Introduction
Choosing the right digital marketing agency for your law firm can sometimes be a confusing process. This is because most digital marketing agencies claim to be better than others. There is a multitude of options to choose from and thus it gets difficult for people to separate the wheat from the chaff. It is important for you to choose the right agency which can boost the effectiveness of your law firm’s digital marketing efforts. You also need to avoid poor agencies because such agencies won’t just deliver poor results but can also cause negative results.
If the agency doesn’t clearly understand your goals, then it can be very difficult to work with them. If you have decided to bring in the experts for your law practice’s digital marketing needs, make sure you are considering the right factors. With that being said, here are a couple of suggestions to make sure you enhance your chances of hiring the right digital marketing agency. Let’s get started!
- Make Sure That the Agency Is Up-To-Date with The Latest SEO Practices:
SEO is an ever-evolving field and so is online marketing for law firms. Thus, you need to partner up with an agency that tries its best to be on top of the latest SEO trends and techniques. An agency that isn’t on top of such changes will probably deliver work that is not on par with their counterparts. In worst-case scenarios, such companies can also end up damaging your search rankings. Make sure you inquire about the agency in question about their SEO tactics and only proceed further with them if you are assured that they are on top of the latest SEO practices.
- Make Sure That the Agency Understands Your Needs:
You should hire an agency that has a good idea of your needs and understands the intricacies of marketing for law firms and attorneys. You should ideally hire an agency that understands the specifics of working with lawyers and the nuances of online marketing for lawyers. Check if the agency in question has prior experience in working with law firms. Additionally, you need to check if the agency has been successful in handling law firm clients.
- Ask The Agency About Their Services and Skills:
Ask the agency about the services they offer and the services in which they specialize in. Be wary of agencies who claim to have expertise in all aspects of web marketing for law firms. Steer clear of agencies who have a history of making exaggerated claims just to get more business. You should ideally work with an agency that is upfront about its strengths and weaknesses. You are likely to get better results if and when you pick an agency that is honest and makes realistic promises and claims.
- Ask The Agency How It Plans to Communicate the Results:
You need to ask the agency right at the very outset as to how it plans to communicate the results to you. Make sure that the agency agrees to provide the information you want when you want it. You can either ask for a login to the dashboard or you can opt for getting reports once a month through email. Whatever the way is, make sure it has been decided at the very outset and agreed upon by both parties. You should ideally hire an agency that doesn’t just provide you data but rather helps you glean insights from the data.
- Make Sure the Agency Does Most of the Work In-House:
Some agencies bring in freelancers to manage workload, from time to time, which shouldn’t be a problem from your perspective. It will, however, become a problem if the agency doesn’t do most or any of its work in the house. Be wary of agencies who solely manage freelancers to do the work for you and act as mere middlemen. There will be a lot of issues when you work with such agencies such as possible project delays, inflated prices and also miscommunication. You must avoid agencies who just manage freelancers and do no work in-house.
- Make Sure the Price Is Right:
The prices charged by different agencies can vary greatly and the way services are billed can vary as well. That’s why it is important for you to figure out how much you can afford to spend. You also need to be sure right from the very outset as to how you will be charged. You need to consider billing options of different agencies and then narrow down on the option most suitable for you. You can choose to either pay a set price each month for the services or you can pay depending on the results. You should ideally pick an agency that provides absolute ‘value-for-money’ services at favorable billing options.
- Check Past Results:
There are many agencies who make exaggerated claims just to get more business. Such fraudulent companies have bogus credentials and have nothing to show in the name of results. The best way of dealing with such agencies and separating the pretenders from the contenders is by asking for references. Thus, to be sure of the credentials of the agency in question you need to ask for references of past clients and verifiable results. Don’t take things on face value and exercise due diligence and do your own research to get the best bang for your buck.
The Bottom Line
The suggestions outlined above should help you in narrowing down on the right digital marketing agency for your law firm. The other factors that you can consider while hiring the right digital marketing agency for your law firm can be the agency’s proximity to your office and how well you get along with their team. You also need to check if you are able to communicate seamlessly with the agency in question, in the manner that is intended.
