Search Results for "keywords"

Should You be Advertising on DuckDuckGo?

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Neglecting all search engines that aren’t Google might not be your downfall, but it definitely won’t help you. It’s also possible to run whole advertising campaigns just on Google and Bing’s main sites. Here’s the thing: you shouldn’t.

 

The Underdog Engines

Google owns a majority of the global search engine market. This makes it a highly competitive market for advertisers, since that’s where a lot of the consumers are. This is why Microsoft Ads (or Bing Ads, depending on who you’re talking to) are a good alternative. The competition is lower, the prices are cheaper, and return on investment is often comparable if not higher than with Google Ads. 

 

Where DuckDuckGo Fits In

Going further down the funnel from Bing is DuckDuckGo. DuckDuckGo doesn’t own half a percent of the global search engine market, but it is growing. 

 

The business model of the platform rests on ensuring user privacy. Unlike Google and Bing, DuckDuckGo advertises based solely on keywords, not user history. This makes it particularly appealing to users who are concerned about their personal safety and privacy.

 

Who Could Benefit from Advertising on DuckDuckGo

Due to the secure nature of the search engine, DuckDuckGo should be particularly appealing to businesses dealing with sensitive matters. As a law firm, it’s likely that you are dealing with sensitive matters.

 

A quick glance at a few of our clients has shown some pretty significant numbers of pageviews over the past six weeks from DuckDuckGo users. As in, over 100 users for some firms. This may not be a lot percentage-wise (less than 1% of total traffic),  but some of them have been leading to conversions. For a platform that isn’t getting much focus, it has a lot of potential.

How to Advertise on DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo is an affiliate with Microsoft, meaning advertising is distributed through the Bing Ads interface and network. This means that you can set up your Bing Ads to be distributed on DuckDuckGo searches. 

 

You can make sure DuckDuckGo is included in your Bings Ads by going to Settings → Ad Distribution → Network → select All Search Networks.

If you would like help managing your law firm’s digital advertising, contact Mockingbird today.

Keeping Your Site Stable During Google Updates

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2019 saw a series of Google updates big and small, impactful and unaffecting. Many sites saw drastic changes in their rankings, traffic, and leads during this time, not all of the bad and not all of them good. But as with anything, even the small changes caused unrest in the SEO community.

 

Change is inevitable, so fluctuations in traffic should be expected whether or not an update has happened. That being said, there are measures you can take to reduce the influence updates have on your site. You can’t stop an earthquake, but you can make sure your furniture won’t fall on your bed while you’re sleeping.

 

Follow Best Practices

This should be relatively intuitive. Keep producing content that users find useful and Google finds relevant. By following best practices, you are showing Google that you are respecting their guidelines. Google likes that.

 

Organize Your Website 

By properly organizing your title tags, meta descriptions, and headers you are telling Google exactly what is on each page on your website. This helps the search engine to properly categorize your content and provide it to the most relevant users. Simply keeping Google up to date with your website will help it maintain its traffic during updates.

 

Keep Your Finger on the Pulse

Things shift, sometimes at a glacial pace, sometimes extremely quickly. Take keywords: not too long ago, SEOs would pile keywords onto every page, taking into account every synonym and potential phrase. With AIs designed to determine user intent, exact keyword matches are no longer a priority. By keeping up with current events in the industry you are ensuring that you won’t be blindsided when updates reflect where the industry is naturally going. 

No one knows what updates 2020 will bring, but the best way to be prepared for them is by keeping your website up to date and well maintained. If you think your law firm could use assistance in any of these areas, contact Mockingbird. We work hard to prepare for and manage changes from updates.

Remarketing for Lawyers

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How Does Remarketing Work?

Whatever advertising platform you’re using, whether it’s Google Ads, Facebook Ads, or Microsoft Ads, the platform is keeping a record of everyone who interacted with your ads. Not everyone who interacts with your ad will become a client. It’s pretty rare that a consumer will become a client on their first interaction. Their chances increase with every interaction.

