build stronger cases and reducing the need for expensive expert witnesses.

AI-powered applications can analyze past cases and legal precedents to generate tailored legal documents, saving you significant time and improving the quality of your work. However, it’s important to consider ethical considerations when using AI in case research and preparation. 

With these advanced technologies, you can enhance your practice and provide better client service. So, let’s explore how AI and ChatGPT can enhance accessibility in legal services.

Enhancing Accessibility in Legal Service With AI and ChatGPT

AI and ChatGPT enable your law firm’s services to be more accessible by leveraging advanced technology and streamlining processes. The integration of AI in legal services brings numerous benefits in terms of accessibility.

  • By automating tasks and providing personalized services, AI allows legal professionals to engage with clients more effectively. This improved client engagement leads to greater accessibility as clients feel more involved and informed throughout the legal process.
  • AI integration enables legal professionals to handle more cases and respond faster to client inquiries. This increased efficiency means that legal services can be provided at a more affordable cost, making them accessible to a wider range of individuals.
  • Furthermore, AI-powered tools like ChatGPT can provide accessibility benefits by offering alternative communication channels. Clients can interact with ChatGPT through chat interfaces, allowing them to seek legal advice and information conveniently and at their own pace. This accessibility extends beyond traditional office hours, ensuring that legal services are available whenever clients need them.

Conclusion

Are you ready to embrace the power of AI and ChatGPT to transform your personal injury law firm?

Integrating AI and ChatGPT in personal injury law firms has started to revolutionize the legal industry. These cutting-edge technologies are enabling lawyers to analyze vast amounts of legal data, predict case outcomes, streamline workflows, and enhance client communication.

With the efficiency gains and improved accessibility provided by AI and ChatGPT, your law firm can provide better-informed advice and build stronger cases while saving time and money for clients – and for you. The successful implementations of AI and ChatGPT in personal injury law firms highlight the bright prospects of these technologies in the legal field.

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Your Digital Binder: The Importance of Ownership in Digital Marketing https://hennessey.com/blog/your-digital-binder-the-importance-of-ownership-in-digital-marketing/ Mon, 31 Jul 2023 15:49:31 +0000 https://hennessey.com/?p=31767 Who owns your work? Your access points, your website, your data, or even access to your analytics? When it comes to digital marketing, there are a lot of moving parts and elements at play. Platforms, tools, your internal team, and sometimes even agencies and partners change on a dime – making access and keeping track ...

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Who owns your work? Your access points, your website, your data, or even access to your analytics?

When it comes to digital marketing, there are a lot of moving parts and elements at play. Platforms, tools, your internal team, and sometimes even agencies and partners change on a dime – making access and keeping track of information a challenge for business owners and marketers.

Nothing is worse than that locked-out feeling and your marketing operations coming to a screeching halt. We’ve seen it happen for clients when someone is out of the office, when a client migrates from one tool to another, or in the onboarding process when clients transition to us as their digital marketing partner.

This is why ensuring access and ownership over crucial aspects of your digital assets are paramount to your success – and where your ‘digital binder’ becomes important.

As a law firm digital marketing agency and agency partner for other small and mid-sized businesses, we understand the importance of seamless operations and flow of marketing and believe to our core that transparency and collaboration are key to building a successful partnership. (Seriously, it’s one of our Guiding Principles!)

So stop what you’re doing and ask yourself – do you have a digital binder? Are you clear on who and how to access what so that no matter the industry dynamics, your marketing operations are functional?

We’ll take you through what should be in your digital binder. And by this do we mean a physical 3-ring binder that’s labeled (or maybe has your favorite vacation spot or band on the cover)? No, not really. It’s really a checklist of your tools, platforms, data, how to access it, and who within your company can access it.

Let’s get started:

Ensuring More Than One Person Has Access

Even if you’re the one who bears the responsibility or holds the key, it’s important that not only one individual, but three stakeholders can locate and have access to the key elements associated with your marketing efforts. It will not only help your digital marketing run efficiently, but it ensures a smooth transition getting set up and going when working with a new digital marketing agency.

Owning Your Analytics

Analytics is one of the most important components of digital marketing because it provides businesses with insights into customer behavior, website performance, and marketing campaign effectiveness. Without data insights, you won’t be able to make data-driven decisions.

To truly harness the full power of analytics, you should have complete ownership over your data and access to important platforms, such as Google Analytics. Ownership of your analytics and data ensures continuity in your data history. If you lose access to your analytics, you lose the ability to track and analyze long-term trends, leaving you unable to identify patterns and make data-driven decisions based on historical data.

Being able to analyze and interpret data will allow you to make informed decisions and adjust strategies for the success of your law firm.

Testing Platforms

Testing platforms, such as VWO, and Optimizely, allow businesses to optimize their website’s conversion performance and user experience. These platforms give you and your agency partner the ability to create and run tests, view results, and make changes as needed. They also provide you with a better understanding of your audience and provide a seamless user experience that drives conversions.

Being able to log directly into your testing platforms, gives you and your agency team the ability to conduct A/B testing, implement data-driven changes, pinpoint areas for improvement, and address any bottlenecks that might hinder your firm’s success. Without access to these, your team is left unable to fine-tune your marketing efforts for better results.

Google Tag Manager

A key component of digital marketing success is managing various digital marketing tags, such as conversion tracking, analytics, and remarketing pixels. Google Tag Manager (GTM) offers a centralized platform to simplify tag management.

GTM is an essential tool for digital marketing because it allows you to add tracking codes and other tags to your website without requiring manual code changes. This gives you the ability to create and manage tags, set up triggers, and track conversions while reducing the risk of page load delays and potential disruptions to user experience. Without having access to GTM you lose the ability to track user behavior and make informed decisions about your marketing strategies.

This piece of the puzzle is a little more technical, that’s why it’s important to have a dedicated analytics team handle this for you.

Call Tracking

There are numerous reasons your business needs call tracking, especially for those that rely on phone calls for leads and sales. And having ownership of your call tracking platforms, like Call Tracking Metrics, will help you better understand customer behavior, enhance lead attribution, improve client engagement, and optimize your marketing campaigns accordingly. Without access to your call tracking you lose the power you can harness with inbound calls. It is a vital component because it helps firms understand clients’ journey from online interactions to offline conversions.

Social Media Accounts

Engaging with customers and building brand awareness comes with the power of social media. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok give you the ability to manage and post content, track performance, and engage with followers.

