In short
Marketing for law firms aims to bring in people who need a lawyer and sign them as clients. Naelar's US work sits on six service pages: ads, local SEO and AI search, intake and CRM, AI and automation, offshore staffing and website design.
Every lead stays with your firm. We don't buy, sell or share leads.
Internet marketing for attorneys: what it is and who does it
What is internet marketing for an attorney? It is getting found online by people who need a lawyer, and turning that contact into a signed client. That takes ads, local search, a site that works on a phone, and an intake that replies fast.
Is digital marketing for lawyers the same thing? Yes, the same work. Law firm marketing is the wider term, because it also covers referrals and events.
What does a digital marketing agency for lawyers do? It runs those channels for the firm and reports what signed. Naelar is a founder-led growth partner for law firms, with the work split across the six pages below.
- They search or scrollSomeone needs a lawyer and looks on Google, a map, an AI answer or social media.
- They find your firmThrough an ad, a map listing, an AI answer or a page on your site.
- They call or send a formThe site and the phone line decide whether the contact happens.
- Intake replies and signsThe CRM records the source, and the firm follows up until the case signs or declines.
Six service pages
Each service has its own page with what's included, what isn't, and who it's not for.
What does marketing for a law firm include?
It usually covers a plan, a website, search, paid ads, reviews, content and email, social media, referrals, and a way to measure results. Naelar does some of these and leaves others to you or another provider.
- A plan and budget start from your goal and your cost per signed case. Our law firm marketing plan guide has a one-page template.
- The website, search and paid ads are the services above. We build the site, work on local SEO and AI search, and run the ads.
- Client reviews feed local search and help people choose a firm. See Google reviews for lawyers.
- Content, email and social media build trust over time. Read about email marketing for lawyers and social media for lawyers. We don't run them as services.
- Referrals and networking stay with your own team. We don't run them.
- Results come from signed cases by source, not clicks. The table below shows how for each channel.
Lawyer advertising is regulated state by state. Check ad wording and intake messages with your ethics counsel before they go out.
Which channel brings cases, and how do you tell?
Every channel pays back the same way: signed cases against what you spent on it. Each row below says where to read that number and where to learn more. Each channel's job is in the six service cards above.
| Channel | How you tell it pays back | Read next |
|---|---|---|
| Google Ads | Cost per signed case, by campaign | Lead generation, Google Ads for law firms |
| Local Services Ads | Cost per signed case, from the lead's source | Lead generation |
| Meta ads | Cost per signed case from lead-form leads, not likes or clicks | Facebook ads for lawyers |
| Local SEO and AI search | Signed cases from calls and forms that came from your profile and pages, month by month | Local SEO and AI search |
| Intake and CRM | Signed cases by source, and time to first reply | Intake and CRM, law firm CRM guide |
| Offshore staffing | Signed cases from calls that would have gone to voicemail, and reply time | Offshore staffing |
To work out the number in the second column, use our cost per signed case guide.
Where should a law firm start?
Start where cases are lost. If leads arrive but don't sign, fix intake first. If too few leads arrive, start with ads or local SEO.
| What you're seeing | Where to start |
|---|---|
| "We get leads, but they never turn into cases." | Intake and CRM |
| "The phone doesn't ring enough." | Lead generation |
| "We don't show up on the map or in ChatGPT." | Local SEO and AI search |
| "Calls after hours go to voicemail." | AI and automation |
| "People visit the site, but the form stays quiet." | Website design |
| "Calls come in, but nobody is free to answer them." | Offshore staffing |
Guides for each gap:
- Calls after hours: our guide to an AI receptionist for law firms covers what one can and can't do. Legal answering services compared helps if you'd rather use an answering company.
- Planning a new website: for ideas from other firms, see our law firm website examples.
- Calls and follow-up: our guide to how to hire a legal virtual assistant covers which tasks to hand over.
- Slow replies are a common leak. Our speed-to-lead guide shows how to test yours.
To see where your own cases are lost, work out your cost per signed case. That's what you spend on marketing, divided by the cases it signs. Our cost per signed case guide shows how, with a calculator.
Who we serve
The services are the same for every firm. The ads, the intake questions and the rules change by practice area.
See every practice area we work with
Is this a fractional CMO for a law firm?
It's the closest thing we offer to one, but it isn't the whole job.
A fractional CMO is a part-time marketing lead. For a small firm, much of that week is running ads, fixing intake and checking which cases sign. That's the work on the six pages above, run by Naelar's founder.
Anything outside those pages isn't part of the work. That includes brand strategy, PR, events, and managing your in-house marketing staff. If you need those, hire for them, and we'll work alongside that person.
How we work with your firm
The first conversation is free, and we reply within one business day. After that, your firm stays in control of every piece of the work.
- Nothing is built, published or sent before your firm signs it off.
- Ad accounts, the CRM and pages are set up in your firm's name, and your firm owns them.
- Your firm can remove our access at any time. If we stop working together, the accounts and the data stay with you.
We work with personal injury firms first, then immigration firms. If you want leads from a shared pool, we're not the right fit.
Naelar is not a law firm and doesn't give legal advice. Your firm stays responsible for its own compliance and reviews material before it's published or sent.
Guides to read first
These guides answer common owner questions: writing a marketing plan, speed to lead, cost per signed case and choosing a law firm SEO company.
Setting up ads? Read Google Ads and PPC for law firms.