By targeting consumers who have already interacted with your ads, you are saving money. Remarketing excludes large groups of uninterested parties, narrowing your audience and reducing your cost-per-click. 

What Platforms Support Remarketing?

Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and Facebook Ads all offer remarketing in various forms and levels of targeting. Understanding the intricacies and optimizations of each platform is our job, so we won’t bore you with all the gritty details. What we will tell you is that each platform has its pros and cons and that we have years of experience creating marketing plans for lawyers that are not only adaptable to various budgets but also diversify investments to ensure your maximum return on investment (ROI). 

Where Mockingbird Fits In

As previously mentioned, we here at Mockingbird have years of experience running ad campaigns for law firms. This means that we know how to invest in the right keywords, create the best audience parameters, and plan the optimal ad schedules. We have seen the benefits of remarketing first hand and are eager to share our successes.

If you would like to learn more about how remarketing can benefit your firm, contact Mockingbird. 

Google Ads for Lawyers

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Google is the largest search engine ever created and is one of the best marketing venues ever made available to lawyers. That’s why the company created Google Ads: to handle advertising on all Google platforms, from Youtube to Display to Search. Search Ads are the feature you probably came here for.

Search Ads

What makes Search Ads so valuable is their ability to improve traffic and leads. When a user makes relevant a search on Google, the Search Ads appear at the top of the list. Search Ads are highly targeted based on search history, intent, and demographics. 

Since Search Ads are so effective, they are also quite costly. Keywords in the more competitive markets can cost hundreds of dollars per click. Luckily, you don’t have to be the most aggressive or highest spending firm on the market to get to the clients you need. 

Low Funnel, High Conversions

When running an ad campaign we make sure that no ad spend is being wasted on people who don’t need a lawyer. Since Google Search Ads give the opportunity for specific targeting and keyword matching, we make sure your ads will only get shown to the people who might become clients. This will save you monday and increase your ROI.

Faster and Easier than SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is vital for increasing organic traffic, but what you can do in six months with SEO you can do in six weeks with paid advertising. Paid advertising might be a high upfront investment, but it’s returns make it worth it. If the ROI isn’t benefiting you, you will be able to see it in the monthly reports we send you. Our reports cover every aspect of your marketing, from what’s working and what isn’t to what should be done and what should be left alone. If you don’t like what you’re seeing, we will work together to fix it.

Mockingbird is here to handle all Google Ads related business for your law firm. We are proud Google Partners and every one of our account executives are certified in Google Ads.  We handle hundreds of legal advertising campaigns daily and know how to get the results your firm needs.

Optimizing Your Ads

When you hire us to make your ads, we take that seriously. We will make sure that your ads are fully optimized with the correct keywords, extensions, and reporting to get the most out of your money. We follow Google best practices and have a team made up of fully certified premium Google partners, meaning we are trained in making sure you get what you need. 

Beyond the technical side of the ads, we always make sure they look great before being sent out. Our in-house designer builds beautiful ads for all platforms and helps to create templates for landing pages when they are needed. We know the importance of optimizing ads for humans as well as machines.

The Benefits of Our Marketing

There are some aspects of working with us that we think set us apart from the rest. Included in this list are:

  • Our partnership with Google, giving us access to some beta features and putting us ahead of the competition
  • Our monthly reports
  • Our focus on Cost per Acquisition and positive ROI
  • Our customized plans, making sure that your budget fits with your goals for your practice areas, location, and audience
  • Our dedication to our 10 Commandments

Beyond our personal values, we are also proud of our extensive suite of tools. No matter how big or small our clients are, there are some tools we always use. This is because we have found them to be wholly beneficial for our clients. These tools include:

  • Call tracking
  • Click fraud protection for all ad campaigns
  • Yoast SEO
  • Google Analytics

The collaboration of our values and tools make our marketing the most practical and principled out there. We live by our work and take pride in our expertise.

