Many firms are ignoring a key aspect of marketing their website when they don’t look into search engine advertising. Although we will never be able to push a magic button and have our website appear at the top of all the search engines’ results, search engine advertising can give you a strong boost toward the top. Search engine optimization for attorneys is the key to a successful Internet marketing campaign. You are probably well aware that SEO—when done right—can improve your legal site’s ability to be discovered naturally by the top search engines. You are probably also aware that today’s SEO involves a high level of interaction with prospective clients as well as day-to-day brand building and staying involved with the top social media outlets. In other words, SEO is hardly a one-time event, rather involves a long-term commitment on your part.
Landing in those coveted top spots has been shown to boost your traffic by 400, 500, even 600 percent. If you use the Internet at all you, like most of us, rarely look beyond the first couple of pages of search engine results. In short, this means that unless you make it into the top search engine results your business will remain largely invisible to searchers. Your first task before going live with your legal website is to extensively research your keywords. Brainstorm your list initially, asking friends and family to do the same—you will likely be surprised at some of the words others will come up with which were not on your own list.
This is typical since, as a legal professional, you may think about your business in a different manner than searchers might. In the end, it makes no difference whether you think your keywords are correct—you absolutely must use keywords which will realistically be used by actual searchers. Next, take advantage of the many really good programs out there which will tell you which keywords are appropriate for your legal niche as well as which ones are being used by your top competitors.
Once you have your keywords in place, you can focus on content. Legal websites depend on well-written, relevant and unique content. Your content not only gets you found by the search engine spiders it will also lead to your site being found by prospective clients. Your keywords will be placed strategically within this high-quality content, making humans and search engine spiders both happy. Link building will be your next task as high-quality inbound links are still a crucial element of search engine optimization.
Finally, you are ready to jump into search engine advertising. Paid listings have been on the Internet since 2001, and most savvy Internet users are well aware of what a paid search ad looks like. Paid inclusion will ensure that all your pages are included—so long as you continue to pay—and while it doesn’t guarantee placement it can improve your odds of appearing in a wider range of search engine results. If your website is new, a paid inclusion can ensure your site will be listed in a day or two rather than the more typical two-to-four weeks it can take for a search engine crawler to index your site.
Speak to real law firm Internet marketing experts, not a sales person. Call 1 (800) 877-2776 for your free consultation.
