Amid COVID-19, we’ve all seen our lives change in every possible way that we couldn’t have predicted. The pandemic has inevitably affected Law Firms in every practice area, among them those that handle Workers Compensation cases. What’s its impact, though, for WC Attorneys investing in Pay Per Click?  

A few months ago, in August, we published our first article for WC PPC and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Looking back at this blog, we covered the search volumes for high-intent keywords in English and Spanish; we reviewed Attorneys’ reactions. We explained why withdrawing from your Law Firm’s digital marketing strategy would be a bad idea (on the contrary, consolidating your efforts proved to make the difference for those who didn’t act in fear). Today, we’re back with Vol. 2. We’ll review what happened based on the updated data we have access to, we’ll look at the recent search volumes for bilingual Attorney PPC, and we’ll explore the most suitable opportunities for WC Law Firms that want to increase their caseload. Stay tuned. That’s your best chance to invest as we’re approaching the end of the year.

  • Recapping March-August.

In August, we started by looking at some of the most prominent keywords for WC Attorneys who want to invest in PPC. We looked at the search volumes provided by Google Ads, in English and Spanish. At first, we reviewed “work injury Attorney” and “work injury Attorney near me.” The more specific phrase indicated no drop, not even in March-April, while on the other hand, it recorded a yearly high for three consecutive months, May-July. The more general phrase registered a drop in March and April, to start recovering in May, reaching pre-COVID-19 volumes in July. The big picture was almost the same for another high intent phrase, “Workers Comp Attorney.” An initial drop, with a recovery and stabilization phase, especially in June and July. We then looked at the Spanish WC PPC phrase “abogado de accidente en el Trabajo.”

April began with a dip in volumes, but the recovery was rapid, and with a few ups and downs, we reached a peak in June with stabilization in July. What’s crucial to mention here is that despite the overall rise in desktop traffic, mobile dominated the search queries, especially in Spanish PPC. And now the million-dollar question. Who was right, the Law Firms that withdrew and stopped or paused their Bilingual Google Ads or those who didn’t pull the plug? Based on our hands-on experience, we saw some of our clients reporting a few of their best months during the previously mentioned period. That resulted from people pulling out of PPC, leaving the cases to those who acted proactively and strategically. These Law Firms saw more prospective clients coming in as a result of improved Quality Score, lower CPCs due to reduced competition, and steady search volumes.

Tip: Have you heard of Google LSAs? They can be a great addition to your Law Firm PPC, but they aren’t a standalone strategy. One of the most prominent reasons is that you don’t have any customization option, and they are not available for Spanish-speaking searchers.

  • What are the latest evolutions?

We’re in the post-election period, approaching the end of the year, and unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet over. The second wave is hitting most US states, and it seems to be severe, needing attention and proper handling. Inevitably, all these have affected Law Firms and their digital marketing. After summer, in August and September, we monitored several Law Firms that restarted their bilingual Google Ads after pulling off during the first months of the pandemic. How did all these facts and events impact Google Ads for Workers Comp Attorneys? Let’s find out, starting with the most recent search volumes.

The latest evolutions of Search Volumes:

  • We’ll first monitor what’s been happening in the Google Search volumes for the phrase “work injury attorney” across the US. Note that it might also include closely related keywords. What do we see here? Since the initial drop that we previously explained, the interest and search volumes have been continually rising. October has signified a rolling year high for the particular phrase. Interest seems to remain high, with people having more time to look into their potential cases. That might sometimes mean a more extended research period, but with the proper intake strategy for your Law Firm, you can maximize your chances for an increased caseload.

  • The next keyword we’ll look into is the more specific “Workers Compensation Attorney Near Me.” Search volumes are lower, but the intent is even higher. The overall picture remains the same, with a dip in March-April, that didn’t last long. Since May, we’ve been seeing a rise in volumes, and September has been one of the best months in recent years.

  • What has been happening in terms of WC Google Ads in Spanish? The phrase we’re going to review is “Abogado de accidente en el trabajo, one of the highest intent phrases for WC Attorneys that want to invest in Spanish PPC for their Law firm. The first thing one will notice is that we’re talking about lower volumes than the previous keywords in English. March and especially April were in decline, following a few months at the beginning of the year that were very promising, with increased search volumes. Similar to what we saw in English, the downward trend stopped in May, giving its place to a rise in the interest in the coming months, stabilizing volumes in the levels of January-February of 2020.  As we always do, we have to mention mobile traffic here. Hispanics are mobile power users, which is evident in the graph below. If you look at the red line, mobile search volume stands for more than ⅔ of the total, making it even more valuable.

During the first wave, the world of digital marketing saw a lot of Law Firms pulling out from their campaigns to cut costs. Others decided to stay dedicated to their long-term strategy and keep investing in what brings them value, a great ROI, and ultimately new cases. Our experience taught us that this is the time to sustain growth and not act in fear. Most of our clients stayed active and saw their conversions take off. It’s not an exaggeration to mention that several had a few of their best months during that period. That’s a result of several factors, including limited competition and better CPCs.

Tip: Use landing pages for your PPC campaigns. They allow you to convey the right message to the right prospective clients, maximizing your chances for conversions.

Don’t forget: Social media are on a constant rise, make sure that you make the most out of them, either in terms of Facebook organic posting or Ads, or Instagram organic or ads.

Time for our takeaways:

  • Our top takeaway is to stay proactive. Keep your Law Firm’s sustainable growth in mind and keep investing in yielding the best ROI for your practice.
  • Google Ads, in Spanish and English, is the best choice for WC Law Firms that want to stay competitive.
  • Search volumes have recovered, and we are monitoring a stable upward trend.