Page 9 - San Antonio Vol 1 No 1
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Geofencing uses location to target potential clients for advertisers. Applied to personal injury law  rms, this means drawing a digital “fence” or perimeter around certain locations, such as ERs, and target- ing ads to people who enter those fences with their phones on them.
BACKLASH AGAINST
GEOFENCING
Because geotarget- ing relies on what many see as a violation of privacy, some law- suits have been  led against market-
ing companies using these tactics. While geofencing doesn’t violate guidelines like HIPAA, some lawsuits have framed it as a violation of pa- tients’ privacy—a form of digital ha- rassment.  ey’re trying to heal, and they might not be looking for a law- yer at that moment. And they might not want law  rms and marketers to
know they’re ill or injured.
Even if geofencing hasn’t been chal-
lenged in your area, it can still hurt your chances for leads. It’s not hard to imagine feeling enraged a er see- ing an ad for a law  rm while you’re in the ER waiting room worrying about your injured family member.
 ese location-based marketing
tactics can be unreliable. Some areas have banned the use of geofencing around their hospitals. Attorneys in these areas—and everywhere else, for that matter—should focus on getting leads for their law  rms the right way. But how do you do that?
GETTING LEADS WITHOUT DIGITAL AMBULANCE CHASING
If geofencing is the wrong way to approach location-based digital mar- keting, what is the right way? Rather than shoving an ad for your  rm in an injury victim’s face, you’ll want to be highly visible when that potential client begins searching for the right attorney.
 e key to being visible in that search? A sound, long-term SEO strategy.
By focusing on your website rank- ings, tra c, and leads, you’ll position yourself to be the answer to your po- tential clients’ questions and needs, rather than an invasive digital ambu- lance chaser.
When someone searches a term related to your law  rm, such as “Los Angeles car accident lawyer,” you want your site to appear on the  rst page of search results in Google.  e
closer you are to the top rankings, the more likely potential clients are to click on your pages and contact you about their cases.
Ranking for these search terms is vital when it comes to getting leads. But how do you do that? Google con- siders a multitude of factors in deter- mining the rankings of websites for certain search phrases. You’ll want great content optimized for terms relevant to your location and practice area, a responsive and eye-catching website, and plenty of high-quality backlinks, among many other rank- ing factors.
Many SEO providers that serve law  rms try to take easy routes that might get attention fast. Unfortunately, tac- tics like geofencing rarely attract via- ble clients, and they can present more problems than solutions. So don’t be a digital ambulance chaser—be the at- torney who is there and ready to help when your future client decides it’s time to start searching for a trustwor- thy and experienced law  rm.
TOM DESMOND CO-FOUNDED THE LAW FIRM SEO COMPANY APRICOTLAW. SINCE THEN, HE HAS BEEN HELPING LAW FIRMS CLIMB THE RANKS IN GOOGLE AND CAP- TURE BIG LEADS.
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