How Your Law Firm Can
Capitalize on Branded Search
Generate more branded queries
Don’t just hope that consumers find your law firm’s site when searching for “car accident lawyer” in your market. Encourage them to come find you with your multi-channel marketing. Increase your visibility by leveraging your firm’s wins, honors or staff; implementing digital PR campaigns; getting involved in your community; or doing sponsorships or targeted media buys. The more visibility your brand has, the more your law firm will be top of mind - and the more queries you'll receive - when someone needs your service.
Optimize your legal website with branded terms to increase organic branded search traffic
Do your URL structure, title tags, and website copy include your branded terms? What other keyphrases are people using when searching with your branded terms? If your firm’s name is “The Smith Firm” but your billboards refer to you as “The Bulldog,” make sure that potential clients (and search engines!) can easily relate and connect your law firm's alternative branding. SEO for law firms is a valuable way to get more pages on your site ranking higher on Google and to convert these lower-funnel queries into leads.
Run a branded paid search campaign for your law firm
This research would be amiss if we didn’t talk about why a branded paid search campaign is a must for your law firm. Branded paid search bolsters your visibility when someone does a branded search for your firm. These PPC campaigns are a good way to protect your firm’s name and reputation because you have greater control over how your branding and message appear. If one of your attorneys gains recognition in your area, you can put this to work by incorporating their name alongside your firm’s name in your ad copy. This will leverage both your firm and their newfound popularity for increased visibility and credibility. Having both a branded PPC ad and an organic listing on the first page of the SERP gives you a competitive advantage.
Make use of remarketing for the legal industry
If you’ve already managed to bring someone to your site, remarketing ads offer a cost-efficient strategy to stay top-of-mind with prospects and reinforce your brand. Even if a prospect didn't reach out during their initial visit, remarketing allows you to reintroduce yourself and increase the chances of them conducting a branded search for your firm.
Make Local SEO a part of your law firm's digital marketing strategy
Thinking beyond your primary location is a valuable way to capture branded search traffic. Our research reveals if a firm is dominating their core market with branded search traffic, they’re likely to dominate branded traffic in each of the locations they have offices in. This suggests that a law firm’s ability to reach their target audience and build strong brand recognition is possible beyond their primary location with a robust Local SEO and content strategy.
Methodology
For this study, we analyzed the estimated branded search traffic from a sample of more than 15,000 law firm websites as measured by the SEO tool Semrush. The data reflects the monthly estimated branded search traffic for September 2023. The list included top personal injury law firms by DMA and firms in other practice areas selected to provide a comprehensive view of the overall competitive landscape for lawyers. Firms were ranked only if their headquarters are based in the cities listed in the study.