Owning access to your business’s social media accounts ensures that regardless of changes within your company or agency team, you have access to the insights you need that allow you to be strategic with how you connect with your audience and build stronger relationships. If you use a social media management publishing platform such as Sprout Social, Hootsuite, and any Linktree or Bitly accounts, it’s important you have access to these as well. Without this access, you and your agency team are missing out on curating content tailored to your firm, responding timely to clients, and tracking performance, historical data, and any paid campaigns you might run through these social channels.

Pay-Per-Click Advertising and Paid Media

PPC for law firms and other Paid Media are powerful channels that drive traffic to your website and generate leads. Having full ownership of all your paid media accounts, especially your Google Ads account, gives you and your agency team better control over your advertising spend and optimize their campaigns for maximum ROI.

Without having access to your paid media accounts your paid media team loses control of performance data, budgets, fine-tuning targeting, and missing out on analyzing the performance of the campaigns.

If this is outside of your wheelhouse, work with our expert team at Hennessey Digital to research, strategize and execute a paid media plan to get fast ROI.

Development

You should have ownership over your website’s development. This includes access to the website’s source code, the ability to make changes and updates as needed, the website hosting account, and the domain name. Having access to and ownership of your website’s development, you can better control your online presence and make informed decisions about your digital marketing strategy.

We’ve heard SEO horror stories where clients didn’t own their domain or access to their Google Business Profile listing, and when they left they had to start over from scratch or gridlocked spending time acquiring access when needed.

All set?

If you cover the bases above, you should, and can, have peace of mind that no matter who is leading your digital marketing strategy, you’re set up well on the back end with the access you need to be successful, and your marketing always up and running.

We cannot overstate it enough: the key to success, especially when working with an agency partner, lies in the power of ownership. Safeguarding sensitive data and maintaining access over critical elements is essential for success and security. No one should leave all passwords to one individual in your firm or to an agency who could leave you with no control over your digital assets.

But if you want help with the technical aspect of digital marketing and are looking to switch to a digital marketing partner who educates and empowers your team and company, let’s chat. We are committed to transparency, collaboration, and empowering our clients to take ownership of their digital marketing assets. Our team of award-winning SEOs, paid media strategists, website developers, data analysts – and all-around awesome people – are ready to begin the conversation and help drive your marketing performance and website to new heights.

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Why A Branded Paid Search Campaign Is A Must For Your Law Firm https://hennessey.com/blog/why-a-branded-paid-search-campaign-a-must-for-your-law-firm/ Wed, 10 May 2023 13:38:55 +0000 https://hennessey.com/?p=28715 Have you ever searched for your law firm and someone else’s ad comes up first on the search engine results page (SERP)? This happens when a competitor bids for your company’s name or phrases associated with your business – also known as branded keywords. This is a legal paid search strategy, as long as their ...

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Have you ever searched for your law firm and someone else’s ad comes up first on the search engine results page (SERP)? This happens when a competitor bids for your company’s name or phrases associated with your business – also known as branded keywords. This is a legal paid search strategy, as long as their ad doesn’t infringe on any trademarks.

What can you do to stay ahead of the competition and make sure your law firm comes up first in the ads? You start by creating your own branded campaign and creating ads to boost your law firm’s visibility.

If you don’t know what a branded campaign is or how it works, no problem. Let’s break it down.

What is a branded campaign?

A branded campaign is a paid media campaign that includes bidding on keywords such as your law firm’s name and other phrases identifiable with your firm. Goals for branded campaigns include increasing the recognition and visibility of your law firm when someone searches for those terms, and driving more qualified leads to your website. Your banded campaign ensures your firm’s ad is seen by those who are searching for your firm by name, by attorney, slogan, and other related keywords. They also help to increase the return on investment (ROI) from your digital marketing since the campaign targets potential customers who are already familiar with your services.

This might seem counterintuitive to your law firm SEO strategy, and make you wonder if you’ll lose organic traffic, but that’s not the case. Branded campaigns boost your overall leads and cases. Since your law firm would be targeting individuals who are already familiar with your services, the likelihood of converting those search queries and leads into actual clients is higher.

Branded campaigns are also a good way to protect your firm’s name and reputation because you have greater control over how your branding and message appears, while working to trump other law firms that may use your name or variations of your name as keywords in their own advertising campaigns. By doing this, you are making sure that potential clients are not misled by ads that falsely claim to be associated with your firm.

Investing in branded campaigns conveys professionalism, authority, and a dedication to quality that builds client trust. Having both a branded ad and an organic position on the first page of the SERP gives you an advantage and allows you to control the message you want to show.

Law firm branded campaign cost

You may be wondering, “How much is this going to cost, and what kind of results can I expect from a branded campaign?” As law firm digital marketing experts, we recommend spending about 5% – 8% of your total Google Ads budget for it to be successful. Since this is a branded campaign, your results should be better than your non-branded campaigns. This means that you can expect a higher click-through rate, higher conversion rate, and ultimately higher ROI. After all, potential clients are looking for your firm by name.

Let’s break down what our data at Hennessey Digital has shown:

  • The CTR (click-through rate) of law firm branded campaigns tends to be 3x higher compared to non-branded campaigns
  • Cost-per-case is just one-tenth of the average cost-per-case for non-branded campaigns
  • Cost-per-lead (CPL) is even lower; in fact, it can be up to 191% cheaper to generate a new lead through branded campaigns than the non-branded campaigns

This is why we strongly recommend incorporating branded campaigns into your law firm’s SEO strategy. It will benefit you more in the near and long term, so it is worth diverting a small portion of your total budget to do it.

Final thoughts

A branded campaign can boost your law firm’s exposure and brand recognition while generating more qualified leads that turn into actual cases. At Hennessey Digital, we incorporate branded campaigns into digital marketing strategies to ensure visibility and make sure advertisements are seen by people who are already familiar with your company or who are searching for your company’s branded terms. Your brand advertising efforts also reinforce trust, stop brand infringement and safeguard your company’s reputation.

Curious to know how Hennessey Digital’s customized approach to branded campaigns can help take your law firm marketing to the next level? Contact us to increase your leads and number of cases with an effective and efficient law firm PPC strategy.

 

Anthony Fournier, Paid Search Specialist, contributed to this post

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Horse Racing Handicapping and SEO: A Surprising Match Made in Heaven https://hennessey.com/blog/horse-racing-handicapping-and-seo-a-surprising-match-made-in-heaven/ Thu, 04 May 2023 16:22:51 +0000 https://hennessey.com/?p=28483 Ever imagine a connection between the adrenaline-pumping world of horse racing handicapping and the intricate art of search engine optimization (SEO)? Hold onto your hats (and fascinators) because we’ll explore the striking similarities between these disparate domains and reveal the fascinating common ground that may leave you seeing both fields in a whole new light. ...

