We all encounter retargeting ads on a daily basis. For example, suppose you are shopping for a new grill on Wayfair. You are late for a meeting, so you close out your browser prior to completing a purchase. Later that day you are checking out the sports scores and notice some display ads for the same grill that you were viewing earlier. This gentle reminder is enough for you to click on the ad and complete your purchase. But this ad tech goes far beyond consumer home goods… and many of the most successful personal injury law firms are finding it’s a great way to generate legal leads.
Believe it or not, retargeting strategies can also help you generate legal leads. According to experts, some 97% of legal leads look at 3 to 5 law firm websites before reaching out for more information. Retargeting can help your firm to stand out while building trust and familiarity. In this article, we will explore what retargeting is, how it works, and provide some general tips for using retargeting to generate legal leads.
What is Retargeting?
Retargeting campaigns involve displaying advertisements to website visitors after they have left your website without taking the desired action. Through retargeting, relevant visual or text advertisements are shown to users when subsequently visiting third-party websites. These third-party websites are compensated by an advertising display network for running the ads. Some popular display networks include Google Ads, Facebook, and LinkedIn Ads.
The term retargeting is often used interchangeably with remarketing. While both can help achieve the same goals, they go about it differently. Remarketing primarily involves targeting previous customers by using their contact information (i.e., advising former clients of a new service via email).
How Do Retargeting Ads Work?
Retargeting ads work by installing a bit of code onto your website (often referred to as a pixel). When users visit your website, the code installs a cookie on their browser. A cookie is essentially a file that is capable of holding a small amount of data on each website visitor. When the user subsequently visits other websites using that same browser your ads will be displayed on those websites and/or social media platforms.
When it comes to generating high-quality legal leads, there are many reasons why your firm should incorporate retargeting into your overall digital marketing strategy. These include:
- Gaining a competitive edge. Nearly 50% of marketing professionals think that retargeting is the most underused marketing technology. And retargeting is used far less in the legal industry than others such as retail, insurance, and financial services. Thus, retargeting can help your firm increase brand recognition and gain an edge over your competitors.
- It’s affordable. Search ads in the legal industry can cost upwards of several hundred dollars per click. For example, a firm looking to generate personal injury leads through the search term, “Best motorcycle accident lawyer,” can expect to pay an average cost-per-click of $770.00. Display and social retargeting ads, however, can cost anywhere from 2-100x less.
- They work. According to research, the average click-through rates for retargeted ads are 70% higher than they are for display ads. Legal leads are simply more likely to click on an ad that looks familiar. Recall that the average legal lead will browse at least 3-5 firm websites before initiating contact. Retargeting helps to build brand recognition and keep your firm at the forefront of the prospective client’s mind.
Retargeting Tips to Capture More Legal Leads
Align Retargeting Campaigns with User Intent
This point is especially important if you specialize in multiple practice areas. After all, you don’t want to display family law ads to personal injury leads. You will need to segment your audiences by tracking visits to each page and create retargeting ads that are relevant to each segment.
Focus on Search Terms
Focusing on search terms is a great way to expand your reach and drive similar audiences to your website. Search retargeting allows you to reach users that have yet to visit your website on other websites based on their search queries.
For example, workers comp leads that search for “work injury lawyer near me,” and then visit a third-party website will be shown an advertisement for your firm. The trick to making this retargeting strategy work is identifying relevant and high value keywords that align with the intent of the user.
Retarget with Engaging Content
If a prospective client visits a specific page on your website, then you know they are likely seeking a solution to a related problem. For example, a user that views your bankruptcy practice page may be considering filing for bankruptcy but does not know which chapter to file or how to determine eligibility. Through retargeting, you could provide a link to engaging legal content that provides information on bankruptcy eligibility requirements. This will build goodwill with the prospective client and could be just enough to motivate them to take the desired action.
Take Precautions
Google has enacted guidelines that prohibit retargeting ads related to sensitive subject matters. This can include information that relates to the user’s health, finances, or family circumstances. For example, suppose your law firm specializes in personal injury law. You are interested in capturing more auto accident leads through a retargeting campaign.
A user searching for a “car accident lawyer near me,” clicks on your website. He or she reads some of the information but leaves the website before taking the desired action. Under Google’s guidelines, you cannot subsequently run a retargeting ad that reads, “Been injured in a car accident? Click here for a free consultation,” since this relates to the user’s health.
So, if you are a firm interested in generating personal injury leads through retargeting, you need to read up on Google’s guidelines and ensure that the language that you use in your advertisements is permitted as well as in compliance with your state’s ethical rules. If you want to steer clear of Google altogether, you can always run retargeting campaigns on social media platforms.
Retargeting is an incredibly powerful but underutilized strategy to generate legal leads. To be sure, retargeting in the legal industry can certainly be more complex than other industries given platform guidelines and ethical rules. Yet lawyers that do it well are in a great position to generate legal leads, transform their practices, and gain a significant edge over competitors.