Legal Internet Marketing Blog

We've all heard of Twitter at this point. You may even have an account that you use to follow your favorite actor or actress, professional sports team, or maybe just your friends, co-workers, or acquaintances. But are you aware of the marketing potential that each 140-character Tweet truly has?

For law firms hoping to establish their presence on the Internet, Twitter is a good place to start. It's easy to set up, and can be effectively used in your firm's Internet marketing campaign if it is utilized properly. For starters, it's important to remember that your Twitter account should not be considered the same thing as your web page. While your web page is an information source about the particular area of law that your practice, your Twitter page should be a platform where you display your legal knowledge and experience in a more personalized way. Understand?

Well, in case you don't, the most important thing to remember is this: a website is for your business, while your Twitter account is for your customers/potential clients. Twitter is a platform that is inherently operated and controlled by users. Businesses such as law firms should establish a presence there, but not expect to present a sales pitch that is going to be well received. Users control the information that is spread across the Twitterverse, not businesses.

You should never assume that just because a person follows you on Twitter that he or she will become a client. In fact, your end goal using Twitter isn't to gain customers, but to gain listeners: people who are interested in the topics you Tweet about, and therefore want to share those Tweets with other Twitter users. So remember, don't use sales pitches. Instead, tweet about your area of law, showing that you're a trusted authority on the subject, and simply enjoy being a part of a growing social network where, indirectly, you may eventually gain a follower or two who becomes a client someday.

And also remember that all social networking roads should lead back to your primary branding source, otherwise known as your website. That's a whole different topic for another time though. Good luck.

You may need to order another shot of espresso to keep up with Google’s new indexing system, Google Caffeine, which was officially launched on June 7. The new way for Google to index sites on the web makes having a solid and focused legal Internet marketing strategy more important than ever.

As anyone familiar with search engine optimization (SEO) knows, Google recognizes relevant and properly placed keywords on a site. But this is not all. Google looks for several different factors when “indexing” a website, or making a website show up in search results for specific keyword phrases. With Google Caffeine, Google can index a large amount of content in a shorter amount of time than ever before. Considering how fast-paced our society is, which is reflected in the quick and efficient results we expect when entering a search, Google has created a way to provide us with even more updated material in a matter of seconds.

With Google Caffeine comes an emphasis on adding new content and design to your law firm’s website, building quality incoming links, keeping blog posts current, properly utilizing social media, and making sure that keyword positioning is done properly in addition to several other SEO tactics. Google Caffeine’s quick indexing also makes having a website with sufficient loading time extremely important.

Don’t let Google Caffeine give you the jitters – while it’s valuable to act fast in order to keep up with your competition and the ever-changing ways of the Internet, your actions must be deliberate and not rushed. Don’t neglect quality to get the job done faster. This does not create results that last for your law firm’s web presence. It is important to take your time, while being efficient, with the optimization, design, and structure of your legal website.

A new Arava side effects website has just been announced by the Philadelphia pharmaceutical litigation lawyers at Anapol Schwartz. In supplying important and resourceful information on Arava side effects, liver failure dangers, FDA black box warnings, liver failure wrongful death, and Arava lawsuits, http://www.arava-lawyers.com/ provides resources for those who have sustained injuries and other harm from taking the arthritis drug or may know someone who has suffered from taking Arava (leflunomide).

In creating a website dedicated solely to Arava, the PA products liability attorneys at Anapol Schwartz hope to assist Arava injury victims and their families in better understanding the extent of potential side effects and possible litigation. The drug maker of Arava, Sanofi-Aventis, has been required to add a black box warning after the FDA reviewed the drug’s side effects in which 14 fatalities and at least 49 cases of serious liver damage were linked to Arava. The pharmaceutical product was approved in 1998 by the FDA to be used by patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.

The new website also addresses Arava liver failure and other serious side effects due to Arava use such as jaundice, joint disorder, chest pain, brain disease (encephalopathy), blood clotting (coagulopathy), joint disorders, peeling or blistering skin, blistering on the inside of eyelids, nose or mouth, and other afflictions.

Legal websites that focus on such specific information, especially when it comes to a potentially dangerous prescription drug, do a great service to visitors, who are typically individuals hoping to obtain more than just a piece of valuable data – they want the full story. Creating a website for your law firm with detailed, relevant, informative, and interesting content is one of many important steps toward getting noticed by search engines and helping those searching for answers to difficult questions.

