2 Ways to Improve Your Law Practice's PPC Advertising
Today we hear from Sarah Kicinski, a CMO in the direct mail business about Pay Per Click advertising.
As Chief Marketing Officer at PostcardMania, I am responsible for staying on top of our Pay Per Click (PPC) marketing. One day our PPC expert reported that we had paid for a click from someone who typed "How to Get on McDonald's Mailing List” into Google. This was a complete waste of money, because obviously that prospect doesn’t want a targeted mailing list; he wants coupons for cheeseburgers, and we just can’t help him with that.
These dead-end leads drive PPC marketers crazy, because they eat up your return on investment! I decided to put an end to the problem once and for all, so we could seal up our marketing and keep out dead-end leads. I only want to pay for leads that have a good chance of bringing my company revenue. You want the same thing for your law practice, so I want to tell you what I came up with. It worked for us, and it will work for you.
Here’s what you do:
1. Use Negative Keywords to Keep Unqualified Leads Away From Your Ads.
PPC works by targeting specific keywords, so your ads get shown to prospects that are already looking for your services. Law practices would target keywords like “legal advice,” “personal injury lawyer,” etc. We call these keywords positive keywords, because they are targeting the people you DO want to see your ads. Negative keywords are the phrases that may lead unqualified leads to your ads. Those are the keywords used by people you DO NOT want to see your ads, because they may click on them before realizing you don’t have what they need. You need to intentionally specify that Google should block leads from negative keywords, because otherwise they may be shown to the wrong prospects, just like what happened in our McDonald mailing list story. The search had “mailing list” in it, so it was technically related to our business. However, the prospect clearly wasn’t looking for targeted mailing lists for marketing purposes, so there wasn’t really a sales opportunity there. Using negative keywords keeps these dead-end leads away, and only shows your ads to prospects with a potential for revenue generation.
2. Use Analytics to Track Which Ads Are Generating Revenue, Not Just Leads
Just because an ad is attracting quality leads doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bringing your practice revenue. Tracking which ads are resulting in real revenue, not simply attracting interest, helps you to see which keywords are your best investments and which ad strategies are the most effective. Even if you’re avoiding dead-end leads, that doesn’t mean you’re necessarily heading in the right direction. You need to proactively track your revenue generation to make sure you are driving on the road to profit-ville.
Dead-end leads are the worst. You’re paying for marketing with no hope of a return on the investment. These two methods help you get rid of dead-end leads and maximize the revenue your ads generate for your law practice.
If you would like more advice on maximizing your PPC efforts, download this free report with 12 more tips for increasing PPC targeting.
Sarah Kicinski is the Chief Marketing Office of direct mail marketing firm, PostcardMania. In the 9 years since she started, Sarah has worked her way through several high-level positions and closely overseen PostcardMania’s transformation from a turnkey direct mail marketer offering graphic design, printing, mailing list acquisition and mailing services all under one roof, to a fully integrated marketing firm with a full suite of print, digital and delivery products.
In 2012, PostcardMania reached almost $44 million in annual revenue, and the company now employs more than 195 people, prints 4 million and mails 2 million postcards each week, and has more than 53,000 customers in over 350 industries. Please visit www.postcardmania.com for more information. You can find Sarah on Google+, or call 1-800-628-1804 to speak with a PostcardMania marketing consultant.
