1. Set the geographic frame before reviewing ROI
A local law firm can serve Orange City, Sioux County, Iowa or a broader service area, and those are not interchangeable reporting scopes. The Census identifies Orange City city as a municipality in Sioux County. That relationship is useful when defining the geography of a report, but it cannot tell you how many people search for a legal service or how many cases a firm may receive. A meaningful dashboard review should therefore distinguish Orange City targets from Sioux County or statewide targets. Ask whether rankings, calls and leads will be grouped by the place named in the search target, the caller’s location, the firm’s service area or another documented rule. The answer affects how a partner interprets every total.
Recommended approach
Bring a written geographic policy to the consultation. Decide which locations belong in the firm’s reporting scope and keep Orange City, Sioux County and Iowa as separate labels unless the firm deliberately combines them. Do not use the municipality’s population estimate as a forecast of demand.
