Legal Internet Marketing Blog

What makes you unique as a lawyer? How does your law practice differ from all the others in your field, your city, and your state?

These may seem like basic questions, but they are important to ask. Once you have the answers, use them. The best place to start is on your website; after all, it’s one of the first places potential clients will “see” you and it’s your chance to make a lasting first impression so they pick up the phone and call you.

What You Can Do
Not to discount the tremendous skill, knowledge, time, and effort that go into handling cases through deposition, mediation, settlement, or trial, but it is commonly understood that for an attorney’s career to really take off, he or she must find the time to be involved in the legal community outside of the courtroom, so to speak.

Whether it’s giving lectures, teaching a course, attending seminars, or becoming a member of a prestigious legal organization, an attorney’s hard work doesn’t stop with cases. Taking the time and finding a way to most effectively share these involvements, contributions, and successes is an important part of a legal Internet marketing campaign that goes unnoticed far too often.

How to Show Yourself Off
Let’s take a closer look at highlighting your unique characteristics online as a lawyer with an example. There are handfuls of Long Beach personal injury lawyers. However, Joseph H. Low stands out from the rest in a simple, but precise way. On Mr. Low’s website, http://www.jhllaw.com/, the home page features lectures and seminars that he leads with a link taking visitors to a page with more details about each event: http://www.jhllaw.com/lectures.html. Mr. Low has made the time and put in the effort to teach Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit courses for attorneys. How else would you know this unless you attended one of his course’s yourself, saw a website newsletter flyer about it, or read about it on Mr. Low’s website?

Why You Should Do It
Choosing a lawyer is a big decision. If a person visiting your site sees that you go above and beyond by being an instructor or leading speaking engagements to share your knowledge and that others rely on you for this information, then that’s another way for you to use your website to highlight your uniqueness and reputation.

If you’re going to take away one thing from this example, and this blog post, let it be that it’s vital to be involved in events and activities outside of the courtroom; however, don’t just do it and then walk away. Make sure you have tangible representation of your involvement in speaking events so others can learn more and see how you’re different than other lawyers.

Your legal website is the perfect place for you to shine. There are tasteful and advantageous ways to highlight your accomplishments and unique characteristics so that visitors will no longer be in doubt as to who they want handling their case.

The New Year presents the perfect opportunity for a fresh start. If you haven’t put together resolutions for yourself and your business already, take a moment to envision what you want 2012 to be. After setting goals for your company, one step towards making them a reality is to anticipate what lies ahead in the Internet marketing world so you can stay ahead of your competition. As such, complements to New Year’s resolutions are predictions, and we wouldn’t be an Internet marketing company if we didn’t come up with our own!

SEO Will Continue to Reign
As much of an impact as social media and social networking will continue to have on Internet marketing, search engine optimization (SEO) is the glue that keeps rankings and lead generation together. To ensure that your target audience will be able to easily find your website and content through high search engine rankings, you must make sure that proper SEO has been and will continue to be implemented.

Keep an Eye-out for Twitter Brand Pages
While Twitter brand pages have yet to become available on a wide scale, stay alert for when the chance arrives. Businesses are expected to benefit from these brand pages since they will provide a way for new interactions and different means to engage with followers.

More specifically, Twitter brand pages provide an expanded header image area, an ability to have a “featured Tweet” for an extended period of time on a brand page, and the option of splitting up a brand’s @replies and @mentions.

New Hats for Keyword Research
There is no denying the importance and value of keyword research, but what are the best tools to utilize? As a larger number of businesses are becoming more ambitious when it comes to Internet marketing, new keyword research tools are expected to develop to provide new perspectives on target audiences and search results. And it’s not just about new tools.

How businesses will combine, use, and implement keyword research methods will play a vital role in the outcome of predicting changes in demand, responses to fluctuating market conditions, and providing the right kind of content, products, and services Internet users are searching for.

Make Way for Google +
Not that anyone is underestimating the power of Google, but we must remind readers that Google Places profiles are linked to Google business pages (Google+’s version of Facebook fan pages, to an extent), which means that the blend of social and search will play an importantly groundbreaking role like never before in 2012.

Questions for the Magic 8 Ball?
Here at SLS Consulting, our legal Internet marketing team will be hosting a Tweetup this Friday, December 6 at 10 a.m. PST to discuss predictions for 2012 in more detail as well as share our Internet marketing New Year’s resolutions. To join in on the discussion being held through @LegalBlogs, please include the hashtag #knowSEO in your tweet(s). We look forward to hearing about your predictions and resolutions for 2012!

'Tis the season for legal marketing,
Law, Law, Law, Law, Law
Law, Law, Law Law

That’s right. As we spend time with family and friends this holiday season and ring in the New Year, it’s important not to neglect your legal Internet marketing resolution: rank better! So, without further ado, we present our holiday-themed Legal Internet Marketing To-Do List:

• Be sure to DECORATE your home (page): Is your home page eye-catching? Does it have that special something extra that’s going to make people want to explore your site? If not, think about sprucing it up a bit.


• Remember to INVITE friends and family (to social media sites): It’s difficult to get fans and followers after you’ve created a Facebook fan page or Twitter account, so start out by asking those closest to you to lend a “liking” hand.


• Make sure you have your wish LIST(SERV) ready: Try offering a free how-to-guide on your site, requiring those who want it to enter their email address to gain access and offer the option to opt in for future announcements from your firm … reminding people about your firm (in moderation) can’t hurt.


• Don’t forget to CONTACT loved ones: How easy is it for clients to contact you via your website? Make sure the process is simple and allows you to obtain the preliminary information you need to get back into contact with your potential client.


• BE SOCIAL, and don’t neglect new people you meet: the most successful social media campaigns never fail to neglect new followers, fans, or connections. Send a quick thank you message or tweet to recently acquired social media friends.

By keeping the above checklist in mind, you’ll not only be doing your customers a favor, but you’ll also lay the groundwork for an effective marketing campaign that is bound to pay dividends in the future. Make sure your site is eye-catching, be sure to make it easy for potential customers to contact you, and be social. Everything else will fall into place after this.

At SLS Consulting, we work hard to ensure that our clients reach their goals online and develop their client base. Our legal Internet marketing firm is offering a free guide download, A Beginner Facebook: Do People LIKE You?, which provides some basic tips and insights into how to best utilize Facebook for your business. If you’d like more information about how to obtain higher search engine rankings and launch an effective marketing and social networking campaign, call us today at (323) 254-1510.

When it comes to business, the financial bottom line is ultimately what dictates whether a business sinks or swims. If you sell a product or service that people have a need for, you’re in the right business. If you sell a high quality product or service, then you’ve distanced yourself from the majority of your competition. But if you’re not properly marketing your product or service, you’re missing a huge opportunity to expand your market base, which can have a significantly negative impact on your company’s bottom line.

This time of year, a lot of companies are choosing to allocate leftover funds from the marketing budget so that they can write the cost off as a business expense for the current tax year. If your company is contemplating hiring an Internet marketing firm, be sure to do your research before entering into any sort of contract. Don’t just hire a company because you want to write it off on your taxes – hire a company because it has a proven track record of success and satisfied clients.

Time and time again, our clients explain to us that word of mouth is where they obtain many of their clients. This is no different than how we obtain our business. Having recommendations from satisfied clients is one of the most effective ways to help secure new business, both for us and for our clients. Being able to point to past successes as an indicator of future success gives potential customers peace of mind, and shows them that you and your company are capable of performing a job well done.

Remember, if you want to effectively market your company online, it’s important not to neglect input (both good and bad) from your past customers. Feature your biggest advocates on your website testimonials page, ask current customers to Like your fan page on Facebook, and be sure to consider both criticisms and praises when building your future marketing campaigns.

Is your Google Places listing accurate? Have you created a Google Places account, claimed your listing, and edited the incorrect information only to find that your listing information stays the same? If you’re like most marketing professionals who handle your business’s local listing accounts, chances are very good that you’ve encountered plenty of frustration when trying to correct information on a Google Places listing. However, while it may be time consuming, a Google Places listing can be edited to reflect a company’s most recent information, such as address and phone number, albeit in a relatively indirect manner. Allow us to explain…

The first thing you should realize is that while Google appreciates the information you provide it about your company, that information does not represent the end-all, be-all of data Google uses to create your listing (that’s right, Google creates your listing…not you). Google scours the Internet, searching for any information about your company it can find. The majority of this information comes from listing directories, so suffice it to say that, if you don’t have a well balanced legal Internet marketing campaign already in place, you’re going to run into roadblocks on your way to ranking well in Google Maps.

This brings us to the second thing that you need to realize. Creating and maintaining accurate and strong ranking local listings takes a lot of work, even if all you’re concerned with is your Google Places listing. Because Google relies on a multitude of other websites whom it considers authoritative in terms of business listing information, marketing professionals must make sure that all of those listings are accurate as well. So, while all you may be concerned about is Google, it isn’t the only site you’re going to have to deal with in order to obtain an accurate Google Places listing.

So, with so many marketing companies out there promising unsuspecting businesses page one placement in Google, it’s important to understand the actual process behind acquiring a page one ranking. A lot of effort has to go into a multitude of listing sites, strong SEO must be present throughout your website, and dynamic content needs to be regularly updated in order for search engines (Google included) to favorably rank your website. If the company you’re dealing with promises to do the above, you’re good to go. If not, you may want to rethink who you choose to help you with your legal Internet marketing campaign.