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Ever imagine a connection between the adrenaline-pumping world of horse racing handicapping and the intricate art of search engine optimization (SEO)? Hold onto your hats (and fascinators) because we’ll explore the striking similarities between these disparate domains and reveal the fascinating common ground that may leave you seeing both fields in a whole new light.

As an SEO-centric content strategist at Hennessey Digital and an amateur horse racing handicapper, I’ve discovered that these seemingly unrelated fields share more similarities than you might think, forming a tale of two fields racing toward success.

Analyzing Data Like a Pro: The Starting Gate

In horse racing handicapping, bettors put their money on the line, analyzing past performance data, lineage, post position, track conditions, and jockey records to predict race outcomes. Similarly, SEO gurus delve into the depths of website analytics, keyword research, and competitor analysis to optimize websites and climb in Google rankings. Digital marketers analyze all of this data to make informed decisions about current campaigns and plan out strategies for future ones.

Embracing Adaptability: The Key to Success in Horse Racing and Digital Marketing

Adaptation plays a pivotal role in staying ahead of the curve in both horse racing and digital marketing. In the high-stakes arena of horse racing, adjusting to changing track conditions, jockey strategies, and even the wind can make all the difference between winning and losing. Similarly, in the fast-paced world of digital marketing, adapting to evolving search engine algorithms, user behavior, new competitors, and market trends is essential for maintaining a competitive edge. By embracing adaptability, experts in both fields can navigate the ever-changing landscape.

The Home Stretch: Risk, Uncertainty, and Expertise

While SEO and horse racing handicapping might seem like a pair of mismatched socks, they’re more like two peas in a pod when it comes to the challenges they face.

Risk and Uncertainty: The Name of the Game

Whether you’re trying to predict the outcome of a horse race or the impact of a Google algorithm update, there’s always a level of risk and uncertainty involved. After all, will we ever forget the infamous Google Panda update that shook the world of SEO like a jockey on a wild stallion? Likewise, the world of horseracing was shocked and horrified when jockey Frank Hayes won his first race, despite the 20-1 odds against him and the fact that he died from a heart attack during the race. It goes to show, sometimes even the pros can’t anticipate the outcome.

Mastering the Art of Prediction: Expertise

Becoming a skilled handicapper or an SEO wizard doesn’t happen overnight. These fields require specialized knowledge and expertise to excel and achieve success. So, just like a seasoned jockey, the SEO expert must hone their craft through dedication and experience.

Keeping Your Eye On The Prize: Winning

In both horse racing and digital marketing, you have to keep your focus on the end result – success! Handicappers will adjust their strategy according to the horses’ performance to win the race. Similarly, digital marketers and SEO strategies will adjust a campaign if it is not performing, or they’ll develop a new strategy, whether through a paid media campaign or curating new content pages, to drive more traffic to a website. Keeping your eyes on the prize and making adjustments as needed will help you achieve your end goal.

Key Takeaways: Uncovering the Common Ground

You can’t deny the uncanny similarities that bring horse racing handicapping and SEO together:

  • Data Analysis: Both fields rely on data analysis to make informed decisions and predictions.
  • Adaptation: Adaptation is crucial to stay ahead in the ever-changing landscape of horse racing and digital marketing.
  • Risk and Uncertainty: Dealing with risk and uncertainty is part and parcel of both fields, requiring a cool head and the ability to think on your feet.
  • Expertise: Specialized expertise is necessary to succeed in horse racing handicapping and SEO.

So, the next time you find yourself at the race track, take a moment to appreciate the similarities between the thrilling world of horse racing and the dynamic realm of SEO. And who knows? Maybe you’ll discover a newfound appreciation for the art of handicapping and search engine optimization as you cross the finish line of success.

Need a jump start out of the gate? Contact our team to learn how we can help you win.

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Will the FTC Regulate Online Reviews? Why You Should Care Now https://hennessey.com/blog/will-the-ftc-regulate-online-reviews-why-you-should-care-now/ Wed, 26 Apr 2023 16:42:54 +0000 https://hennessey.com/?p=28220 Everyone loves a good review. And, everyone loves a good shortcut if it saves you time and energy to get the results you want. But the key to shortcuts in business is doing it ethically – and that’s what the FTC is eying when it comes to online reviews. In October, 2022, the Federal Trade ...

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Everyone loves a good review. And, everyone loves a good shortcut if it saves you time and energy to get the results you want. But the key to shortcuts in business is doing it ethically – and that’s what the FTC is eying when it comes to online reviews.

In October, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission announced it’s exploring rules to combat fake reviews and deceptive endorsements. What does this mean exactly? According to the FTC, it’s “exploring a potential rule to combat deceptive or unfair review and endorsement practices, such as using fake reviews, suppressing negative reviews, and paying for positive reviews.”

What it also means is if you’re using any of the black hat strategies to elevate your business or products online, you may soon pay the price in significant fines.

What Are The Benefits Of Online Reviews?

Online reviews have many benefits, ranging from establishing trust among customers to improving your Local SEO and visibility in search results. When a customer has a good experience with you or loves the quality of your product, a few words and five stars can play a role in nudging a potential customer across the line from consideration to purchase. And the same way that positive feedback boosts your confidence in your operations and offering, positive reviews boost Google’s confidence in your business and website, giving you stronger visibility in local search results. Unfortunately, negative reviews can have the opposite effect on the SERP, too.

Why Do Companies Use Fake Reviews

Companies use fake reviews for three main reasons: to significantly increase review volume for their business, to influence consumers into choosing their product or service, and to boost their online visibility. Another deceptive way companies use reviews is to suppress negative reviews, or to leave unfounded, negative reviews for their competitors. Black hat tactics are unethical SEO practices that break search engine rules to achieve perceived positive results, and fake reviews or paying for reviews fall under this category.

Fake reviews aren’t much different than using filters that alter your appearance on social media. You may look different, but the product is still the same. We all know the best results for anything in life come from putting time and effort into the work. So do companies really gain anything from this?

It’s easy to get caught up in the game of winning, but without doing your homework, companies are putting a lot on the line that could potentially counter the results from all of the hard work and investment put into their marketing. James Cant, a local SEO specialist for Hennessey Digital, attributes some of these decisions to poor advice and pressure. “Online reviews can positively impact a business, so companies may feel pressure to buy into the game system of fake reviews,” said Cant. “Fake reviews, paying for reviews or suppressing negative reviews are a way to manipulate search results. On the surface, they prop up a business, and can negatively affect businesses that play by the rules.”