Video & Display Advertising for Lawyers

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YouTube and display ads are a subset of Google Ads and function as online billboards: they might not make immediate conversions, but they increase brand awareness. Since the two services have so much in common we often group them together and encourage the use of both. The option for multimedia advertisements helps to diversify your audience as well as establish your brand identity.

High Funnel, Low Intent

Just as thousands of cars might drive past a billboard every day without all of the drivers immediately reaching for their phones, YouTube and display ads are designed to be shown to a wide audience. That being said, YouTube and display ads give the option to take into account more audience signals than Search Ads provide, allowing greater targeting based on:

  • User intent rather than search keywords
  • Audience behaviors
  • Website content of previous pages visited

This means that your ads can either be shown to a specific audience of your choosing, or to a wider audience, increasing impressions exponentially. 

What They Are and Where They Go

While YouTube and display ads serve similar functions, they do have their differences. 

YouTube ads are video advertisements that appear before, during, or after a video. They can appear both on YouTube and partner sites. The ads can be optimized for mobile or desktop audiences and can target based on device.

Display ads are designed to be shown across Google’s Display Network. This is a collection of platforms, partner websites, and apps that allow Google Ads. Display ads can be in the form of images, banners, and engagement ads, all of which are designed to improve brand awareness and imaging. 

Our Services

When you hire Mockingbird to manage your YouTube and display ads, you’re not just hiring a team of skilled account managers to ensure your budget is being spent correctly. While that is a major benefit, it’s nowhere near everything you get. 

Photography and Videography Services

The best way to ensure your ads are the highest quality possible is by hiring professional photographers and videographers. We know who to call in and are ready to start filming as soon as you are.

In-House Designer

Once we have your message, images, and videos, our in-house designer can get to work making you a series of beautiful and compelling advertisements. We work hard to make sure every design is unique and optimized for making the greatest impressions possible.

The Benefits of Our Marketing

There are some aspects of working with us that we think set us apart from the rest. Included in this list are:

  • Our partnership with Google, giving us access to some beta features and putting us ahead of the competition
  • Our monthly reports
  • Our focus on Cost per Acquisition and positive ROI
  • Our customized plans, making sure that your budget fits with your goals for your practice areas, location, and audience
  • Our dedication to our 10 Commandments

Beyond our personal values, we are also proud of our extensive suite of tools. No matter how big or small our clients are, there are some tools we always use. This is because we have found them to be wholly beneficial for our clients. These tools include:

  • Call tracking
  • Click fraud protection for all ad campaigns
  • Yoast SEO
  • Google Analytics

The collaboration of our values and tools make our marketing the most practical and principled out there. We live by our work and take pride in our expertise.

Microsoft Advertising for Lawyers

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When we’re advising new clients we are often faced with the question of whether or not Microsoft Ads is worth investing in. We know it is, no matter the size of your firm. 

What You Get

Microsoft Ads have the same overall case value as Google Ads and share many of the features that Google is generally praised for. That means that ads can be customized based on a variety of factors, including:

  • Location
  • Audience type
  • Keyword targeting
  • Detailed descriptions
  • Data that appears in reports

Beyond the customizable features, advertisers get access to reports on the progress and performance of all their campaigns and ad groups. 

The Ad Coverage

Microsoft Ads appear on every Microsoft-run site, Bing, Yahoo, and AOL sites, and Microsoft search partner sites. This includes advertising placements on website that partner with Microsoft search engines and any site run through Bing, Yahoo, and AOL. Advertisers in the United States (as well as Canada and a group of other countries) are able to decide whether to only include Microsoft run sites or search partners, or to use both both. 

The largest difference between Google Ads and Microsoft Ads is that Microsoft has a significantly lower volume of users.

