How do law firms get clients? A Guide for Modern Practices

Existing clients and referrals

For many law firms, existing clients and referrals remain one of the most important sources of new business. A client who has had a good experience may return when they need another legal service or recommend the firm to somebody else. Other solicitors, accountants, financial advisers and professional contacts can also become valuable sources of referrals.

There can also be opportunities within the firm’s existing client base. A business that initially instructs a solicitor on an employment issue may later need commercial property or dispute resolution advice. An individual who has used a firm for conveyancing may return for a Will or another private client service.

The limitation is that referrals aren’t always predictable. A firm that has traditionally grown through recommendations may eventually reach the point where it wants a more consistent way of generating new opportunities.

Digital marketing doesn’t need to replace referrals. It can provide another source of clients alongside them.

SEO and Google search

When somebody needs a solicitor and doesn’t already know who to contact, Google is an obvious place to start. They might search for a broad service such as “family solicitor near me”, but they may also search for the specific problem they’re facing. Understanding those searches is an important part of law firm SEO.

Good SEO involves considerably more than publishing articles. Service pages, location pages, technical SEO, internal linking, website structure, Google Business Profiles and online reviews can all influence how easily a firm is found.

The search intent behind a keyword matters as well. There is limited commercial value in attracting thousands of visitors who are researching a general legal question if none of them is likely to instruct the firm. We therefore don’t judge SEO purely on traffic.

We want to know whether the right potential clients are reaching the website, which services they’re interested in and whether those visits are resulting in enquiries.

Search is also beginning to extend beyond traditional Google results. People can now use AI tools to research legal problems and find relevant businesses, so firms increasingly need to think about their wider online visibility rather than rankings alone.

PPC and Google Ads

SEO takes time, which isn’t always helpful if a law firm needs additional work now. PPC allows firms to advertise against searches for specific legal services and can therefore provide a quicker route to potential clients. PPC can be particularly useful when a firm has launched a new department, recruited additional fee earners or wants to increase work in an area where its organic rankings are currently weak.

However, legal keywords can be expensive. The success of a PPC campaign depends on much more than getting somebody to click an advert. The keywords targeted, negative keywords, location settings, advert, landing page and what happens after the enquiry all affect the eventual return.

We often use PPC and SEO together. PPC can provide more immediate visibility while SEO is developed as a longer-term source of enquiries.

Claims management companies and purchased leads

Claims management companies (CMCs) and other lead providers are another source of clients for some UK law firms, particularly in areas such as personal injury and housing disrepair. The benefit is relatively straightforward. Rather than having to generate every enquiry themselves, firms can access potential clients through an external provider.

There is nothing inherently wrong with that model. We have worked with law firms where purchased leads form an important part of their overall acquisition strategy.

The question we normally ask is how dependent does the firm want to become on them? If a significant proportion of new matters comes from one or two external providers, the firm has less control over that source of work. Prices can change, lead quality can vary and volumes aren’t necessarily guaranteed.

CMCs also operate within a regulated environment. In Great Britain, the Financial Conduct Authority regulates specified claims management activities, including relevant activities relating to areas such as personal injury and housing disrepair. Firms using external providers should understand how leads are being generated and the regulatory requirements relevant to their particular arrangements.

For us, the alternative isn’t necessarily to stop buying leads. It is to develop the firm’s own sources of enquiries alongside them.

One personal injury firm we work with was generating around nine or ten website enquiries per month when we started working together. Following work across SEO, PPC and AI search optimisation, the firm now regularly receives more than 50 enquiries per month through its own website.

The firm has therefore developed a much stronger direct source of potential clients that it has greater control over.

Content, social media and professional relationships

Content can help potential clients find a firm and understand whether it is capable of helping them, but simply publishing more content isn’t necessarily the answer.

There is already an enormous amount of generic legal information online. A useful article should answer the questions a prospective client actually has and demonstrate something about the firm’s experience. In simple terms, you need to write for the people instructing you, not the lawyers you’re trying to impress.

