Legal Internet Marketing Blog

In case you haven’t already heard, we here at SLS Consulting have been hosting a weekly tweetup to discuss SEO, blogging, social media, and more in relation to lawyers as well as in general.

For our second tweetup, we decided to exclusively discuss the many issues facing attorneys and law firms when it comes to Internet marketing. For many, social media is seen as being for younger audiences, and some don’t realize there is great value in engaging with such a large audience participating in social networking. We also covered the pros and cons of using accident victims’ names in blogs, which is a controversial topic in the legal community. We talked about whether it appears as though Google+ can benefit attorneys while the social media platform is in its beginning stages, and discussed why law firms and attorneys should have a mobile site for their website. Lastly, we talked about how press releases, typically seen as “old school,” fit into today’s fast-paced, social media-heavy marketing plans.

If you would like to read the transcription of this tweetup, visit our page on Facebook. And of course you are more than welcome to join our tweetup every Friday at 10 a.m. Pacific Standard Time! We’ll be tweeting from @LegalBlogs, and all you have to do is ask questions and participate by using #knowSEO with your tweets! See you there!

In the world of legal Internet marketing, law firms and attorneys are constantly seeking ways to improve their rankings and achieve a solid online authority to surpass their competition and stay on top. Link building for law firms often comes up as a way to do this. However, it is not the only way and it can be harmful to think of it in this regard. In Part 1 of our blog series, we discussed the first 5 myths about link building. Here, we wrap it up with the remaining top myths, 6-10, about building links:

Myth #6: It’s easy to see all the links that count towards rankings– A website can claim to have thousands of incoming links, but these links could be ones that Google has discounted. The links you see through various online tools are not always explicitly “Google approved” links. While you can check to see if a link displays itself in Google, you may only see some of the links that count. Although having an idea of the big picture can be beneficial in understanding your rankings and what next steps to take, you may not know what really counts towards your search engine results.

Myth #7: If you can’t see your links, they aren’t there - Just because you don’t see a directory link, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t really count towards your ranking. This could mean that Google chooses not to display the link or links it to the public. Disreputable marketing companies may use this as a tactic to scare someone into buying their services.

Myth #8: All link directories are bad - “Paid links” often get a bad reputation, and you can understand why with all the scams out there, but this can be an effective option – if you chose wisely. If a directory listing is relevant, it could be viable to pursue. It is actually possible to pay for quality links on legal directories or good directories with legal sections.

Myth #9: I don’t need to see what my competitors are doing - You should always be checking what your competitors are doing, but this doesn’t mean you need to follow their lead! Link directories can help you check out who your competition obtains links from so you can most efficiently spend your time and money getting quality links that will actually make a positive difference.

Myth #10: Link directories are the only way to get incoming links – Link directories are one way to get incoming links. Link directories can help, but only if they are from credible platforms and if the links are relevant to your area of practice. Incoming links are also achieved when other credible sources link back to your website, blog, or social networking sites, because they feel the material is informative and helpful.

Even though these myths are common, there are many others out there. If you still have any questions about link building or how to achieve high rankings for your website, contact the legal Internet marketing team at SLS Consulting for a free growth assessment. Call 1-323-254-1510 today.

What you see isn’t always what you get when it comes to links. We know you hear and read a lot about the importance of incoming links and how to get them. In our 2-part blog series, we will cover the top 10 myths about link building that every attorney should know. Here are the first 5 to get you started:

Myth #1: Link building is fast and cheap – This is the big red flag that says, “SCAM.” If a company promises you fast and cheap services to build links, run! Effective link building is not fast, cheap or easy. It doesn’t have to be costly, but it takes time and can be challenging.

Myth #2: Building links is easy - Link building isn’t rocket science, but to do it right, it takes planning and strategy. A lot of steps go into building quality links that will actually make a difference in your rankings. You can do more harm than good to your website and online reputation if you make mistakes in link building. Not all paid links are evil, but you need to know the rules.

Myth #3: All links are good - There are several factors that apply in the categorization and identification of “good” and “bad” links. You want to be very particular about your links if you decide to go through a directory. Building irrelevant links is a waste of time and effort.

Myth #4: Anyone can build links – This is actually true… anyone can build links, but not everyone can build “good” links. Link building requires experience because it involves aspects of Internet marketing as well as strategies used to develop online authority and establish high search engine rankings that last.

Myth #5: I need thousands of links to achieve good rankings – Having 20,000 irrelevant links purchased for ranking purposes alone will not help your Google rankings. If your links appear to be spammy and go against Google’s policies, they won’t make any impact, meaning you have wasted your time and money. So in reality, having tons of links does not equate good rankings. It is much better to focus on the best links, even if that means having 10 instead of 1,000.

There are a lot of underhanded link building companies out there who will make empty promises to reel you in with only their profits in mind. Be wary and do your research or call SLS for find out more about our link building packages!

To learn more about link building, visit our blog again for Part 2.

You may have heard of Klout, a startup that measures the online influence of users of social media sites and generates a score based upon users’ connections and activities. Klout uses an algorithm to determine a user’s “real” social media reach, using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Foursquare, in addition to several other variables. In particular, Klout looks at whether a user is engaged within their respective audience (excluding spam accounts) on these platforms, as well as what happens to the content a user shares; whether its reposted/retweeted, sparks a conversation, or is simply ignored. In addition, Klout also analyzes how influential a user’s engaged audience is, as well as whether a user is influencing other important users.