 Less Traffic, Less Competition

Just because there are fewer users doesn’t mean Microsoft isn’t worth investing in. In fact, it’s exactly why we think you should invest in it. 

Competition is much lower on Microsoft advertising, meaning even small firms can afford highly competitive keywords. This makes it a great option for firms with smaller budgets as well as large firms looking to diversify their ad-spend. 

A Supplement, Not an Alternative

We encourage firms of all sizes to utilize Microsoft Ads, whether or not they are also running Google Ads. Microsoft should be thought of as a supplemental investment or a diversification rather than an alternative to Google. Both platforms have their own benefits and shortcomings, which is why it’s beneficial to utilize both.

Another reason why we like to encourage using both is that our Account Executives have expertise in both. Our cost per value is made all the better by having all the skills you need under one roof. If you’re looking for the best, we’re here to provide it. 

The Benefits of Our Marketing

There are some aspects of working with us that we think set us apart from the rest. Included in this list are:

  • Our partnership with Google, giving us access to some beta features and putting us ahead of the competition
  • Our monthly reports
  • Our focus on Cost per Acquisition and positive ROI
  • Our customized plans, making sure that your budget fits with your goals for your practice areas, location, and audience
  • Our dedication to our 10 Commandments

Beyond our personal values, we are also proud of our extensive suite of tools. No matter how big or small our clients are, there are some tools we always use. This is because we have found them to be wholly beneficial for our clients. These tools include:

  • Call tracking
  • Click fraud protection for all ad campaigns
  • Yoast SEO
  • Google Analytics

The collaboration of our values and tools make our marketing the most practical and principled out there. We live by our work and take pride in our expertise.

5 Steps to Upcycling Old Content

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5 Steps to Upcycling Old Content

  1. SEO
  2. Keywords
  3. Plug-Ins
  4. Avoid Duplicate Pages
  5. Push the Pages

 

If your website has been around for a while, chances are it’s full of some pretty old content. Websites are like houses in that way: the longer you’re there, the more likely you are to have a pile of strange boxes in the back of a closet somewhere. Luckily, it’s easier to clean up your website than it is to sort through the boxes you never really unpacked after moving in. 

 

The first step to cleaning up your website is to create a spreadsheet so that you know which pages are salvageable. Some won’t be, and that’s fine. Delete those pages, kill your darlings. For the ones that can still be used as a resource, you need to determine what needs to be done to retrofit them for today’s internet. Let’s get started on that.

 

1. SEO

The easiest way to instantly improve your website is to optimize it. Read through the entire page and catch any wordy sentences or places where paragraphs can be split up. Put in headers and bulleted lists where you can. Make it as easy to read as possible.

 

2. Keywords

Language shifts, so make sure your keywords have adapted. This is as easy as reading through and making sure that no part of your piece sounds like it was written by someone who has memories of the Truman administration. 

 

3. Plug-ins

Make sure they’re all up to date. That’s it.

 

4. Avoid Duplicate Pages

When you’re updating old pages you can either update the original page or upload a new page and pause or delete the old one. Just make sure you don’t end up with duplicate pages. This damages your domain authority.

 

5. Push the Pages

There’s no point in dealing with content if you aren’t advertising it. Let people know about your work. Post your updated pages to your social media feeds and let your clients know about what you’re doing and what resources you offer. 

 

Making sure your website is up to date and providing only the best information in the resources you provide will help you build domain authority and a strong client base. It will also help you to maintain your content production without constantly producing new content.

 

If you would like help creating a content production plan, contact Mockingbird. 

Why Microsoft/Bing Advertising is Worth It

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Microsoft Advertising, which is largely Bing Search Ads, is an opportunity that law firms shouldn’t sleep on. Keywords for lawyers are some of the most competitive on Google, where the user bases of both consumers and advertisers are vast and saturated. Bing doesn’t have that same market, which means less competition and a better cost per acquisition (CPA) in many campaigns.

