In general, a website which ranks organically on page 1 of Google, combined with good reviews, results in several new leads generating millions of dollars in settlements and revenue every year.
From 2000 – 2012 I owned and operated an IT firm. Much like a law firm, nobody really wanted to use us. If you were calling us you either wanted to prevent a problem or more than likely already had a problem and needed our expertise to be rescued. In 2012, when I sold the company, we had 3 phone lines ringing from callers worldwide. Everyone found us via Google.
While I have hundreds of stories and case studies like this there are people out there in every industry who just don’t believe it. As for attorneys, I’m not sure if they just feel that people do not use the Internet, or maybe they are taken aback by what seasoned Internet marketers charge. We are in extremely high demand. I personally turn away around 75% of the attorneys who ask us for assistance. That said I do not consider what I do expensive because it offers such a great return on investment. I hate using that term, but it is what the 20+ firms I work with tell me over and over, year after year.
How Much is Ranking on Google Worth for Personal Injury Attorneys?
Data proves that the personal injury attorneys we work with make millions of dollars every year thanks to ranking on page 1 of Google, however, there are a few caveats.
You don’t have to take my word for it. You can call any personal injury attorney in the United States of America and ask them if it is worth showing up in Google. They make tilt their head to the side and look at you like you’re an alien from outer space first, but, after they realize that you’re serious, 100% of them will say “Yes.” Ranking in organic search is where most attorneys obtain the majority of their leads.
Conditions which must be met:
1. You must rank organically, but…
Ranking in organic search (one of the 10 blue links on the front page of Google) will result in calls, however, attorneys who get the most calls also show up in the local 3 pack. To show up in the 3 pack you need to show up organically, be located near the person searching, and have good, recent reviews.
This is a local (aka 3 pack) result:
2. You must have good reviews.
Did I mention that you must have reviews? If you do not have good, recent reviews, you’re less likely to display in the local pack. Even in the event you do display in the local pack with fewer reviews (or a lower star rating), you aren’t going to receive nearly as many phone calls. You could have the best law firm in the world, but if your reviews do not reflect that, people are going to call your competition. I get it, it isn’t fair, and don’t even get me started on fake reviews. It just is what it is.
3. You must answer the phone.
We’ve listened to thousands of incoming phone calls and have the data. 90% – 100% of potential clients will hang up if a human doesn’t answer the phone. People aren’t going to navigate a menu system or leave a voicemail when there are hundreds of other attorneys in your city who will answer the phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It is as inconvenient as ordering a pizza via the USPS. It just is NOT going to happen.
How Many Leads Do Attorneys Get Via Google Search?
It’s tough to assign a dollar amount to ranking in Google search. The settlements come from cases, and cases come from leads. The number of leads received depends on the size of your city and how many competitors you have. In general, attorneys we work with who have tracking in place can look at the metrics and attribute 3 – 75 cases per month directly to organic search. That’s a huge spread, so I’ll provide some examples below.
- In a city of 500,000 people, one firm we work with who has a very strong Internet presence, on average, obtains 24 cases each month via organic search.
- In a city of 1,500,000 people, one firm we work with obtains around 15 cases each month. Their presence doesn’t reach as far due to saturation.
- In a city of 400,000 people, we have one firm who gets 80 new clients each month, however, we have little to no tracking in place. I estimate at least half of their leads come from word of mouth or their TV ad campaign, and the other 40 come from organic search results.
- In a broad area covering several smaller towns, we have an attorney who gets around 20 cases per month across 6 locations that they have in place.
As you can see, it depends.
Recap
Ranking in Google, combined with recent, positive reviews, and a good intake specialist answering the phone results in a significant number of leads which generates millions of dollars in settlements.
