Legal Internet Marketing Blog

Currently, you utilize a number of processes to drive potential clients to your practice. These may include: brochures, direct mail, billboard ads, Yellow Pages ads, online marketing efforts, TV and radio spots, word-of-mouth referrals, and repeat business.

Unfortunately, many attorneys and attorney marketing specialists -- who are quite good at analyzing the tactical consequences of advertising methods -- fail to understand the importance of developing an integrated approach to driving business.

Businesses that focus on an overall marketing strategy, do much better than firms that rely on “flavor the moment" and "get rich quick" tactics to get ahead.

Your offline and online legal marketing approaches can cement your law firm’s concept. Pick your “niche” of the “market,” then focus your entire marketing campaign on highlighting your strengths in this niche to potential customers.

Are you thinking about building a new website for your firm and don't know where to start? Here is a short checklist of information that can help you:

1) Contact information
Include your firm's name, address, phone number, fax number, e-mail addresses, and any other critical information on EVERY page. Many law firm sites don't list contact information anywhere except the "Contact" page, which makes it more difficult for users to find it. Put it on every page in a prominent position so that potential clients don't need to go farther than the first page they land on to find it.

2) Who You Are
Make your website informational and personal. Give your clients more than an unsmiling photo and a dry professional C.V. Make them feel like they know you before they pick up the phone. Remember every potential client that comes to your site is unique - you need to be unique also.

3) Educate your user
Your potential clients are searching the Internet for information about their particular situation. Don't be afraid to educate them, it won't scare them away. It actually has the opposite effect - by establishing your site as an informational site in your niche of the law, you'll not only appeal to potential customers, but you'll also please the search engines. The more educational and detailed site is, the better chance you’ll have of organically attracting clients.

4) Description your services
Brand your legal web site effectively. In plain language, describe what your firm specializes in and what you provide in the way of legal services. Use bullet point lists, graphics, and other simplifying tools to boil down your site’s “essence.”

Continue reading " Legal Web Site Checklist (From “Basics” To “Bells And Whistles”) " »

In an Internet-saturated world (and one in which Google changes its mind all the time), the value of organic Search Engine Optimization is sometimes questioned. Many law firms elect to simply do Pay Per Click and disregard the need for organic search. Does your law firm need professional legal SEO? The answer is a resounding YES! Here are ten reasons why:

1. The Internet market is bigger than ever before. Gen Y is reaching legal age; litigation is on the rise despite a slowed economy and more people are using search to look for options when they need a lawyer.

2. It’s cost effective. Have you ever researched how much it costs to get TV spots? Radio? Yellow Pages? All of which are gone as soon as your marketing budget is. Given the return on investment and the longevity of the benefits of SEO (if done right), it is the single most cost effective marketing available today.

3. It’s targeted. The Internet give you the ability to capture the attention of people looking for your specific practice area and qualifications? It’s a no-brainer.

4. It builds over time. With well-constructed site structure and solid organic search engine optimization, your site can build in value and effectiveness over time. It’s not often that an investment in something so dynamic actually matures over time.

5. It sends the right message. Potential clients want an attorney who has put thought into their experience – including how they find you. Good SEO means you care about finding clients who are searching for you online.

6. It can be tracked. Unlike direct mail or radio spots, it’s inexpensive and very effective to track the customer behavior that leads to a search-engine click. Better tracking means better marketing.

7. It levels the playing field. Organic search isn't like older forms of advertising such as the yellow pages. Every firm has the opportunity to be on the first page of search if they have a strong website and good SEO.

8. The Internet is everywhere. Almost everyone in the U.S. has access to the Internet, either through computers, mobile phones and free public access sites. Take advantage of this growing base with a website that they can find!

9. Search drives traffic. As much as you might like tons of direct traffic, it’s an unrealistic expectation in today’s search-driven world. Adapt with the times and acknowledge search’s role in your marketing campaign.

10. It works. Bottom line... SEO works if its done right. Organic search brings in more leads than any paid online advertising. Above all, it doesn't disappear as soon as you reach your daily, weekly or monthly budget.

If you are still skeptical about whether your firm can benefit from a strong marketing campaign that includes Search Engine Optimization ... read some of my client testimonials!

1) A dysfunctional practice
If your firm’s financially disorganized, troubled by ethical problems, or incapable of taking on new cases, a web site isn't going to fix it – no matter how well constructed or content rich. If your firm is having difficulties, fix them first then build your web presence.

2) The actions of competitors
The Web is a Wild West and will likely continue to be so for some time. Just because you rank well and dominate a keyword today doesn’t mean that you can sit back and relax. You must continue to build on your foundation so that you can stay ahead of your competitors. You are only as good as your current SEO campaign. The Internet is a living, breathing, ever changing animal - a shape shifter. You cannot control the behavior others, but you can control your own thematic approach by focusing on your web site and your long-term strategy.

3) The shifting algorithms
Google, Yahoo, MSN and the other big search engines are constantly looking for ways to improve search (and make more money of course). The algorithms that are used by spiders to rank web sites will evolve to fight back against so-called “black hat" SEO techniques. Your goal should not be to “trick" the search engines with rank well quick schemes, but rather to deliver good, timeless, highly relevant content. Remember the tortoise and the hare????

4) The reactions of all visitors
Your resources are limited. Focus on pleasing as many visitors as you can. You are never going to please "all of the people all of the time".