Recently, Klout introduced +K (not to be confused with Google’s +1 button or the new Google+), which measures social media influence on a particular topic by permitting users to give other users authority on these topics. This initiative allows users to give other users a +K if the user influenced them on a particular topic. Users are limited to five +Ks every day that can be given to any user in any topic.

Klout has also been in the news lately since the introduction of a new Facebook integrating system in which a user’s Facebook influence will determine whether they have access to certain brand pages and other new products such as coupons, movie trailers, or other unreleased information or material on Facebook.

Some have pointed out that it’s possible to use certain tactics to increase a user’s Klout score, therefore making its score irrelevant. While it remains to be seen how Klout will adjust its algorithm to combat such tactics as it continues to evolve, Klout serves as an important reminder to users of social media: it’s all about consistently joining the conversation and sharing relevant and valuable information with other users regularly.

Is your law firm participating in social networking conversations? Contact the Legal Internet marketing team at SLS Consulting to learn how to be successful with your social media endeavors.

Sources: http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/14/klout-expands-influence-scoring-to-professional-social-network-linkedin/, http://mashable.com/2011/06/02/klouts-k-button/; http://mashable.com/2011/07/13/klout-foursquare/, http://mashable.com/2011/06/22/klout-gate/; http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/is-klout-a-good-judge-of-your-social-media-influence/

CNN recently reported that LinkedIn has surpassed Myspace as the second-most popular social network in relation to online traffic in the United States. Facebook, as many would guess, is the most visited social networking site.

According to the article, there were 33.9 million unique visitors from the U.S. to LinkedIn last month, which is an increase of approximately half a million from May. In comparison, Myspace had less than 33.5 million visits from Americans in June, which was a decline of about 1.4 million visitors from the previous month. In sharp contrast, Facebook had 160.8 million unique visitors in June.

While Myspace still has about 130 million active users, the social networking site has struggled to reinvent itself after being ousted by Facebook. In June of 2010, Myspace had over 66 million unique visitors, and that traffic has declined by half. While online traffic to Myspace from the U.S. places the site in third place, it is expected that Twitter, which had 30.6 million unique visitors in June, will soon eclipse the site.

Meanwhile, LinkedIn has an estimated 115 million active users, and is continuing to grow rapidly. In March, CEO Jeff Weiner announced the social networking site had been adding approximately a million members a week. TechCrunch, a popular site dedicated to technology and Web 2.0, also recently announced that LinkedIn is now its number two social referrer, behind Facebook.

A recent survey highlighted how people are using LinkedIn. Market-research company Lab42 surveyed 500 LinkedIn members and found that 35 percent of members visit the site every day, with 42 percent regularly updating their profiles. Interestingly, the survey discovered that entry-level workers and top-level executives use the site very differently. Younger users mostly use LinkedIn to search for jobs, while older executives use the site for promoting their business as well as networking.

Sources: http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/social.media/07/11/linkedin.myspace/; http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/twitter-who-linkedin-is-sending-us-far-more-referral-traffic-now/2011/06/30/AGT4gcsH_story.html

What would you say if I told you that spending in a certain industry was going to increase more than six fold in the next four years? Aside from wanting to invest your money in this rapidly expanding industry, you’d more than likely want to know what kind of business is going to experience such tremendous growth. Well, in case you’re wondering, the expenditures for mobile advertising are expected to total $20.6 billion in 2015. This year, those totals are projected to top out at a mere $3.3 billion.

For those of you who may have missed part one of our two part series on the importance of mobile websites in marketing, allow me reiterate. Mobile legal Internet marketing may not seem important today, but it is becoming more and more essential with each new model of iPhone and Droid phone that hits the market. People are utilizing their mobile phones in a much greater variety of ways than they were just a few years ago, and smart phones are becoming a common tool in the world of Internet search.

When you take into account the rapidly expanding world of social media, and couple that expansion with an increase in commonality of mobile phone Internet searches, it’s hard not to take notice of how mobile phone users are spending their free time when not texting or making phone calls. If you’ve ever found yourself killing time during your lunch break, or trying to pass the time before a dentist appointment, then you are more than aware of how ingrained mobile phone use has become during the last decade. According to January 2011 statistics, more than 200 million active Facebook users access Facebook from their mobile phones, with other social networking sites such as Twitter bringing in similarly strong numbers.

So what does this ultimately mean for attorneys and law firms? You should strongly consider designing a mobile site that compliments your primary website. Take into account that a mobile screen is smaller than a laptop or computer monitor, so it is important to keep your mobile site simple and streamlined. The world of mobile search is constantly expanding, and has now become an essential part of any successful legal Internet marketing campaign.

Mobile phones, particularly smart phones, have become an integral part of the average person’s daily routine, so it makes sense for attorneys to establish a presence in that routine. Nowadays, people use their mobile phones for everything from making phone calls to transferring money via online banking to even purchasing discount deals on sites like Groupon.com. Mobile phone users “check-in” to local businesses, stay in-touch with their friends, and sometimes even rely on GPS to get from point A to point B. For attorneys concerned about their legal Internet marketing strategies, having a mobile site will help make sure their firm can be found and easily searched from the convenience of a mobile phone, no GPS required.