Having well-managed and maintained email list is essential for creating successful marketing campaigns – but it can seem like an overwhelming task if you’re new to the world of digital marketing.
To help, in this guide, we’ll discuss the different ways to build functional and segmented lists, strategies for keeping a clean and engaged data set, utilizing automation tools effectively, using analytics to track your performance, plus smart compliance measures all marketers should bear in mind. So let’s dive right into the fundamentals of email list management.
Defining your target audience and goals is one of the most important steps in building an effective email list. Understanding who your customers are and what they need can help you create email campaigns that will yield high engagement rates.
It’s helpful to research potential subscribers’ demographics, interests, preferences, and behaviors so you can craft content tailored to their needs or desires that align with your ultimate goal.
Your goals might be to boost brand recognition, generate leads, increase traffic to a website or web page, increase sales conversions or consultations or sign-ups for an event—whatever the goal may be ensure clarity when formulating segmentation strategies so that you can optimize time and resource efficiency in appealing towards each type of customer at varying levels when needed.
Building an effective email list for any marketing campaign requires the creation of compelling opt-in forms and landing pages. Opt-in forms should be fast to fill out, simple to understand and spell out the benefits with a clear call to action.
Colors and branding elements can make these more alluring for prospects too. For maximum impact, thoroughly optimize each opt-in form throughout the main customer journey channels such as web search listings, organic traffic from website visitors, social media sharing links, etc.
Implementing lead generation strategies is essential when it comes to building an email list that performs well. Strategies like website engagement, ads, content creation and distribution, SEO optimization, guest blogging, and webinars can be incredibly effective in drawing potential customers’ attention to the offerings a business has.
When starting the journey of filling an email list with highly targeted contacts elaborate methods like referral programs or social media blitzes should also take a role alongside these basic tactics. Commission- or prize-driven incentives are great to drive leads from platforms like Twitter & Instagram upwards (as if it were pointing towards driving Leads towards your signup forms on landing pages).
For a wider reach, Facebook Ads work wonders as the cost is relatively low compared with impressions gained. Furthermore use specific words to capture attention with catchy headlines & descriptions when marketing on this platform, try and keep users curious to ensure that those they garnered aren’t a detriment to your resources.
When constructing an email list, it is essential to ensure compliance with data protection regulations. Especially when working across different countries and jurisdictions, each may have different regulations outlining how customer data must be handled with respect to privacy and security.
Disregarding any of these laws can lead to serious legal ramifications for your organization, making it critical that you’re familiar with the applicable jurisdictions’ laws and get any necessary permissions or consent before using the subscriber’s personal data in emails.
Building trust with your customers builds long-term loyalty so transparency about how their data will be used from opt-in all the way through campaigns is a necessity for your success as a marketer.
Segmentation plays a key role in email list management. By grouping people into different categories, marketers can craft tailored messages to more precisely fit the needs of each individual subscriber or segment. Segmentation requires marketing professionals to understand their target audience as best they can in order to create and adjust meaningful criteria for groupings within their subscribers.
Ultimately, this will reduce the generalization of messaging causing it to perform better across groups over time while likely creating better overall relationships between the consumer and business.
Through segmentation, marketers are able to garner action from and develop deeper engagement with key groups all while achieving desired click/ open rates from one-on-one sounding campaigns quickly driving return on investments upwards due in part to effective email list management caused by timely and contextual messages.
Identifying relevant segmentation criteria is an important component of effective email list management. The criteria you choose to use will depend upon your industry, target customer base, and campaign goal.
For example, some typical options include age/generation, geographic location, purchase history, and interests. You should also consider setting up filter settings based on user interactions such as the number of opens/closes or clicks that determine engagement levels.
One strategy successful email list managers use to ensure that subscribers receive targeted messages is segmentation. It entails organizing people in a specific target audience into various groups according to types of data such as demographics and interests.