How will FTC regulations on online reviews affect businesses?

A crackdown by the FTC on fake reviews, deceptive and illegal online practices won’t just affect your company’s search results, it will take you to the bank with a hefty penalty. Research shows consumers rely on online reviews to influence their decisions, and doing so deceptively is not only unethical, it harms your competition and puts a lot on the line for your company.

The FTC defines deceptive and unfair practices as:

  • fake reviews
  • review reuse fraud
  • paid reviews
  • insider reviews
  • review suppression
  • fake review websites
  • buying followers

On a case by case basis, the FTC is already cracking down on companies using fake reviews or other deceptive practices to promote their business or products. In 2022, the FTC charged the rental listing platform Roomster for deceiving the public by paying for fake reviews and having fake listings, proposing the company and its owners pay a $100,000 fine and be subject to other penalties. The cost of manipulating online presence was even higher for online retailer Fashion Nova, who was required to pay $4.2 million for suppressing negative customer reviews on its site.

The question is will taking companies on one-by-one be enough to impact the industry and eliminate fake reviews? For that reason, the FTC is exploring putting a broader rule and standard into place.

As a digital marketing agency that uses ethical practices and white hat SEO tactics, Hennessey Digital has cautious optimism on how far the FTC’s hand can reach – and how soon. “I don’t know how far the FTC can get with enforcing rules against fake reviews and other practices,” Cant commented. “Fake reviews are a way to cheat the system. It’s good the FTC is doing what they are doing. Right now they’re enforcing it for a few, but I don’t see them being able to enforce it broadly for a long time.”

A good online review strategy will help you avoid penalties and generate new business

Online reviews are a good search engine optimization strategy, and are one of the strongest indicators that there are others out there doing business with you. Thousands of companies have online success doing it the right way. Creating a strong online review strategy will help you receive the stars and positive online feedback you want; and with a little effort, you’ll begin to see the results in your online visibility and revenue.

Here are a few tips to get you started:

  • Identify places where online reviews will reach customers and be effective for you. Google Reviews, your website and online review sites are good places to start that will reach customers and send signals to Google that can boost your ranking on the SERP.
  • Don’t be afraid to ask customers for a review. Many people are willing to help you out if you show them how. Whether it’s in person, at point of sale, by text, or in a simple email, keep it simple and provide your customers with prompts that direct them to rate you or leave a quick review.
  • Enlist a digital marketing partner that uses white hat SEO tactics to manage your online review strategy for you. Knowing what to do and where to do it can be overwhelming. By working with a reputable digital marketing agency like Hennessey Digital, you can trust your online presence is in good hands with experts who know how to drive engagement and use online reviews to elevate your business in an ethical way that stays ahead of industry regulations.

Remember, you dedicate a lot of time and money into your online marketing. Losing those gains and putting your business on the line because of fake reviews and deceptive promotional practices isn’t worth it.

Want more tips to bolster your online review strategy? Check out these recommendations from Hennessey Digital Founder & CEO Jason Hennessey on how to get more 5-star reviews for your business.

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PPC For Law Firms: Proven Strategies To Increase Case Acquisition https://hennessey.com/blog/ppc-for-law-firms-proven-strategies-to-increase-case-acquisition/ Thu, 06 Apr 2023 09:00:52 +0000 https://hennessey.com/?p=27396 Many lawyers understand the value of developing pay-per-click (PPC) strategies and utilizing Google Ads to drive leads and bring in new cases. Despite this understanding, many law firms struggle to see the same results as their competitors. As the Paid Media Manager at Hennessey Digital, I will unlock the secrets to successful PPC strategies and ...

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Many lawyers understand the value of developing pay-per-click (PPC) strategies and utilizing Google Ads to drive leads and bring in new cases. Despite this understanding, many law firms struggle to see the same results as their competitors. As the Paid Media Manager at Hennessey Digital, I will unlock the secrets to successful PPC strategies and campaigns for law firms by exploring common mistakes and missed opportunities that prevent achieving optimal results with their Google Ads campaigns.

So let’s dive into strategies you can implement this year to improve the ROI of law firm PPC campaigns on Google Ads.

PPC for Law Firms

Understanding how pay-per-click works

When running PPC digital advertising, also known as paid search, you are charged a fee each time someone clicks on your advertisement. Instead of relying on organic methods to attract clients, PPC allows you to “purchase” website traffic. This is particularly useful when you want to target competitive keywords, such as “personal injury lawyer,” and your organic ranking may not be high enough to appear on the first search engine results page (SERP). By bidding on the keyword and paying a certain amount if clicked, your ad will be displayed.

SEO and paid search strategies are effective when run together, as they boost your visibility on the SERP, and seeing listings in both places is known to boost trust in the credibility of a page or link when someone clicks. Developing a PPC campaign strategy for law firms takes careful execution owing to regulations and optimizing campaign performance, but it’s important to advertise there since potential clients turn to search engines and often engage with paid ads when looking for legal advice. PPC marketing can sometimes be expensive and competitive, too, but it can also yield a high return on investment with the right strategies and focused campaigns.

Never bid on broad single-word keywords

It’s important to not focus solely on broad single-word keywords such as “lawyer” or “attorney.” These can be costly to bid on and can lead to campaign inefficiency and wasted budget. Instead, think about targeting long-tail or multiple-word keywords that are more specific, less expensive, and provide more opportunities to capitalize on than the highly-competitive, broadhead keywords. By doing so, you can choose more specific, niche keywords that take into account the buyer intent and the practice areas that generate the most revenue for your law firm. This strategy may seem subtle, but it can have a significant impact on the effectiveness of your ads campaign and is a great PPC strategy to implement for your law firm.

Long tail keywords are an important strategy in PPC for law firms

Use negative keywords in your campaign

It might seem counter-intuitive to use negative keywords in your paid search campaigns, but it is a proven PPC strategy. Negative keywords are terms that you explicitly exclude from your PPC campaign so that your ad will not show up when a specific term is searched for. This strategy helps increase the chances of reaching your target audience.

It’s common to use multiple negative keyword lists, around seven to ten, so when thinking of what you want to include in your list of negative keywords, consider terms that are unlikely to result in a qualified sales lead, such as ‘legal aid,’ ‘games,’ and ‘apps.’ You should consider adding terms associated with education and careers to your negative keyword list as well as other low-quality, sales lead terms like ‘cheap,’ ‘free,’ and ‘inexpensive.’ You may also want to include cities and states that are outside of your target region. Being aggressive with keyword exclusions will help you avoid spending money on undesirable search terms, boost your conversion rate by reducing unnecessary clicks, and result in more qualified customers visiting your website or landing page.

