Divorce Lawyer Marketing Guide

Marketing for Divorce Lawyers

Divorce lawyers should be focused on serving clients, yet you also need new clients to keep your firm alive and thriving. Creating a digital marketing strategy that taps into the market and brings those clients to you is essential.

Since marketing for divorce lawyers can be very time-consuming and requires expert strategy, do the necessary groundwork to determine who you’re marketing to and how you’ll reach them. Then think about what professionals you can hire to get the most out of every marketing activity. Over time, you’ll measure marketing results and make adjustments as needed, learning what serves your firm best.

Define Your Target Audience

As a family lawyer, you’re faced with various smaller target audiences, and honing in on specific demographics can enhance the effectiveness of your marketing endeavors. Here are examples of relevant target audiences for different lawyers:

Young individuals planning their wedding who seek guidance on structuring a prenuptial agreement.
Individuals seeking a collaborative divorce, characterized by mutual agreement with their spouse on key issues.
Parents concerned about the impact of domestic violence allegations during divorce proceedings.
Parents apprehensive about engaging in high-conflict divorce proceedings.
Each of these clients possesses distinct inquiries and requirements. By refining your focus and defining your clientele, you can distinguish yourself amidst the messaging of other firms, capturing the attention of your target audience effectively.

Who Will You Target?

If you’ve previously served clients at a broad level or find it challenging to narrow down your focus in marketing, consider the following questions:

How did your previous clients discover your services?
What commonalities existed among your past cases or clients?
What unique aspects characterized these cases or clients?
Which cases did you find most fulfilling, and why?
Which clients expressed the highest satisfaction with your services?
You can also assess the cases in which you’ve achieved the greatest success to determine your niche as a family lawyer. For instance, if you’ve received positive feedback for advocating fiercely for clients’ best interests in property division, you could specialize in representing high net worth individuals with substantial assets at stake during divorce proceedings.

By gaining clarity on your direction, you’ll be better equipped to tailor your messaging to resonate with your ideal clients.

Where Do They Go for Answers to Their Problems?

Once you’ve identified your target client, it’s crucial to consider how they seek answers to their questions. Do they seek assistance on social media platforms? Do they conduct online research on topics related to their legal issues?

Divorce lawyers may have two distinct types of clients requiring different marketing strategies.

For instance, a spouse who has been served divorce papers may need to make a prompt decision and seek legal counsel from a reputable attorney known for vigorous advocacy.

This differs from a client who spends several months deliberating whether divorce is the right option before scheduling a consultation with a lawyer. Assess whether one type of client is more prevalent than the other in terms of where they seek solutions to their problems.

While determining the most suitable marketing channels can be challenging, experienced family lawyers understand the value of seeking assistance from a seasoned marketing team. If you’re uncertain about which marketing channels are best suited for your family law firm, consulting with a marketing agency can provide valuable insights.

In general, both organic and paid marketing channels can be effective for family lawyers.

Organic Channels

Organic channels encompass platforms such as social media, word-of-mouth referrals, and search engines. While they typically take longer to yield results compared to paid advertising, they often prove to be more cost-effective in the long term.

This is because outcomes from organic channels tend to snowball. For instance, as your website climbs in Google search rankings, it becomes easier to maintain that position and attract high-quality traffic. Conversely, the immediate benefits of paid ads may diminish over time, particularly if competitors with larger ad budgets outbid you.

Achieving success with organic channels requires a clear strategy and a systematic approach to analyzing results. This is often best accomplished with the assistance of an external marketing team.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Both clients served with divorce papers and those seeking information about the divorce process typically begin their research online, often using their smartphones. Securing a prominent position on the first page of search results for relevant keywords is crucial, and this requires a dedicated investment in SEO.

Research indicates that only 9% of users scroll to the bottom of the first page of search results. Therefore, it’s essential to develop a comprehensive strategy for targeting the right keywords to achieve goals in three key areas:

Content Marketing: Creating original, high-quality content that not only improves search engine rankings but also provides valuable information for potential clients.

On-Page SEO: Optimizing each page of your website by providing relevant details, which increases the likelihood of ranking higher in Google searches.

Link Building/Off-Page SEO: Cultivating links from other websites to your content, demonstrating to Google the authority and reliability of your website.

Since all three elements are crucial for SEO success, it’s advisable to enlist the services of professionals with a proven track record in law firm SEO. The top divorce lawyers prioritize partnering with reputable SEO experts to achieve desired results, and you can do the same.

Local SEO

Local SEO plays a pivotal role in ensuring your law firm appears prominently in search results for your target clientele within your local area. By aligning your local SEO strategy effectively, you can attract high-quality leads from your vicinity and subsequently convert them into clients. Search engines consider various factors when ranking law firms in local search results, necessitating a strategic approach to optimization.

