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Google is a law firm’s best friend

16 August 2024

Picture this: You park your car outside your home at 9pm on a Wednesday, ready to collapse after a long day at your firm. You reach for your keys. As you dig deeper into your pocket, you realise you’ve left them inside your house. You’re locked out. What do you do?

You Google ‘Locksmith Brisbane’. You ring the first three locksmiths that appear at the top of Google. Usually, you choose the one that gets back to you first.

Someone searching for legal advice is just like someone looking for a locksmith. They need help irregularly, but when they need it, it’s urgent. Whether it’s for a property transaction, a death in the family, a divorce, drunk driving or getting sued, they turn to Google to find a lawyer.

That’s why, as a law firm, it’s vital to be as close to the top of Google as possible.

Two ways to get to the top of Google

1. Pay to be at the top of Google (Google Ads or Pay-per-Click)
The first three to four results on Google often have ‘sponsored’ above them. These are Google Ads. Every time you click on one of them, that business pays Google. It’s an auction, and you win an ad spot based on your website’s relevance and your bid amount.

2. Organic Search (Search Engine Optimisation – SEO)
If you don’t want to pay for every click, you can optimise your website so Google recognises you as an authority in certain practice areas over time. There are three main components to ranking well in Google through SEO:

Content: SEO-optimised landing pages and high-quality blogs;
Backlinks: High-quality, relevant websites that link to your website;
Technical SEO: Proper site structure and accurate site titles.

Pros and cons of Google Ads versus SEO

Google Ads are a great short-term strategy. When done correctly, you can start to see a positive return on investment (ROI) within three to six weeks. The big benefit of SEO is that you don’t pay Google for every click. The downside is that it takes longer to see a positive ROI (usually four to eight months).

You can invest time into learning this yourself, but just as I wouldn’t advise you to learn how to pick a lock, I’d suggest leaving your firm’s growth on Google to experts.

If you want someone who specialises in optimising your digital footprint to rank highly on Google, check out Elite Legal Leads. We focus exclusively on digital marketing for law firms in Australia.

Our founder, Nick Higgins, is a lawyer from Brisbane who understands the unique needs of legal professionals. Let us help you grow your firm with effective digital marketing strategies.