Legal Internet Marketing Blog

Where would content on a website be without search engine optimization (SEO)?

Probably lost in cyberspace.

What role would SEO play if it wasn’t associated with relevant, informative content?

Most likely a nonexistent one.

What I’m hinting at here is the balanced relationship between content and SEO for desired search engine results, online success, and lead generation.

With so many Internet marketing strategies out there, it can be confusing as to which tactic is the most effective and worthwhile when it comes to a business’ goals and marketing budget; a thought on pretty much every company’s mind as 2011 quickly comes to a close.

SEO Paves the Way for Online Success
According to a recent SearchEngineLand article, SEO is the anchor of lead generation, which is the process of having visitors to your website inquire about your services or provide you with their information through a contact form. After surveying over 500 U.S. online marketers in August and September in its 2011 State of Digital Marketing Report, California-based online marketing agency Webmarketing123 concluded that SEO is the top way in which business-to-company (B2C) marketers and business-to-business (B2B) marketers obtain leads. These results also demonstrate that SEO outruns pay-per-click (PPC) and social media marketing for lead generation.

Interestingly, more online marketers surveyed stated that they anticipate raising their social media marketing budgets in 2012 over SEO and PPC. The main reason behind this seems to be that 68 percent of those surveyed generated leads either from Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, and 55 percent closed deals from social media deals. However, overall, both B2B and B2C marketers stand in agreement that SEO has the biggest influence over lead generation with 57 percent of B2B marketers and 41 percent of B2C marketers stating that SEO is their main source of lead generation.

Here are some additional statistics from the study:

• 46% of B2B marketers surveyed report their most important objective as generating leads.


• 53% of B2B and B2C marketers surveyed consider SEO to have the largest influence on generating leads, followed by 28% for PPC, and 19% for social media.


• 75% of B2C marketers surveyed report participating the most on Facebook, followed by 8% on Twitter, and 6% on LinkedIn.

B2B marketers surveyed are active more equally on all three leading social networks: 34% Facebook, 26% Twitter, and 25% LinkedIn.

Keeping Your Balance
With these numbers in mind, don’t jump ship right away on other Internet marketing tactics you may currently be using. With Internet marketing, it’s all about keeping a balance. What helps your online presence from teetering is effective, well thought-out SEO.

For assistance with your Internet marketing endeavors, contact Legal Internet marketing firm SLS Consulting for a free growth assessment. We have dedicated over 11 years to custom website design, content development, social media marketing, lead generation, and other strategic tools for law firms and attorneys throughout the U.S. Call (323) 254-1510 today.

In our last blog post, we discussed how editorial calendars can help save businesses and law firms a lot of time, effort, and essentially, money.

A major thing that is great about editorial calendars is that they make it easy to see how much content is being created, how often, and when it will be published. This type of arrangement is beneficial when several people need access to content requirements, responsibilities, and scheduling.

An editorial calendar will also earmark what type of content is being written, on what days, and how frequently. In a nutshell, the editorial calendar gives you the big picture. It can combine Twitter, blog, and newsletter activity to keep you on task and ensure that your message is reaching your target audience and in different ways. A friend or personal trainer may have told you that if you do the same workout all the time, you might not actually be building the muscle or losing the weight you could if you mixed up your routine. The same goes for Internet marketing. If you only stick to one way of marketing online – only blog, only tweet, etc. – you may not notice the differences you’re seeking and may not achieve your desired results.

To hit your target and achieve your goals, you can’t just shoot in the dark. To make the most of your content, you must tie in the who, what, when, where, why, and how. In order to get started with how, contact SLS Consulting for a free growth assessment. For over 10 years, SLS has been helping law firms and attorneys achieve successful search engine rankings through legal content development, custom website design, and social networking. Call (323) 254-1510 today!

One of the most common questions we receive from clients is whether or not social media marketing can result in new clients. In short, the answer to this question is YES, but it needs to be clarified.