Facebook, the wildly popular social networking site that began as a way for college students to interact with one another, has reached a significant milestone. As of July 21st, Facebook now has 500 million users, a number that increases on a daily basis as more and more people use the social networking site to reconnect with old friends, foster new relationships, and discuss topics that they find most interesting and relevant in their lives. What does this mean for law firms, you ask? Plenty. But it doesn't necessarily mean obtaining new clients - at least, not immediately. Due keep in mind, though, that 500 million Facebook users is a very large audience in which to market your law firm, and it shouldn't be ignored.

For any law firm looking to utilize social media platforms in its marketing campaign, the most important thing to remember is that you're not going to create a profile only to send friend requests to a bunch of people you don't actually know, and influence those new "friends" to retain your services. That's simply just not how it works. What your end goal should be, however, is getting your message out there, conveying your law firm as an authority on the type of law that it practices, and gaining trust amongst "friends" and others who stumble across your profile.

For Facebook, creating and maintaining a firm "fan" page is a good way to get your message across, as well as display a variety of information about your firm and its attorneys. This process, at least the creation portion of it, sounds fairly easy, and actually is for the most part. However, like all business matters, if you want a strong return on the time you've invested in your page, you have to put in a significant amount of effort. You can't simply create a page, leave it alone, and expect it to attract fans and potential friends. You wouldn't treat your website that way, so why should you treat your social networking like that?

Ultimately, any strong Internet marketing campaign is going to include time and effort devoted to social media marketing. To do so requires effectively utilizing your resources to establish your online identity as authoritative, reaching out to fans and friends in a manner that is genuine, not sales-pitchy, and relying on those fans and friends to spread your message to others. Remember, social networking sites are not run by businesses. They're run by everyday users who through word of mouth discuss topics that are most relevant or interesting in their lives. Be interesting, be yourself, and word of mouth may end up securing your law firm a few clients along the way.

The ever-expanding social networking universe is becoming a much smaller place. That is, a recent announcement made by Twitter has revealed that users of the micro-blogging service will now be able to more effectively link their Twitter accounts to their Facebook and LinkedIn profiles. This will lead to the establishment of a web of social networking contacts that may soon be able to fully interact with one another.

According to a pcmag.com article, Twitter has added both Facebook and LinkedIn to its "Find Friends" feature. However, as with any new development still in its infancy, the new feature is far from flawless. Reportedly, the Twitter-Facebook application does not allow users to access their Facebook information at this time, disallowing them from being able to discern which of their Facebook friends are on Twitter (which is what the application is supposed to allow). It should be noted, however, that the Twitter-LinkedIn application is currently working as it is supposed to - allowing LinkedIn users to see which of their LinkedIn connections also have a presence on Twitter.

Social networking began as a means for friends to communicate about a variety of topics that they all found interesting. Today, social networking is very much the same thing, and forever will be a grouping of arenas where members are allowed to express themselves. For law firms, the allure here should not be to become friends with someone in hopes that the person will soon become a client. Instead, attorneys should enter into the social networking discussion as an authority on the type of law its firm is centered-around. The point of having a presence on social networking sites is not to sell your product, but to connect with other users and establish yourself as a trusted authority on whatever type of law you may practice - whether its personal injury law, criminal defense, bankruptcy law, or business litigation.

Continue reading " Twitter + Facebook + LinkedIn = A Giant Social Sphere You Must Join " »

It seems as though everyone has a blog these days, and with good reason. Blogs not only provide accessible, helpful, and interesting information, they also create an opportunity for discussion and a growth of interest among your target audience. If you are looking to drive more traffic to your legal website, factor a law blog (Blawg) into your Internet marketing strategy’s equation.

If you’re trying to save money, don’t let starting a blog get in your way. Did your mother ever tell you that money doesn’t grow on trees? Well, she was right. But blogs do! With several blog websites to chose from, many options are available without you needing to spend a penny.

Of course, there are other blog hosting sites that require a fee, and these should not be disregarded since they have additional services that other blogs do not offer. Additional costs may also be required for certain blog feature upgrades or advanced services on free blog hosting sites like WordPress, which has outstanding popularity. Who would’ve thought that seven years ago WordPress would emerge as one of the most popular places to blog? Many of its users are drawn to a wide range of free features and applications that help enhance a blog’s visual appeal, search engine rankings, and more. Several attorneys who utilize social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook have also found it helpful to add free applications to their blog so that blog posts automatically show up as Tweets and Facebook wall posts.

