Author: oleg

Do you ever feel like you’re spending more time looking for new clients than actually practicing law? You’re not alone.

According to a recent study, law firms spend 33% of their time searching for new clients, which is almost as much time as they spend on billable work. That’s a lot of lost revenue.

Law firms spend a lot of time looking for new business primarily because many use ineffective lead-generation strategies.

Instead of using modern strategies like ”blended search” that integrate various channels into a single search, many firms still use outdated lead generation strategies.

This comprehensive guide will provide proven strategies to generate a steady stream of high-quality leads so you can prioritize what matters most: providing exceptional legal services.

Common Misconceptions of Where Law Firm Leads Come From

Most lawyers understand the power of marketing and advertising. In fact, some law firms spend up to 20% of their annual revenue on legal advertising. 

Unfortunately, many law firms don’t attract high-quality leads despite their considerable spend on legal advertising.

Why? Many firms still use traditional and ineffective channels that don’t drive a ton of traffic.

Let’s explore two channels many attorneys mistakenly overvalue.

Outdoor Advertising

Sure, towering billboards and bus bench ads might catch a potential client’s eye, but do they really convert into qualified leads? We hate to break it to you, but they often don’t.

While having your face plastered with a big smile and your contact on a massive billboard might seem like an excellent idea, people walking past or driving by your billboard only have a few seconds to see your advert.

Worse still, outdoor advertising comes at a hefty cost, with billboard ads in major metropolitan areas costing up to $14,000 a month. 

That’s a staggering ad spend for a medium that doesn’t attract high-quality leads.

Social Media

Most law firms use social media to promote their services. Yet, social media isn’t as effective as many lawyers think.

In the early days of social media, you could post business content, and most of your followers would see your posts. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case anymore.

Organic reach (the number of followers who see unpaid posts) has steadily declined on most social media platforms for several years now.

Why? As business content began to saturate social media, most platforms started prioritizing content from users’ friends and family to enhance the user experience.

Additionally, as social media platforms grew in popularity, social media execs realized there was an opportunity to generate revenue from advertising.

So, to get your content in front of more eyeballs on social media, you’ll have to invest in social media ads.

However, this is probably something you’ll want to do later after you gain traction on other channels that attract more high-quality leads.

Where Leading Law Firms Leads Really Come From

So, where do the top law firms get qualified leads? Here are lead generation strategies leading law firms swear by:

Search Engines

What’s the first thing most people do when the y have a legal issue? They whip out their phones or laptops and hit Google.

In fact, over nine out of ten people turn to search engines like Google for legal advice. That means you can’t go wrong with using search engines to generate leads.

And the best part? Search engines connect you with potential clients at the exact moment they’re seeking legal help.

For instance, if you’re a personal injury lawyer with a practice in Atlanta, a client who performs a search query like ”personal injury lawyer Atlanta” might discover your website or Google listing and contact you.

So, by investing in search engine marketing, you can significantly increase your online visibility and attract leads actively searching for the legal services you provide.

Referrals

Think referrals are outdated in the digital age? They aren’t.

Even with the proliferation of various digital marketing channels, word-of-mouth marketing is still effective.

In fact, over nine out of ten people trust recommendations from friends and family over other forms of advertising, meaning referrals are more likely to convert.

And best of all? Referred clients are more likely to become long-term clients than non-referred ones, guaranteeing your law firm recurrent income.

So, how can you maximize referrals? Here’s how:

• Make it easy to refer: Happy clients are your biggest advocates. So, make it hassle-free for them to leave reviews by claiming free profiles on review sites like Yelp, Google, Justia, FindLaw, and Avvo.
• Foster relationships with other professionals: Connect with professionals offering complementary services like financial advisors or real estate agents. These professionals might encounter potential clients in need of your services.

Professional Networks

LinkedIn is the most popular social network among attorneys. And with good reason.

Networking with other professionals on LinkedIn by answering their legal questions or sharing valuable legal advice can position you as a thought leader, encouraging professionals on the platform to contact you for legal representation.