Implement an effective keyword bidding approach

An effective keyword bidding strategy is crucial for a successful Google Ads campaign. This involves determining the right keywords to bid on and setting the appropriate bid amount for each keyword. To use automated bid strategies, Google Ads provides several strategies that can help optimize your campaigns for different goals, such as maximizing conversions, maximizing clicks, and targeting CPA (cost per acquisition). It’s important to regularly monitor and adjust your bids as needed to help ensure that you’re getting the best results for your investment. Keep in mind that the most effective keyword bidding strategy will vary depending on your firm’s unique goals and circumstances.

Protect your brand

Even if your law firm already ranks well in search engine results for your branded terms (ie: company name), it’s important to consider advertising for these keywords. If not, a competitor may use your firm’s name in their ad campaign and potentially divert customers away from your business. This tactic is known as “brand-jacking.” Even if your organic search ranking is high, a competitor could still appear above you in the paid advertising section for your brand name. To avoid this, bid on your branded terms to increase your digital real estate and maintain control over how your firm is represented in the paid advertising section.

A/B test with compelling ad copy

One of the fundamental rules of a winning PPC strategy is to test everything. Nowhere is this more important than in your paid ad copy. This is the copy that will either convince a potential client to click or not, resulting in them completing an online lead form, calling your firm, or looking at a competitor. Messaging is key and the ad has to speak to the needs and concerns of your target audience. Don’t fall into the trap of believing that you know what people want in your ads rather than what the data tells you. You can write the best ad in the world, but if it’s not performing by boosting click-through rates and leading to conversions, it means it isn’t working.

Google has a good built-in tool to test and measure different versions of your ad copy to determine what resonates most with your target audience and generates the best results in terms of click-through rate and conversions.

 

practice A/B testing in PPC for law firms

Although it may seem overwhelming to develop an organic search and paid media strategy that sets your law firm up for success in search results, understanding the ins and outs of law firm SEO is crucial for your PPC strategies to continually acquire new clients. A strong online presence and a constant flow of qualified leads are essential for the growth of your practice, and one way to achieve this is by working with an experienced PPC team that can manage and optimize your campaigns daily.

Looking to acquire more cases while keeping costs low, or want to improve your marketing strategies and establish a stronger online presence for your law firm? Trust our PPC experts here at Hennessey Digital to drive results for your law firm. Fill out the form below to learn how we can help you achieve your goals!

 

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Should You Worry About Your Google Profile Strength Label?: Q&A with Hennessey Digital’s Local SEO Expert James Cant https://hennessey.com/blog/should-you-worry-about-your-google-profile-strength-label/ Thu, 23 Mar 2023 09:30:18 +0000 https://hennessey.com/?p=26852 Google recently rolled out a new Profile Strength label on Google Business Profiles (GBP). To understand what this means for your account and local digital marketing, I sat down with our Local SEO Team Lead James Cant to get the scoop. For context, this is what it looks like: Let’s talk about this new rollout. ...

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Google recently rolled out a new Profile Strength label on Google Business Profiles (GBP). To understand what this means for your account and local digital marketing, I sat down with our Local SEO Team Lead James Cant to get the scoop.

For context, this is what it looks like:

Should You Worry About Your Google Profile Strength Label?: Q&A with Hennessey Digital’s Local SEO Expert James Cant

Let’s talk about this new rollout. What exactly is the Profile Strength label on Google?

James: This new widget that appears on your Google Business Profile is essentially a reskinned version of the old profile completeness checker. The Profile Strength label tells you how complete your profile is by Google’s standards. The old version was filled with bugs and there was no way a profile could ever reach 100%. Since this rollout, we assume that the bugs are resolved, but it’s too new to test and know for certain.

So this isn’t anything brand new?

James: No, but as I said, the old version had a lot of bugs.

So since this is now rolled out worldwide, what can you tell me about the new Profile Strength label?

James: First, it’s important to understand what actually affects your rankings factors. Google doesn’t necessarily care about your rankings and overall presence on its platform. What they care about is data accuracy and whether or not you pay them for ads. With that being said, what we’ve seen is that the Profile Strength label tells you how complete your business profile is not only through the inclusion and accuracy of your business information but by the adoption of products and tools Google wants you to use. For example, we are seeing profiles marked as “incomplete” for things such as Google Ads and Google Messaging not being set up. And that’s where it gets tricky and you have to be realistic with how much emphasis you put on your business profile reaching 100% on the Profile Strength label. Some of those products and features on Google may not be relevant to a company’s digital marketing strategy.

So getting to 100% is impossible?

James: No, I don’t think it’s impossible. But if you blindly try to get 100% Profile Strength, it would require you to run ads as well as enable Google Messaging; both of which you might not want. It’s also important to note that reaching 100% on the Profile Strength widget is not a ranking factor. Both the previous version of the profile completeness checker and the new Profile Strength widget are not ranking factors. If it was, that would require PPC and PPC is not a ranking factor for your organic rankings.

It’s also important to note that reaching 100% on the Profile Strength widget is not a ranking factor.

Great point. As companies are working on their GBP (which some of us may always refer to as its old namesake, Google My Business), is there anything they should look out for?

James: Following the Profile Strength checklist might have you fill out stuff that is notoriously buggy and has no impact on ranks. An example of this is filling out the Opening Date section. This has been known to randomly suspend listings and isn’t something that feeds into user engagement enough to risk suspensions. Also, if you mark your listing as temporarily closed with an opening date, you risk your profile and reviews becoming invisible. This is another bug. The opening date isn’t a ranking factor so following the Profile Strength list is only taking on unnecessary risk.

Should You Worry About Your Google Profile Strength Label?: Q&A with Hennessey Digital’s Local SEO Expert James Cant

Seems like there is still a lot going on behind the scenes. Anything else that businesses need to know about this new Profile Strength label and their Google Business Profile? 

James: The details in your Google Business Profile matter, so you shouldn’t ignore it, and the Profile Strength label helps make sure you’re not missing key information in your profile. One last thing to be aware of is that there still seems to be glitches with the new rollout. For example, what we’ve seen at Hennessey Digital is that some accounts are being told to complete their profiles by adding a description when the description has already been completed. So just be aware of the rollout of this new widget, but don’t be too concerned with it. Understand what actually factors into your rankings and don’t worry too much about the Profile Strength label.