What you can do with a blog is practically limitless; however, you want to avoid getting carried away with blogging tactics that are ineffective. Consult with your Internet marketing strategist for suggestions on search engine optimization, blog topics, and other important factors to help your law firm’s web presence grow.

Sipe & Associates, Inc., dba SLS Consulting, is proud to announce being selected for the second consecutive year for the 2010 Best of South Pasadena Award in the Internet Marketing & SEO Service category by the U.S. Commerce Association (USCA). As a well-known and established boutique legal marketing consulting group, Sipe & Associates, Inc. continues to provide personable and rapid client development.

The USCA "Best of Local Business" Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. U.S. Commerce Association (USCA) is a New York City based organization that recognizes the best of local businesses in their community. Each year, the USCA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.

Nationwide, only 1 in 70 (1.4%) 2010 Award recipients qualified as two-time Award Winners. Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2010 USCA Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the USCA and data provided by third parties.

To learn more about how Sipe & Associates, Inc. is different and how we can help your business grow, please visit our website at http://www.legalinternetmarketing.com/ or call 1-323-254-1510.

For anyone out there who says social network profile creation and maintenance is nothing more than a fad, look no further than Microsoft's recent decision regarding integrating Facebook into its Outlook email information manager program. According to a recent article featured on informationweek.com, Microsoft's recently updated Social Connector plug-in will allow users to connect with Facebook status updates, photo uploads, and wall posts via notification within Outlook itself. This is being done all in hopes of making Outlook more of a communication hub that users want to access on a more regular basis. This new update comes at the heels of updates already released for social networking platforms MySpace, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Reportedly, a "People Pane" window will allow Outlook users to receive real-time Facebook updates. Furthermore, the new plug-in update will also connect Outlook user contacts with Facebook profile information. It should be noted, however, that while Outlook users will be able to access Facebook profile information, the process is limited. Specifically, Outlook users are not yet able to post and update information on Facebook from the confines of Outlook.

Other email platforms, such as Yahoo, have already enabled Facebook to connect with users via the email platform. Gmail, another online email platform, has even gone so far as to create its own social network called Google Buzz. Regardless of how users are being connected, the point should be clear throughout: social networking is ingrained in our society, so much so that its encroachment into other web experiences is advancing on what seems like a daily basis. For businesses, like law firms, having an established presence on social networks is becoming more and more vital in creating an even larger web presence and reaching out to as many potential clients as possible.

According to statistics put out by Nielsen, two-thirds of all Internet users visit social networks and blogs on a regular basis. Despite the common misconception that social networks are all fun and no work, the contrary couldn't be more true. That is, law firms who properly utilize social networking into their legal marketing strategies not only create greater exposure regarding their services, but also enable themselves to connect with potential clients on a more human-to-human level. While a website alone will enable your law firm to get its message across, social networking for attorneys allows clients to find out more about the people behind the firm, gives a clearer picture as to what a law firm’s mission statement is really all about, and creates a more intimate setting to foster professional relationships - both present and future. So, like Microsoft, if you want to take advantage of the social networking train, you'd better hop onboard now before all the available seats are taken.

The importance of link building and link popularity as a part of driving traffic to your website and enhancing your search engine optimization strategies can be compared to getting the dance moves right for a tango. Sure, you can rush through the process and pretend to know what you’re doing, but this ends up looking messy and will not fool the ultimate judge – the search engines.

Many of us know the tango to fluctuate from glides and sudden pauses to fast moves. The movements in this intricate dance are deliberate and intentional. While your legal web presence is not likely to flourish on link building alone, link building is one element of your legal Internet marketing campaign that should not be left out.

Building quality links, or “backlinks”, to your website is not something that should be done in a rush or without experience to support your decisions. Link building takes practice. Having relevant, currently updated, properly optimized, and keyword-rich content on your legal website will help it gain quality links. You want content that is easy to understand, informative, helpful, and displays your law firm’s legal knowledge. This is the kind of website that others will want to link to. You also want to be particular about the types of links that you include on your website as well as where you place the links.

Link farms may seem like a good idea, but they can be deceiving, just like a sloppy tango. Search engines typically view link farms, which are designed to only accept incoming links, as a form of spam. The last thing you want is to have your legal website banned from the search engines due to spamming.

While no single link is the ultimate answer to tie all the loose ends of your marketing efforts, each link on your website should be given some thought, just like the movements in the tango. Don’t forget to utilize social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to gain more incoming links. However, you don’t want just anyone linking to your website. What you want are the quality links – the good dancers.