There is no shortage of legal Internet marketers out there. Some of them are good, and have the track record to prove it, while others are inexperienced, and don’t necessarily have the know-how to produce successful marketing campaigns. In Part One of our two-part series, we discussed less than savory sales tactics that some marketers employ to retain new clients. In Part Two, we will discuss the use of vague business terms that typically elicit more confusion than confidence.

While the mere mention of poor or declining rankings (whether this is true or not) is probably enough to, at the very least, grab your attention. These companies use scare tactics to get you to bite. Attorneys and law firms should beware of another common sales tactic: the buzz word. Is your ROI consistent with that of your competition? Do your profit margins accurately reflect your marketing efforts? Do you and your current marketing company have synergy? Any company that uses phrases like this during a sales pitch is clearly doing one of two things:

1. They don’t really know what they’re doing, are only interested in making a quick buck, and are displaying to you their true lack of know-how


2. They’re trying to confuse you with vague terms that don’t mean much, primarily because they don’t respect your marketing savvy and feel as though they can take advantage of your trust and get your money

Buzz words may sound pretty legitimate and official, but they often don’t mean much. Keep in mind that the sales team is trained to SELL, they don’t do the work.

When choosing a new Internet marketer, don’t let marketers scare you with false information about your search result rankings, and don’t allow them to confuse you with buzz words. If something doesn’t make sense, ask a question specifically about what doesn’t make sense. If the answer you receive from your would-be marketing partner includes even more buzz words, be wary. If they won’t provide references, take that as a sign that the work provided to past clients was never satisfactory.

Ultimately, success speaks for itself. If a marketing company hasn’t regularly achieved success for its clients, what’s to say that it’s going to start now with your legal Internet marketing campaign?

There are a lot of marketers out there, many of whom acquire new business through solicitation, primarily cold calling. Law firms are very susceptible to this, particularly since the competition amongst attorneys in most areas is extremely fierce. If you’ve been on the receiving end of one of these calls, you’ve probably heard something like this before: We’re offering page one placement to only a select number of attorneys in your area… or I’m searching for your business here on Google and…wait a second…I can’t seem to find your company…oh, here you are, on page FIVE… or even We can GUARANTEE 20 unique leads, delivered to you, each month for the low price of [fill in the monetary amount, typically in the hundreds, even thousands of dollars].

To be perfectly honest, some of these companies can deliver on certain promises they make, but the circumstances under which they do so beg to be examined. In this two-part blog series, we will examine false promises and buzz words, and how unscrupulous Internet marketing companies use both to net new clients. Part One will discuss how some marketing companies provide unsuspecting attorneys with inaccurate information in order to persuade them into entering into new marketing agreements that are entirely unnecessary.

First of all, most Internet marketers who do cold calling only contact companies that already have sound marketing campaigns in place. These companies look on page one of Google to find their targets! Many of our clients, all of whom already have page one placement on major search engines such as Google, receive cold calls on a weekly basis. The majority of these calls are filled with promises of even BETTER search engine rankings, even when better rankings can’t or don’t necessarily need to be achieved. Frankly, these companies are trying to capitalize on the success of your current legal Internet marketing campaign, regardless of whether that campaign was spearheaded by you or another marketing company. A lot of persistent marketers simply want to maintain your current marketing campaign (which isn’t that hard to do), and take credit for work that they didn’t have to do in the first place.

Remember to make sure that you have all the facts about your current marketing campaign straight BEFORE entering into a new contract. Check with your Legal Internet marketing company to fact-check your existing rankings. If you’ve already obtained strong search rankings, the marketing company you’re currently retaining will have no objections to providing you with these results.

Visit our blog again later this week for more on how marketing companies will try to reel you in.

Do you oversee your own marketing campaigns, or do you employ a marketing professional to do it for you? If you rely on someone else, how many other people have worked on your local listing campaign? In Part 1 of our two-part series, we talked about making sure your local listing campaign encompasses more than just a Google Places listing. Now, in Part 2, we will discuss the importance of staying on top of your local listing efforts, particularly if your business employs the services of a consultant to help manage your legal Internet marketing campaign.

One of the most common scenarios we encounter involves the past hiring of multiple marketing firms, each of which took it upon itself to create a unique set of listings for an individual company. Usually, the problem here is that login information is lost during the transition from one marketing company to another, which often results in confusion and frustration when the new marketing company is initially incapable of editing previously created listings. So, while it may be easy to rely solely on your current marketing company to safely hold onto all login information, it really is a good idea to ask for all login information to keep for your own records prior to hiring a new company.

But remember, just because you have the login information doesn’t mean that you should take it upon yourself to continually log into your account and make edits to your listing. There are a number of ways that a listing can violate terms of use, possibly resulting in the listing being suspended and your local listing campaign taking a negative hit. If you employ an outside company to oversee your local listings, feel free to ask as many questions as you want, but leave it to the company to make edits (after all, that’s what you’re paying to have done).

Aside from holding onto all login information, be sure that your listings are consistent from one site to another. Be sure that multiple listings on a single site are consolidated into one to eliminate the possibility of violating terms of use. And, most importantly, make sure that your listings are properly optimized so that you are found in as many web searches as possible.

To learn more about how to create effective local listings and integrate other Internet marketing strategies, contact SLS Consulting today by calling (323) 254-1510.

Have you Googled yourself lately? What did you find? Was the information up-to-date, or old? Was your information even accurate in the first place? Unfortunately, for many companies out there, local listing sites sometimes have company information so muddled that it may seem nearly impossible to clean them all up. However, with a little bit of perseverance, a whole lot of patience, and time, your listings can be corrected, and your search engine rankings will undoubtedly benefit as a result.

For starters, Google isn’t the only listing site that businesses need to concern themselves with. In fact, if a company devotes all of its efforts solely to ranking well on Google, it may be inadvertently neglecting many of the local listing directories that Google obtains information from. Unless companies adopt well-rounded local listing site practices, their organic rankings will never flourish the way they should, which will directly affect the number of clients retained and ultimately affect the company’s bottom line.

So what does it take to rank well on Google and other local listing sites? First of all, you need to familiarize yourself with the submission process, particularly what type of information is allowed in the listing. Different sites have different terms of use, and making sure you don’t violate terms of use is essential in creating a strong local listing foundation and moving towards page one placement.

Second of all, pay attention to which sites other sites obtain information from. For example, if you’re an attorney and you have inaccurate information on your Google Places listing, and that incorrect information was originally gathered from your Avvo profile, then you have to not only correct the information within Google Places, but you also have to update your Avvo profile. Otherwise, Google will continue to assume that Avvo is a trusted citation source and the inaccurate information will continue to pop up on your local listing profile.

In Part 2 of our two-part series, we’ll talk more about local listing site strategies and how to get the most out of your local listings.

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!

Keeping track of your marketing efforts and staying ahead of the competition can be exciting, but let’s not fool ourselves here; it can be exhausting too! Have you ever wondered if there’s a simpler, more organized way that you could be managing your content? Because content comes in so many different forms – web pages, blogs, press releases, articles, newsletters, etc. – keeping track of ideas, scheduling, and making sure it is effective, can send anyone into a frenzy. But there is hope!

Editorial calendars provide an efficient way for various businesses and law firms to stay on top of their Internet content marketing game. As highlighted in more detail in TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog, editorial calendars help business owners and writers alike determine what content will be created, when it will be created, in what format, and for which content outlet. Even better, digital editorial calendars monitor the distribution and rechanneling of that content throughout social media platforms. If repurposing content is done correctly and you have something noteworthy to share that will catch someone’s eye, you may find that you can reach a more targeted, or even a new, audience.

Editorial calendars also remind us about the different media we can use to emphasize the points we’re making in writing. Often, we forget the value of adding photos, graphs, and videos. For instance, if you have a WordPress blog, watch this video to see how an editorial calendar can make your life so much easier and make your work more efficient:

Visit our blog again for more information on how editorial calendars can help keep you sane!

For companies looking to create new business opportunities on social media sites, social networking can either be a blessing or a curse, and is often a combination of the two.

In some cases, companies fail to realize what social media is all about: being social. They fail to interact with people via social media, and are merely content to have profiles/pages on the most popular social media sites. The other half of the time, businesses fail to promote their company and its services, instead relying on witty (often non-business related) banter, jokes, and other less professional interactions to help acquire fans and followers. However, this sort of behavior is typically counterproductive, and often yields few, if any, potential client interactions. The trick is to find a happy medium between the two; to be both interesting and fun, but at the same time never loosing focus that your social media presence is for business purposes. Let’s discuss how to accomplish this.

1. First of all, always, always, ALWAYS take a second to think about what you’re posting. Is it appropriate for the workplace? Would you discuss it with a potential client during a meeting? Be sure to take these questions into consideration before every post and you’ll safeguard against inappropriate social media behavior for a business.
2. Next, be sure to focus your discussions and posts on your industry. While many companies post information about themselves, don’t be afraid to post information about others as well. If the information is industry-related, don’t be afraid to post about it. Your fans will appreciate the change of pace and your company’s willingness to talk about something other than itself.
3. Finally, be sure to keep up your profile, particularly where it asks for biographical information, and be professional and not too personal. Photos from your family vacation may be fun to look at for your fans, but they don’t say much about you in terms of your business. Be sure to regularly monitor your online reputation and begin to do so by making sure that your profile is an extension of your business self, not your personal self.