Should You Worry About Your Google Profile Strength Label?: Q&A with Hennessey Digital’s Local SEO Expert James Cant

Need help with your SEO or Local Search? Our team at Hennessey Digital works hard to stay on top of Google’s ever-changing algorithms and updates and teach our clients how to be successful along the way!

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The Advantages & Disadvantages of ChatGPT in Digital Marketing https://hennessey.com/blog/the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-chatgpt-in-digital-marketing/ Thu, 09 Feb 2023 14:20:50 +0000 https://hennessey.com/?p=15615 Artificial intelligence isn’t going anywhere and ChatGPT has taken the world by storm. We’ve even asked ourselves, how will ChatGPT affect SEO? Whether you’re hesitant or have already hit the ground running and incorporated it into your digital marketing strategy, here’s what a few of our subject matter experts at Hennessey Digital have to say ...

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Artificial intelligence isn’t going anywhere and ChatGPT has taken the world by storm. We’ve even asked ourselves, how will ChatGPT affect SEO?

Whether you’re hesitant or have already hit the ground running and incorporated it into your digital marketing strategy, here’s what a few of our subject matter experts at Hennessey Digital have to say about AI and ChatGPT:

Advantages of ChatGPT and other AI tools

“Although it has felt like this was coming forever, it seems we are finally at the point where it’s easy to imagine handing off some tasks to artificial intelligence. Examples are writing a standard business letter, troubleshooting software code, and analyzing data. Just as the introduction of machinery increased productivity for farmers by orders of magnitude, widely available AI-driven applications have the potential to make knowledge workers far more productive in their jobs.”

Scott Shrum, President & COO

“It’s proving to be an amazing tool to help identify ‘content gaps’ and opportunities in existing content that even the most knowledgeable strategist may not be able to identify. For example,  discovering topics we might not have written about that are relevant to a page’s core message. Plus, it’s a ton of fun — I am amazed every time I use it!”

Steve Guberman, Vice President of SEO

“I’m seeing how handy this tool can be to help generate ideas for social media content, blog, or email content. Human expertise will always be important in marketing, but using AI tools like ChatGPTwill allow marketers to more easily discover and answer the questions their audience is looking for.”

Amy Heigel, Marketing & Communications Manager

“ChatGPT can be useful for filling out information on Google Business Profiles. Marketers can easily gain inspiration for filling out the product and service definitions and get ideas for making questions to answer for the Q&A section.”

James Cant, Local SEO Team Lead

“Since it functions as a knowledge base with some similarities to search engines, it’s easy to take an up-close view of it from the world of marketing. But imagine a world where it can gather and deliver knowledge that impacts diagnosis and treatment in health and medicine, the engineering potential for transportation or aviation, or helps solve a global challenge. I think we’re only starting to scratch the surface on the impact ChatGPT and AI will have.”

Cindy Kerber Spellman, Senior Director of Marketing

Disadvantages of ChatGPT at the moment

“I don’t recommend using ChatGPT for Google My Business posts. These types of posts should be news and updates to generate excitement about your business. Currently, an AI program isn’t able to assist with knowing about the internal excitement of a business.”

James Cant, Local SEO Team Lead

“Of course, every new wave of AI will result in some efficiencies or capabilities beyond human ability and ChatGPT is no exception. Although we can be impressed by what AI is capable of, it is evolving far more quickly than us, making the biggest risk to be what might happen if AI eventually surpasses the human mind and spirals out of control.”

Ghulam Nabi, Paid Media Manager 

“ChatGPT is one of the most impressive and exciting pieces of software to be released in decades, but it is still a tool that tries to simulate how a human would write a thought or answer a question. As a simulation, it will still get things wrong a lot (although this will surely keep getting better), so I would caution anyone against taking ChatGPT’s output and using it without a lot of human-based fact-checking and editing right now.”

Scott Shrum, President & COO

“As a society, we have to be mindful of what shortcuts or solutions ChatGPT and AI are used for. Its computer-based knowledge naturally will do things that exceed human capability, but the human element will always be important not only in marketing, but broadly in everyday life. Reliance over time can be detrimental to learning and development among school-age kids who rely on the tool, or advancing human thought, communication skills and critical thinking abilities as a society.”

Cindy Kerber Spellman, Senior Director of Marketing

Will ChatGPT and AI affect digital marketing?

The use of AI language tools like ChatGPT or Google’s new AI service, Bard, will continue to grow in popularity as companies begin utilizing it. The ability to personalize helpful responses to customers while streamlining digital marketing efforts is a win-win for businesses. Our team of experts chimed in with their thoughts:

“A tool like ChatGPT can be leveraged to generate new ideas and ways of analyzing content if you know how to use it right, and our VP of SEO Steve Guberman has made himself into a master of AI “prompt-ology”! However, as an SEO tool, it also shouldn’t be used in isolation. ChatGPT doesn’t look at real-time search data or competitive insights, and we’re especially wary of using AI in the legal industry. Legal content (considered “Your Money, Your Life” content) is held to a higher standard under Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines; relying too much on AI for content creation could put your site at risk of future penalties.”

Jessica Rowe, Director of Content

“The generative model was only trained up to 2021, so it might not have the most up-to-date information available. Accuracy may always be a challenge a service like ChatGPT faces.”

Steve Guberman, Vice President of SEO

“ChatGPT and AI are only going to become more sophisticated over time. One question — especially for digital marketing firms like Hennessey Digital — is whether AI will run into other issues, such as Google explicitly banning (and being good at detecting) AI-generated content, or if Google will be able to distinguish between helpful content and content that was written solely for search engines. The answer so far seems to be that Google does differentiate — even if content was generated by AI, as long as it is useful for a user, it is okay. But, this is a moving target, (what does Google consider to be useful?), and Google’s capabilities, their own AI service, and policies will surely keep changing!”

Scott Shrum, President & COO

Closing thoughts on ChatGPT

Just like with anything new, there are some current hesitations or setbacks, but the future is riddled with possibilities. This technology is new and it’s only going to grow and learn more, so it’s hard to determine what the end result will be. Its potential seems clear that there will be benefits to streamlining processes and generating content at scale. Don’t just take our word for it, take ChatGPT for a spin and try it out for yourself. Experimenting with new technology is the best way to discover what’s possible and where innovation is taking us.

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Why SEO For Law Firms Is NOT Cheap https://hennessey.com/blog/why-seo-for-law-firms-is-not-cheap/ Wed, 25 Jan 2023 08:30:02 +0000 https://hennessey.com/?p=14843 If you’re a lawyer looking to maximize your firm’s online presence and attract new clients, investing in search engine optimization is an absolute must. But don’t be tempted to cut corners by going for the cheapest option: quality SEO can make all the difference in your firm’s success and should not be sacrificed for a ...

