How to market a bail bond business

Bail bonds are a lucrative and highly competitive on-demand business. Since state law determines procedures and pricing, beating the competition depends on three things: communication, marketing, and reputation. 

When someone is arrested, family and friends go into crisis mode. Most will search immediately for a bail bondsman to get their loved ones out of jail as quickly as possible. Some will ask friends for a recommendation, but the majority will go to Google for help. Here’s how to make your bail bonds business stand out. The higher your business ranks in local listings, the more business you will attract. That means your first priority is ranking for local search on the web and mobile. 

Before you create your marketing plan, check your state laws. There may be restrictions on how you can market and to whom. For example, soliciting attorney referrals is illegal in California.

Communication is more than just answering the phone. Face-to-face skills and telephone skills are important, but today’s consumers need to be able to find information about your business online and demand an immediate response. 

A responsive, functioning website can be your biggest asset. Filling your website with content users are searching for is invaluable. It increases name recognition, builds trust, and makes your site appear higher in the web search, which increases the traffic to your site. More traffic plus great content means more visitors turn into customers.

1.Build a website

One of the biggest benefits of a small business website, is no matter what you’re busy doing, your bail bonds website is always working for you.

The first step is to build a website designed to be found and to convert visitors to customers. To get visitors, your website has to rank high in the search page results, and because more than half of searches are conducted on smartphones and tablets, you need a responsive design that will adapt to any size screen. Navigation should be simple and clear to help visitors find exactly what they are searching for. When visitors cannot find the information they are looking for, they will leave your site and go to a competitor. Making information easy to find boosts your conversion rates. 

Next, you need to carefully consider what to put on your pages. Specific content helps your website get a higher rank in the search engines and inspires customers to choose your business over competitors. Explain what you do, who you are, where you’re located, and how to contact you. 

2. Content for a bail bondsman to get more leads

Effective digital marketing includes enticing people to visit your site. Content marketing can be described as writing about what customers search for so they will come to your site for answers. It’s important to know your audience and write in the language they can understand. Talk to clients, not lawyers or industry professionals. Keep the language simple and the approach friendly. Topics like “How do bail bonds work?” and “What happens when someone is arrested?” will help attract potential clients.

How to dominate Google local search

It’s not easy to be number one, but there are many search engine optimization steps you can take to get to the top of local Google search. The more bail bonds related information you have on your site, the higher your business will rank.

When building your site, make sure you choose a responsive style. Responsive simply means the website will fit and be readable on any size screen. Since searching on mobile devices outpaced desktop search way back in 2015, it is just bad business to have a website that doesn’t work well on mobile devices. You may even want to consider a mobile app for direct communications with clients.

3. How to rank for bail bondsman in Google Maps

If you haven’t chosen a name for your business, consider using the primary keyword in your business name. The bail bondsman who snags the county or city name has a distinct advantage over other choices. In most areas, those plums are long gone, along with names like Fast Bail Bonds and Cheap Bail Bonds. Get creative, but stay on point. If your business name is already established, work with what you have to build a great reputation. You’ll also need to add your business to Google Maps. 

4. How to optimize your Google My Business listing

First, claim your business on Google My Business. To return the best results, make sure the information on your website includes business contact info such as address and phone number, a clear description of your business, and the business categories you fit in. This will also boost your Google Maps listing and help with local search. 

Higher small business website listings usually include photos, operating hours, reviews and replies, and ratings in addition to basic contact information.

5. How to get citations

Citations are online mentions that include the business name, address, and phone number (NAP) on websites where people are likely to search for your business, or on websites, apps, and social media. A structured citation is one where the information appears in a consistent format, like a Google Maps entry:

An unstructured listing might be a Facebook, blog post, or article that contains the same information within a paragraph or story.

These types of references help users find local businesses and help boost your search engine rankings. Moz identifies NAP listings among the top local ranking factors. Claim your listings wherever they appear online in order to keep listings correct and up to date.

Where to get citations for a bail bonds business:

•  bailbond.com
•  expertbail.com
•  yellowpages.com
•  superpages.com
•  local.yahoo.com
•  yellowbook.com
•  aboutbail.com
• manta.com
• citysearch.com

6. How to get reviews as a bail bondsman

You would think customers might be reluctant to go public with bail bonds reviews under the circumstances, but many customers are willing to provide feedback, especially when you deliver great customer service. Be responsive, informative, and friendly, and your clients, no matter who they are, will appreciate it.

Customer reviews are a fantastic selling point. Research shows that 86% of consumers read and trust reviews for local businesses, including 95% of people age 18-34. Visitors who read positive reviews are more likely to convert. Reviews also boost the local SEO value of your site and help you get higher search rankings.

7. Your secret weapon: Response time 

Response features on your website and mobile app are great conversion rate tools. Potential customers want answers now. The business often goes to the first bail bond company to respond. That’s why you have to make it as easy as possible for them to get an instant response. 

Having a web chat window opens up to offer help when people go to your site is powerful. They have questions and you can message them in real time, right this minute – not later when you have time to call back and the business is already lost to a competitor. Answering phone calls is great, but grabbing them before they make a call is even better!

8. Leverage social media marketing

Share your content on social media. Facebook is the most effective social media marketing channel for a bail bondsman, where you can share information and local knowledge without violating the privacy of your clients. Unlike other small businesses, you can’t highlight your clients. But don’t be surprised if they compliment you on your excellent work. 

Social media offers an excellent platform to promote your business by answering questions, offering advice, and showcasing your expertise. Creating informative shareable content encourages people to share, which expands your audience.

9. Online paid advertising

While PPC campaigns (pay-per-click advertising) helps get your name in front of potential customers, your efforts should be highly targeted and local to return effective CCP (cost-per-click) results. Google Ads and Facebook ads allow you to choose a very specific PPC audience to see your advertising, and messaging should focus on fast, courteous service. 

In addition to digital marketing, your bail bonds marketing strategies should also include physical advertising, like signage on the building and on vehicles and billboards in the area near the county jail; they are still quite effective for bail bonds businesses.

Conclusion

Bail bonds advertising and online marketing is very similar to that of other small and medium businesses, with some limitations. You can’t compete on price because that is set by the DOJ. You also can’t promise to speed up the procedure. What you can do is offer fast, courteous service and comprehensive knowledge about what will happen. Clients will ask a lot of questions professional bail agents know answers to, like how long release will take after their loved one is bonded out, where to pick them up, and what happens next. You’re the expert. Volunteering this kind of information is reassuring and builds trust. That’s the kind of service people tell their friends about and the kind of customer feedback you want.