When it comes to legal Internet marketing campaigns, social media is essential these days, and the best way to approach social media interactions is to relate them to real-life situations. Every time you post, tweet, or update your profile, think of yourself as doing so during a business meeting with not only your current clients, but a large group of potential clients. Are you going to tell that crowd about your favorite type of food or what you thought about the movie you saw this past Saturday night, or are you going to display to them that you are a business professional, an authority in your field, and someone whom they can trust and count on for pertinent information about your particular industry. Social media sites call on individuals to be more social, but working professionals should never lose site of the fact that their profiles are being used for business purposes. Being an interesting authority on social networking sites isn’t easy to do, but it is possible. For more information about how to make the most out of your social media presence, connect with the legal Internet marketing team at SLS Consulting. Call (323) 254-1510 today!

In the world of legal Internet marketing, everyone is always looking for the next best thing, even if that thing isn’t necessarily a new concept. These days, one thing is clear: video is a good thing. Since Google’s Panda update, it’s no secret that the search engine giant loves video. In fact, including video on your website will not only make your content more interesting and interactive, but it may help you rank better in search results.

According to recent search data, YouTube is the second largest search engine (in terms of general searches made on the site each day). Think about it. When was the last time you visited YouTube? What did you do after you watched that first video? If you’re like most people, you probably didn’t just stop after that first one. You probably watched more than one video, maneuvering from link to link, not even realizing how long you’d actually been on the site. In short, the immense popularity of video could be linked to one simple concept. People like to be shown things. While reading through website content or a blog entry can certainly inform an audience, videos can help enhance the user experience, which results in users spending more time on your site and hence assisting your site in ranking better.

So, what does this mean for a legal Internet marketing campaign? Basically, it means you should be willing to put your face, your firm’s message, and your knowledge center-stage on video. If people are willing to give your video a chance, they will naturally be willing to give your photo a chance, and may then take an interest in information about your firm, which could ultimately lead to them poking around your website. And that’s the end goal, isn’t it? Attracting new users to your website should always be priority number one.

Having video is but one component of any successful attorney’s Internet marketing campaign. Combine that with an effectively optimized website, a well-written blog, and a host of social media profiles, and you’re bound to rank well in search results and reach the computer screens of potential clients in your area. And remember, as with all aspects of marketing, don’t overdo it with video. You don’t need hundreds of videos to make your marketing campaign better, just don’t neglect video altogether.

SLS Consulting has been helping attorneys and law firms obtain high Internet search engine results for over 11 years. Our team implements search engine optimization and custom website design to ensure successful online results. To learn how we can help you grow your business online, call 323-254-1510 today.

In Part 1 and Part 2 of our three-part series on the legal Internet marketing cycle, we examined the importance of establishing a rapport with people via well utilized social media profiles, and then discussed how blogging should be used to really sell yourself as an authority on the particular area of law that you practice. Therefore, the third area of the cycle that we will talk about is your primary means of marketing yourself: your website.

When designing your legal website, it’s important to remember three things:

One, the site should be easy to navigate. This is extremely important for any website, and should not be ignored during an initial website design or even redesign. If it’s even slightly difficult to maneuver from one area of your website to another, visitors to your site are going to want to navigate away from it. The best way to ensure that your website is properly laid out is to retain the services of an experienced web design company who not only talks the talk, but has positive client testimonials to validate its work. If other attorneys have been satisfied with a particular web design company, chances are very good that you’ll be satisfied as well.

Two, the site should be informative, while also being interesting. The best attorney sites on the Internet find a good balance between discussing the law, which in technical terms can be relatively dry and explaining their legal services in such a way that website visitors feel invited to contact their law firm for more information. It’s relatively simple to place a snippet of civil or penal code on a practice area page, but it takes well written and engaging content to explain that code to non-lawyers. While it may make sense to you to incorporate as much legal jargon as possible as a means of establishing yourself as someone who understands the intricacies of the law, be sure to actually show that you understand the law and explain it in laymen’s terms that anyone visiting your website will be able to understand.

Three, the site isn’t going to be found on the Internet without search engine optimization. If you don't have an optimized website, it is not going to rank well, and is consequently going to be difficult for potential clients to find. Once your keywords have been carefully chosen and your site is optimized to rank well, be sure to regularly update your website content to reaffirm your credibility as an authority in your particular area of law (this is important for not only clients, but search engines as well). Remember, once a person finds their way to your website, that person is more than likely close to making a decision about who they want to retain as their attorney.

Keeping all of the above information in mind, think of your website like an engagement. After a visitor sees your website, and you inform them to call your office, are they going to say yes? Make sure that you always put your best foot forward to help ensure that you don’t get rejected. Create a well rounded legal Internet marketing experience via social media profiles, blogging, and a well designed website, and hopefully you’ll soon find a lot of people want to say “yes” to your firm.

To read the transcript of one of our tweetups on the topic of the Internet marketing cycle, check out our Facebook note.

For our sixth weekly tweetup, held on August 5, the SLS Consulting team discussed the popular social networking platform Facebook, as well as using it as a part of an effective marketing strategy for attorneys, law firms, and other businesses.

Many attorneys balk at the idea of marketing themselves or their law firm on Facebook, but doing so can be incredibly valuable. Having a Facebook Page provides an opportunity to highlight the firm’s strengths, facilitate discussion by sharing interesting articles relating to the community or law, as well as a place to interact with others, which is critical.

Facebook users are looking to interact with a real person behind a business, so it is of vital importance that Facebook Pages be real, and not just a place to automate your blog posts and only talk about your law firm. It’s also important for lawyers to address comments made on their Facebook Page, whether good or bad. Responding to negative comments can speak volumes about them as a person and of their law firm. In our tweetup, we also touched on several unique ways lawyers can interact with users on Facebook, as well as some do’s and don’ts when it comes to etiquette.

If you’d like to read the transcript of this tweetup, as well as learn more about how to market your law firm on Facebook, you can visit the SLS Consulting Facebook page or reach out to us on Twitter. We’re tweeting from the @LegalBlogs account.

To join our weekly tweetup, find us on Fridays at 10 a.m. PST on Twitter. All you need to do is include #knowSEO with your tweets to participate. This Friday, we will be discussing Twitter, and how it can be utilized best by lawyers and law firms, as well as other professionals and businesses.

If you have questions, send us a tweet or direct message! We hope we will be talking with you soon!

In Part 1 of our three part series about legal Internet marketing techniques, we discussed social media and the role it plays in the grand scheme of an attorney’s legal Internet marketing cycle. Whereas social media should be considered the icebreaker of the relationship, blogging should be likened to the conversations one has after introductions have been made. However you want to look at it though, a legal blog represents an opportunity to establish yourself as an authority on the particular area of law that you practice.

Have you ever sat down at your computer and read legal blogs (Blawgs)? Unfortunately, a lot of them offer little insight into the legal profession. More specifically, a lot of attorney blogs read more like advertisements than they do informative writing meant to captivate or inform the reader. For example, if there are two attorney blogs out there, and one of them merely recaps the details of a recent accident while the other one examines the various aspects of the accident and what those details may possibly mean for individuals involved in such accidents, the blog that has the greater degree of analysis is going to be better received. More importantly however, the latter, more informative blog, is going to have a much greater chance of promoting return readership than the blog entry that merely rehashes the details of a local news story or article.

When it comes to blogs, it’s important for attorneys to realize that blogs represent an opportunity to show they understand something that a lot of people don’t. If everyone out there understood tort law and the criminal defense process, there would be no need for lawyers. During the first meeting between an attorney and client, the client needs to be reassured that hiring the attorney is going to be the right decision to make. In order to come to this determination, the attorney needs to show that he or she understands the law and can offer a sound legal strategy to be put forth on behalf of the client. If the attorney fails to do this, the client will not retain the attorney’s services. This process is very similar to acquiring an audience for a legal blog. Unless you can sell yourself as an authority on the particular area of law you practice, you are never going to have a substantial blog audience.

Ultimately, blogs are a way to continually show that you are a knowledgeable attorney. If your blog is interesting and informative, readership will steadily grow and positive word of mouth will drive more traffic to not only your blog, but your primary website as well. Blogs represent the courting stage of your relationship with a client. Don’t blow it!

Legal Internet marketing campaigns range from minimalist to extreme. It’s no secret though that the more time you put into your advertising campaign, the more likely it is that you will acquire new clients because of your efforts. While many attorneys scoff at the idea of using social media as an outlet to connect with potential clients, its use, when coupled with relevant, well-written content posted on both a website and a blog, can be a very effective tool to establish a relationship with a large audience. The end goal, of course, is to create positive word-of-mouth chatter that may ultimately lead to referrals.

By now, everyone has heard of Facebook, Twitter, and, thanks to the success of its recent IPO, Linkedin. As an attorney interested in expanding his or her Internet marketing campaign, it only makes sense to establish a foothold on each of these social media websites, particularly since they are not only FREE and heavily trafficked by Internet users far and wide, but because search engines are constantly reworking their algorithms to take into consideration social media relevance. So, when it comes to social networking, how much is enough, and when does social media participation become excessive?

