Personal injury law firms face numerous challenges with new client acquisition in a crowded marketplace. A comprehensive law firm lead generation strategy is vital to bringing in a steady stream of new clients.

Lead generation is simply the process of bringing people through your physical or virtual doors. This gives them the chance to get to know you and provides you the opportunity to turn them into clients.

But there are quite a few personal injury law firms out there. How can you convince people who need a lawyer to choose you over a competitor?

Effective law firm lead generation requires a comprehensive strategy. Traditional advertising, such as billboards, print, or TV commercials, can help attract attention. But lead generation in today’s world requires you to build a strong online presence. SEO (search engine optimization) and digital marketing strategies for law firms are essential. 

Below, we will walk through six actionable tips to help you stand out from the crowd.

1. Evaluate your current lead generation strategy and performance

The first step is to assess where you stand today. What is your current lead generation strategy? Are you using a mix of advertising and marketing types, including online methods? Do you have a dedicated plan, or have you been trying different techniques to see what sticks?

What do your metrics show? What is your new client acquisition cost — that is, the dollar amount you have to spend to bring in each new client? Are you consistently generating well-qualified leads?

Use the answers to these questions to shape your plans for the future. Hold onto whatever is working well for you, and don’t be afraid to let go of strategies that aren’t meeting your needs.

2. Understand your client base

No law firm can be all things to all people. Obviously, for a personal injury law firm, marketing should be targeted to those who have been injured in some way. But how else can you stratify your existing client base? 

Do you mostly work with automobile accident victims? Do you handle a lot of workers’ compensation cases? Is there a particular demographic that tends to use your services, such as older women or men under 30? The more specifically you can identify your typical clients, the simpler it will be to tailor your marketing to people like them.

3. Simplify your website’s user experience

Your website is often the first place prospective clients land, so it’s essential to have a clear message and make a great first impression. That will give prospects the confidence that you are the right person to help them win a settlement.

However, many lawyers make some basic mistakes that keep their website from being an effective lead-generation tool. A common mistake is to stuff the website with wordy pages and complex layouts that can become confusing and even overwhelming.

Let simplicity be your guide as you think through how prospective clients might use your site.

User-friendly design principles

Always put yourself in your client’s shoes as you design your website. Most people are visiting your site at a terrible time in their lives. They’re injured, and they may be in pain. And this might be the first contact they have ever had with a lawyer. So what seems routine and obvious to you might be entirely outside their experience.

To make your law firm website more user-friendly, rely on these tried-and-true design principles, along with some specific to personal injury lawyers:

• Keep the look and feel consistent.
• Make it simple and easy to use.
• Ensure it is accessible to those with disabilities.
• Mention all the types of injury cases your firm handles.
• Include attorney and team member profiles.
• Mention your most notable wins, along with dollar settlements you’ve gotten for your clients.
• Add reviews from satisfied clients, along with any media coverage you’ve received.
• Dedicate a page explaining your process so prospective clients know what to expect.

If you’re not a web designer, you might want to consider consulting with someone who is. They can help you redesign your website for a more streamlined and user-friendly experience.

Basic SEO for law firms

SEO can seem confusing when you first start learning how it works. But it’s just a small collection of tools and strategies to make your website easier for Google and other search engines to read, index, and position in search results.

Let’s say you have a blog post on what to do immediately after a car accident. Search engines will send out crawlers (also known as spiders) to analyze that page, assess the value of its content, and follow any links. If another site links to your article, the spiders will note that as well. All this data is then compiled, helping search engines decide where to place your blog post in the rankings.

SEO is a complex topic, but basic SEO for law firms should focus on two main areas:

• Keywords: These tell the search engines what each web page is about. Choose keywords that people are searching for and weave them seamlessly into the copy in a way that matches search intent.
• Links: Links help search engines build connections (while also giving your readers additional sources of information). Link to credible, high-authority sources, as well as related pages on your site.

4. Share your expertise through engaging content

Content is king in digital marketing. For law firms, this means demonstrating your expertise in your specific practice area. 

For instance, write blog posts explaining how to file a workers’ comp claim or how to decide whether you need an attorney after a slip and fall. Create checklists of the steps involved in filing suit and taking a case to trial. Ask existing clients if they would be interested in making a short video or participating in a case study that analyzes what happened in their lawsuit. 

Post content at least twice a month, and always make it relevant to your target clients.

5. Engage prospective clients through social media

What do you know about social media marketing? For lawyers, it can feel like an alien world. 

Today’s consumers want to build ongoing relationships. Use your social media to promote the content you are already producing for your website. Create short, snappy posts on current events or comment on things happening around your firm (such as new hires or CSR activities). This is also an excellent place to post new client reviews or updates on your latest wins and settlements. Respond to comments promptly, and don’t be afraid to engage in conversations.

6. Build professional relationships and encourage client referrals

Your fellow attorneys can also serve as a valuable source of leads. Build professional relationships with lawyers in other jurisdictions and related areas of practice. Referring clients to each other when appropriate can help everyone succeed.

Boost your law firm lead generation with CloudLex

CloudLex is an all-in-one personal injury case management software solution. Our suite of applications helps personal injury law firms streamline every aspect of operations, all from a single platform. Our features and benefits include:

• Lead Management Status/Qualification: Turn more leads into clients with our one-click vetting and qualification process.
• Website Forms API Integration: Reach new clients and elevate your law practice with our intuitive, customizable forms.
• Chatbot: Our website chatbot helps you turn visitors into leads and intakes.

Plus, our expert blog series helps lawyers solve a wide range of business-related challenges. With CloudLex at your fingertips, you’ll be ready to take your lead generation strategy to the next level.