It can be tempting to crawl under a rock until the recession passes, but the National Law Journal recently published surprising news from 2008: legal filings actually rose nine percent in 2008. Here’s how to turn these numbers into a great legal marketing opportunity for your firm:

- Respect the climate. Fear is everywhere…and chances are your potential clients are afraid, too. Keep your website real and make it personal. Gone are the days of the stuffy image, roll up your sleeves and smile for your website photos.

- Stay on top of the news. With so much competition for legal Internet traffic and business, you have to differentiate yourself from the pack. One great way to do this is to make sure your site has current and up to date content (think blog!). Google loves it and your search engine rankings will reap the benefits…

- Leverage existing clients. A bit more attention to customer care and retention now will result in happy referrals down the road. Remember... its the little things that count.

- Stay out there. More litigation means more people combing the Internet, looking for lawyers. Maximize your exposure by developing an Internet presence that combines a professional web design, solid SEO, informative content, and current news and advice (think blog!).

- Prepare. An increase in new potential clients is useless if you aren’t ready to handle them. Make sure your in-house systems for telephone and email responses are in place and that new leads get an immediate response when they contact your firm and not an answering service or voicemail. Make sure everyone in your office is on board for the challenges that accompany an influx of business.

DO’S:

Build your site around a theme that's neither too broad, nor too narrow.
Be sure this theme meshes with the mission statement of your law practice. If, for instance, you’re a personal injury lawyer who specializes in serious injury and wrongful death suits, focus your content writing and SEO efforts on that niche of personal injury. This sounds intuitive. But you’d be surprised by how many legal websites fail to settle on a consistent, optimized theme.

Update your site regularly
Your web site is an organic, fluid object. Optimizing today doesn't mean that it will rank well next week. Search engine algorithms change frequently and your SEO must keep current. Search engines reward sites that are updated regularly.

Keep your site simple and easy to navigate
Structure your site in an intuitive way, so that visitors aren't bombarded with pop-up windows, banner ads, and other frustrating pathways. Use the KISS methodology, keeping in mind what your user may be looking for when they get there.

Get specific
Include details about you, your firm, location, fees, hours, statistics, and testimonials from prior clients.

Check your State Bar Rules on Advertising
This is the step that many law firms forget. Your State Bar DOES have rules on advertising and what you can and can't put on your web site. Make sure you aren't violating those rules when designing your site.

DON'Ts

Publish sensitive materials on your web site.
You might be handling the most exciting high-profile case ever. But if you violate a confidentiality agreement – even by “innocently” publishing material on the Web, you can face penalties, including disbarment.

Outsourcing all web duties to third parties
Internet consultants can design and build your web site, as well as market and optimize it. But be involved and know what your website says and check to make sure the images your web designer uses on your site are paid for and legal to use.

Copy content from another site
This is another area where many lawyers get in trouble. There are copyright rules with web site content. If you see information on another legal web site that you think is good, use it as a guideline but don't copy and paste into your site to cut corners.

For more information and guidelines for building and or marketing a professional legal web site, visit us at www.slsconsulting.com.

In today's Internet environment a blog is the single most cost effective Internet marketing tool available. You can get a free blog from many places and/or you can purchase professional blogs if you have the budget for under $5000 a year and it is worth every penny.

Here are just some tips on what to do once you have a blog...

1) Update frequently
The best written and most compelling legal blog won’t yield a good ROI if you only update it biannually. Schedule time to blog on at least a weekly basis.

2) Keep your blog focused
All too often, newly minted bloggers go off on tangents and wind up diluting what otherwise could be a potentially powerful marketing tool. Think about who your potential audience is when you write your blog posts and tailor the information to what they might be interested in.

3) Cut out the fluff and avoid repetition
Hopefully... You already own and maintain a solid legal web site, so keep your blog in the same manner. Don't use it to stuff in keywords designed simply to “trick the search engines.” Not only will you lose readers, but you could ultimately damage the brand of your web site that you've spent so much time and money building.

4) Use clear, concise language
As a lawyer, you're trained to think in complex sentences and to use multiple clauses to convey ideas. But your readers are not lawyers! They need short and interesting, not long and elaborate.

5) Integrate your blog into the rest of your legal web site
Your blog and site should function as parts of each other, reinforcing the presence you’ve built online.

For more information or questions about blogging or search engine optimization for your website, contact me at susan@slsconsulting.com

Be as specific as you can about your practice and area of the law.
Tailor your content to the kinds of clients you most want to represent. Answer questions that your clients are most likely to ask.

Build content for consumers.
It can be difficult for you as a legal professional to empathize with the dilemmas and frustrations of writing about the law at a consumer level. You must remember the level of knowledge that most potential clients have of legal matters is much lower than what comes naturally to you. You must walk your clients through the process step-by-step. Outline hypothetical scenarios. Give concrete examples. The clearer a potential client can visualize the process of working with you, the less overwhelmed he or she will be and the more likely he or she will trust you with the case.

Make your content readable, to the point, and don't ramble.
Individuals looking for lawyers online are under stress. If you besiege them with massive pages of information adorned with crazy fonts, graphics and other web “extras,” you will scare away potential business. Even if the materials you present are legitimate, thematically relevant, and original, you must SIMPLIFY. Break up your content pages into small, digestible bites and make the navigation easy for the user.

Build your web site with a mind to expansion.
Ideally, you will keep adding new content and resources for the life of your site. Update with new case information, new biographical information, and new answers to FAQs.