Creating and managing subscriber profiles plays a big part in accomplishing this efficiently. To properly accomplish segmenting, each contributor must fit into an individual profile & organized per required criteria, custom email campaigns are created according to these criteria, then sent optimal results can be produced effectively.
Cleaning and maintaining an organized email list helps marketers maximize their chances of delivering their campaigns successfully. Regular address verification is one of the most basic hygiene practices to implement and will help make sure recipients can properly receive emails by deleting inactive addresses or automatically updating spelling, domain, or syntax errors.
Additionally, periodically profiling customers with a validation solutions engine can illicit a picture of each individual user by screening reviews they’ve provided about the services as well as how active they remain on campaigns throughout time. Doing this monthly ensures that data is up-to-date before being utilized for any targeted messaging purposes; thus speeding up detailed analysis later on when needed.
In order to maintain a clean and engaged email list, marketers need to have effective strategies in place for reducing unsubscribe rates and spam complaints. To reduce by unsubscribe rate by keeping content engaging by personalizing emails with subscriber data or offering discounts and promotions.
Gmail filters can also be tweaked so your legitimate marketing emails don’t get lost among unessential messages. To combat SPAM there needs consistent monitoring of data protection laws regarding opt-in list opt-outs sent complex passwords multiple factor authentication checks deleted confidential information in line with company protocol.
This coupled with re-engaging customers who are too easily slipping off the hook can help send fewer bad reviews garner better newsletter feedback as well as win back potential brand supporters gone affray.
Reengagement campaigns are used to reenergize your inactive subscribers in an effort to keep them from unsubscribing. An email is sent out offering a signup bonus or special incentive as a thank you for returned subscribers’ business and loyalty.
Alternatively, running A/B tests utilizing subject lines specifically designed to discern their interest and other mindful modifications should be done concurrently to ensure relevance when reaching out. To appear fresh and minimize burnout-addressing triggered emails on a time-based span is also advisable for those frequenters who have lost touch with one’s newsletter.
Handling bouncebacks helps to ensure that emails are delivered successfully to your prior, current, and potential customers. Bouncebacks should trigger the removal of the email address from your list or place it in suppressions so subsequent campaigns won’t attempt delivery again until you specifically add them back.
If possible, verify susceptibility rates ahead for new subscribers for hard and soft bounce purposes as well as make sure to set up at least one automated response when invalid addresses enter your lists helping you reach contacts with valid addresses more quickly.
Personalization and automation are key components in effective email list management. Utilizing rich customer data is essential for creating more targeted messaging that will resonate with customers or prospects.
Some data-driven personalization techniques include customization of the subject line based on individual preferences, recommendations of related products or services based on previous purchase history, tailored content segments considering gender topics, geolocation targeting with messages related to appropriate events, and showing current points & gift card balance info during engagement campaigns.
Automation tools and workflows empower marketers with the ability to automatically deliver personalized campaigns at scale. Automations can be used for everything from sending welcome emails and order confirmations, to automated triggered and drip campaigns.
Marketers must first define their primary objective when creating complex automation tools—then utilize a combination of email segments, user event flow triggers, and other data points that help ensure they are focusing on automating the right processes in view of the
Milestone goals set out. With the proper setup of effective automation systems and workflow triggers, companies can bring targeted conversations straight up to their customers without having to manually create them.
Personalization and Automation are techniques utilized by marketers to send timely, relevant content to address the particular needs of our audience. Triggered email campaigns allow us to identify user behavior and then trigger an appropriate message to these customers based on that criteria.
These highly personalized messages have proven to uplift in saving customers’ time offline as well as online from personal prevention campaigns to follow-up messages post-purchase histories or behaviors.
A/B testing is a key element of personalization and automation that enables marketers to optimize email content for maximum results. A typical A/B test involves creating two versions of an email, each slightly different than the other, and then sending out both variations to a sample group of users.
By tracking how the emails performed in metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, or conversions your monitoring services can identify which version yielded better results suggesting what elements of the original message are ineffective.