If you want your Internet marketing campaign to be effective, it’s important to be everywhere your audience is. If there are half a dozen densely visited sites out there that can all potentially benefit your law firm, then it’s important to establish yourself on all of them. Many attorneys often make the mistake of solely creating a presence on one social media site, often applying the logic that it’s better to have some presence than none at all. While this does apply, a well-rounded, multi-site traversing social media presence is always better, if only because you are not ignoring portions of your potential audience and reaching out to as many potential clients as possible. Ultimately, it’s a numbers game: the more people you interact with, the more people there are who can potentially retain or recommend your services to others.

Bottom line, social media should always be likened to an important social event. It’s important to be there, it’s important to mingle with as many people as possible, and it’s important to be interesting so that those people want to continue listening to you. As for what you should be saying, be sure to allow your knowledge and experience to shine through and you’ll establish yourself as a trusted authority figure that your audience can and will turn to in the event they need legal assistance. Social media should be considered an avenue for virtually meeting your potential clients. Blogging, on the other hand, should be utilized as a means to engage your audience on a more technical level, and should be used in tandem with social media and a great website to help establish your online presence.

Part 2 and Part 3 of our blog series on Legal Internet marketing techniques are just around the corner, so keep an eye out!

In our last blog post, we addressed recent discussion on some blogs like BlogWorld.com and Soshable.com about how most bloggers rely on Facebook to promote their blog. Believe it or not, this applies to attorneys, too. Sharing a legal blog post on your law firm Facebook page isn’t a bad thing. However, the opportunity to draw in new visitors to your blawg grows the more you effectively utilize different online platforms and means for distribution.

BlogWorld suggests a few of these tips to attract new readers to your blog and we’ve added additional information to fit the Legal Internet marketing approach:

• Consider having guest blog posts from other attorneys in your field


• Read other legal blogs and leave comments when relevant and when there is genuine interest


• Write blogs that are interviews of members of the firm


• Submit articles to directories about pertinent legal issues in your state and/or city


• Think about linking to old blog posts within new posts


• Include a link to your blawg in your email signature


• Pay attention to whether a press release could be written that is relevant to a particular blog post

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from running a Legal Internet marketing company for over 10 years and working with lawyers for even longer, it’s that so much is happening in an attorney’s world and in the legal world in general. Everyone – every single person’s life is influenced by the law. Needless to say, there are endless possibilities for a law firm to help people in need just like there are endless ways to promote your blawg.

Want to grow your law firm online? Contact SLS Consulting today for a free growth assessment. Call 323-254-1510.

Sources: http://www.blogworld.com/2011/04/27/could-your-blog-survive-without-facebook-and-twitter/; http://soshable.com/a-world-without-facebook-infographic/

It’s difficult to find a law firm without a blawg, or legal blog, in a world where the Internet dominates marketing. It’s even becoming rarer to find a law firm without a Facebook fan page. One of the most fascinating things about Internet marketing is that when all the right efforts are being carried out and in line with one another, a giant web is formed that helps distribute, organize, and link relevant and effective content, thus driving more potential clients to a website.

For some Internet marketing companies, and even for some attorneys, there can be a preference or favoritism towards one type of marketing tool or social networking tactic. However, a recent Infographic on Soshable highlights our dependency on Facebook and a BlogWorld article challenges us to think outside the Facebook box for different ways to help promote our blogs.

This is not to say that you should stop promoting your blog on Facebook or Twitter. The point is that you could be missing out on gaining more readership and visitors to your blog by only sticking to these social media platforms to distribute your blog.

So how can you reach new readers for your blawg? Visit our blog again tomorrow to find out.

Mashable recently released the results of a poll conducted in February of marketers in the United States and found that the majority of marketers view social media as an integral part of their marketing strategy for 2011, with 70 percent planning to increase their social media budget and activity by over 10 percent this year.

Overwhelmingly, the primary focus of the marketer’s social media goals was to increase Facebook fans and “Likes.” A whopping 35 percent said gaining more Facebook fans to their business page was their main goal for 2011. In response to the smartphone explosion, the second goal at 22 percent was to increase their business’ presence on mobile devices. The poll also found that 87 percent of marketers believed social media was either important, or very important, to accomplishing their biggest marketing goal for 2011.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that social media will continue to grow in popularity. In March of this year, LinkedIn surpassed 100 million users, and the number of Facebook users continues to increase, with the popular site now close to 550 million users. Whether you are a big name brand, a small startup company, or an established law firm, there’s no denying the power of social media in helping you to reach your target audience.

What marketing goals did your law firm set for 2011? With the year close to one-fourth over, are you on track to reaching those goals? If all this talk of social media marketing has left your head spinning, call SLS Consulting. For over 10 years, our Legal Internet marketing team has promoted law firms and attorneys from all over the U.S. using unique marketing plans, search engine optimization, customized content, and social networking. To learn how we can increase your law firm’s online presence, call us today at 323-254-1510.

Source: http://mashable.com/2011/04/19/marketers-social-media-spend/

Recently, Hubspot hosted “The Science of Timing”, a webinar attended by almost 25,000 that discussed research conducted by Dan Zarrella, a social media “scientist” who analyzed thousands of blogs, Facebook profiles, Twitter accounts, and emails to present data regarding the best practices for when and how often these communication tools should be utilized. The following is a brief look at some of the key points that were discussed during the webinar that are beneficial to law firms and other businesses looking to better market themselves online.

1. Should my blog posts be tied to my tweets and Facebook status updates?

   It is highly recommended that you feature your blog posts on both Twitter and Facebook so you can reach the highest number of people possible. However, that said, you need to be cautious about automatically linking your tweets to your Facebook. It’s much easier to flood the walls of the fans of your page than it is to flood their Twitter feed. This is partially due to the fact that Facebook filters users’ wall feeds based upon their preferences, so all updates and shares from friends and Likes aren’t always on their wall. With Twitter, the content of the feed is 100 percent of updates from users followed, and since many users follow hundreds of accounts, it is less likely your tweets will overtake their feed. For example, according to Zarrella’s research, the Facebook business pages that perform the best only post about every other day, so you should be very selective and careful with the pieces you highlight there.

2. Is it possible to saturate your Twitter audience?

   Yes, if you tweet the exact same thing. When tweeting, you can feature the same content but use different ways of promoting it. For example, if you are sharing a recent blog post on Twitter, tweet the link using the title of the post. Later on in the day, tweet about something different from the post, such as key points or an important quote, and again include the link. Make sure you spread out the content you are sharing to attempt to reach as many people as possible, since people access Twitter at different times throughout the day. Be creative and don’t tweet the same thing over and over. You shouldn’t be afraid of tweeting too much – Zarrella found that some of the most followed Twitter accounts tweet over 22 times a day.

3. How do I find the balance between experimenting with timing yet remaining consistent?

   It’s important to experiment with timing (when you share updates on Facebook, Twitter, blogging, etc.) in order for you to learn more about your audience. For example, Zarella’s research discovered that men are more likely to read blog posts at night, while blogs are more likely to be commented on over weekends. When are people more likely to read your blog posts, retweet your tweet, or like your Facebook page? Experiment to find out. However, for your audience that is already established, it can be confusing if you begin to experiment when you are sharing content if they are already used to a certain day or time.

While Zarrella presented many statistics, charts, and graphs based upon his findings, he cautioned webinar attendees to find what works for their business and their niche audience specifically. There are no concrete, fast rules to follow since social media changes constantly, but there are effective practices that can be implemented and regularly reviewed to see what’s working and what isn’t. With hard work and dedication, the results will follow. To find out more about how social networking and blogging can help your law firm get more clients, contact the legal Internet marketing team at SLS Consulting for a free growth assessment! Call 323-254-1510.

As an attorney, you understand the value in making sure your name and the name of your firm favorably show up in Google searches. And it’s not just about names. Keywords that describe the area of law you practice in relation to location and your target audience are also important for search engine results.

If you don’t have a legal website, then you should strongly consider stepping out of the dark ages. There is no escaping the power or value of the Internet, no matter how much you try. Sure, you can advertise your services on TV, billboards, through the mail, or in the yellow pages, but as you write those bloated checks for such advertising…ask yourself WHY???? Ask yourself what people are using the most to find information quickly. Do you really think people start trying to figure out where they last saw that phone book that came ages ago? Answer: NO!!! Do they run outside and try to find a bus or billboard? Answer: NO!!! They sit down at their computer and SEARCH - mostly on Google.

If you’re savvy with legal Internet marketing, then you also know the importance of AVVO, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and other forms of social media. But do you know about Google Profiles? Having a Google Profile is another (FREE) way for you as an attorney to create, manage, and have a public page on the Internet. The point of a Google Profile is to make it easier for people to find you and get to know you and/or your services. However, a Google Profile should not be used as an alternative to a website or social networking profile.

Google recently redesigned Google Profiles to have similar appearances as Facebook, with a large profile picture in the upper left-hand corner and a user can have a series of photos stretching across the top. Under this photo display, there is room for an introduction, employment/company information, education, and more. Users can also still include the links they are connected with and there is a separate tab for Buzz. One new feature to Google Profiles is the ability to control search visibility. While you may not want to block your profile page from getting indexed, having the option isn’t all that bad.