Besides networking on LinkedIn, some other great ways to network with other professionals offline include:

• Attending legal conferences like Legalweek, ILTACON, and The Summit
• Joining industry associations like The American Law Institute, the DUI Defense Lawyers Association, or the National Lawyers Guild
• Hosting educational seminars or clients

By actively participating in these networks and providing invaluable advice, you can position yourself as a knowledgeable and reputable attorney, making yourself the go-to lawyer for clients seeking legal services.

“Blended Search”: Unlocking More Cases with Fewer Time-Wasters

Are you often flooded with queries from potential clients, but many of them are irrelevant?

Perhaps they’re queries about legal services you don’t provide or from clients outside your service area. Frustrating, right?

Well, that’s where blended search (also called universal or enhanced search) comes to the rescue. Forget the days of using a spray-and-pray approach to attract every Tom, Dick, and Harry.

Introduced in 2007 by Google, blended search provides users with more relevant search results.

It is a strategic approach that combines different marketing channels to attract a highly targeted audience of potential clients who are more likely to convert into paying users.

Here are the marketing channels enhanced search combines:

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising

PPC offers the unique advantage of placing your firm directly in front of potential clients actively searching for legal services.

It drives rapid results, sometimes even within a few hours, and you can target ads to reach specific demographics, interests, geographical locations, and so on.

For instance, if you run a law firm specializing in DUI cases in Miami, you can create PPC click ads that appear when potential clients Google the term ”dui lawyer Miami.”

And the best part? You only pay when prospects click on your ad, making PPC ads a cost-effective way to reach high-quality leads.

Local SEO

PPC ads can help you attract clients interested in your services.

However, you can’t neglect local SEO if you want to attract nearby clients.

To attract high-quality leads, you must appear in the Google Map Pack or 3-Pack. As the name suggests, the 3-Pack displays the top three results for a local business search.

To appear in the 3-Pack, you must have a comprehensive Google Business Profile. We can help you rank in the Map Pack by helping you craft a compelling Google Business Profile.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

PPC advertising provides quick results. In fact, some law firms receive calls and walk-in clients within just a few hours after they start running PPC ads.

SEO isn’t the same. It’s a long-term strategy that takes time to yield results.

However, while SEO requires a significant time investment, it can generate high-quality leads for your law firm for years to come.

Here’s how we can help you improve your SEO and boost your online visibility:

• Audit your site for technical SEO issues like mobile-friendliness, load times, and crawlability
• Craft engaging content targeting your popular keywords
• Get high-quality backlinks to drive qualified leads to your site

Content Marketing

Ever wondered how some law firms get FAQ snippets like the one below?

Simple. Content marketing.

You can get FAQ snippets if you create comprehensive blog posts that include frequently asked questions with concise answers and relevant keywords.

Note: Google announced it’s downgrading FAQ snippets, reserving them solely for well-known, authoritative, and government websites. However, your site may still be eligible to appear.

Why Blended Search Works EVERY time

The power of blended search lies not just in its reach but also in its precision. With blended search, you’re not just casting a wider net but refining your approach.

The result? Blended search reduces the number of unqualified inquiries you receive, allowing you to focus on the core aspects of your business.

Here’s why blended search is incredibly effective:

• Location targeting: Through PPC ads, blended search enables you to target clients within your geographical service area. So, you can say goodbye to pesky inquiries from people outside your service area!
• Speciality targeting: With SEO, content marketing, and PPC ads, you can target keywords related to your specific legal expertise. This allows you to attract leads searching for your services, increasing the likelihood of conversion.

Top Class Actions

Top Class Actions wanted to appear in the search engine results pages (SERPs) for various high-value keywords. 

The firm was already ranking for thousands of keywords but wanted to secure the top spot for more competitive keywords. 

To rank for more keywords, the firm implemented various blended strategies, such as technical SEO, content marketing, and more. 

The result? The firm went from ranking for 96,000 keywords to a staggering 500,000 keywords, resulting in more traffic, leads, and cases.

No matter your legal field, you can use blended search to create awareness, attract prospects and convert them to clients.

Why Law Firm Marketing Should be Handled by Law (Only) Marketers

Let’s say you specialize in personal injury law. You wouldn’t take on an intellectual property case without the necessary training, would you?  

Probably not. You would let an intellectual property lawyer handle the case.

Similarly, you’re better off leaving law firm marketing to legal marketing experts. 