Given the long-term nature of client relationships in legal matters, focusing on specific neighborhoods or suburbs can streamline accessibility for clients attending appointments over extended periods. For instance, if your divorce law firm is situated on the east end of a city and you’re losing potential clients residing on the west side due to lengthy commutes, directing your marketing efforts towards local areas can be beneficial.

Establishing your law firm as a prominent presence within a specific locality enhances your prospects with local SEO. Leveraging law firm directory listings, review platforms like Avvo, and Google My Business can optimize your online visibility and drive favorable outcomes in local search rankings.

Paid Channels

While organic efforts typically yield optimal results in the long term, they require patience before seeing significant outcomes. If you seek faster results in the short term, paid channels can be advantageous. Paid channels operate on payment models based on impressions, clicks, or leads generated.

If considering paid channels, it’s advisable to consult with a specialized legal marketing expert to strategize your budget and overall approach. Since organic traffic remains essential for long-term success, it’s crucial not to overlook these methods while investing in paid channels.

Social Media Advertising

Social media advertising poses challenges for divorce lawyers. Unlike other services, individuals typically don’t publicly announce their divorce considerations on platforms like Facebook or Instagram. There’s no feature like an “interest” button to indicate their need for a family lawyer.

Consequently, the pool of potential clients who may require a divorce lawyer upon seeing the ad is limited, reducing the effectiveness of local area targeting.

Alternative strategies, such as utilizing Google Ads for selected keywords or focusing on organic search, may offer more effective avenues to reach qualified family law clients.

Google Local Service Ads (Pay-Per-Lead Advertising)

With pay-per-lead ads, you can elevate your law firm to the top of search listings, featuring a photo, firm name, operating hours, years in business, and a snapshot of your Google review profile. This approach is particularly effective if your firm has a strong track record on Google, instilling trust in potential clients.

Pay-Per-Click Advertising

Attract attention from qualified leads searching for relevant terms through pay-per-click ads. With pay-per-click (PPC), you target valuable keywords and phrases in your local area using a bidding system. While Google assists in this process, success with pay-per-click requires an excellent family law firm website and additional strategies to convert viewers into potential clients.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is a widely discussed topic among lawyers, but it often underperforms for family lawyers. Many individuals are hesitant to engage with a lawyer’s newsletter, especially regarding personal matters such as divorce decisions. Moreover, receiving an email newsletter at a personal or work email address may not feel private enough for many recipients. Given the considerable effort required to develop a compelling email strategy for a law firm and the limited results it offers, this tactic may be better disregarded.

Determine Your Value Proposition, Messaging, and Positioning

Simply having a successful track record in family law isn’t always enough to distinguish your firm in the competitive market. To stand out, you must identify what sets your law practice apart from others in the area. If you’re struggling to pinpoint your uniqueness, consider these steps:

Review feedback from past clients: Identify any recurring themes or trends in their comments.

Reflect on your own strengths and how they contribute to your law practice.

Seek input from colleagues regarding what they perceive as distinctive about your firm compared to others.

Selecting a unique value proposition and crafting the right messaging is more than just an exercise—it’s a critical aspect of your marketing strategy. Your chosen message should resonate with you and be consistently integrated throughout your marketing efforts.

Set a Budget

There’s no shortage of ideas about what you could do to market your divorce law firm, but there is a limit to what you should spend. Finding the right mix of activities that deliver results and a good return on investment is vital. Make sure your lawyer marketing plan matches the budget available.

According to a 2020 survey by the American Bar Association, less than half of law firms with under nine lawyers had a marketing budget, and only 64% of bigger firms use a formal marketing budget. Create one to track outcomes and maximize your spending.

Don’t forget that your budget should include costs such as freelancers, marketing agencies, ad spend, and software, if needed.

Build a Fast, Modern Website

Regardless of whether you’re primarily leveraging organic, paid channels, or a blend of both, having a user-friendly and polished website is essential. Given that other channels direct traffic to your website, it’s crucial to design it with the viewer in mind.

Since you’ve already invested effort into crafting a clear marketing message, ensure that it permeates throughout your website, particularly in taglines, the homepage, and the about us page. Additionally, incorporate feedback and case outcomes from real clients along the way to reinforce your core messages.

Mobile-First

According to research gleaned from Google’s Benchmarking data, mobile devices account for over 60% of website traffic. Ensuring that your website is easily readable and navigable, even on smaller screens, is imperative.

Conduct thorough testing to confirm that your website maintains its visual appeal and functionality on mobile devices, thus maximizing your potential to attract clients from various platforms.

Optimized for Search

Each page of your divorce lawyer website serves a specific purpose, but they should all be designed to effectively communicate important information to search engines. This includes elements such as title tags, meta descriptions, and alt tags on images, among others.

