Other law firms will do anything (ethical or unethical) to steal leads from you. Stop bleeding leads by applying these three bulletproof digital branding strategies. 

When I am researching a law firm’s digital strategy and see that their brand name has an average cost-per-click of at least two digits, it tells me two things. Number one, the law firm has been running brand-awareness campaigns—think TV, radio, etc. Number two, other law firms in their market are running campaigns targeting their opposition’s brand name as a keyword. When spending thousands of dollars in online campaigns, you want to make sure that when future clients are searching your law firm’s name, they will find you before they find anybody else. Here are three pieces of advice on how to help you achieve that.

Advice #1: Set up a Google Ads Branding Campaign

We should never forget that Google won’t miss an opportunity to sell ads for keywords that are driving valuable traffic. Google understands that if your brand name is driving traffic from users who are interested in a particular practice area, it should show ads of other law firms who are willing to pay to get those clicks.

Tip: Set up a branding campaign on Google Ads. Don’t just add your brand name to the keywords of a general campaign, as that could eat the budget of other ads targeting high-intent users. Because of relevancy, your branding campaigns should have a high click-through rate and therefore cost you less than they would for another law firm. Monitor the campaigns’ performance and make sure you are showing up at the top of the page, and adjust your budget until you can secure that top-of-page positioning.

Advice #2: Pick up the phone

Sometimes, what seems to be a complex problem can be solved with simple action, like picking up the phone and making a call. If you notice that when your brand name is being Googled, another law firm’s ad is showing up, a good first step is to simply ask them to stop.

Tip: Pick up the phone or send an email to the managing partner of the law firm and say something like this: “It has been brought to my attention that your firm’s marketing provider is using my firm name in your pay-per-click marketing efforts. I respectfully request that you please stop doing this, as it can be confusing to my clients/potential clients.” You’ll be surprised how effective this is, especially in smaller markets.

Advice #3: Make it hard for Google

f you are searching in Google for a respected and well-known brand like Louis Vuitton, Google will most likely serve the organic listing of Louis Vuitton at the top of the page. Why? Google cares about making money selling ads, but it knows that its reputation as a search engine relies on its ability to effectively and accurately meet users’ needs. While there might be other luxury retailers interested in capturing my attention with their ad, Louis Vuitton makes it hard for Google not to serve me their listing by ensuring that they are the most relevant result. Make Google do the same with your law firm.

Tip: The more Google understands that your law firm is the only one that can satisfy a user’s search query on your brand name, the more chances you will get to showcase your organic listings. That’s right, not just your website, but actual listings. You need to get your NAP (name, address, and phone) consistently listed on the top-ranked directories. You should be the only law firm showing up organically when a user searches for your brand name.

You cannot always control how others target your brand name to try to generate leads. However, you can make yourself stand out from the competition by being the most relevant and easy to find. Remember that in Google Ads, it is perfectly acceptable for a competitor to target your brand name as a keyword. However, if they are using your brand name in their actual copy, that is trademark infringement, and you can report it.

If you think a competitor might be using your brand name or would like to know if your brand name is at risk of being targeted, feel free to reach out, and we’ll be happy to help! And don’t worry, we stand by our no-pitching promise ?