This allows you to refine your approach toward creating successful campaigns through optimization. Ultimately this process also gives you invaluable insights into customer behavior that implement positive changes in future marketing strategies traveling beyond just email management.
Key metrics for measuring email marketing success are open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and unsubscribe or opt-out requests.
Open rate denotes how many users opened your benchmark messaging content while click-through rate highlights how many people clicked on any area contained within the mailing material being removed from the primary server.
Conversion rate tracks customer behavior once engaged which leads them to become buyers remaining on a website longer thereby increasing their value as possible customers.
In order to understand exactly how effective your email lists are, you need to measure the performance of each campaign.
Open and click-through rates provide insights into how subscribers interacted with your emails while tracking conversions can reveal ROI on marketing activities. Annual open rate averages will also give direction for correlation analysis of various alterations over time; as to if improving or worsened after changes are made.
Combining this data leads to a deep understanding regarding what strategies entice people reactions, stay loyal and positively respond towards those particular aids in optimization when creating future campaigns.
Analyzing and tracking email performance is critical to evaluating the success of campaigns. Subscriber engagement and behavior should be closely monitored by measuring open rates, click-throughs, unsubscribe rates, spam complaints, and relayed messages.
This information provides insight into subject appeal, newsletter value ad how frequently an email list should be sent out. Knowing each segment’s core preferences will put your personalization efforts on steroids by targeting the right customers with more refined messaging at just the right time.
Advanced analytics can extend this approach even farther by understanding motivated buying behaviors based on regularly tracked cycles and patterns.
Analyzing and tracking email performance helps marketers make informed decisions that affect future campaigns.
Advanced analytics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversions can reveal insights into individual subscriber behavior that can be used to further customize content or create automated workflows for tailored offerings and messages.
Marketers should also take note of undeliverable emails in order to correct issues with hygiene/list cleaning distribution lists for improved deliverability rates. The analysis of campaign metrics can then lead to opportunities to optimize content, schedule adjustments, and improved user segmentation targets.
Email list management is an essential component of digital marketing success. By effectively building, segmenting, maintaining, and personalizing campaigns based on relevant data and insights, companies can dramatically increase their email engagement rates, resulting in higher click-throughs and conversions.
It’s also important to continually monitor performance tracking metrics such as open rate, unsubscribes, and bounce rates in order to reconfigure strategies as needed for continuous improvement. Read the content discussed here and apply these best practices to ensure successful email list management in your next marketing campaign!
Are you looking for a PPC agency to manage your paid media spend? Look no further than PPC.co!
Throughout his extensive 10+ year journey as a digital marketer, Sam has left an indelible mark on both small businesses and Fortune 500 enterprises alike. His portfolio boasts collaborations with esteemed entities such as NASDAQ OMX, eBay, Duncan Hines, Drew Barrymore, Price Benowitz LLP, a prominent law firm based in Washington, DC, and the esteemed human rights organization Amnesty International. In his role as a technical SEO and digital marketing strategist, Sam takes the helm of all paid and organic operations teams, steering client SEO services, link building initiatives, and white label digital marketing partnerships to unparalleled success. An esteemed thought leader in the industry, Sam is a recurring speaker at the esteemed Search Marketing Expo conference series and has graced the TEDx stage with his insights. Today, he channels his expertise into direct collaboration with high-end clients spanning diverse verticals, where he meticulously crafts strategies to optimize on and off-site SEO ROI through the seamless integration of content marketing and link building.
Throughout his extensive 10+ year journey as a digital marketer, Sam has left an indelible mark on both small businesses and Fortune 500 enterprises alike. His portfolio boasts collaborations with esteemed entities such as NASDAQ OMX, eBay, Duncan Hines, Drew Barrymore, Price Benowitz LLP, a prominent law firm based in Washington, DC, and the esteemed human rights organization Amnesty International. In his role as a technical SEO and digital marketing strategist, Sam takes the helm of all paid and organic operations teams, steering client SEO services, link building initiatives, and white label digital marketing partnerships to unparalleled success. An esteemed thought leader in the industry, Sam is a recurring speaker at the esteemed Search Marketing Expo conference series and has graced the TEDx stage with his insights. Today, he channels his expertise into direct collaboration with high-end clients spanning diverse verticals, where he meticulously crafts strategies to optimize on and off-site SEO ROI through the seamless integration of content marketing and link building.
