For law firms and other businesses in the UK and around the world, search engine rankings are becoming more competitive. Some areas of practice are more competitive than others, but even in the most competitive areas, it is still possible to get to the highest places on Google or other search engines for targeted keywords in targeted geographical locations. Considering the more competitive areas of online search such as car hire can provide some welcome examples for law firms and other professional service firms considering enhancing their online strategies to convert relevant enquiries.

Car hire search engine rankings

One of the more competitive areas of online search, car hire is well-suited to optimised Internet marketing. Many customers seeking car hire companies will usually look to the web in the form of a search on Google or other search engines first in considering the best provider. Not only will such prospective customers search for “car hire”, they may also search for other terms such as “car rental” or expand further with geographical locations, such as “car hire Glasgow”. For those customers coming from abroad looking for car hire at major airports, search becomes even more important for them. Companies trying to attract such customers to their website must have not only prominent Google rankings for relevant search terms, but also relevant landing pages to which searches can be directed.

Converting relevant car hire enquiries

A good example of a company using Internet marketing well, Arnold Clark Car & Van Rental uses separate landing pages for various locations to attract car hire enquiries. It can be useful for law firms and other professional services businesses to take note of their approach.

Strong landing pages are used for the main areas of airport car hire, such as their Glasgow Airport  car hire, Edinburgh Airport car hire, Aberdeen Airport car hire and Manchester Airport car hire services. When a potential customer lands on these pages through Google, they are immediately greeted with calls-to-action such as a phone number to call or an email address to which they can send a message. Further, bespoke descriptions of their service on each page are provided with instructions specific to each airport in addition to details of types of car available. By presenting the landing pages in this way, customers can find what they are looking for, not just through their initial Google search, but once they land on the relevant pages as well. Such an approach sets them up well to convert relevant online enquiries.

What can law firms and other professional services firms learn?

In many ways, law firms and other professional services firms are no different. They have services for varying areas of law or other professional service. They will usually operate in more than one area, e.g. in different towns or cities. They will, therefore, want potential clients to land on pages of their website relevant to that service or the location in which they practice. An essential feature of optimising those landing pages includes having prominent calls-to-action, whether in the main body of text or in the widgets on the page. The main types of calls-to-action such firms should rely on consist either of phone numbers, email addresses or online enquiry forms and should be used in a similar way, for instance, to the leading car hire companies.

Nevertheless, it should be noted that the approach to marketing will depend on the type of organisation. For instance, with law firms in Scotland, the Law Society of Scotland is the governing body and separate Solicitors Rules exist. This differs from the position with law firms in England and Wales. With other professional services organisations such as accountancy firms or surveyors, again, different governing bodies and different governing rules may apply.

Conclusions

When considering an approach for Internet marketing, it is useful to look at the more competitive areas of online search to look at how other businesses are optimising their own websites and other online marketing platforms, such as social media accounts. By looking at the approaches of these organisations, lessons in conversion of online enquiries can be learnt, but the professional marketer should also consider the specific rules that exist for their own profession.

Moore Legal Technology are experts in website design and helping law firms and other professional services organisations generate business online. Call us today on 0845 620 5664 for a no-obligation discussion about how your website or online marketing strategy can be improved.