By David 
In today’s market, having an established online presence is crucial for bringing in new clients, but in order to do that, you must have the right strategy.
There are two main strategies: search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click marketing (PPC). But how do you know which one is
right for your law firm? There are pros and cons with both, and you can even
mix the two. Here’s what you need to know.
Basics of Search Engine Optimization
(SEO)
Overall, SEO is more of a long-term approach. It’s all about
establishing a strong presence in the first few results of any search engine.
Being a top hit means that more people find your law firm.
SEO is also about developing organic traffic to your
website. What this means is that rather than paying for sponsored
advertisements and content, your law firm will appear naturally with the help
of keywords.
Keywords, in a sense, are the “important words” of a search.
For example, if a person was looking for a criminal defense attorney in New
York City, they may run a Google search that looks something like this:
“best criminal defense attorney in New York City”
Through SEO, catering companies that include the words
“best,” “criminal defense attorney,” and “New York City” are more likely to pop
up in the first few results. If you have specialties that you want to be known
for, you should include those keywords in your website.
Avoid any unnecessary content on your website and stick to
things that are truly relevant to your specialty for the best results. For
instance, if your specialty is family law, don’t include any content that
mentions criminal law.
Many law firms use marketing companies that produce blogs
with these keywords for their websites so that content is posted regularly to
boost their online visibility with SEO.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
While SEO produces results organically, PPC is essentially
paid advertisements which typically produce short-term results.
In order to run a PPC marketing campaign, you must choose
keywords specifically relevant to your firm and bid for them. Some keywords may
be in higher demand than others, so it largely depends on how much you’re
willing to pay for each click.
Then, once you secure a keyword, your website will be one of
the first to appear in a search. Others may use the same keywords, so you can
change them as the sponsored top hits become too crowded.
As the name implies, you do not have to pay for every ad
unless a person clicks on it. If they click on it, they will be directed to
your website for more information, which means you will have to pay for that
hit.
This is a great way to quickly build a base if you’ve just
started and you want to get the word out about your services, or to simply
increase traffic to your site.
Use Both
Of course, you don’t have to use one or the other; using
both SEO and PPC is a great way to get results quickly with the benefit of
long-term effects.
It really just depends on your marketing budget, but
supplementing SEO with PPC means building a stronger base faster, which can
kickstart your business’s success.
About Rahul Balaram:
Rahul Balaram worked
as a Public Defender for Solano County for many years and has represented hundreds of clients.
Most recently, he worked on the misdemeanor conflict panel representing
indigent clients. Rahul can be contacted at the Balaram Law Office in Santa
Rosa and is available for consultation by phone and text 24/7. He represents
his clients with dignity, compassion, and competence.
SME Paid Under
Headlines Team 
Adam