Here’s why:

Marketing Is Multi-Faceted

Gone are the days when you could simply distribute flyers, place an ad in your local newspaper or get a Yellow Pages listing and call it a day.

Nowadays, legal marketing requires a deep understanding of SEO, search engine marketing, content marketing, email marketing, and social media marketing.

Learning all these types of marketing takes time and dedication, and there’s a steep learning curve.

Professional marketers and agencies can handle the heavy lifting, allowing you to prioritize practicing law.

Legal Expertise

Understanding various marketing tools and strategies is just one piece of the puzzle. 

Legal marketing experts understand the nuances of the legal industry, the specific challenges attorneys face, and the online behavior of potential clients searching for legal services.

As a result, they can help you create effective strategies that resonate with your target audience and adhere to industry regulations.

For instance, legal marketers know the stringent advertising regulations lawyers must comply with so they can protect you from violating them.

Long-Term Growth

Investing in professional legal marketing isn’t a quick fix. It’s a long-term strategy. 

Legal marketers can stick with you for the long haul and help you develop effective strategies that build brand awareness, attract qualified leads, and ultimately grow your bottom line.

They’ll use data-driven insights to optimize your marketing efforts, ensuring you get the most bang for your buck.

So, when you partner with a legal marketing specialist, you’re not hiring a myopic partner interested in short-term gains.

You’re hiring a visionary committed to your firm’s long-term growth and success.

Attract High-Quality Leads With Blended Search

Tired of wasting time on dead-end leads and outdated marketing tactics? Implementing blended search strategies can allow you to attract a steady stream of clients interested in your legal services.

Contact us today to schedule a consultation and discover how blended search strategies can help you attract the right clients and grow your practice.

The dawn of  Google Analytics 4 (GA4) marked the beginning of a whole new era for data analysis.

Of course, there was a growing need for a more flexible and advanced solution as user behavior and technology evolved.  

Thankfully, Google’s innovative approach revamped data collection and gave businesses a powerful tool to understand their online audience.

The upgrade was no less than a revolution. It offered unprecedented control and empowered businesses to track website behavior and user actions.

Event tracking in GA4 is a fundamental component that captures diverse interactions beyond clicks and scrolls. 
This guide will discuss its intricacies to help you wield it strategically and transform your data insights like never before. 

What Are Events In Google Analytics 4?

Events are the specific actions users take while engaging with your digital platform. They encompass all the user interactions, including video views, clicks, form submissions, and more.

But how does this make a difference? 

It allows businesses to understand how visitors interact with their applications and websites beyond the typical pageviews. 

By knowing the most watched videos, most popular buttons, and most downloaded items, you can tailor your strategies to meet your target audience’s personalized needs. 

You can build an online space where their needs are not just met but anticipated and exceeded. After all, understanding your audience is the name of the game.

It results in effective marketing strategies, improved content, and high user engagement.

How Does It Work? 

Google Analytics 4 transformed the traditional concept of ‘hits’ into a more sophisticated system. Instead of being confined to a fixed set of hit types – as seen in Universal Analytics – GA4 adopts a highly customizable model. 

It enables businesses to collect precise and personalized data beyond the constraints of predefined hit types like pageviews, screen hits, and social interactions. 

Say you launched a new product.
GA4 event lets you track every move a visitor makes on your website.

Did they view the product and share it on social media?
You’ll know. 

Did they read customer reviews before adding the product to their cart?
You’ll find out.

Did they hesitate during checkout and initiate a live chat?
GA4 events will register those interactions, too. 

Overall, it provides a more holistic view of customer behavior, which was previously missing. 

Why Bother With Event Tracking In Google Analytics 4?

Even tracking isn’t merely about tracking website activity, but decoding user behavior and elevating experiences.

When you delve into metrics beyond page views, you gain valuable insights that help shape your strategies and make data-driven decisions. 

Pages People Load on Your Website

Event tracking helps you discover popular pages and uncover user interests. The high-traffic areas, for instance, of course, contain something that draws user attention. 

Likewise, if your product pages are visited only occasionally, you can optimize them for a better user experience and boost your sales. 

Actions Performed on a Page

Understanding specific actions like form submissions and clicks lets you refine your website layout. 

For instance, by tracking your article clicks, you can identify the trending topics and strategically add related articles. 