Since the rise of Facebook over recent years, Google has needed to creatively and productively elbow its way into the social media world. In a similar way, Facebook has done the same in relation to search, finding new ways to get Facebook users to stay on the social site to conduct searches instead of going to Google.

If Google has a social strategy, shouldn’t your law firm? At SLS Consulting, we have over 10 years of experience integrating custom attorney and law firm website design onto social media sites and blogs. Helping lawyers and law firms nationwide establish online authority and obtain high search engine visibility, we also create and manage social media sites to spread firm news and other important, timely matters relating to your areas of practice and location. Having a Google Profile is one of many ways to help your law firm grow online, create a community on the Web, and get more clients. Call us today to find out more.

Or better yet, will you?

There is bound to be a lot on your mind this time of year while balancing work, family, planning for the holidays, and preparing your business for what lies in store for 2011. Let’s just face one painful, yet liberating, truth – we can’t do everything all at once. We can, however, entrust some responsibility in others to help us successfully accomplish what needs to be done as we take things in stride, one step at a time. While your Internet marketing plan may not be at the top of your list of priorities, shouldn’t it be on someone’s?

You can’t expect to manage your entire Internet marketing campaign while you run in and out of court and spend hours on end meeting with clients. In a perfect world? Maybe. But you also can’t afford to ignore all the benefits that Internet marketing has to offer. So where do you draw the line between what you can honestly expect yourself to complete and what you can trust someone else to do for you?

A solid legal Internet marketing plan does not rely on one thing. There are many factors that go into achieving the results you want. Legal Internet marketing plans are constructed to highlight your firm’s strengths while also focusing on capturing the right visual and written message for visitors to your website, social networking profiles, and blog. And there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes that you don’t see. For example, web designers dedicate weeks to constructing a flawless web site with the proper code that matches keywords and keyword phrases that you want to rank well for on the search engines while also incorporating the right web design.

You may not be able to get the online search results that you want when you want them; however, there is plenty that you can assist your Internet marketing consultant with so that you are a part of the process and so that goals are not just met, but exceeded.

It may not always be easy to let go of controlling some aspects of your Internet marketing efforts, but it may be necessary in order for you to continue helping the clients you have and so that you don’t miss out on new clients in the future.

Last month we addressed two key points about why it is crucial for law firms to establish and maintain an online presence in order to create communities and provide Internet users with the information and help they need. BlogWorld and Media Expo 2010 emphasized these points, which are to provide relevant, updated content, and to establish online authority through authenticity. Sounds simple enough, right? Right. But this is easier said than done, as are most aspects of Internet marketing. Here are a few more highlights from BlogWorld that lawyers still need to know:

3. Identify Your Target Audience
Who are you trying to help? This is a major question that shouldn’t be difficult to answer. As an attorney, you have handled many cases and helped several people to say the least, so you are already aware of whom you want to help. However, how do you make sure that this is accurately translated to your website, blog, and social media profiles?

In the world of Internet marketing, the “who” is your “target audience.” These are the people you must have in mind when organizing the structure, design, and content of your online platforms. Information should be easy to understand, easy to find, and guide your target audience to a way to contact you. But they won’t contact you if they stumbled upon your site and don’t really need the specific services you provide. How the information is distributed and organized online plays a vital role in helping your target audience find you, or rather, you finding them. The right information can be on your website, blog, or social profile, but if it isn’t seen by the right audience, then you won’t reach the people who are looking for your type of services.

4. Engaging Current Readers and Drawing in New Ones
One way to ensure that the information on your website, blog, and social networks is getting to the right people is to write for your audience. Think of the most frequently asked questions that you receive from clients and provide a way for these questions and answers to be available to those searching the web. What you think of as basic, straight-forward information may be what someone else just can’t wrap their brain around.

Why do visitors return to your website and why do readers subscribe to your blog? One answer is that they like what you have to say. How does this happen? A major part of this answer has to do with people growing to know, like, and trust you through what you have distributed online.

Don’t be afraid to be yourself and share what you know, you may end up helping more people than you ever thought was possible.

5..6..7..Keep Up and Stay Informed
The Internet is always changing. Check in with what is going on in the web-world before you find out that you missed it. Once again, this is easier said than done. However, there are ways to simplify the chaos. Why not sync your work email to your cell phone? Why not start tweeting as a way to stay connected with fellow attorneys, government agencies, and other organizations related to the area of law in which you practice?

If you feel overwhelmed after reading this, you haven’t read anything yet. These points only touch on the many different efforts that you can make to increase your online presence and help your firm reach the top. Visit our blog again for more tips on how to simplify these processes as well as how to effectively highlight and distribute your accomplishments online.

BlogWorld and Media Expo 2010 was far from ordinary and attracted bloggers, social media gurus, and writers from across the globe. With thousands of conference attendees and hundreds of sessions offered, there was never a dull moment. BlogWorld not only provided updates on the latest Internet technology, marketing strategies, and innovative ideas, but it also emphasized the importance of establishing and maintaining communities online. So how does this apply to attorneys? Here are two answers.

1. Establish Online Authority through Authenticity

If your genuine message of how you can help people is properly represented on your website, then you’re on your way to bettering the online community. Creating and maintaining a website that people turn to during a time of need may not be something that can be done in a matter of days, but the long-term result of months of work will be well worth it. The purpose of highlighting your experience, knowledge and skills as an attorney is not to impress; it’s to help represent who you are, how you’ve helped many people in the face of unimaginable challenges, and how you can help the individual who is now visiting your site. Be yourself, be professional, be committed, and be consistent; which leads me to my next point…

2. Provide Relevant, Updated Content

Why should anyone spend their time on your website, your social profiles, or your blog? The answer is that these platforms provide invaluable resources, helpful information, and a way for conversations to be created, relationships to be built, and assistance regarding specific needs to be within reach. Having content on your website, social profiles, and blog that is updated often and directly relates to the information that your target audience is searching for is the perfect way to help those in need and turn visitors into potential clients. But don’t only write about yourself. Readers of your blog and friends, followers or fans of yours on social platforms are interested in what you have to say, but they are also seeking information that will help them solve their current problem. The best way to do this is to identify who you are trying to help and what they are really searching for…

…and this isn’t all. Another blog post will discuss two more invaluable points to your legal Internet marketing plan. In the meantime, stay true to the message of your firm and think of new ways to reach out to your online community. They’re waiting.

Saying that things can get quite hectic from time to time does not accurately describe the day in the life of a business owner, or an attorney, for that matter. In trying to avoid sounding like an advertisement for the iPhone or various cellular devices, having Internet access on your cell phone can help you stay on top of your marketing campaign when you’re on-the-go and are unable to take along your laptop or access the Internet.

While it isn’t absolutely necessary that you use your cell phone for Internet purposes, it is an option that presents some advantages and can help you stay at least a few steps, if not more, ahead of your competition. You also have to think about your target audience and the fact that many of them significantly rely on their cell phones to access the Internet.

The transition of the Internet to mobile devices is similar to the increase in popularity of the Internet being more widely used over the Yellow Pages. In order to keep up with your potential clients as well as your current ones, it can’t hurt to consider how a mobile website could help you provide more accessible information and more direct, timely assistance to those in need. Many mobile websites are designed and formatted to fit the screen of most mobile devices, providing a way for those seeking legal information to access the resources they need asap.

Social networking applications can also help you keep up with the most current breaking news and creates a more convenient way for you to share critical information with others right at that moment rather than waiting until you have access to a computer or laptop. If you doubt whether many people utilize social networking sites, SearchEngineNews.com recently noted that since the start of this year, Twitter mobile users have gone up 250%. In addition, there has been talk about Facebook integrating its presence on android operating systems; however, time will only tell whether this actually happens.

Running a business, including a law firm, does not automatically allow time for Internet marketing plans and establishing ways to attract your target audience. You have to make the time. Why is this important? First of all, the types of visitors to your website that you want are the ones who actually need your services. Even if a visitor does not end up being a potential client, if you can assist them in some way either through your initial contact with them or through the informative content on your site, then your marketing efforts are helping establish your website as a reliable source. While increasing visitors plays a role in establishing your website’s rankings and online presence, if you want contact form submissions filled out and phone calls made, you need to make sure that your website has the proper ingredients to draw in the visitors that you ultimately want to help.

Appealing to your target audience comes in stride. It takes time to build on tactics to help you accomplish this, such as link building, developing and adding relevant content to your website and blog, as well as many other Internet marketing strategies. And you can’t rely on any one approach over another. Search engine optimization, social networking, and many other modes of Internet marketing all work together to help increase the amount of visitors who are actually seeking help on matters that you have the experience and knowledge to handle.

Keyword choice, placement, and optimization also play a major role in drawing your target audience in. It helps to put yourself in the shoes of your client base. What terms would you enter into the search engines when looking for the services that you provide? And what would variations of those terms be? Also, don’t be afraid to ask your clients how they found you and what made them choose you over another.

If you’re looking for a new and effective approach to attracting your target audience and build your presence online, contact our boutique legal marketing consultant group to find out how we’re not your average company.

