301% increase in engagement

Hayward Baker is a law firm based in Fareham, Hampshire. Its website says it provides conveyancing and probate services and handles personal injury claims, and now says Hayward Baker is part of Biscoes Solicitors. Firms of this kind are rooted in their local area, and much of their work comes from people who are dealing with a difficult time in their lives, whether that is an injury, a bereavement or a house move.

For law firms, personal injury is an incredibly competitive field, and its leads often take months or even years to conclude. That shapes how the advertising has to be run: tightly, with cost control at the centre.

The reasons are easy to see. Someone who has been injured and is looking for a solicitor will usually search with specific words and may contact several firms. Many practices, large and small, want the same enquiries, and clicks on legal terms are often expensive. A firm cannot simply spend more to be seen, because a claim takes a long time to resolve and pays back slowly, so every pound spent on advertising has to be justified well before the case is closed.

There is a further need that is particular to the law. A solicitor's advertising has to read as trustworthy and clear, because the person on the other side of the screen is often anxious and wants to feel that the firm understands their situation. An ad or page that overpromises, or that sends someone to the wrong service, wastes the click and does the firm no good.

DPOM first signed with Hayward Baker for Google Ads in November 2018, and a conversion rate optimisation service followed in January 2019. A steady, measured source of enquiries, rather than a burst of expensive clicks, was what a firm in this position needed from its marketing.