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If you’re a lawyer looking to maximize your firm’s online presence and attract new clients, investing in search engine optimization is an absolute must. But don’t be tempted to cut corners by going for the cheapest option: quality SEO can make all the difference in your firm’s success and should not be sacrificed for a bargain.

This type of SEO goes beyond simply using keywords and phrases to boost your website’s rankings. It involves optimizing your website for mobile devices, ensuring that content is fresh and relevant – even updating old content for users and SEO, and creating a consistent online presence on social media platforms. High-value SEO also requires an in-depth understanding of the legal field and what clients are looking for when they search for a law firm. This takes time and expertise, making it challenging to get the outcome needed without investing in a professional agency, especially one specializing in law firm digital marketing.

Before signing with a digital marketing agency, let’s look at what may factor into pricing.

7 Reasons To Look Beyond The Price Tag

Law Firm SEO is a very competitive industry. And while many companies offer low-cost SEO services, the quality of their work may not be at the level you would get from a company that charges more. When looking for an affordable SEO service provider, it’s important to know how they plan on providing value to your business and whether or not they have the experience needed to deliver outstanding results.

You should look beyond the price tag and instead consider the different aspects of their services from keyword research, keyword rankings, link building, and so on. The marketing plan needs to be attainable, measurable, and tailored to your firm’s goals. A good SEO company will take the time to understand your business, goals, and target audience. When considering hiring an agency to do SEO for law firms consider these as red flags:

        1. They don’t understand the importance of keyword research.

Many SEO companies only look at one aspect of SEO – ranking well on the search engine results page. However, multiple factors go into SEO success, and keyword research is just one of them. Keywords and their use in an overall content strategy are essential to any website’s SEO strategy. If you want to rank for a specific keyword, your site must have this keyword in its title and content. But if your site doesn’t have the right keywords or isn’t optimized for all relevant keywords, this strategy will not perform well for search engine algorithms. An established law firm SEO agency knows from experience which keywords to use for law firms and how to optimize content for SEO purposes.

        2. Their approach is too simplistic.

An agency that charges a lower price generally focuses on one particular approach to achieving results. In contrast, a full-service law firm SEO agency will have an entire team of experienced digital marketing professionals with a multi-faceted plan of action who understand the nuances of the legal industry and can create effective strategies to help your law firm succeed online.

        3. They ignore user experience.

User experience refers to a customer’s overall experience while interacting with your site. To retain customers, you must ensure they feel comfortable and satisfied during their visit. Getting new users to your website takes a lot of work, and once there, your site should be compelling enough to keep them engaged enough to want to contact you for an appointment. Lead generation for law firms – getting a phone call, or online lead form – is a privilege you need to earn. An experienced law firm SEO agency will understand the importance of user experience and create a website that is easy to navigate, has relevant content, and provides an overall pleasant experience.

        4. They don’t take into account the competition.

When choosing an SEO company, it’s crucial to consider your law firm’s competition. If you’re going against competitors with a strong reputation, you’ll need to provide something unique and compelling to stand out. In addition, you’ll need to have a comprehensive SEO strategy that considers the competition. A reputable agency will be able to analyze competitors and create an effective plan of action to help you outrank them.

        5. They don’t use any tools to measure performance.

These tools are specialized and are not cheap. Much like a carpenter has a toolbox, an experienced SEO agency will have access to the latest tools and technologies, such as Google Analytics, SEMRush, and Ahrefs, or tools and platforms they innovate internally, like we do at Hennessey Digital, to measure performance and track progress over time.

        6. They don’t follow ethical practices.

As a lawyer, you understand the importance of ethics, honesty, and transparency when dealing with others. Cheap SEO companies often use unethical tactics such as keyword stuffing, link buying, and hidden text, to try and get quick results. These tactics can lead to penalties from Google and other search engines. SEO for lawyers can be costly because doing it ethically involves not only the knowledge but the resources to create a successful strategy.

        7. They don’t take responsibility for their mistakes.

When hiring an SEO company, you need to make sure they will fix any issues if they occur and understand the reality of SEO. Otherwise, you could end up losing money and wasting time.

Low Prices May Indicate Low-Quality Work

Lower prices might mean cutting corners, fewer resources, or using tactics that are not in line with industry best practices, which can result in poor results or penalties from search engines.

These tactics, called “black hat” SEO, may include keyword stuffing, cloaking, and link schemes. And while tactics may produce short-term gains, they can ultimately lead to poor results which can be costly and time-consuming to recover from. Choosing an SEO company that uses ethical, white-hat tactics is vital to ensure the best long-term results.

“White hat” SEO tactics are those that follow industry best practices and adhere to search engine guidelines. And again, while these tactics may take longer to produce results, they are more sustainable and are less likely to result in penalties.

Key Takeaways

Your law firm needs an SEO strategy that will help you attract new clients.

Find an agency partner that has a:

  1. Proven track record:

    A company that has a team of experienced SEO professionals well-versed in the latest industry best practices and techniques and a deep understanding of what it takes to succeed in the highly competitive world of law firm SEO with the results to back it up. You should also inquire whether they have any law firm SEO case studies.

  2. Comprehensive services:

    Offering a range of SEO services to meet the needs of its clients. From on-page optimization and technical SEO to content creation and link building, with the expertise to handle all aspects of law firm SEO. This comprehensive approach ensures that all aspects of your law firm’s online presence are optimized for search engines.

  3. Customized strategies:

    Recognizing that every law firm is unique with its own goals and challenges and takes the time to understand their client’s needs and develop customized strategies to achieve success. They work closely with their clients to identify their specific goals and develop a plan to achieve them, ensuring that their efforts are focused and effective.

Choosing a company based solely on cost can be risky. These companies may be cutting corners or using tactics that are not in line with industry best practices, which can ultimately result in poor results or penalties from search engines. It is essential to consider other factors, such as the company’s experience, track record, and the specific services they offer, in addition to price when selecting an SEO company. By choosing an SEO company that uses ethical, “white hat” tactics, you can ensure the best long-term results for your law firm.

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5 Reasons Your Business Needs Call Tracking https://hennessey.com/blog/5-reasons-your-business-needs-call-tracking/ Fri, 20 Jan 2023 10:30:29 +0000 https://hennessey.com/?p=14507 Your phone rings at the office and on the other end is a potential new customer. That’s ROI from somewhere in your marketing or lead generation efforts – but do you know with certainty from where? There is a lot to consider when implementing a digital marketing strategy to increase your company’s online presence. Do ...