Every law firm is on the look-out for maximum exposure on the Internet and the most effective way to do so. While there are many factors that can help you and your firm get more clients, one major tool you can utilize, often goes unnoticed.

Neglecting to write and submit press releases about your law firm is a great way to miss out on a perfect opportunity. However, you don’t want to submit just any press release, just like you don’t want to put just any content on your website. This is especially true since relevant content is essential in helping a press release get noticed by the search engines, and the same information can only be valid so many times. Here are a few tips to help you get started:

• Services - When it comes to submitting press releases on the Internet, some services are free and others require payment. It’s worth the time to look into what you’re willing to pay for in relation to what will be provided and try out a few sites to see which press release service works best for you.


• Topics - When writing a press release, keep in mind that you are announcing something newsworthy relating to your law firm or individual accomplishments within the area of law that you practice, such as a groundbreaking verdict or settlement, or even a new website.


• Structure - It is also important to consider the organization and layout of your release. Does the title include keywords that are descriptive and pertinent to what your press release addresses? Is the most critical information included in the beginning of the release? Do you have a closing paragraph that provides additional information about your firm?


• Length - Don’t make your press release a novel. It’s important to keep it short and sweet to ensure that the main points get across without getting lost in tangents and elaborate descriptions. A press release should be focused on the recent news of your firm, which is a valuable achievement, so let the words speak for themselves.

In submitting a press release, you are not only providing informative material, you are also building links to your website, blog, and social networks, depending on what type of links you are allowed to include in the release. By gaining more exposure online, you will establish web saturation that will help your press release get attention from various sources. This is a cost-effective way to get more online traffic and provide valuable information about your firm to the public.

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.

Legal websites have to strike a balance when it comes to the type of content that is featured on their site. Search engine visibility is at the heart of any good Internet marketing campaign, but the kind of content that search engines like Google, Yahoo & Bing rank favorably is not necessarily the type of content that compels potential clients to pick up the phone and contact your firm. This is best illustrated by using a theoretical case study:

A criminal defense law firm in Colorado wishes to launch a firm site that competes for keywords relating to their main areas of practice. They design a site that has relevant content relating to crimes like theft, DUI, assault, etc., creating unique pages for each of the crimes. After being indexed by Google, that content is thrown into the mix with all the others hundreds of thousands of pages by attorneys on Colorado criminal defense (778,000 according to Google).

In an effort to set themselves apart, they begin to beef up the ‘relevant’ content as Google’s webmaster guidelines instruct them to do. By adding more content to their pages, including things like Colorado legal statutes and discussions of the law, they are able to increase the ranking of their pages. With the addition of incoming links from outside sources that have recognized the website as an authority on issues of Colorado Criminal Law, Google begins to recognize the site as a valuable location with a plethora of information for the keywords the firm is trying to target.

So after a time, the firm is able to get to the coveted first page of Google results for their keywords… but now what? What the firm is left with are pages with thousands of words worth of information on Colorado theft charges that is dry, worded in legal-speak, and quotes legal statutes that most individuals have no interest in.

It is important to remember that any potential client that visits your site is not interested in becoming an expert in the crime that they are accused of committing. They are not interested in practicing law, representing themselves, or reading the legal statute or penal code that they have been charged with. This is exactly the type of legal website content, however, that will result in those pages having a high visibility in search engines. It is the content that Google most readily rewards with favorable search engine rankings.

A potential client wants to know that you can get them out of the mess they are in and defend their rights in court. They want to know that they can trust you, they want to see other cases you have handled like theirs, and they want to hear from people you have worked with in the past. This type of content does not inherently “match” with the content that Google would offer favorable rankings to.

So a balance of both is the best course of action for any website. Write informational content to get better rankings and write compelling information to get potential clients to pick up the phone and call.

Depending on which state you practice law in; you may have a set of stringent State Bar guidelines that you need to follow to advertise your services on the Internet. In certain states, the restrictions can be extensive and extremely restrictive, with even things like testimonials or case results being against ethics rules. In other states, the restrictions are a bit more lax, allowing attorneys a little more leeway in the way they market their firm and law practice.

It is the responsibility of each attorney to insure that all advertising literature, including websites, adhere to state bar ethics rules governing lawyer advertising. Your trusted legal Internet marketing partner will have resources to make sure that you are within the guidelines for your state. The American Bar Association has a webpage devoted to information on responsible client development. You can view that page here: http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/clientdevelopment/adrules/.

A major challenge for attorneys who advertise online is establishing useful, persuasive content on their websites while tiptoeing around the rules and regulations regarding attorney advertising for their particular state. Use of terms like ‘expert’ or ‘specialist’ are forbidden in most states, unless the attorney is specifically credited as such through a state bar sponsored program. It can be argued of course that one of the main goals of any attorney website is to portray that attorney as an expert in the area of law which they practice.

One of the benefits of partnering with a legal Internet marketing firm is that you are consulting with a company that has already had to address this problem countless times. At SLS Consulting, we have real-world experience creating persuasive content for our clients that not only adheres to state bar restrictions on attorney advertising, but takes advantage of them.

By marrying clear, structured site architecture, a wealth of the proper legal information, background on an attorneys’ experience and mission in their practice of law, we can offer advice on how best to craft your websites message to help insure the highest rate of conversion, enhancing your client development efforts.

For more information on how to craft persuasive content for your website while adhering to your state bar’s restrictions, contact SLS Consulting today for a consultation of your current online marketing strategy.

Protecting your reputation online should be a part of any good Internet marketing campaign. By controlling the first few pages of Google search results for your name and your firm's name, you can be sure that the information that potential clients find about you is not only accurate, but that it also displays your practice and accomplishments in the best light.

At its core, online reputation management starts with the publication of pages on the Internet associated with your name. Be they websites, bio pages, syndicated articles, blogs, etc.; the more you publish in your name, the more likely you are to control multiple listings in searches. Some common tactics that legal Internet marketing specialists will use to gain control of those first few pages of results in Google are:

• Creating individual bio pages on your website for the lawyer(s) and firm name


• Publish and maintain a blog


• Reserving your name as a .com and .net


• Submitting profiles to free and paid lawyer directories


• Publishing articles to syndication sites in your name


• Create/maintain a Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN, & Avvo account

Creating websites and profiles and publishing articles are only scratching the surface of the work that needs to be done for successful reputation management. It is important that these sites, profiles and pages are optimized properly. It is also important that the profiles, blogs and website have fresh content and are updated often, insuring that they maintain high visibility with search engine results.

A truly effective Internet marketing campaign that is geared towards increasing search engine visibility through SEO will naturally protect your reputation (to a degree). One of the benefits of consulting with a qualified Legal SEM company is that the marketing plan they create for you will account for reputation management naturally. Online Reputation management, especially in the social networking era of the Internet, is far too important a variable to left unaddressed.

People with an insider’s knowledge of Microsoft say that the company will make an announcement soon that Facebook posts will appear in Bing’s search results in the near future. Microsoft has said that posts from Twitter users have already been integrated into its new search engine’s search results. It’s also possible that posts from other social media sites will also be included in the future.

The president of Microsoft’s online services division, Qi Lu, was expected to make the announcement about the integrated search results at the Web 2.0 Conference in San Francisco. The senior vice president for Microsoft’s online audience business group, Yusuf Mehdi, is expected to conduct a demonstration of the new capabilities of the Bing search engine.

Microsoft’s deal with Twitter, which is expected to be nonexclusive, has reportedly been included in the company plans for many weeks. Microsoft engineers had already included Twitter posts into Bing in anticipation of the announcement. The terms of Microsoft’s deal are not expected to be disclosed, but a person inside the deal who wished to remain anonymous said that negotiations included a payment from Microsoft to Twitter.

Continue reading "Microsoft's Bing Browser Integrates Twitter and Facebook Posts in Search Results" »

After suffering setbacks due to the recession, Internet advertising appears to be recovering well ahead of predictions. While advertising in traditional media like newspapers and magazines continues to founder, resulting in layoffs and pay cuts, advertising online seems to be gathering steam again. Kent State professor and former media analyst Lauren Rich Fine recently said that advertising in traditional media, classified sections in newspapers in particular, will never recover to pre-recession levels.

This forecast is in sharp contrast to the growing number of advertisers steadily increasing their online advertising budgets where more of their target audience spends their free time. Further worsening conditions for older media outlets, advertising online is less expensive, and an online advertiser’s return on investment is much easier to measure and track. Even companies that have longstanding advertising relationships with television networks and publishers are realizing that they need a strong marketing presence on the Internet, too.

"You can draw a straight line from the time when people hear an ad on the radio or television to when they search for that company on the Internet," said David Karnstedt, chief executive of Efficient Frontier, which helps manage ad campaigns on search engines.

Continue reading "Internet Advertising Regaining Momentum" »

Not so long ago, small business owners had to be very selective about their advertising with their limited marketing budgets. Google AdWords and Internet marketing have leveled the playing field for small businesses substantially. However, unless owners or their Internet marketing expert plan their AdWords campaign carefully, they can quickly find themselves spending thousands of dollars with little return on investment.

First, determine if a Google AdWords campaign is the right choice for your business. For example, if your company produces a new product with very little name recognition, an AdWords campaign centered on a keyphrase like “organic turkey pastrami” might result in very inexpensive clicks, but little traffic to your site.