This will, eventually, increase user engagement and the average time spent on your website. 

Fine-grained Ecommerce Interactions

Event tracking in GA4 allows you to set up ecommerce events.

They enable you to identify your best-selling products through product and transaction details. 

After all, businesses go above and beyond to know that – events in GA4 only simplify it for you. 

Likewise, you can also see the impact of your product placement and promotions on overall sales. 

For instance, if you run a clothing store and notice high sales (after setting up ecommerce events) for, say, a specific dress, you can feature it in a prominent place on your site and optimize sales. Or perhaps you can dynamically create bundles or promote these products to maximize revenue. 

Details You Collect About a User

Personalization allows businesses  to create targeted marketing campaigns. Thankfully, GA4 custom eventsfacilitate that and beyond. It allows you to collect data important to your business.

Say you run an online bookstore. You can set up custom events to track user preferences and recommend books accordingly.

Or if you find out that your customers frequently purchase crime and mystery books, you can send them personalized email promotions for upcoming crime and mystery books. This will naturally increase the likelihood of purchase and grow your revenue.  

Elements Visible In the Browser 

Analyzing the timing of content and pop-ups is critical for a non-disruptive user experience. For example, an educational platform can display a sign-up prompt right after a user finishes watching a video or taking a lesson. 

This boosts their registration rates without interrupting the learning process. With event tracking, you can optimize pop-up placement to achieve your goals and without overwhelming the user – a win-win. 

What Kind Of Events Are Available In Google Analytics 4?

Google Analytics 4 offers the following kinds of events:

Automatically Collected Events

As the name implies, these events are automatically tracked in GA4. They provide a general overview of user interaction with your app or site. 

For instance, you can track the visited pages, time spent on each page, and specific actions. Some automatically tracked events include. 

• First_visit. This event is generated when a user visits your website for the first time. 
• Page_view. This captures the specific page the user views on your app or website. 

• Session_start event determines when the user initiates a session.Generally, this event is activated when there’s a pause in user interaction for 30 minutes.
• User_engagement  reports when a user spends around 10 seconds on your website or app.

These events are a vital element of Google Analytics, and you can find them in GA4 properties. 

Recommended Events

Sure, automatically tracked events offer a general insight into user interactions, but what if you want to track something more specific? Here’s when the Recommended Events come in. 

Google recommends numerous events for specific business types. These events are categorized by different industries, and you can use the one that fits your preferences. 

• Events for all properties
• Online sales
• Games 

For instance, if you want to generate more leads for your website, you can select generate_leadfrom ‘For all Properties’ and use it to your advantage. What’s more, owning an ecommerce website is not a prerequisite for this event to be valuable. 

Any website focused on generating leads can use this event to track the number of individuals providing their contact details. 

Some popular recommendations include the following. 

• select_promotion.When someone clicks a special offer
• view_promotion.Impressions on your special offer
• purchase. Someone completed a purchase
• view_item. A product was viewed
• add_to_cart. A product was added to the cart
• add _to_wishlist. An item was added to wishlist
• ad_impression. An ad was viewed 

Check out this page  to check the list of all events. 

Enhanced Measurement Events

These events allow you to automatically gather additional data without having to add any code. 

While the Automatically Tracked Events are gathered by default, you can enable and disable Enhanced Measurement Events. 

This lets you select particular events you’d prefer to see in your reports. Follow these steps to enable them:

• Choose Admin  in Google Analytics (Ensure you’re logged into the right account and property) 
• Select Data Streams > Webin the Property Column 
• Choose your data stream’s name 
• Toggle the switch to the ‘On’ position to activate all the options below Enhanced Measurement

For example, you can track the following actions:

• Scroll. The scroll  event is activated when someone scrolls 90% of your website page.
• Video engagement. This event occurs occurs when a visitor views a video on your app or a site .This
  action is This action is typically tracked by the video_start event. The video_progress event is generated when a user plays 10%-75% of the video’s duration, and video_complete is triggered once the video ends.
• Download. The file_download event is collected when someone downloads a file from your site or app.

You can track more events for an in-depth overview of user behavior on your website. 

Custom Events

Custom events allow you to collect information that’s not automatically collected by any built-in Google event. But, before setting up a custom event, be sure to check the list of available and recommended events to confirm that there’s no suitable option available.

