AI Marketing for Lawyers & Law Firms
Is your law firm visible on ChatGPT, AI Overviews, Perplexity and other platforms?
Generative AI & Large Language Models (LLMs) have changed the marketing landscape for good. These platforms are improving at an exponential rate, and companies from Google to Microsoft to Apple are investing heavily in the race to provide the most valuable AI platforms for people seeking information and assistance. Your law firm can’t afford to fall behind. Fortunately, Digital Law Marketing can help you prepare for the present and the future.
While AI search is becoming more important, you shouldn’t obsess about it because the vast majority of users still use Google searches to find law firms. However, since this might not be the case for long, it’s better to be ready for the marketing path ahead.
What are Large Language Models?
Large Language Models are advanced AI systems that are trained to understand and generate human language. They rely on large datasets for training, including text from books, websites, articles and other written sources. Essentially, LLMs predict the next word in a sequence based on the context. This approach allows them to produce coherent and contextually appropriate language.
However, from a marketing standpoint, people are also using them to get advice on various matters, including the law. While most users still go to the old Google Search platform, many others have started using the AI Overviews provided by Google, which show up above the traditional search results. They have also moved to ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and various other LLMs to get answers to their questions and to find out who they should contact for help beyond what AI can provide.
Large Language Models do not use the “ranking” systems you’re likely used to with traditional search engines. Still, as is the case with search engines, there are steps you can take to improve your exposure. This includes many search engine optimization tactics. But optimizing for LLMs requires you to look far beyond the keyword and traffic models long used for SEO. If you’re concerned about your law firm’s visibility on these AI platforms, contact Digital Law Marketing to see how we can help.
What is Generative AI?
Generative AI refers to any artificial intelligence system designed to create new content. This includes text, images, music, code, video, or other data, rather than just analyzing or classifying existing information. Generative AI models are trained on examples and learn patterns, structures, and styles to produce novel content that mimics human-created data. LLMs are a subset of Generative AI focused on language, whereas platforms like Midjourney are focused on art and images.
How can Digital Law Marketing help your law firm?
At Digital Law Marketing, we’ve found several ways to help law firms improve their exposure on various AI platforms. Not all these platforms are the same, and you’ll find very different results from one to the next. However, Digital Law Marketing has a few steps we take that improve exposure across platforms. This includes a few key steps.
- Focus on Branding
Larger brands tend to be more prevalent in AI results. This is because they are more trusted. In order to compete with larger brands, you need to provide LLMs with exactly what they are looking for and find ways to increase your general brand exposure. These are areas where Digital Law Marketing can help. - Invest in high-quality content to become an authority in your practice areas
Most queries on these AI platforms are question-based, and your content should follow that same structure. You need long-form content and focus on questions and answers that will make you an authority on the subject matter. This means answering questions like, “What to do after a car accident,” or “How much is my car accident case worth?” Answering these questions with too much fluff will hurt your exposure. Alternatively, providing direct answers can increase your exposure. Digital Law Marketing’s content team is trained to provide content that meets these objectives. - Optimize your website and provide structured data
There is a big myth going around the search industry that says, “don’t build links.” The correct mentality is “don’t build links with the intention of manipulating Google.” There is nothing wrong with placing your business on relevant directories and the local search giants (Yelp, Apple, Bing, etc.). Without a foundation of links in place, your content will rarely rank at all, making it very hard to attract “real” backlinks. Link building has changed fundamentally over the last 3 years as has our understanding of the widely misunderstood nofollow attribute and its correlations with PageRank and performance. (Hint: NoFollow doesn’t mean No Value.) - Structured Data
Strong technical SEO is actually critical for AI marketing best practices. You should ensure your website has fast load speeds, is easily crawlable, mobile-friendly and secure. Implementing schema markups such as LegalService, Attorney, FAQPage and LocalBusiness helps search engines as well as AI models better understand your site. This is a frequently missed and misunderstood opportunity. FAQPage markups went by the wayside for many marketing companies when Google stopped providing these Q&A spaces within the search results, but they are still valuable for both SEO and LLMs.
Find out more about how Digital Law Marketing can help
There is much more we can do to help your law firm improve its AI visibility. The landscape is changing rapidly, and you need a legal marketing team that adapts to keep pace with the technology. Contact Digital Law Marketing today to learn more about how we can help the people who need you and your services find your law firm.