Whether you’re a life coach or a business coach, you need a steady flow of leads to stay profitable. It’s not enough to post on social media. No matter how popular you become, being well-liked and even loved doesn’t guarantee clients.
For coaching businesses, pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns can be a powerful way to attract high-intent leads – people actively looking for transformation, accountability, and clarity. But you can’t just throw some ads up on Google and expect results. You need a strategy that uses the right targeting, messaging, and structure to avoid expensive lessons in trial and error.
In this guide, we’ll break down the essentials of building cost-effective PPC campaigns designed specifically for coaches who want conversions, clients, and growth.
The first step to creating any high-performing PPC campaign is identifying what your potential clients are searching for online. PPC ads show up in search results (Google, Bing) and social media feeds (Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok) based on the phrases users type into the search bar when looking for content.
To get your ads seen by your ideal clients, you’ll need to tap into their innermost thoughts – like a burned out executive searching TikTok at 2:00 a.m. for “how to find my purpose” or “how to get a promotion.” You’ll want to target searches that indicate the user is unhappy and is looking for a solution that coaching can help them achieve.
Not all keywords are equal. You’ll get more leads that convert by targeting keywords that indicate a user is ready to take action. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Semrush, and Ubersuggest to find keywords with strong intent. High-intent searches might include phrases like:
· Business coach for entrepreneurs
· Life coaching to reduce stress
· Life coaching to find my purpose
· How to grow my small business fast
· Career transition coaching
These and similar phrases related to your coaching business will be the foundation for your paid ad campaign on any platform.
The customer journey consists of three stages that lead someone into the buying stage:
· Stage 1: Awareness. The prospect is aware they need help, but they don’t know exactly what they need or how to get it.
· Stage 2: Consideration. The prospect has named their problem and are actively looking for a solution.
· Stage 3: Decision. The prospect knows they want to work with a coach, and they’re in the process of deciding who to work with.
If you’re running a full marketing campaign with email marketing, you’ll want to run ads that address leads in all three stages. The people you capture in stages one and two will need to be nurtured over time through email. Leads you capture in stage 3 can be more easily turned into a paying client faster. If you aren’t capturing emails yet, only target leads in stages two and three for the best results.
No matter what type of coach you are, your ideal clients will have a variety of goals and pain points. Not everyone will share the same concerns or desires. For example, some business owners want to grow their business and open new locations, while others want to build a stronger team or increase their revenue. Some life coaching clients want better relationships while others want to find their life purpose. When you run ads, your target market needs to think, “this ad is for me.” Generic copy won’t cut it.
You’ll need to run a different ad campaign aimed at each client avatar. To get the most conversions, you’ll need to reach one avatar at a time. Speaking to one avatar in your ads and landing page copy allows you to go deep into their needs, fears, hopes, worries, and concerns. The more specifically you can connect with people, the more likely they are to convert.
To figure out what your ideal clients want, think about their struggles and the potential keywords they might be searching on various platforms. For example, a lot of people are unhappy at work. In this case, potential keywords they might be searching for include:
· How to find a job that doesn’t suck
· How to handle conflict at work
· How to win respect at work
Once you know the pain points you want to target, craft your messages so they speak to emotional triggers. People respond to a sense of urgency (“Burned out? Don’t wait”), personal growth promises (“Find your life purpose in 90 days”), and emotional relief (“Stop second-guessing yourself”). Speak to where your ideal client is right now and show them you can take them where they want to be.