 

Demographics

By demographics I’m not referring to audience factors when designing an ad campaign, I’m talking about the general demographics of the users of the platform. Bing tends to be more popular among less tech-savvy individuals, as those who use it tend not to care too much about their search engine. Its users tend to be a bit more blue-collar and older than the average Google user, which can be used to your advantage.

Bing is the default search engine on a wide array of devices on the market, and anyone who isn’t a die-hard Google loyalist won’t care if the internet on their computer leads them straight to Bing; as long as it gives them an answer to their search query they’ll be happy. 

 

Utilizing Bing

The benefit of Bing is that its audience isn’t very tech-savvy. Where Google users might be aware and wary of search ads, Bing users might not even notice that they’re ads in the first place. They’re just looking for an answer to their search, and if your ad looks like it’ll provide that, they’ll click on it. 

By only using Google Ads, you are excluding a significant share of your target market. The share you are excluding could even be more representative of your target audience than who is currently seeing your ads. 

The other benefit of Bing is that it’s ad costs tend to be cheaper than Google’s, meaning you can use more targeted keywords without paying Google prices.

We encourage our clients to think of Microsoft/Bing advertising as something to invest in alongside Google, especially for firms with lower budgets. The two platforms are not mutually exclusive, and neglecting one in favor of the other is simply bad business.

If you need help setting up your Microsoft Ads account, contact Mockingbird. We’ll help you get your business off the ground.

Is Your Law Firm’s Site Affecting Your Ad Conversion Rate on Mobile?

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As we’ve mentioned in the past, the world is seeing a shift toward more mobile usage. This holds for Google Ads as well. In 2019, The average clickthrough rate for a search ad on mobile is almost a full percentage point higher than the average rate for desktop ads. With this shift in behavior, it is important to make sure the landing pages your ads lead to are as up-to-par on mobile as they are on desktop.

The performance of your ads comes down to 3 factors:

  1. How much you’re bidding on your keywords
  2. How relevant your ads are to the search query
  3. The ad’s landing page experience

While the first two factors will help drive traffic and build awareness to your site, it’s the landing page experience that drives the likelihood that a potential client contacts you.

What is Landing Page Experience?

Landing page experience is a measure of your page’s relevance to what the searcher was looking for when they clicked on your ad. In the context of legal marketing, this means that your content must be informative enough to show the user that you can help them with what they are looking for. The better your landing page experience is, the more likely a user is to convert. To determine landing page performance, Google takes the following into account:

  • Site speed – how long does it take for the page to load?
  • Content relevance – is this what the searcher was looking for?
  • Prominent calls-to-action – how easy is it for someone to contact you?
  • User experience – how easy is it to find information on your site?

Take a second to put yourself in a potential client’s shoes and ask yourself these questions while looking at a practice area page on your firm’s site on your phone:

  • Did I just get annoyed with how long it took for my site to load?
  • Did I have to scroll far or zoom in to see my content?
  • Does my content tell me very little about how I can help?
  • Does it take me a long time to fill in my information on my forms?
  • Is it hard to find a number to call my firm?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, you need to fix your landing pages. These are very real issues people can have with websites that can determine whether someone will contact you.

I Answered Yes to Some of These Questions. What Now?

If your landing pages are in need of work, there are a few things you can do to improve their efficacy. Besides improving the speed of your site, you can focus on making sure your content is relevant and informative while conveying how you can help a potential client, as highlighted in this outline.

If content and page layout adjustments are not an option, this does not mean you cannot advertise altogether. A great alternative to consider is to run call-only ads in place of text ads. These ads only appear on mobile devices and allow users to call your firm by clicking on your ad instead of being sent to a landing page.

Being the top bidder is an important factor in your ad performance. However, Google ultimately wants to provide users with the best possible search experience. If you want to be successful with advertising, it is crucial to consider the experience of your users in an increasingly mobile world. That means, creating a fast, user-friendly mobile experience.