Ethical Considerations And Benefits Of Personal Injury Lawyer SEO
Mohammad Siddiqui with LawFirmMarketing360 says “ Personal injury keyword terms have become the top trending keyword on Google and its rankings keep getting better. With so many law firms focusing on implementing 21st-century marketing tactics and capitalizing on the SEO for personal injury lawyers trend, it is important to keep in mind the legal ethics of marketing. Let’s go over some ethical considerations of marketing and the benefits of personal injury lawyer SEO.
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Rules Of Professional Responsibility While Doing Personal Injury Lawyer SEO
In the United States, lawyers have to follow the rules of professional responsibility (RPR). Some of these are as follows.
Personal Injury Lawyer Advertisements
According to RPR, lawyers can advertise their practice as long as they are not conducting false advertisements. This also includes misleading advertisements. Some states in the United States have completely adopted these rules in their practice while others are following closely.
Personal Injury Law Marketing Communications
Lawyers are not allowed to reach out to people:
- In-person
- Via call
- Or any time of electronic contact in real-time
However, this does not apply if the other person they are trying to reach is a lawyer, prior client, have a close relationship with the person, or a family member.
Digital Marketing Disclaimer
Attorneys can only communicate with people requiring legal services through written or recorded, or electronic medium if they put a disclaimer. Any such advertisements must state that the attorney is advertising. It should also include relevant information about the client’s rights.
PI Legal Marketing, RPR And Technology: Too Many Grey Areas
These rules, when you think about them, seem to not consider modern technology. This has led to a lot of grey areas in how the law or rules are interpreted.
Since the rules mention that real-time communication through an electronic medium is not allowed, a debate arose on the legalities of using text messages. Can texts be considered as real-time contact? Can you even text a car accident victim? The Ohio Supreme Court passed a verdict allowing law firms to contact potential clients through text messages as it was considered similar to an email.
Another question that comes up concerning technology and legal advertising is, can an attorney befriend someone on Facebook and then reach out to them for services? Are they considered friends or someone they know if they connect on LinkedIn?
Lawyers must ensure a disclaimer in all their social media posts and not promise or guarantee any results. Sending requests on Facebook or LinkedIn is not an issue but if that request ends up with a person who requires legal services and does not have any disclaimers, it is an ethical violation.
Benefits Of Personal Injury SEO
Quality PI Lead Generation
The main aim of adopting SEO practices is to drive traffic to your law firm’s website. SEO is the best way to generate leads without paid marketing. SEO lets you connect directly with your target audience. You’ll have people looking for a personal injury lawyer visiting your website, this is known as a qualified lead.
Become A Voice
With quality content targeting the relevant keywords, you’ll be able to draw a lot of attention from internet users. People turn to the internet for answers and those looking to find answers can stumble across your website. Your content can help establish your online presence as the go-to website for those searching for answers to their legal questions like “what to do if you’re in a car accident without a driver’s license?” or “can I file a claim for someone else’s negligence?”.
Implementing personal injury SEO, PPC, and Social marketing tactics is a good idea to generate leads and boost your rankings on all digital marketing multi-channels. However, it is also important to ensure that you and your law firm are not violating any solicitation rules.