Social media can net you new clients, but only if it’s properly utilized. That is, social media should be used to help foster relationships with both past and potential clients, and should positively promote a company and its services. Indirectly, this positive portrayal can (and probably will) lead to new clients, but it must be allowed to do so naturally. Specifically, you shouldn’t push your services on fans, followers, or connections. Simply show that you’re an authority in your respective field, take every opportunity to interact with your audience, and be as interesting as possible.

Social media is where word-of-mouth travels these days. People use social sites to praise products, criticize companies, and help their friends make decisions about purchases. If a company has a social media presence, it is then able to interact with those individuals (both supporters and opponents) who choose to talk about the company while online. Criticisms should carefully be taken into consideration and publically addressed whenever possible. Remember, just because someone negatively reviews your company, it doesn’t mean that your company is or should be viewed in a negative light. Take every opportunity you can to defend your company’s reputation, interact with others, and your company will build a foundation that is respected and paid attention to by potential customers.

Think of it like this: the odds of someone stumbling across your Facebook fan page and retaining your services is very slim. However, if you regularly update your Facebook page with information interesting enough to create discussion amongst your fans, and you engage in conversation with your fans, people are going to view your page as a place where discussion takes place. Knowing this, people may turn to your Facebook fan page for answers, will associate your company as an authority in its respective field, and will begin to place more stake in what you say than they do in what your less social media savvy competitors are talking about. This in turn can lead to positive word-of-mouth, and ultimately may lead to new clients.

Remember, unlike your website, which is a basically a screen shot of who you are as a company and what you are capable of, your social media profiles allow you to thoroughly depict your thoughts, ideas, and feelings about industry-related matters. For lack of a better description, social media allows companies to be more social, and social is what people want to experience these days before entering into a business relationship with a company.

A recent email from an SLS client said: "We met with and signed a new seriously injured client last night and afterwards we asked her how she got to our firm… ‘I googled (keyword) and your firm appeared first. I figured you guys must be the best. I clicked through to your website, liked the way it looked, was impressed with your credentials so I called.’ She never looked beyond the first option on the first page!"

Nice Guys Don't Finish Last
You don’t have to cheat to achieve being No. 1 on Google or any other search engine. The expression, “Nice guys finish last”, couldn’t be more wrong. While this doesn’t mean that some people don’t try to use black hat search engine optimization (SEO) to be on the first page of a user’s search, the chances are slim that rankings achieved this way will last.

Getting On the First Page
High search engine rankings for your law firm don’t happen overnight. Of course, it’s normal for us to want this for our firm or business, but to expect it right away is not realistic. Many unethical SEO (and I use the term lightly here) companies prey on your desire to rank well quickly and make outrageous claims and offers just to get you hooked and take your money. However, with the right SEO and Legal Internet Marketing strategy at work for you, you can get there and stay there - even amidst the ever changing Google algorithms.

How often have you “Googled” something in your life? For most of us, it’s probably too often to count. Our society has evolved to want and expect instant gratification when looking for goods and/or services and for many of us, we don’t have time to sift through our options. This is why being number 1 on search engines can help you assist more people in need of what your business or law firm can provide and get more clients. Being on the first page of Google or other search engines for what a person searches for online can be highly beneficial, and it’s not just about being number 1.

Why #1 Isn’t Enough
So you show up first on Google. Great! But there is a lot more to it than that to actually convert searchers to visitors and visitors to potential clients? Even if you are #1 you have to offer enough to capture the attention of the prospective client. You have an average of 10 seconds to capture the user's attention and offer the information they are looking for. If you are first on the search engines but your website lacks helpful information, is difficult to navigate, or is unappealing to a visitors’ eye, your potential client will hit the Back button and make their way down the list of search results. Website design, content, and optimization all play important roles in high search engine rankings and conversions. Your website should not only provide valuable information that is specific to your field, but it should also highlight the accomplishments of your business or law firm by displaying and explaining awards, credentials, recognitions, and testimonials from previous clients.