Although you’re free to choose a name for your event, adhering to Google’s naming convention is better for consistency and clarity in your analytics tracking.

Creating and Configuring Custom Events In GA4

Now that we know the different types of events let’s learn how to create and configure a custom event using Google Tag Manager (GTM) and Google Analytics 4. Remember, you should only turn to custom events if you can’t find a built-in event that fits your purpose.

For this article, we will create a custom event for when a user hovers over an image on our website. Let’s get started!

1) The first step is to set up  a new trigger in Google Tag  Manager that fires whenever the event occurs.
To do this, select “Triggers” from your Google Tag Manager dashboard. Then, click “New”.

 2) Click to expand the “Trigger Configuration” section and then choose “Element Visibility” as the trigger type.

3) Give a name to your trigger as per your use case. We will name it “Trigger – Analytics image.”

4) Now, we have to specify the ID attribute (HTML) of the element that we want to track. This will help GTM identify and track the relevant element. To extract this, we will open our website in a new tab, click “Inspect Element,” and copy the ID associated with our image. 

5) Next, we have to choose when to fire the trigger. It can either be fired once per page (regardless of how many times the user sees it), once per element (in case we track multiple elements with this trigger), or every time an element appears on screen (which will fire an event every time the user sees it). Make the selection as per your use case. We will go with once per page.

6) We will now set the “Minimum percent visible” field to 100 percent to make sure the event is only triggered when the user sees the entire image. We will also set the “minimum on-screen duration” to 100 milliseconds.

7) The next step is to set up a tag for our trigger. Go to “Tags” on the GTM dashboard and select “New”. Set the tag type to “Google Analytics: GA4 Event.”

8) Give a name to your tag.

9) Enter your measurement ID (you can get this from the GA4 dashboard) and give a name to your event. Make sure you follow these naming conventions.

10) We can also set up different parameters for our event. Parameters allow you to collect additional information about an event. For example, when tracking multiple UI elements, you can include a parameter that captures the ID of the element the user viewed during an event.
Google Tag Manager offers several built-in variables that you can use to capture values for events. You can enable them by selecting “Variables -> Configure” from your GTM dashboard.

For our above use case (capturing the element ID), we can use the built-in “Click ID” variable. Once the variable has been enabled, we can configure it as follows:

11) Finally, we have to choose the trigger for our event. Since we have already created it in the above steps, we just need to associate it with the tag.

12) Once you are done, click “Save”.

13) Head over to the GA4 dashboard, select “Configure -> DebugView”. Here, you should be able to see all the events as they occur in real time.

14) To test that our configuration is working, visit your website, and view the tracked element (an image in our case). Once you do that, you should be able to see the newly created event in the DebugView.

15) The next step is to register our event parameter (viewed_element_id) as a custom dimension on GA4. To do so, perform these actions:

a) Select “Admin” on your GA4 dashboard.
b) For the relevant property, select “Custom definitions”.

c) Click “Create custom dimension”.
d) Enter the name of the parameter (viewed_element_id) in the “Event parameter” box, give a name to the dimension, and hit “Save”.

e) Within 24 hours, once GA4 finishes the sync process, you should be able to use the above event parameter in your GA4 reports.

16) After you have tested that the event is working as expected, go to GTM and hit “Submit” to make your changes go live.

That’s it! You have now successfully set up a custom event on Google Analytics 4!

Conclusion

There’s no reason for businesses to miss out on event tracking in GA4 if they seek to gain deeper insights into user behavior. 

It allows them to refine their strategies, enhance user experience, and personalize engagement – in other words, everything necessary for business success.

Knowing how your website’s visitors behave is like having a secret map to success in today’s digital world.

A powerful tool, Google Analytics allows businesses to utilize this valuable information and adjust their strategies accordingly.

Regarding online information and digital data, gaining insight into your website is like discovering valuable information. It is key to understand who’s coming to your website, what they’re doing, and its performance. Google Analytics 4 is useful for gaining a wide range of information. One of its most valuable features is “Calculated Metrics.”

Calculated metrics may be a bit complicated, but consider it a beneficial tool which permits you to build unique measures without needing a lot of expertise. Simply said, it is a means of blending, changing, and improving existing data to generate important insights customised to your goals.