Next, establish an affordable budget and stick to it. Regardless how competitive your target keywords and keyphrases might be, unless you set a daily and monthly budget and stick to it, you’re setting yourself up to pay an expensive tab for pay-per-click. Instead of focusing on the quantity of clicks on your ad, concern yourself with the quality of those clicks.

Third, consider modifying your selected keywords and phrases with the names of nearby cities or your county. Also, bear in mind that AdWords will let you select a defined geo-specific area where your ads will reach local customers. If your snow plowing business is in Manchester, New Hampshire and you’re trying to attract qualified traffic with a PPC campaign for “snow removal,” it doesn’t do you much good if a user eighty miles away sees your ad. Select Manchester snow removal, Bedford, NH snow plowing services or another nearby community.

Continue reading "Small Business Guide to Using Google AdWords" »

The importance and relevance of legal Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for attracting qualified clients and helping a law firm become more successful is very well known, but it’s not enough to simply know that it is effective. In order for legal professionals to really understand how legal SEO helps them, they need to know why it works and why it provides a significantly better return on investment than traditional legal marketing methods. So we’ve compiled a list of some of the things that every lawyer should know about legal SEO:

• Legal SEO lets you compete with the big firms – Legal Search Engine Optimization levels the playing field for your firm and allows it to compete successfully with larger law firms with huge marketing budgets. Smaller, savvier, more nimble firms can use legal SEO strategies to thrive in a hyper-competitive field.


• It is the most cost-effective form of marketing – Traditional forms of marketing are expensive and may or may not achieve the desired results. Once the proper foundation has been established for your site’s success, your legal SEO keeps working for your firm 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.


• It helps your site attract local clients – Web users are becoming more sophisticated at finding local goods and services on the Internet. Modifying legal SEO keywords and phrases with the names of local cities makes it easier for potential clients to find your site!

Continue reading "What Every Lawyer Should Know About Legal SEO" »

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" »

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) is expecting that businesses will expand their mobile marketing budgets by up to 26 percent in the coming year, despite evidence that suggests that businesses will be spending slightly less on marketing this year overall. While mobile marketing is still quite small compared to the reach, relevance and revenue generated by Internet marketing, as more and more users use their personal communication devices to browse the Web, the effectiveness and market share of mobile marketing is expected to rise in the foreseeable future.

While mobile marketing currently represents only 1.8 percent of total marketing budgets, the MMA expects that the total spending on mobile marketing will climb from $1.7 billion to $2.16 billion in 2010. Approximately half of the brands and agencies the MMA polled recently said that they were experimenting with at least one type of mobile marketing, with SMS text campaigns the most popular choice, followed by mobile Web sites and mobile email marketing, respectively.

Most often, marketers are integrating their mobile marketing efforts with the Internet as statistics suggest that mobile Internet access increased 36 percent in the United States over the last year. Further, the research indicated that over 18 million Americans currently have mobile Internet access, and 54 million people worldwide enjoy mobile Internet access. Although mobile marketing has steadily gained market share over the last several years, the research also found that slow connections, spotty network connectivity and extra fees are still the principal barriers to entice mobile users online.

Industry experts believe that mobile Internet marketing has been and continues to be effective because it reaches consumers when they are shopping, running errands and making purchasing decisions away from their home. A research study conducted by Universal McCann on smartphone usage patterns found that more than one-third of smartphone users described as “high-use” respond to mobile advertisements. The study found that:

• 53 percent of smartphone users click on mobile advertising


• 35 percent request more information or a coupon


• 24 percent make purchases through their handsets


• 82 percent said that they use mobile devices while at work


• 81 percent said that they used their mobile devices while shopping

Continue reading "Mobile Marketing Budgets Expected to Climb 26% This Year" »

Many clients in a hurry to have their legal Web site up and running overlook the importance of the site’s infrastructure in terms of site performance, ease of use, navigation, ranking opportunities and other important considerations. They care a great deal about page layout, color scheme, cool Flash animations, how the site reflects the professionalism of their law firm and other cosmetic features of their site, but are less concerned about the actual ‘nuts and bolts’ aspect of their site.

In many ways, a Web site’s infrastructure in analogous to a house in that it can look great from the outside but, unless it has been built to withstand a wide range of different environmental pressures, it will not last or provide its intended benefits. From a legal Internet marketing standpoint, unless a site is designed and built to rank well and perform well from the very beginning of the project, it will never achieve its goals or provide the proper foundation for the success of any legal Internet marketing strategies. Here are a few reasons why your legal Web site’s infrastructure is so important:

• It ensures that your site loads quickly in all browsers and traffic conditions – Good site infrastructure will ensure that you legal site loads quickly and properly when viewed through any browser and in high traffic conditions. A site that looks great in one browser but displays broken features in another will turn off site visitors and reflect poorly on your practice.


• Makes it easier for Google and other search engines to index your site – Sites built with clean, uncluttered code are easier for Google and the other search engines to index, which is a bigger deal than you may think. The indexing algorithms are designed to ‘remember’ which sites are difficult to ‘crawl’ and therefore index their contents less often, which affects placement in search results.

Continue reading "Why Your Site’s Infrastructure Is So Important" »

Microsoft is sparing no expense and thinking well outside the metaphorical box in its efforts to market its new search engine named “Bing.” The corporation is buying prominent placement in television programs and the online video hub Hulu.com as part of their efforts to raise awareness about their new search engine. In fact, Microsoft plans to air an hour-long “Bing-a-thon” on Hulu.com, matching the new search engine with the old marketing standby - the infomercial. Tired of having its old search engine a perennial afterthought to the undisputed champion of the search engine Google, the Microsoft Corporation is believed to be spending between $80 million to $100 million on advertising to give Bing a running start on the competition.

Microsoft is willing to invest in all this Internet marketing in their new search engine because Internet marketing has become such an effective way to build brand management, attract targeted, qualified traffic to a Web site and drive sales. In addition, search engine market share has become increasingly coveted because online ad spending has held up much better than most other types of media in a tough economic climate. It’s fair to say that Microsoft is implementing all this Internet marketing for Bing to get a bigger chunk of Google’s share of ad revenue.

Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president for the online services division of Microsoft in Redmond, Washington, said, “It’s a very tall marketing challenge and a very tall product challenge…It’s going to take multiple steps to get where we want to go,” he added, “and this is the first step. The key will be whether we deliver a product and connect with people emotionally in the advertising.”

Mr. Mehdi added that to achieve the second point, “You have to do something a little bit more surprising.”

Continue reading "Marketing for “Bing” Search Engine: Microsoft Thinking Outside the Box" »

With the explosion in popularity that social media and social networking sites like facebook, twitter, youtube, videojug, and linkedin have recently enjoyed, many attorneys are faced with the question of whether or not to invest the time and money involved in creating and maintaining profiles on these sites. Can tweeting 30 times a day and having hundreds of followers to your profile increase the number of great cases you get? Will it cause your phone to ring more often?

The answer, in most instances, is a resounding ‘no’, but that does not mean that these sites don’t serve a purpose. The real value of these types of sites becomes obvious when you view your name (and your law firm’s name) as a trademarked brand name. A brand name that like any other in the business world, needs to be protected.

While it is true that you don’t have to devote large resources to social media sites, you do have to protect your brand name and trademarks by registering or ‘claiming’ your profiles. Almost all of the profiles that you create on the most popular of social networking sites are free. It just takes time and a valid email address. By taking the time to create profiles for yourself and your firm, you successfully claim your virtual identity online preventing brand and trademark abuse while contributing to your legal Internet marketing efforts.

Another variable here is the potential that some of these social networking sites have for exploding in popularity. Let’s not forget the story of facebook.com, a social networking site that started very small. Originally the site was intended to be a networking tool for Harvard students. As it’s popularity increased, other colleges and high school were allowed to join its ranks as well. It wasn’t until late 2006 that the site actually opened its membership to non-students. Today the site has more than 200 million active profiles. Who knows which social networking site will enjoy similar success? By claiming as many of these profiles as possible you insure that you are well positioned to take advantage of future success.

Additionally, and this is actually the most important factor from an SEO standpoint, social media sites can rank very highly in the search engines, especially for people’s names. If you’ve ever done a search for an individual you know that very often the first page of results can be dominated by myspace, facebook, youtube, and linkedIN profiles. The pages where the profiles are listed can also have very high page ranks, offering valuable links back to your firm’s website.

The most attractive part of this plan of action is that it costs virtually nothing. Any intern or office administrator can log into these sites and create profiles for your firm. The potential benefits far outweigh the time invested, and protecting your brand name on a prime domain can reap substantial benefits to you and your firm’s online identity.

From the people who brought you the social networking sensation twitter.com, comes tweetlaw.com, a Twitter application designed specifically for legal professionals. Why tweetlaw? The webpage explains it like this:

“We believe that sometimes, labels are necessary. So many careers and specialties fall under the legal profession, and we want to give you the opportunity to stand out in your field.”

The site was launched on April 1st, 2009 and as of the writing of this article on May 10th, 2009 has 389 legal professionals tweeting.

Signing up for an account on tweetlaw.com is easy. You login by using your twitter.com username and password. You are then able to make a custom tweetlaw.com profile. Unlike twitter, your tweetlaw.com profile can be as long as you want it to be (twitter limits it to 140 characters). Creating your profile also allows you to specify several URLs to associate with your profile, one for your “personal” site, another for your ‘work” site. You can also add information like your mailing address, phone number, email address, and a bio about who you are and what you do.