Optimizing a divorce lawyer website with numerous pages can be challenging, but the benefits of doing so are significant in terms of effectively conveying the right signals to Google. With years of experience in optimizing law firm websites, Rankings.io ensures that each aspect of your website is optimized for optimal performance.

Live Chat Features

While providing informative content on your website is crucial, it’s equally important to offer a means for viewers to engage in real-time conversation. A live chat tool can swiftly address various questions that prospective clients may have, fostering immediate engagement and communication.

For instance:

What are the filing fees for a divorce?

Are you currently accepting new clients?

Do you have experience with business assets in divorce cases?

Live chat functionality provides an instant point of contact, making viewers feel valued and attended to.

Clear Calls to Action

When a visitor reads through your website and finds helpful information, it’s vital to guide them towards the next logical step. Without clear direction, you risk losing potential leads.

Every page of your website should feature a prominent and concise call to action. The goal is to provide relevant and helpful information tailored to the visitor’s needs at that moment.

For example, if a blog article discusses property division, you might direct readers to a checklist of common assets involved in divorce. Alternatively, you could prompt them to schedule a consultation call to discuss their specific situation further.

Ensure that your call to action is both helpful and relevant, addressing the reader’s immediate needs and guiding them towards further engagement.

Trust Signals

Since you’ve already delved into your reviews to identify unique value propositions, it’s essential to integrate this data throughout your website. For instance, if “great communication” consistently emerges from client feedback, consider how to emphasize this aspect across various website sections. Here are some examples:

“You’ll exclusively work with your primary attorney, ensuring consistent updates at every stage of your case.”

“Receive a weekly email summarizing your case progress and upcoming steps.”

“We promptly notify you of any developments, empowering you to make informed decisions.”

This approach breaks down the overarching concept of effective communication into tangible examples, resonating with potential clients.

In the following example, the law firm highlights “intense case preparation” and exceptional outcomes, underscoring their exclusive focus on family law.

Build Awareness & Generate Demand

Establishing your law firm as the premier choice in your local divorce market requires capturing and generating demand well in advance of potential clients requiring legal services. This strategy is particularly effective for family lawyers, as individuals contemplating divorce may take considerable time before seeking legal counsel. During this period, consistently positioning your firm as a reliable source of information and services can greatly influence decision-making. By employing a combination of tactics outlined below, you can enhance both awareness and demand for your firm.

Consider implementing Google Ads, content marketing, Google My Business firm reviews, link building, and social media posts to stimulate demand for your law firm.

Tactic #1 Google Ads

Utilize Google Ads to ensure prominent visibility for relevant phrases and keywords, driving traffic to your website. However, an effective conversion from viewer to prospective client necessitates a well-optimized website.

Tactic #2 Content Marketing

Create informative content tailored to your target audience and share it on your website to attract quality leads. Content marketing is particularly valuable for addressing common misconceptions and providing insights into family law issues.

Tactic #3 Google My Business Reviews

Leverage your Google My Business profile to showcase pertinent details and client feedback. Positive reviews from satisfied clients substantiate your firm’s capabilities and reinforce key marketing messages.

Tactic #4 Link Building

Establish credibility for your website by securing backlinks from reputable sources. Additionally, contribute guest posts to relevant websites to further enhance your online presence.

Tactic #5 Posting on Social Media

Engage your audience on social media platforms by creating compelling content. While social media posts with external links may be suppressed, focus on creating engaging content that drives traffic to your website or Google My Business profile.

Each of these tactics contributes to building awareness and generating demand for your family law firm, ensuring your firm remains top-of-mind for prospective clients.

Capture Leads Through Your Selected Channel

Once you’ve attracted viewers and readers through your chosen channels, it’s crucial to convert them into potential clients. This can be achieved through various methods such as intake forms, live chat features, or scheduling consultations directly from your website. The key is to foster deeper engagement and trust beyond mere consumption of content, ultimately encouraging them to take the next step towards seeking your legal services.

Measure Results and Adjust Accordingly

Effective marketing for family lawyers requires continual analysis and adjustment to optimize results. Regularly collect data and review it to identify trends and performance metrics. If you notice that certain channels are outperforming others, consider reallocating resources or adjusting strategies accordingly. It’s essential to align any changes with your overarching marketing plan and goals to ensure you’re driving towards the desired outcomes.

Seeking a Partner for Divorce Law Marketing Services

As a family lawyer, your primary focus should be on advocating for your clients and guiding them through challenging legal processes. Partnering with an external marketing agency can provide valuable expertise and support in developing effective marketing strategies to attract potential clients to your firm. By leveraging the assistance of a marketing partner, you can optimize your firm’s revenue growth while dedicating your time to serving your clients’ needs.