Using this information, you’ll craft ads with headlines, copy, and corresponding landing page copy that speaks directly to your ideal clients. For example, your ads might look like this:
Problem/Keyword search: How to find a job that doesn’t suck
Ad headline: Hate Mondays? Let’s Fix That.
Ad copy:
You spend 90,000 hours of your life at work. Shouldn’t more of them feel fulfilling? Learn how to reconnect with purpose and enjoy what you do. Book your free clarity call now.
Problem/Keyword search: How to handle conflict at work
Ad headline: Tired of Office Drama? Here’s Your Way Out
Ad copy:
Learn strategies to set boundaries and manage work conflict like a pro. Click for a free strategy session.
Problem/Keyword search: How to win respect at work
Ad headline: Feel Invisible at Work? Let’s Change That
Ad copy:
You’ve got the skills. You put in the hours. But the recognition never follows. Sound familiar? Respect isn’t about being louder – it’s about confidence, clarity, and strategy. Book your free consultation and finally be recognized for your full value.
Just like each of your ads target a specific avatar, your landing pages need to do the same. Don’t send traffic to your homepage. Your landing page should reflect exactly what your ad promised.
If your ad says, “Executive Coaching for Burnout Recovery,” then the landing page should address burnout, speak directly to executive professionals, and offer a call-to-action (CTA) for a discovery call.
Effective landing pages consist of the following elements:
· A dedicated page made just for your ad
· A seamless transition from ad to landing page
· A clear headline that addresses the pain point directly
· Testimonials or results from real clients if possible
· A strong CTA, like “Book your free 30-minute breakthrough session”
· A clickable phone number or link to book a call immediately
Remember, you’re not selling coaching services. You’re selling a better version of your prospect’s life. Make sure your copy reflects that.
Coaches often underspend on ads, thinking they can game the system with just $5/day. That’s not an effective strategy. What you may not realize is that setting a low budget actually reduces the number of people who see your ad. Your ad visibility increases the more you spend.
Start with a modest, but meaningful budget of at least $1,500-$2,000 per month. The good news is your cost per click (CPC) will be significantly lower than other industries, like legal and insurance. However, if you’re not sure how to set a PPC budget or handle bidding strategies, hire a professional PPC agency to manage your ads. It’s the easiest way to avoid costly mistakes.
Your ads should target the right people at the right time.
First, think about your ideal client who is looking for your services.
Who hires coaches? Usually, it’s:
· Entrepreneurs who feel stuck or overwhelmed
· People who want to start a business, but don’t know where to begin
· Mid-level professionals seeking career growth
· High achievers facing burnout
· People at a personal crossroads (divorce, job loss, mid-life crisis, etc.)
Once you pinpoint who might be looking for your services, you’ll need to choose the right advertising platforms. Your main options are:
· TikTok Ads
· Instagram Ads
· Pinterest Ads
Advertising on each of these platforms comes with pros and cons – some are specific to coaching services. For example, while Pinterest is likely cheaper than Google, Pinterest leads might not be committed. However, TikTok and YouTube users frequently search for solutions to specific problems.
You might be surprised to learn that TikTok is a gold mine for coaching businesses. It’s not just an app for teens. Over 71% of TikTok’s users are between 18-34 years old, and 32% are 25-34 years old.
Unlike other platforms, TikTok doesn’t function like a typical social media platform where the purpose is to build a community. It’s more like an outreach platform and people are constantly discovering new content creators. The algorithm’s goal is to get as many people watching content for as long as possible. To achieve this, users are given content based on their interests, not just from people they follow. You don’t need followers or viral content to get seen. Each video stands alone in the algorithm and has an equal chance at getting attention.
People use TikTok to find insights and advice on just about everything you can imagine, including personal and business-related situations. While you can run ads on TikTok without a following, it helps to have an established account with solid content. You’ll build more momentum this way, and you can boost your native content to earn more trust across the platform.