Staying at the Top
Consistency is essential in maintaining your online presence. There is a balance as well. It is possible to do too much all at once. You want to make sure that the time you are putting into your online marketing is as beneficial as possible. At SLS Consulting, we understand that you want the most out of your time and money. That is why our legal Internet marketing firm puts our heads together to work diligently and constructively to devise, update, and carry out custom plans that produce successful results for each of our clients. Want to learn more? Call 1-323-254-1510 for a free growth assessment!

While it makes sense for an Internet marketing firm, or a law firm for that matter, to jump at the chance to help someone in need, it may be beneficial for your business if you turn down some prospective clients. First of all, your clients reflect who you are as a business. If you take on any new client just for the sake of gaining more profit, you will end up helping no one and only hurting your reputation and business. And secondly, if you take on every client that contacts you, are you really going to be able to provide the personal attention that they need?

Similar to how an attorney will not take on just any case, at SLS Consulting, we do not work with everyone who contacts us for help with their website and Internet marketing. Would we like to? Of course. But we owe it to our clients to make sure that we can dedicate the time and energy that is promised, and then some.

If we decide not to help you with your website, it’s nothing personal. Yes, we have to say, “No,” to some prospective clients who call us or send emails. This isn’t because we are mean, and it’s not because we don’t like your law firm. The reason for choosing not to accept a potential client is simple – maintaining ourselves as a boutique legal marketing consulting group. We do all of our work in-house and are not interested in outsourcing the work that our clients send us to do.

Since day one, SLS Consulting has focused on capturing each unique characteristic of an attorney and law firm, and reflecting those genuine qualities through custom websites that produce high rankings on the search engines and high conversion rates. As a successful small business, we enjoy getting to know our clients, which is why we collaborate with a select amount of lawyers.

When we take on a new client, it is something that we give a lot of thought. We look forward to making new connections with attorneys who have something different to offer their clients and who really want to make a difference in people’s lives. If you’d like to learn more about how we can help your business grow, we welcome the opportunity to speak with you.

On the Internet, there are numerous ways for us to establish our identities. Regardless of how we do it, our end goal is to provide others with information about ourselves that gives them information about who we are. Establishing one's brand is an entirely different matter. Specifically, one's brand isn't who we are, but what we represent, how we represent it, and is ultimately dependant on how we market it. Now, while these explanations may seem vague, further examination reveals more precisely how brand and identity are different and how each are intertwined.

Pretend your name is John Smith, and you own a bakery. You log onto social networking sites, provide those sites with your name, place of employment, and a brief description about your company. This is your identity, plain and simple. Now let's say you create a blog talking about your bakery, you Tweet about product specials, and you interact with customers on a more one-on-one level via social networking sites like Facebook. Here, you are promoting your brand, essentially giving customers and clients further insight into what your company is about via marketing your business. See the difference? Effectively marketing oneself on social networks isn't simply about being there (having an identity), it's about establishing yourself as an authority, showing customers and potential clients that you can be a trusted source of information, and that you are more than a business store front that is simply trying to secure profit. At the most basic level, our brands show others what we care about, and help them connect with us on a more interactive level.

According to a recent mashable.com article, companies whose CEOs have an established identity on social networking platforms tend to experience more tangible, real world results via sales than those companies whose CEOs do not have such a presence. Higher levels of satisfaction, user endorsement, and recommendation are all cited in the article. For law firms, such positive results can be obtained by not only establishing a presence/identity on the Internet, but also implementing an effective marketing campaign that promotes your brand (law practice). Furthermore, establishing your law firm as an authority on specific subject matters is essential in encouraging potential clients to turn to you for legal assistance if they need it.

