The Top 10 Legal Marketing Trends For Black Lawyers and Black-Owned Law Firms in 2021

Lee Brookes • January 2, 2021

INTRODUCTION

Marketing moves quickly. There are always new tactics to try, and announcements that are made. The bottom line is that what worked in 2020 may not work in the months ahead.

What legal marketing trends should law firms and attorneys look out for in 2021?

How can you best incorporate these trends into a marketing strategy for your Law practice?

Here are some of the top legal marketing trends to prepare for in the year ahead.

TREND #1 - Pay Per Click Advertising V.S Pay For Performance

PPC (pay per click) advertising firms are innovating in regards to how they are servicing attorneys. With competitive criminal defense and personal injury keywords commanding costs per click of up to $150, some firms are moving from pay per click to pay per performance.

With pay for performance, attorneys can expect to pay only for qualified leads rather than clicks. This approach can help attorneys have a fixed cost to advertising, and rely on a steady inflow of potential clients.

TREND #2 - Create Community Awareness With Educational Content

Lawyers have traditionally been transactional when it comes to marketing. Attorney referrals, billboards, and TVs have connected potential clients with lawyers.

However, things are changing when it comes to marketing a law practice. Successful firms are focusing on creating community awareness with educational content published on their website.

For example, creating helpful and authoritative content around a topic like “underinsured motorist coverage” may help educate a searcher who was just hit by someone without automobile insurance to cover a claim.

By creating educational content, lawyers can effectively create community awareness for their practice.

TREND #3 - Google Screened and Guaranteed Program

Google Screened Program recently became available to law firms and financial planning professionals. The purpose of Google Screened is to help build trust in local service listings.

If a law firm goes through extensive background and license checks, Google will add a “verified” icon (similar to Twitter’s verified accounts) to their local Google My Business listing.

Google Screened may help build visibility for local listings, and pave the way for entrance into Local Services Ads with Google’s Guarantee program.

TREND #4 - SEO Strategies Will Get More Technical and Tougher

In the past few years, search engines have become more and more sophisticated with Google and Bing introducing very intelligent algorithms.

The legal niche will be more competitive in 2021 especially as more law firms will be operating remotely.

In addition, clients will rely on search engine results to find law firms to represent them. In 2021, law firms will have to work harder to appear on the first page of search engines.

They will have to produce great content and will have to invest a lot of resources in content marketing. Engaging the services of an experienced SEO expert will help law firms to boost their marketing efforts in 2021.

TREND #5 - "Lowest Price" Niche

The “low cost” niche is growing. People who can pay some, but can’t pay a lot. Often they’re avoiding going to attorneys because they’re afraid that they simply can’t afford it without actually knowing the cost.

Marketing affordable services get people in the door. It helps the legal consumer accomplish simple tasks and gives the law firm a connection for bigger needs down the line.

TREND #6 - Content Marketing That Drives Clients To Your Law Firm Website

The content game is not about to phase out anytime soon. In 2021, this is what law firms should give first priority, quality content that provides go-to information and ultimate guides on legal matters. Make the website a one-stop resource and optimize the content for SEO or Search Engine Optimization.

This will ensure the firms stay relevant and helpful especially in these COVID-19 times where potential clients are spending most of their time online seeking information.

TREND #7 - Content Compatible For Google Voice Searches

An emerging marketing trend is the use of voice commands to carry out searches online. Today, people can issue a voice command to their phones, home assistant devices, and their personal computers too. Search engines will pick up content that is practical, answers the query directly, and is short enough to be read out loud. Take this into consideration when building content.

Use keywords or phrases that reflect natural conversations and make content that is to the point so that your material gets picked up by search engines for voice queries.

TREND #8 - Living Without Billboard Advertising For Your Law Firm

With the massive shift to remote work, there are millions of fewer workers commuting each year. This change means that traditional legal marketing, such as billboards and radio advertisements are going to be less effective.

Instead, you absolutely need to go digital, and you can shift your spending toward areas like SEO, PPC ads, and similar.

TREND #9 - Answer Relevant Questions

2021 is going to see a lot of businesses recovering from the lockdowns and quarantines of 2020. Many of these businesses are going to require assistance in navigating the potential liability minefield that is reopening while the memory of a pandemic is still fresh in the minds of the public.

If someone can prove they were exposed to the virus while in your store, does this make you liable for their medical bills?

These are questions that businesses will want answers to. If you market with this in mind, you’ll be offering them what they want.

TREND #10 - Local Search Engine Optimization

Google searches are becoming increasingly local. Search queries containing “near me” have increased across nearly every category, according to Google’s 2020 data. “Near me” searches have increased over 500% in the last several years, and we’d expect that to continue to increase.

Attorneys need to continue to increase their focus on local SEO; the act of optimizing your business for presence in Google’s local map pack. When a local pack is present in search results, they command a large percentage of clicks, so it’s important real estate for your law firm to acquire.

The local map pack is also what Google’s voice assistants use to return queries, so it’s a crucial piece of your strategy to capitalize in voice search.