Additionally, TikTok ads can target users based on hashtag interactions. People use hashtags on TikTok to find content more than any other platform. If you’re not advertising on TikTok, you’re missing out on clients.
Coaching clients aren’t impulse buyers, and they need to see your face and personality to know if they want to work with you. Wherever you run ads, you can expect people to click on your account to check you out. You’ll get more conversions by publishing short, engaging videos that show your authenticity and provide inspiration and support.
Whichever platform(s) you choose to advertise on, make use of custom audiences to target your potential leads as specifically as possible.
Everyone wants clarity, but not everyone wants to pay for it. That’s why you need to block certain searches using negative keywords. You don’t want your ads to show up for people who are just curious, looking for freebies, or looking for unrelated services. They’ll just click on your ads, waste your ad budget, and potentially waste your time if they sign up for a free call.
Suggested negative keywords for coaches include:
· Free coaching session
· Coach training program (these people want to be coaches, not hire one)
· Sample coaching questions
· Coaching worksheets pdf
Defining these and similar negative keywords will keep your clicks high-quality and your cost per lead low.
It can be exciting to see how many people are viewing and clicking on your ads, and there is a time and place to assess impressions and clicks. However, unless you’re focused on optimizing your ads, forget click-through rates (CTR) and look at how many calls you’re getting booked, how many contact forms are being submitted, and how many email addresses you’re collecting through your lead magnet downloads.
It’s crucial to know which campaigns are bringing you results so you can cut the ones that aren’t working.
People don’t usually buy high-ticket coaching packages the first time around. They need time to research, investigate, and consider their options. You might get some clicks and email signups from your ads that don’t turn into paying clients right away. That’s where remarketing comes in.
Set up ads on Google and Facebook to follow users who have already clicked on your ads and visited your website. Since these ads will be displayed only to people who have already interacted with your brand, you can use different value points to engage them, like testimonials, free guides, and limited-time offers.
Facebook retargeting options are pretty specific compared to other platforms. Since Facebook and Instagram are both owned by Meta, you can target people who have interacted with your Instagram page, too. You can even upload a list of your existing email subscribers from your segment that hasn’t yet converted and target them with relevant ads.
At PPC.co, we help life and business coaches run PPC campaigns that turn clicks into clients. Whether you’re scaling a coaching business or launching your first program, we’ll help you connect with the people actively searching for your services.
Contact us today for a free consultation and let’s start turning your ads into paying clients.
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising isn’t an optional marketing accessory – it’s a serious tool for law firms that want measurable results fast. Whether your practice areas involve personal injury, criminal defense, family law, federal crimes, or estate planning, PPC gives you access to leads who need your services now. But throwing money at Google and Facebook without a plan will only drain your budget. If you’re tired of seeing competing law firms outrank you, this guide is for you.
Let’s explore the 10 key aspects of PPC campaigns that will bring you paying clients without wasting your ad spend.
PPC only works if you get the foundation right. That means finding keywords and phrases that your ideal clients type into search engines when they need help. If you choose the wrong keywords, you could end up wasting your ad spend fast. Law firm PPC is highly competitive and one of the most expensive PPC markets around. Small mistakes can cost a lot of money.
To get this done, use keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner, Google Autocomplete, and Semrush to get a list of 30-50 keywords related to your location and practice area.
Remember that PPC keywords will differ from general keywords used to get traffic to your website. You’re paying for each click, so for PPC, you only want to target keywords that indicate the user is likely to become a paying client. High-intent keywords are the ideal target, like “DUI attorney” or “drug charge defense attorney.” These phrases indicate the user is facing charges and needs an attorney now.
Use long-tail keywords related to your practice areas. These are phrases like, “how to beat a DUI charge in [state],” “how much does a child support lawyer cost in [county]?,” and “what should I do after being arrested for [offense]?”
Long-tail keywords are less likely to be cannibalized by your other paid ads, AI-generated summaries, and featured snippets. They’re also more likely to send you hot leads who become clients.