Consider the following scenario: you want to know how much time visitors spend reading your ‘How to Bake a Chocolate Cake’ blog post.

• Google Analytics will show an average time for all pages.
• Calculated Metrics can help you fully understand things better.
• You will get a more exact and complete view of the activity on your blog if you create a new measure, particularly for this blog part.

These calculated metrics are like superheroes with superpowers because they can be customised to suit your specific requirements perfectly. You can utilize numbers without being an expert by informing Google Analytics about your preferences. It will handle all the calculations for you.

This article discusses Calculated Metrics in Google Analytics 4, their importance, and how to create personalised metrics for data optimisation. With Calculated Metrics in GA4, you can gain valuable insights into your online presence, regardless of your role or interest. Let’s explore utilising this powerful tool to enhance your understanding of website performance.

Types of Metrics

Google Analytics is an excellent tool for website owners to use to assess their online performance.

It employs a variety of metrics, which are statistics that offer information about website activity. These metrics are divided into Audience, Acquisition, Behavior, and Custom metrics for simpler comprehension. Let’s break down and discuss each category.

Acquisition Metric

These statistics indicate the sources of your website visitors, including 

• Search engines, social media, direct visits, and other methods.
• This metric displays which websites are sending traffic to your site.
• The amount of people that found your website from search engines.
• It shows how many visits arrive as a result of sponsored advertising initiatives.

Behavior Metric

• The metrics reveal visitor engagement and the duration of their stay on your website.
• It also shows the extent of their exploration within your site.
• What percentage of visitors exit your site after seeing a specific page.

Custom or Calculated Metric

Custom or Calculated metrics, as the name implies, are measurements you develop to meet your special requirements. They enable you to track data that normal metrics may not cover. You can create a custom measure to track the amount of 

• Downloads
• View counts 
• Product purchases

How to Create Calculated Metrics

Creating calculated metrics can be challenging, but don’t worry! We have written steps below that will help you.

1. Log in to access to access Google Analytics account and select the desired website you want to calculate metrics for.
2. Find the Admin section in the bottom left corner and open it.
3. Select “Calculated Metrics” from the website column.
4. Select “New Metric.” You may now build your calculated metric.
5. Create a Calculated Metric. You must provide the metric name, format type, and formula. In the formula, you’ll blend current measurements to create your own. For example, to get the average session duration, use the formula “sessions/session duration.”
6. After you have defined the metric, click ‘Save’ and you’re done.

Why Create a Calculated Metric?

Custom metrics assist you in gaining insights by merging and analysing existing data.
Here are some of the reasons why you should consider implementing them:

Get a Deeper Understanding of Trends

Calculated metrics enable you to go above basic statistics. You can explore trends, patterns, and connections that traditional metrics cannot. You may measure the average time spent on a certain collection of pages or the result for a specific campaign.

Save Effort and Time

You may need to export your data and calculate the figures manually if you don’t employ calculated metrics. Calculated metrics take care of the laborious task of making information analysis more efficient and accessible.

Custom Insights to Your Business

Your business is unique, and your analytics should reflect that. Calculated metrics enable you to develop personalised KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) aligned with your goals and objectives.

Importance for Businesses

Now that you understand how to build calculated metrics let’s look at why they’re important for businesses:

• Calculated metrics give you customised, accurate data. This information lets you make data-driven decisions, resulting in more successful marketing campaigns and better user experiences.
• By personalising your metrics, you may track the most important metrics of your business. You can track your KPIs more efficiently, whether e-commerce purchases, form submissions, or view counts for videos.
• Business conditions are rapidly changing. Calculated metrics enable you to alter your approach in real time, keeping you ahead of other businesses.
• With calculated KPIs, you may correctly determine your marketing activities’ return on investment (ROI). This allows you to use your resources most while increasing your revenue.

Conclusion

Success in the digital age depends on how well you can comprehend and address your intended audience’s needs.

With its calculated metrics, Google Analytics guides your data-driven trip. You gain a unique benefit by developing custom KPIs corresponding to your business goals. So, use the strength of calculated metrics to gain essential knowledge and drive your business toward development and profitability.

Your adventure begins right now!