Implementing a digital marketing strategy that includes a strong PPC process is vital for law firms to succeed in the business world. Just as essential as SEO, PPC is the process of gaining website traffic by purchasing ads on various websites and search engines.
How Does PPC Work?
Pay per click advertising has many names, including: paid search ads, paid search advertising, PPC (pay-per-click), etc. PPC works by paying a set amount of money for people who click on an ad that then leads to your company website. Terms, pricing, and clicks can change and grow over time, and companies must constantly reevaluate whether their PPC goals are meeting company needs.
Google Adwords is one of the most popular paid search platforms that marketers use, immediately followed by Bing ads which mainly serve Yahoo. There are also many smaller, 2nd tier PPC platforms as well as PPC advertising options through other social media networks.
While each platform offers its own tips and guides to get started, it’s important to have a broader scope of why PPC is important and more importantly, what it can do to help law firms.
How Can My Law Firm Begin To Implement PPC?
Implementing a PPC strategy from the start can seem fairly time-intensive. However, once this process is complete it can prove very rewarding for your website and future growth. To begin, it’s important to establish a campaign structure, specifically one that focuses on realistic goals either separated by product or service group, geographic location or region, and seasonality. Campaign structures are uniquely important because they can help determine budgets, allocations, and future investments.
Creating ad groups after establishing a campaign structure helps ensure that each campaign is set up ideally to service particular subsections that the law firm would specifically like to target. Following that, setting ad targeting determines retargeting after someone visits your site. This campaign can target either the search network, display network, or a combination of both. Following creating ad words, it’s vital to conduct deep keyword research, which is the key to understanding how and what your potential clients are searching for. Companies should not assume what is being typed into the search bar by consumers; by using different resources companies can select keywords based on search volume, keyword relevancy, paid search competition, and market click cost.
As a great resource, Google’s keyword planner can help companies identify potential keywords and identify additional search terms that might have not been initially known. This resource also provides a tool to estimate bid costs and spend forecasts, a great resource for all businesses interested in expanding their online reach.
Adding negative keywords is also essential throughout the process; negative keywords saves money by preventing ads from showing on non-relevant search queries. Setting keyword match types further ensures with types impact ad serving, typically including: broad match, phrase match, exact match, and broad match modifier.
Finally, writing compelling and thoughtful ad copy that is unique to the specific law firm is a great way to include a call to action and give prospects a definite reason to click.
Pay-per-click advertising is a relatively new and ever-changing topic. Because of that, it’s essential to continually seek out new knowledge and tips to help expand you law firm’s PPC marketing strategy.