When a user searches for the phrase “how to beat a DUI charge in California,” the algorithm will know the user’s zip code, and will serve them ads for local DUI law firms who have successfully optimized their ads for DUI-charge-related phrases.
Avoid generic keywords, like “lawyer in [city].” While there’s a possibility someone searching for a generic lawyer might need your services, there’s also a chance they’re looking for someone outside of your practice areas. It’s not worth wasting ad spend to find out.
Understand that optimizing your ads for certain searches doesn’t necessarily mean using those exact words in your copy. For example, to optimize for the search “DUI attorney near me,” you’d use the phrase “DUI attorney” and include locations by city name, county, or zip code. You don’t need to include the words “near me” because ad algorithms interpret those words as a command to return local results. Google is good at discerning intent from searches.
Your PPC ads should direct users to a specific landing page created just for that ad. Don’t send people to your home page because it will make conversions harder. Home pages are too generic and will break the user’s sense of continuity and flow.
Each landing page should be specifically relevant to the user’s search query. For example, if your ad talks about services related to divorce, clicking should send users to a web page that outlines your divorce-related services.
Most attorneys create one page for every practice area and send paid ad clicks to those pages. This strategy is good since it serves visitors regardless of their origin. However, in order to track PPC ad conversions, it helps to have landing pages that don’t show up in search results and only get shown via ads. All you need to do is make a copy of your practice area pages, give them friendly URLs, and use them for your ad destinations.
A good landing page will encourage the user to call your law firm right away. To accomplish this, you need the following elements:
Your landing pages serve one purpose: to get users to call your law firm. With that in mind, make sure your phone number is visible on every page above the fold, preferably in your header. To make it clickable use the following markup:
<a href="tel:1234567890">(123) 456-7890</a>
Use this markup for every instance of your phone number throughout your website so mobile users can click to call. This seemingly small convenience will get you more leads.
People need a reason to trust you, so include client testimonials, previous settlement wins, Google and Trustpilot reviews, and links to your Avvo or Martindale profile.
Your copy should aim to convert clicks into leads that either contact you via phone, a contact form, or chat bot. Don’t be wordy – mention your specialty, location, what makes you different, and instruct people to contact you now. For example, your drug charge landing page might state you have 20+ years of experience and that you offer free consultations. Copy doesn’t need to be long to be compelling. For law firms, shorter is better – people don’t have time to read an essay when they’re just trying to get help.
Your CTA should be visible above the fold and on every page throughout your website. It should be clear, short, and direct. For example, tell visitors to call you for a free case evaluation.
Paid ads only work when you’re willing to spend money. If your daily budget isn’t high enough, your ads won’t get served to many people. To increase your impression share and therefore increase ad visibility, you need a good ad Quality Score and a decent budget. Higher bids can push your ads into favorable positions, which can increase your click-through rate (CTR) and generate more conversions.
Legal keywords can cost more than $100 per click, so you need to invest in your ads. However, if you’re doing ads on your own, start with a conservative budget and ramp up once you identify the campaigns that are converting. If you’re working with a reputable PPC agency, you can go all-in from day one without worry.
Even though lawyers typically pay more per lead than other industries, PPC ads are still considered a low-cost, effective form of marketing. Compared to other options, paid ads are cost-effective and excellent for capturing relevant leads immediately. As long as your ads are running, you’ll get clicks to your website.
When you identify your high-performing ads, cut the fat and pause keywords or ads that are underperforming and reallocate that money to your winners. PPC ads need to be managed weekly to ensure optimal performance.
The time your ads run matters; not every hour in the day is equal. There’s no need to advertise 24/7 unless you’re going to answer calls at 3:00 a.m. People might call you, get your voicemail, hang up, and call someone else in the morning. Even if you have a contact form on your website, someone who is stressed out and facing serious criminal charges may not go back to your site to look for an alternate way to contact you. They’ll go to bed and search for someone else in the morning.
