Did you know that 96% of people who need legal advice turn to the Internet for help?
Given the propensity of prospective clients to turn to Google first, a law firm can gain a competitive edge by leveling up its digital marketing efforts. A robust online presence allows your law firm to be discovered and create a positive first impression, even if you are a solo practitioner or a small firm.
This list outlines the top 9 law firm marketing tools we recommend for law firms that can help you attract new clients. The best part? Some of them are free!
1. Google Analytics
Google Analytics is one of the most powerful and essential tools for law firms. This tool is completely free and gives you advanced insights into your web traffic. Once you integrate it with your website, you will automatically get data about who is visiting your site, where they came from, what pages they visited, and even details about their age, gender, and location.
The possibilities with GA are virtually limitless. In addition to getting raw data about your visitors, you can also:
- Run reports for custom periods to monitor trends
- Discover the most popular pages and legal services on your law firm’s website
- Learn where your traffic is coming from (for example, advertising, social media, organic, or an external blog post)
2. Google Ads
Another free tool from Google is Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords). As a law firm marketing tool, Google Ads allows you to put your firm’s name in front of people actively searching online for what you do.
Though the tool is free, you will have to pay for advertising placements based on the keywords on which you are bidding. For example, if you are a personal injury attorney in Houston, Texas, you might “bid” on keyword phrases like “car accident attorney near me” or “personal injury attorney Houston.”
What makes this such a powerful marketing tool is that it allows you to reach someone with search intent as opposed to interrupting them with ad campaigns. Instead of a disruptive television or social media ad, your ads will appear in front of potential clients at the precise moment they are researching a solution.
This tool is an integral part of a law firm marketing strategy because it affords the following benefits:
- Appear at the top of Google search results immediately
- Control your marketing budget by bidding strategically on your most important search terms
- Employ advanced targeting for demographics, age, zip code, and more
- Track performance to see which ads attract more clients
3. Google Search Console
Google is the gift that keeps on giving, and Google Search Console is another digital marketing tool that is a must-have for any law firm website.
Like Google Analytics, Google Search Console delivers advanced insights about your website. The difference lies in the type of data you receive. While GA tells you how current and potential customers are interacting with your site, Google Search Console focuses more on search rankings and helping you maximize organic traffic.
The Google Search Console dashboard provides the following:
- Details about any security or mobile usage issues
- Issues or errors affecting your website’s performance
- Data about how your website ranks for your most vital keywords
4. Ubersuggest
Another free tool that is a must for your digital marketing toolbox is Ubersuggest. A law firm interested in ranking highly in the search engine space can use Ubersuggest to generate keyword ideas that elevate content marketing plans.
For example, instead of blindly writing blog posts to attract clients, Ubersuggest will “suggest” keywords and topics that are generating interest.
Some of the many pros of Ubersuggest, besides being a keyword research tool, include:
- Generate keyword ideas that are likely to attract target clients to your website
- Reverse engineer your competitors’ SEO strategy
- Prioritize which keywords you should focus on ranking for
- Get keyword suggestions based on your firm’s services
- See your average ranking in search results for your target keywords
- Monitor backlink data for a link building strategy
5. Hootsuite
81% of law firms have a social media presence, and leveraging social media platforms can be an ROI-positive way of attracting new clients while nurturing your current clients.
The problem that many smaller firms face with social media is the number of hours it can take to plan and post content. This is where Hootsuite comes in. Hootsuite is a social media dashboard that allows you to schedule social media posts in advance.
In addition to being able to create content in bulk, Hootsuite also allows a law firm to:
- Monitor what people are saying about your firm on social media
- Manage all of your social media messages in one place
- Stay on top of trends
- Centralize all of your social media accounts in a single dashboard
- Manage your media and content library of videos, high-quality photo albums, caption ideas, and hashtags
- Schedule posts in bulk (up to 350 at once)
- Track the success of your social media marketing efforts
6. WordPress
WordPress is a content management system that a law firm can use to build a website and create blog content. It is a free, open-source platform that has a low barrier to entry compared to building a completely custom website.
Though there are several content management systems available today, WordPress is free, and it is arguably more powerful and flexible than paid options for your legal practice.
With WordPress, you can:
- Create a fully customizable website with minimal effort that is easy to maintain
- Easily design lead generation and custom intake forms
- Build a mobile-friendly website that has built-in SEO functionality
- Choose from over 31,000 WordPress themes
7. ActiveCampaign
Many modern law firms have recognized email marketing as an effective strategy to nurture potential leads and convert them into paying clients.
There are various email marketing tools available, and each has its pros and cons. ActiveCampaign is a top-rated tool because it allows for segmentation and automation without a steep learning curve.
Law firms pay a monthly subscription based on the number of subscribers on their email list and any add-on features.
ActiveCampaign helps law firms with the following tasks to achieve their business goals:
- Lead generation to attract prospective clients
- Follow up tasks to prevent a lead from growing cold
- Segmentation based on behavior and interests
- Automation to ensure tasks and follow ups are completed
- One-off and serial email campaigns
- Live chat functionality on your website to answer the questions of potential clients
8. Ahrefs
Like Ubersuggest, Ahrefs helps with keyword research and competitive insights. As a law firm marketing tool, it is often used to gain competitive insights, including discovering which websites are linking to your competition.
The list of benefits that come with using Ahrefs is long, and includes:
- Identify low-competition keywords
- Discover which of your blog posts are the most popular
- Examine competitor backlinks
- Find out if your site has any broken links
- Get a site audit
- Conduct competitor research by getting insights into their organic and paid traffic
9. Facebook Business Manager
One way to ensure that you reach as many potential clients as possible is to add Facebook and Instagram advertising to your law firm marketing plan. Unlike organic social media, paying to advertise guarantees that your audience sees your message.
Facebook Business Manager is another of the free law firm marketing tools that top our list. It allows you to run paid advertisements on Facebook and Instagram as well as manage your organic content.
This tool continues to evolve and improve, and it gives you the option to:
- Assign user permissions to people inside and outside your organization
- Create and schedule paid and organic content
- Get performance insights for ads and posts
The bottom line
Having the right suite of law firm marketing tools in place can go a long way toward helping your practice reach its marketing goals. At Connective, we work extensively with law firms to help them outshine and outrank the competition.
To learn more about our services or schedule an initial consultation with our team of digital marketing experts, contact us.