Nowadays, it is important to remember that the vast majority of people like to fact check before they enter into any sort of business arrangement. Whether it's consumers scouring the web for product reviews before they buy a television, or typing a law firm's name into Google in the hope of learning more about that firm, consumers are now prone to gathering as much information as possible about a product or service before they actually use it. Therefore, for attorneys and law firms who want to effectively market their businesses, the best course of action in any marketing plan should always involve establishing not only an identity on the Internet, but a brand as well. While it may seem unconventional to spend resources on social networking, it is important to remember that most consumers are on these sites, interacting with one another, talking about products and services that they have found especially useful, and providing law firms and other companies with unsolicited advertising. Now doesn't it make sense for a law firm to be right there next to the consumer? You never know...an established legal web presence may mean the difference between one client choosing your firm over another, which is a risk that can easily be avoided by establishing not only one’s online identity, but also one’s online brand.

SLS Consulting, an established and respected boutique legal internet marketing consulting group located in South Pasadena, California, is honored to be celebrating 10 years in business. To mark this very special occasion, SLS Consulting is proud to announce the launch of its brand new website, which can be viewed at: http://www.legalinternetmarketing.com.

The team of marketing professionals at SLS Consulting that President and founder of the company, Susan L. Sipe, has trained and assembled, are pioneers in the internet marketing field. With Susan’s lead, their efforts have helped countless firms build personalized strategic marketing plans aimed at increasing client development. SLS’s unique approach to internet marketing includes offering exclusivity to our valued clients based on their geographic location and area of expertise.

With the launch of its brand new website at: http://www.legalinternetmarketing.com, SLS Consulting offers legal professionals a new hub for exploring all of the custom services that their firm has to offer. Whether they are looking for a tutorial on the A-B-C’s of search engine marketing, an example of SLS’s certified results in search engine placement, or testimonials from attorneys who have benefited from partnering with SLS; the new website is an exciting addition to SLS’s impressive stable of assets.

Continue reading "SLS Consulting Legal Internet Marketing Firm Celebrates 10 Years In Business With Launch Of New Website" »

By now, most Web-savvy people in the legal world, or any industry for that matter, are familiar with the importance of social marketing. They understand that social marketing not only enhances the effectiveness of other legal Internet marketing strategies but far more importantly, it allows them to receive feedback from and interact with their site’s visitors and target audience. Social marketing provides a practical way to share information. However, the owners of sites and their Internet marketing consultant need to be very careful about how this information is dispensed. Web users are becoming increasingly sophisticated at discerning useful social marketing content provided for their benefit or entertainment from attempts to manipulate their purchasing decisions via social marketing methods. In order achieve its goals, social marketing strategies must have merit and something useful to contribute to the social networking communities that is serves.

To that end, here are some social networking ideas to keep in mind that will help you through the current economy and set you up for success when it recovers:

• Keep it real! – As previously mentioned, Web users are quite astute at discerning genuine efforts to contribute to the community from fake attempts to manipulate them and can employ the power of social networking to ‘call out’ fakes. This is illustrated by a recent incident where some popular Twitterers were outed for taking cash in exchange for product recommendations in their tweets. This created an outrage among Twitter users, and the backlash sullied the reputations of the Twitterers and the products they were shilling for.


• Create your own community and engage your readers – Blog posts rank well in search results, give readers a reason to check your site often, provide interesting and useful information and create a sense of community among your readers. Consider adding a blog to your site with posts written by you, your legal Internet marketing consultant or a mix or both.

Continue reading "Using Social Marketing in a Down Economy" »

The old saying that “bad news travels fast,” has never seemed more relevant than it does in the Information Age. These days, a legal professional’s reputation not only can precede him or her, it can also directly influence a potential client’s decision to contact or not contact him or her. The rising popularity of Web sites that allow people to share their positive or negative experiences with products or professionals of any stripe makes it easy for people to share their opinions. Those opinions, whether based on fact or not, show up in search results and can have a profound impact on the success of a law firm or legal professional.

