Three Ways Personal Injury Lawyers Can Maximize Their Return On Investment From Podcasting

Founder/CEO of Rankings.io, an SEO agency that helps elite personal injury law firms dominate first page rankings. 

Many businesses have podcasts these days, and the numbers back up their decision. According to a 2020 study by Edison Research and Triton Digital, 75% of Americans age 12 and older (roughly 212 million people) are “familiar with podcasting,” and more than one-third of Americans age 12 and older (104 million) are “consuming podcasts regularly.”  

Podcasts are a fantastic way for brands to establish themselves as thought leaders in their fields, raise awareness about their products or services and build trust with consumers. 

In particular, podcasts present a unique opportunity for personal injury law firms. As the founder and CEO of a digital marketing agency focused on advising personal injury law firms on search engine optimization (SEO) so they can reach first-page rankings on Google, I’ve seen firsthand the wealth of valuable topics personal injury law firms have expertise on and could put out in the world to elevate their brands. With podcasting, they can establish and maintain themselves as industry heavyweights. 

To get started, finding the right podcast equipment is essential. However, if you’re a founding partner at a personal injury law firm and want to maximize your return on investment from podcasting, you need to go beyond that. You should focus on three key elements to achieve podcasting success. (Remember to adhere to all applicable state bar ethics and regulations.)

1. Create A Smart Content Strategy

When planning your podcast’s content, the first thing to ask yourself is: “Who is my audience?” Your audience could be fellow attorneys, the general public (prospective clients) or both. For instance, Los Angeles personal injury attorney Brian Panish’s podcast is geared toward an audience of other attorneys. On the other hand, Michigan personal injury attorney Mike Morse’s podcast is more so geared toward the general public. If you decide that you want to speak to both audiences, carefully consider how you’ll segment your podcast so that listeners can find the one that’s most relevant to them. One way to do this is by having two separate podcasts with different branding. Another approach is to clearly label each episode. 

By figuring out who you want to reach, you can then start to map out what topics you want to cover, which podcast style you want (for instance, do you want to structure it more like an educational course or more like a banter-style “roundtable” of sorts?) and who you want to interview. For instance, if you decide that you want to target your podcast to consumers and have an “educational course” podcast style, potential topics could be: “The three most important things to do after a car accident” and “Make sure your auto insurance policy covers these fundamental things.” 

Those topics are broad. To brainstorm narrower podcast topics that would be especially relevant to your audience, it’s crucial that you conduct keyword research. Use a keyword research tool to figure out what people in your area are searching for when it comes to personal injury law; what questions they’re asking. 

For instance, perhaps your firm operates in Texas, a part of the country prone to hurricanes, and a keyword research tool indicates that there’s a high search volume for “hurricane accident lawyer.” A narrow podcast topic that touches on that phrase could be: “What rights Texans injured in hurricanes have.” 

2. Optimize Content For Keywords

Keyword research will play a critical role in deciding which topics you cover in your podcast. However, you also want to make sure that you’re optimizing your podcast to hit on the keywords your firm wants to rank for on Google and other platforms. In fact, without the right search engine optimization (SEO) strategy, your podcast won’t get in front of the right people or as many people as it could. There are some basic things you can do to get started on SEO strategy. 

First, use a keyword in your podcast name to make it more searchable. While not a personal injury law podcast, a great example of this is the “Smart Passive Income Podcast with Pat Flynn.” Flynn seamlessly incorporated the keyword “passive income” into his podcast’s name, making it easy to find. Anyone who searches “passive income podcast” on Google will see his podcast on the first page of search results. However, make sure that whatever name you decide on follows the guidelines of your chosen podcast platforms (I recommend airing your podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and other platforms to expand your reach). 

Additionally, think about which keywords you want to target with your podcast. In general, you should try to rank for only a few specific keyword themes per podcast. This is especially true when you’re trying to optimize a podcast transcript that may be uploaded to your blog. Overall, it’s more important to answer consumer intent, so make sure that your content and keywords answer consumers’ needs.

You can work those targeted keywords into your podcast by uploading the cleaned-up transcripts (that include those targeted keywords) and adding them to your site. You can use a transcription service to speed up this process. Once you get the transcript, clean up any “umms” and “ahhs,” then appropriately shorten it (you don’t want to post a transcript of the entire show, as it will give people less of an incentive to listen). Also, consider writing an introduction to the transcript that hits on those keywords. 

3. Find Link-Building Opportunities

To spread your podcast’s reach and further raise your firm’s search engine ranking, you should also find link-building opportunities. 

People like to be talked about and want to show others that they’ve been talked about. When you invite a guest to your podcast, include a link to their website on the condensed transcript you publish. In turn, they’ll likely make a post about appearing as a guest on your podcast and will link back to your site. This typically happens naturally; you don’t have to ask them for a backlink. And if you appear as a guest on their show, return the favor. 

Other digital marketing strategies go into developing a successful podcast on personal injury law, but use these tips to get started. By hosting a popular podcast, you can establish yourself as a thought leader in personal injury law, build and refine your brand, boost business and drive thoughtful discussions that get people thinking. 

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Author: Chris Dreyer, Forbes Councils Member