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Your phone rings at the office and on the other end is a potential new customer. That’s ROI from somewhere in your marketing or lead generation efforts – but do you know with certainty from where?

There is a lot to consider when implementing a digital marketing strategy to increase your company’s online presence. Do you have a website that converts and is easy to navigate? What is your Pay Per Click Advertising strategy? Do you understand how to optimize content for SEO purposes?

Of all the things you need to do with your online and offline marketing strategies to yield results, one thing that should be high on the list of importance is call tracking.

I sat down with Hennessey Digital’s Director of Analytics Brandon Caballero to get his expert opinion on why you should implement call tracking on your company’s website.

What Is Call Tracking?

To put it simply, call tracking is an easy attribution tool that is incredibly helpful in measuring your online marketing performance, especially SEO. It’s important when it comes to your analytics because using unique phone numbers helps you pinpoint where online and offline leads originate. Did the caller find you through a Google landing page, direct mail, or a billboard? Just like we’re able to attribute a lead from chat on your website or a lead form submission, using metrics from call tracking enables you to do the same thing.

Why Is Call Tracking Important?

Call tracking is important from a marketing perspective so that you know the source of a call and can attribute it back to the correct channel. If 70-90% of your leads come in from phone calls, knowing what strategies and marketing dollars are driving leads are valuable insights to leverage. If you’re not already using call tracking, here are 5 reasons why you should start right away:

  1. Increased level of transparency into your marketing performance

Consider this scenario – a potential client is talking to your intake team and shares that they found you by looking you up. But where? And in what way – by name, by location, by need, or by service? With call tracking, the data coming from the phone number used in that campaign can show that the caller found you from your Google Business Profile.

When it comes to consumer behavior, shopping around in the legal industry is quite different than shopping around on Amazon. When a potential client lands on a page on your website, they usually don’t click through 8-9 pages before making a call. The consumer journey is shorter. For law firms, our data shows that a potential client will land on one page and then go to the attorney bios, a case results page, or your contact us page, and call from there. This is why attributing where they see you online and calling from is so important.

  1. Minimal cost for maximum outcome

“The benefits of implementing this type of service on your website is astronomical while the costs are negligible,” Brandon notes when considering if it fits in your budget. To get started using call tracking you receive a handful of numbers to cover various channels, such as organic, paid search, Google Business Page locations, and legal directories. The cost includes a charge for the physical numbers and is dependent on how many numbers you have, but typically runs only $10-20/mo and then a charge of pennies per minute for the length of the call.

While call tracking typically is affordable, if your firm receives thousands of calls, the cost per month would be higher than a firm that doesn’t. “If call tracking metric costs increase for your company and those calls result in qualified leads, this means people are seeing your marketing – which means more business,” says Senior Director of Marketing Cindy Kerber Spellman. “If you care about the efficiency of your marketing, and the ROI for your different strategies, this incremental spend is all worth it.”

If you care about the efficiency of your marketing, and the ROI for your different strategies, this incremental spend is all worth it.

And if you’re looking for ways to minimize this expense, there are ways to do so. You could use call tracking for specific campaigns or to track organic traffic or paid media traffic, for example. Keep in mind, however, that turning these features off for other campaigns would mean you wouldn’t be able to attribute all leads back to their source.

  1. Measuring the performance of your Google Business Page listings

When people search using a branded term such as your company’s name or do a more generic search such as “car accident lawyer,” oftentimes they’ll call your business listing if you rank high on the SERP.

The problem, though, is that if you have your main office phone number listed here that is a non-tracked number, it’s difficult to differentiate how the caller discovered you, whether they were referred by a friend or if they found you through a search and placed the call.

  1. Measure paid search leads with more accuracy

Paid Search is not like SEO where you own the content and it can bear fruit six months down the road. (Have we mentioned that SEO is a long-term strategy?!) Without any form of tracking on phone numbers, it can be complicated to see how effective your paid ads are at driving leads or calls. Brandon explains that, “Paid search works like this – if your PPC campaign is live and someone searches for a term included in your campaign,  your ad is eligible to show. If they click your ad, that cost, for example, could be anywhere from $30-150. So if you’re paying $75 per click, you want to know every time someone calls off that click, and that’s what call tracking makes possible.”

  1. Helps you align marketing efforts back to sales dollars

Instead of wondering what channel is working, know what channel is working. With the correct attributions, you can have a full understanding of what is driving your call volume and revenue. Is it your Google Business Page, PPC, or website? You can also see which pages on your website the potential client was last on before making the phone call. This is helpful when looking at what new content needs to be written as opposed to updating old content for SEO.

Examples When Marketing, Sales, and Analytics Align

“Just like you wouldn’t go into the courtroom and rely only on eyewitness testimony, you need other views of data when it comes to analytics,” says Brandon. “With call tracking you have hard facts. This person searched for this term, landed on this page, spent this much time, and called four minutes later. This joins all marketing efforts and sales results in perfect harmony.”

At Hennessey Digital, we’ve seen our clients benefit from call tracking data. One client came to us wanting to know the cost per case from their digital marketing. We were able to determine that number by looking over a year’s worth of data and matching it up with their intake data, the number of new cases, and call tracking data. Our analytics team can look at the first time a call comes into the office and when the first intake record takes place. If the first call is before the intake or on the same date as the intake, we can determine with high confidence what actions are related and use that in attributing leads and new business to marketing activity.

Another example happened when a client felt that they received the majority of their calls off of branding efforts. On the offset, we couldn’t directly tie every case to brand versus non-brand searches, but we looked at data from Google Business Profiles and saw that far more people were doing discovery searches versus direct searches with the company name. For example, this means more people were searching for “car accident lawyer” instead of the specific law firm. We then took that information and looked at all of the calls that came in and saw that 75% of calls originated from non-branded searches. We then looked at the total amount of cases attributed to Google Business Pages. In reality, the data showed that non-branded searches were how the client was getting cases versus branding searches.

Key Takeaways

In a nutshell, call tracking makes your job easier because it gives insights into the effectiveness of your digital marketing spend. Allocating a few marketing dollars to track uniquely-generated phone numbers makes the attribution process simpler and your marketing efforts more efficient, without diminishing brand recognition or familiarity of a vanity number. Without a clear understanding of where your clients are coming from, the way you attribute these leads will not be accurate. Making accurate connections clearly identifies what is working in your marketing efforts, which makes your business better at reaching new customers.

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