Social media can serve a different purpose. LinkedIn, for example, can be particularly valuable for commercial firms, barristers and solicitors who rely heavily on professional relationships and referrals.

The aim doesn’t always have to be an immediate enquiry. Building recognition among a relevant audience can create professional relationships that later result in introductions, referrals and instructions.

Generating enquiries isn’t the same as getting clients

This is one of the areas we think law firms sometimes overlook. Imagine a firm is generating 50 enquiries every month but only five become clients. The immediate reaction might be that the firm needs 100 enquiries instead. We would want to know what happened to the other 45 first.

Were they unsuitable? Were they looking for a service the firm doesn’t provide? How quickly did somebody respond? Did they speak to the right person? Was there any follow-up?

If most enquiries are irrelevant, the marketing may be targeting the wrong audience. If they’re good opportunities but very few instruct, there could be a problem with the firm’s conversion process instead.

This is why we encourage clients to tell us about the quality of the enquiries we’re generating, not simply the number. Sometimes the quickest way to get more clients isn’t generating more leads. It’s converting more of the opportunities the firm already has.

How much should a law firm spend on getting clients?

There isn’t a useful figure that applies to every firm. Instead, we’d look at what a new client is worth and how much it costs to acquire one.

A £50 lead isn’t necessarily better value than a £150 enquiry if the cheaper leads rarely become clients. Likewise, an SEO campaign shouldn’t be judged purely on the amount of website traffic it produces.

The more useful measures are the cost per suitable enquiry and, where possible, the cost per acquired client. This is particularly important when comparing channels. PPC, SEO, purchased leads and referrals have very different cost structures, so comparing them purely on the initial cost of generating an enquiry can be misleading.

How should law firms decide where to invest?

Start with the commercial objective rather than the marketing channel. What work does the firm want more of? How much is a typical matter worth? How much additional capacity does the department have? How quickly does it need more instructions? Where is its existing work coming from?

Only then does it make sense to decide whether the priority should be SEO, PPC, content, social media, referrals, purchased leads or a combination of them.

At BSD Legal Marketing, we start by understanding where a law firm is now and where it wants to get to. We then look at its website, competitors, current search visibility and existing marketing before developing a strategy around those objectives. Because ultimately, getting more website visitors isn’t the goal; getting more of the right clients is.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best way for a law firm to get clients?

There is no single best method for every law firm. Referrals, SEO, PPC, online reviews, social media, professional relationships and purchased leads can all generate clients. The right approach depends on the practice area, location, target client, budget and how quickly the firm wants to generate additional work.

Does SEO generate clients for law firms?

SEO can generate clients by helping a law firm appear when potential clients search for relevant legal services. However, rankings and traffic alone don’t guarantee new business. The website also needs to build trust, target the right searches and make it easy for visitors to contact the firm.

Should law firms buy leads?

Purchased leads can be useful, particularly in higher-volume areas such as personal injury and housing disrepair. Firms should consider the source and quality of the leads, conversion rate, relevant regulatory requirements and the eventual cost of acquiring a client. Developing direct sources of enquiries can also reduce reliance on third-party providers.

Should law firms use Google Ads?

Google Ads can be effective when a law firm wants to generate enquiries relatively quickly. Its viability depends on the cost of the searches being targeted, competition, landing page performance and how effectively enquiries are converted into clients.

How can a law firm get more clients?

Start by identifying the type of clients and matters the firm wants more of. The next step is to understand how those clients currently find legal services and which channels are most appropriate. For many firms, the most effective approach will combine existing client relationships and referrals with SEO, PPC and other forms of digital marketing.

Want to generate more of the right enquiries?

At BSD Legal Marketing, we work exclusively with law firms and legal businesses.

We don’t start by telling you that you need a particular marketing channel. We look at the work you’re currently getting, the work you want more of, how quickly you want it and the budget available.

From there, we can develop an SEO, PPC and digital marketing strategy focused on generating more of the enquiries your firm actually wants.