So, what are the best hours to run ads? Most law firms see the most conversions during business hours and early evenings, so that’s when your ads should run in local time. Schedule your ads to run during peak hours for mobile searches. This is easy with Google Ads. To avoid paying for junk clicks, turn off your campaigns on holidays, weekends, or hours you aren’t available unless you have someone ready to take calls.
Location targeting is how you’ll get better conversions. You only want people in your local service area to see your ads, but you need to tell the ad platforms where you want your ads to be served.
Target high-value zip codes based on income, need, and proximity. If you work on a contingency basis, you might want to target people regardless of income since you’ll get paid if and when you win their case. However, if you don’t work with contingency fees, you need to be specific about your targets.
It’s equally important to exclude irrelevant locations from your ads. If you notice you’re getting clicks from neighboring states or areas you don’t serve, set your negative geotargeting rules to block them.
To get more clicks from relevant leads, use location-specific copy in your ads. Mention your city or county in the ad headline to catch people’s attention.
Negative keywords are your secret weapon for reducing wasted ad spend on irrelevant clicks. Add negative keywords that would indicate a user is not searching for actual legal services. For example, standard words like “free,” “pro bono,” “advice,” “template,” “blog,” “forum,” or “DIY” are a good place to start. People searching for these words are unlikely to become paying clients.
Other negative keywords to include are phrases and words that:
· Indicate a person is just looking for information or resources, but they don’t need a lawyer
· Are related to legal areas outside of your practice areas
The back end of your PPC platform will track clicks, but you need to track leads. The easiest way to do this is by hiring a PPC agency to manage your entire campaign from top to bottom. However, if you’re running ads in-house, here are some tracking strategies:
· Use call tracking software. You need to know which ads are generating calls. Tools like CallRail and WhatConverts will show you exactly where your calls are coming from.
· Tie form submissions to campaigns. If you just collect general form data, you won’t know where people came from. Connect each form to the ad group or keyword so you can track clicks and conversions.
· Ignore vanity metrics. A high click-through rate doesn’t mean much if you’re not getting conversions. Focus on cost per lead and cost per signed case. If your CTR is exceptionally high compared to conversions, adjust your campaign until you get better results.
Remember that you can’t improve what you don’t track.
While some people will call right away, not everyone looking for legal help will convert immediately. People facing criminal charges are more likely to make immediate phone calls, but when the matter isn’t urgent, people tend to research their options for a bit. This is where remarketing comes into play.
Remarketing ads help you convert more leads by targeting individuals who have already interacted with your ad or website, keeping your law firm at the top of their mind. You can customize your ad based on the web pages they visited for an even more personalized experience. However, you should limit the frequency so your ad doesn’t follow them for weeks or months.
Google Ads Assets are one of the most under-utilized PPC features, but they’re packed with power that can help you generate more high-quality clicks that convert to leads. The most useful assets for law firms include:
· Lead form assets. If you want to advertise during non-business hours, lead form assets will allow users to fill out a form directly within the ad, skipping the landing page completely. This will allow you to gather leads after hours without disappointing users when you don’t answer the phone.
· Location assets. This will display your physical address, hours, phone number, and map with your ads, including on YouTube. You’ll need a Google Business profile to set this up.
· Call assets. This allows users to call you directly from an ad. It displays a click-to-call button for mobile users, and displays your phone number for desktop users. This only works on the Google Search Network.
If you want to enhance your Google Ads performance, Ads Assets are essential.
PPC isn’t something you want to wing, especially when each click can cost $100 or more. If you’re not getting leads, you need a better strategy. Managing legal PPC campaigns requires a lot of time, constant optimization, and a solid understanding of how to attract leads that will become clients. That’s where a PPC agency becomes your competitive advantage.
At PPC.co, we help law firms build high-performance PPC campaigns that convert clicks into paying clients. If you’re tired of wasting your money and want results you can see, contact us today for a free consultation. We won’t just bring you traffic – we’ll get you qualified leads who need your help now.
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