Tweetlaw.com also allows you to specify up to 4 “categories” that describe what you do. Currently the site features 40 categories to choose from including: Blawgers, Law Students, Litigators, Paralegals, Family Lawyers, Small Law Firms and Big Law Firms to name a few. These categories feature members tweeting about relevant subject matter.

Like twitter, tweetlaw.com can serve a purpose for attorneys who are looking to effectively market themselves online. A large online legal network is a useful tool when gauging the temperament of lawyers nationwide. It is also very useful for bouncing marketing ideas off of your peers who might otherwise be unavailable, or unwilling, to help you. Rebroadcasting your blog stories on twitter can also increase readership and get your articles read by more individuals, who may decide to link those articles to their own blogs/ tweets (if they are any good).

Since the site is relatively new, the indexing of this information on search engines could take some time, but it is always good to have incoming links from reputable, popular locations on the internet, and tweetlaw.com seems to be destined to be just that.

LinkedIn is a great online networking tool that caters to the individual who is less interested in connecting with ‘buddies’ or ‘friends’ and more interested in networking with like-minded and career oriented individuals on the Internet.

What separates Linkedin from other social networking sites is that it is designed with the business user in mind. With 40 million members in over 200 countries around the world and executives from all Fortune 500 companies in its ranks, LinkedIn profiles are becoming necessities for the users who are looking to not only network online, but also maintain a strong, branded online presence.

From the LinkedIn webpage:

“When you join, you create a profile that summarizes your professional expertise and accomplishments. You can then form enduring connections by inviting trusted contacts to join LinkedIn and connect to you. Your network consists of your connections, your connections’ connections, and the people they know, linking you to a vast number of qualified professionals and experts.”

The benefits of LinkedIn are numerous and quickly recognizable. Besides being able to manage the information that’s publicly available about you as a professional, you can build your client development, collaborate with peers on projects, even partner with them for potential business opportunities, gain new insight from discussions with other professionals who share your interests and also place job listings for your organization.

Perhaps, most importantly, is the clout that google seems to lend to LinkedIn profiles. It is very rare to Google an individual’s name and not find their Linkedin profile among the first few organic search engine results. This is very important for several reasons. Most obviously, this increases your web presence and visibility, but it also enables you to control the information that people searching for you see.

If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, you should get one now. They are free and easy to setup: https://www.linkedin.com/.

Everyone knows that a good sitemap on your webpage is imperative to getting your pages noticed by Google. What many people don’t know is that Google has a Sitemap Protocol that allows you to inform all search engines about URLs on your websites that are available for crawling in a more dynamic fashion. This Sitemap Protocol is rendered as an XML file that lists all of the URLs on your site like a normal sitemap would, however its scalability and custom commands allows you other options that a typical HTML sitemap would not.

XML Sitemaps enable webmasters to include information about URL’s like when the page was last updated, how often it changes, and how important it is in relation to other pages in the site. The document provided by Google describes the formats for Sitemap files and also explains where you should post your Sitemap files so that search engines can retrieve them.

Some of the XML tags that are described in the document are:

• <lastmod>: This tag indicates the date of the last modification of this file.


• <changefreq>: Indicates how frequently the page is likely to change. Values like ‘always’, ‘hourly’, ‘daily’, ‘weekly’, ‘monthly’, ‘yearly’, and ‘never’ are all acceptable.


• <priority>: Indicates the priority of this URL relative to other URLs on your site. Valid values range from 0.0 to 1.0.

XML Sitemaps can be a valuable tool for your legal website that allow search engine crawlers to more effectively and efficiently crawl your site. It is important to note, however, that the Sitemap Protocol supplements, but does not replace, the crawl-based mechanisms that search engines already use to discover URLs. As Google’s XML sitemap page indicates:
“Using this protocol does not guarantee that your webpages will be included in search indexes… using this protocol will not influence the way your pages are ranked by Google”

With today’s economic woes affecting seemingly all aspects of business, many law firms large and small are struggling with exactly how to spend their marketing budgets. A solid indicator of where to spend your money can come from looking at other industries, gauging the climate of search engine marketing budgets across the board to get a feel for how much of your budget should be spent online.

A report published on emarketer.com regarding a study conducted by Econsultancy and SEO firm Guava, indicated that online marketers around the globe are increasingly turning to search marketing tactics.

Fifty-five percent of respondents said they planned to raise spending on SEO, and 45% said the same of paid search. In addition, 31% of SEO and 32% of paid search users said they intended to maintain their budgets.

It seems that business marketing executives are learning what many of our clients have known for quite some time, that search engine marketing is the most reliable, efficient tool in attracting new customers. SEO offers inherent advantages over paid search options, although the benefits may take time to make themselves apparent.

“SEO improves organic listings, which Internet users prefer over paid search, and it is cost-effective,” said eMarketer senior analyst David Hallerman. “Furthermore, optimization works across all search engines, and an optimized site does not drop off the first results page even when marketer spending slows or stops—as it can with paid search.”

Although this article refers primarily to online sites that have a traditional, commerce driven product, the goal of a solid legal Internet marketing strategy is always the same, increase traffic to the site and visibility in organic searches for relevant keyword terms. All attorneys, regardless of their specific mode of practice, can benefit from a sound online marketing campaign whose focal point is a strong SEO plan.

Our firm has specialized in building these types of marketing plans for more than 10 years. Our track record of success is well documented and we remain at the forefront of search engine marketing tactics. Contact us today, we can help your firm dominate online searches and help potential clients find and contact your website first.

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”)" »

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.

Let’s face it – the recession is not bringing out the best in every business. People are increasingly putting their head in the sand, pulling back their resources, and building the proverbial bunker to ride out the storm. If you haven’t been thinking of ways to cut down on your marketing budget, you’re an exception to the rule – but you might be smarter than the pack.

A recent article in the National Law Journal exhibits just what I mean. Entitled “As firms cut marketing, others see opportunity,” it sums up the entire climate in one simple headline.

It can be tempting to cut down on your Internet marketing investment in these lean times, but remember, search engine optimization – especially in the highly competitive legal field – is a numbers game and an endurance race.

Continue reading "Slowdown…or Opportunity for Legal Marketing? " »

It can be easy to draw traffic in to your website... but what constitutes the tipping point for undecided potential clients? Often, it’s the perception of education.

Consider a potential client whose son has been involved in a DUI accident. They’re scared, angry, and sick of dealing with insurance companies and police officers. They’re ready for action and results, but more than that they want to understand what their experience will be like as they undergo the process. By acting as an educator, you can address these fears on several levels, before, during, and after the engagement.

Before: The Website Visit
Informative articles on your site (with attractive and interesting titles, of course) allow you to educate your client without ever stepping in front of them. Make sure to stress the importance of competent legal counsel while actually providing information in each article – the search engines and your future clients will thank you.

During: The Client Consultation
It’s standard practice to offer a consultation or evaluation for clients as they decide who to go with. By thinking of your educator role, you’ll be able to separate yourself from the pack. Answer questions simply and effectively without giving away the farm. Your goal is to provide enough information to make prospects feel educated and secure, but not enough to make them feel they can represent themselves.

After: Ongoing Contact
It’s easy to forget the fear factor when you’re a seasoned attorney, but your clients are often facing very real fear as they prepare for court appearances. By educating them about what to expect in court and what you are doing, you can cut down on this fear, make them feel secure and confident, and guarantee referrals and repeat business.

Many times the lawyers I speak with are worried that if they give too much information the client will feel that they don't need a lawyer... the exact opposite is true. The more information you give, the more clients feel at ease and realize they need your professional legal services. Don't be afraid to give information to potential clients.

Though every lawyer could write a library full of novels about their life and professional work, all too often lawyers are not great Web writers. Is it because their endless rounds of court-ordained tasks and client care deplete their writing ability? Is it because they can’t write? Of course not. So what’s wrong with the legal website content written by lawyers? The answer is simple: too much legalese.

Legalese is tempting to throw into client communications. After all, you’re the attorney…you get paid to use complex legal terminology and construct legal arguments that draw on the profession’s special language. Unfortunately, this can alienate current and potential clients…and that could be a big mistake for your practice!

Here’s how to reduce the use of legalese in your client communications, be they by letter or over the Web:

- Break up those sentences. When it comes to writing for your clients, shorter is better. After you’ve written something, go through and try to find sentences you can break up into shorter ones. It’s easier on the eye and has a greater impact. I promise.

- Translate. Think of yourself as a translator. By day, you speak a legal jargon understood by a privileged few. How would you break down a complex legal concept for someone who knew nothing about the law whatsoever? Your clients depend on you to translate legal ideas into concepts they can understand. Respect that trust and reciprocate with language that’s geared toward all levels, especially when writing website content.

- Write with search engines in mind. Do you think a potential client is more likely to look up a sentence like “involuntary manslaughter conviction ramifications” or “DUI consequences”? A dash of realism in your writing can help turn visitors into clients.

It may seem difficult to “turn it on” and “turn it off”, but learning to reduce legalese in all your written and verbal communications with your clients and will benefit you. 