To that end, we’ve compiled a list of proactive reputation management tips that are inexpensive, enhance the effectiveness of other legal Internet marketing techniques, and allow legal professionals to take charge of their reputation management. These tips for lawyers include:

• Harness the power of social marketing – Social marketing sites are becoming increasingly relevant for any lawyer’s or law firm’s Internet marketing. Consider creating profiles for yourself and/or your law firm on social networking sites that cater to legal professionals as well as the heavyweights like MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, and others.


• Host informational videos on your site – Consider hosting informational videos on your legal Web site that address some of the questions your clients often ask you about. These add value to your site, engage your site’s visitors and also rank well in search results!


• Add a legal blog to your site – Whether you write the legal blog’s posts yourself or have your legal Internet marketing company compose them for you, they benefit your site, rank well in search results, and allow you to address topical issues in the legal industry and provide valuable information to your site’s visitors and potential clients.

Continue reading "Online Reputation Management Tips for Legal Professionals" »

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 you hear it? It’s not a tsunami…it’s a tidal wave of potential clients. The wave of the future, in fact. It’s “Generation Y”, and it’s a demographic you’ve got to use if you don’t want to lose.

Who are these mysterious kids? Well, they were born roughly between 1978 and 2000 and have been called “Millennials” and “Generation Next.” They’re thought to be characterized by their addiction to wealth and fame, their short attention spans, and their reliance on all things digital, from texting to Facebook and Twitter.

What does this have to do with your legal practice? Simple: if you don’t learn the ways of the Y now, you won’t have a business that lasts into the long-term. If you’re savvy about business, you’re ready to learn how to market to Gen Y in a meaningful way so that you can meet them halfway. Here are some quick tips:

-Transparency rules. Gen Y is ready, willing, and able to thoroughly research your reputation online. Why not create your own reputation with a robust Web presence and a transparent blog that opens up about your business? It will differentiate you from every other attorney out there.

-Instant gratification. Capitalize on Gen Y’s impatience by learning to be the first to return calls and respond to e-mails. You’ll be well in front of the (overloaded, too busy to tend to prospective clients) pack.

-One-upsmanship. Let’s face it: many Gen Y-ers can research a legal statute faster than it takes you to go over to your library and look it up. Prepare yourself for this often shameless flaunting of instant knowledge with a bit of one-upsmanship of your own. If you’re well-prepared and committed to education and real answers, you’ll impress these info-savvy young people.

-Relax. Too often, the legal profession is characterized as stodgy and old-fashioned. This will not do for Gen Y, who is rewriting the rules as they go along. Relax and have some fun…that’s something every generation can get behind.

We’ve all heard the story of the man who doesn’t appreciate the woman he has until she walks out the door. While every client won’t be a repeat, creating an amazing customer experience for each and every client can generate some serious marketing juju for your firm, no matter how big or small. Here are some ideas for leveraging the clients you do have and turning them into more business:

-Never underestimate the power of a question: “How did you find us?” “What did you like most about your service?” “What can we do better?” It’s easy to neglect these questions when you’re mired in a pile of briefs and ex parte hearings, but do so at your own peril. Chances are your current clients already know what you need to do to get your next set…they just haven’t told you yet.

-Make sure your staff is in on the game: We all hope our clients will generate repeat business or referrals…but a rudely answered phone, an unanswered e-mail or a poorly-handled crisis could prejudice a paying client against your firm forever. Train your entire staff to uphold client care and do you proud. It could help save the clients you do have and encourage them to pass on business.

When in doubt, ask: There is no shame in asking current clients for referrals – if the question is asked tactfully and with a sense of respect for your client’s time and energy. Simply reminding your clients that you love referrals is often the best way to keep them coming.

Stay in touch: Staying on the radar is a simple solution for referrals. Holiday and birthday cards are a great way to stay in touch, email newsletters are also a great way to stay in touch with current clients as long as you don't overdo it.

Gather testimonials: Don’t just bask when your client thanks you for that mega verdict or successful motion…take it down with pen and paper and ask for their permission to use it in future marketing communications! A great testimonial is often the tipping point for undecided prospects.