2016 is going to be the year of mobilization, voice search optimization, and online reputation management. Are you ready?
Are you ready to make 2016 your best year yet? You’re on top of your 2015 marketing game (or we hope you are if you’ve been reading our blog!), but it’s not enough to be on trend – you want to be of the trends to make a real difference in your law firm’s bottom line. Let’s start by identifying the marketing trends for law firms moving into the new year and beyond.
1. Mobilization Will Explode
In May of last year, Google announced that mobile traffic had officially overtaken traffic from laptops and desktops. That’s huge. That means mobile optimization is more important than desktop optimization – and has been for awhile. No more shrugging when your web developer tells you the mobile site is a little glitchy—you need to look at your mobile responsiveness.
Start thinking like your mobile users. You can ask friends and family to review your website or implement an anonymous user test for even more feedback. Make sure that you can find the practice areas, blog articles, and contact information that you want on your firm’s mobile site. Double-check that every button, link, etc. works on all mobile devices correctly. For example, if you have a “Call Now!” button, make sure it actually dials when you press it! Note any areas of your site that lack conversion opportunities, and get proactive about filling those holes for savvy mobile users.
2. The Importance of Online Reviews Will Increase
Most people read several online reviews before deciding whether or not to contact a law firm. If the majority of reviews they read are negative, they will move on to another law firm whose reviews are more flattering.
These days, consumers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation. That means your online reviews have to be exceptional, or your business will suffer. Your online reputation can be managed by consistently monitoring your social media platforms, engaging with your clients, and addressing the feedback they leave for you.
Responding appropriately to negative reviews can be almost as effective as a positive review. Apologize, be civil and professional, and give the disgruntled client a solution or a way to contact you personally. It gives the negative review less credibility, and it humanizes your firm.
If you have multiple or chronic bad reviews, you might consider consulting a professional marketing agency about a reputation management program. Remember, you don’t have to wait till you have bad reviews—it’s better to be proactive so you can avoid a problem in the first place.
3. Voice Search
The use of Siri (Apple’s voice recognition software and “personal assistant”) and other voice search platforms skyrocketed in 2015, and we don’t expect it to slow down in the coming year. Optimizing for voice search is the future of SEO. Most law firms aren’t utilizing this method of SEO yet, so you can put yourself ahead of the competition if you act quickly.
With the rise of voice search comes the growth of more conversational search queries. People are talking to their devices like they would an actual person. Try optimizing for phrases like “Who is the best personal injury attorney in Smallville?” instead of the more robotic “personal injury attorney Smallville.”
Dust up on your understanding of rich snippets and structured data, which pull relevant bites of information from your site into marked boxes to answer Google queries as quickly as possible. Also confirm that your directory listings and social profiles are as accurate as possible. Make sure that your street names are spelled correctly so Siri can match them to the correct map listings. There is nothing more frustrating than finding out—too late—that your potential clients are being sent to the wrong address or phone number.
If you would like to learn how to apply the latest marketing trends for law firms, contact Kirkpatrick Creative at 866-864-9425 to schedule a free consultation.