Internet Marketing For Law Firms

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.

Even though you have a brick and mortar business as an attorney, using social media to grow your business can help your business reach the next level. If you are already using FB, LinkedIn and Twitter, then you are ahead of the game as word of your business is being regularly and efficiently spread. While it can take a fair amount of time to constantly update statuses and post relevant items, remember that social media is more and more often used as a platform for marketing communications and consider it the cost of doing business. Overall, law firms tend to be somewhat more cautious and conservative therefore attorneys have been a bit slower to jump on the social media bandwagon. There are several ways law firms can efficiently use social media to their advantage, including:

• Start with those in your firm and ensure they have all completed a comprehensive LinkedIn profile.
• Find out where your clients are having conversations, and get involved.
• Share your knowledge in the form of reports, white papers, or short e-books which will demonstrate your expertise in your area.
• Remember that social media allows you to interact with clients through teaching, discussing or entertaining—hold off on the selling.
• Ensure your branding remains consistent across platforms.
• Post regularly—a minimum of once or twice a week.
• Provide a level of content which will engage and inform your audience to the point they will feel compelled to pass it on.
• Remember to make a human connection—conversations rather than conversions.
• Share event invitations.
• Social media platforms allow your potential clients to research your firm or recommend your business to others.
• Lawyers in the top ten percent of the legal profession spend a minimum of five hours per week networking and meeting new people.
• Social media will allow you to build stronger personal connections with your colleagues.
• Staying on top of the latest trends in the legal community is much easier through the use of social media.
• Keep your focus off sales and directed toward a more educational approach.
• Ask your existing clients what types of information they would like to know about your firm.
• Ensure you and the other attorneys are clear about the difference between actual legal advice and simple insights. You might want to include a disclaimer to this effect as well.
• A legal blog puts a face and voice to your practice as well as building content to share through other social media outlets.
• While social media is important, when you overextend yourself you can become overwhelmed. Make sure you will be able to adequately manage the social media platforms you engage in.

Those attorneys who are interested in getting started in social media can find the experienced help they need with our company. Whether you have questions regarding SEO content, web design, attorney blogging or any other website question we can help. Call (800) 877-2776 today for your free consultation. When you call, you will be given valuable advice and strategies from expert law firm Internet marketing professionals—not sales representatives.

Writing an eBook to use on your website may not be something you have considered, however it can result in quite a boost to your website rankings if done properly. EBooks—for electronic books—are becoming increasingly popular. In the same way that offering an informative white paper about a particular legal subject or sending out a weekly or monthly newsletter which gives readers useful, free information, writing a short eBook can be a great service to your clients, giving them information they might not otherwise be able to find as well as creating trust in your visitors. Think about your particular niche and brainstorm an issue that you feel many people could benefit from hearing about. Offering a free eBook can mean it will eventually land in the hands of thousands of people, and gives you and your firm credibility. All you really need to do is say a few things really well and leave your readers feeling as though they received something of value simply by visiting your website.

Establish Your Expertise and Build Credibility

Putting out a free eBook for your clients and prospective clients can go a long way toward establishing your expertise and building your brand so long as you are able to clearly communicate your particular skills and knowledge with credibility and competency. In the end those prospects who were “fence sitting” will be much more likely to hire you or recommend you to a friend after reading your eBook. Don’t let yourself get totally stressed out about writing an eBook. Think of it as a long blog, and remember that it doesn’t have to rival the Great American Novel. Outline the information you want to impart, write it out in a straightforward manner, throw in a little humor to keep your audience engaged, and be concise. So long as your eBook is useful, then you have increased traffic to your website and eventual conversions.

Building SEO Through Your eBook

Another good reason to write an eBook and give it away on your legal website is to grow your list of prospective clients and their contact information. It can be helpful to build a dedicated landing page on your site which will give your readers the opportunity to exchange their name and email in return for your free eBook download. Always include your website’s URL in your eBook so it leads your visitors right back to your website. In the end, using a short eBook together with your legal blog can give your website’s SEO rankings a huge boost. In fact, you might release small segments of your eBook on your blog to “tease” people into downloading the entire book. Share those individual blog posts along with links to your complete eBook on every single social media profile you are engaged with and you will soon see your eBook turn into a powerful marketing tool.

If you feel writing an eBook is beyond your capabilities or time constraints, consider calling (800) 877-2776 for your free consultation from an expert law firm Internet marketing professional. You will receive valuable advice and strategies from highly experienced writers with a law degree—never a sales representative.  

By now most attorneys are well aware of the necessity of including social media in their overall marketing plan, however few have ventured into Twitter as yet. Twitter is possibly the fastest growing social network out there. For those unfamiliar with Twitter, or sending “tweets,” this social media avenue allows communication and connection through the exchange of very short (140 character) messages. Many of these messages include links to other websites and, just as with other social media, the goal is to build relationships through conversation. You will “follow” others and they will “follow” you which is similar in nature to “friending” someone on Facebook. The primary difference between Twitter and Facebook lies in the fact that in most cases those on FB are connecting and communicating with those they already know—or used to know. Twitter, on the other hand, allows communication between those who don’t know one another but share interests.

You might be surprised to know that Twitter can allow you to reach prospective partners—or even investors as well as national and international media outlets. The ability to reach scores of potential clients is inherent in Twitter as something akin to a press release can be tweeted by your firm. Search traffic generally increases dramatically once a law firm begins using Twitter and the attorneys in your firm can use Twitter to quickly share information. Building relationships with clients, building recognition of your brand and even sharing information with the partners and employees in your firm are all good reasons to give Twitter a try. You will find that you are able to build your reputation without a great outlay of time, expanding your network in the process. If you are interested in knowing the public’s general opinion about a specific topic, Twitter is a great way to find out.

There are a few cautions you should be aware of once your firm makes the decision to use Twitter. Remember that what is posted on the Internet virtually lives forever therefore careful consideration should be given to postings which emanate from your firm. No legal advice should ever be given via Twitter, and, as with every other aspect of the legal profession you must abide by the rules of professional conduct and never, ever, violate client confidentiality. Most law firms create a social media policy which offers guidelines and rules for the use of social media within the firm. In order to increase your number of followers, you must provide consistently interesting, informative and relevant tweets within your niche topics. In other words, establish a very unique voice and present your followers with links to only the highest quality information.

In the end, engaging in Twitter can give a decided boost to your website rankings and is certainly worth the time it takes to give it a try. If you have questions regarding Twitter or any other SEO content questions and would like to have them answered by experienced lawyer copywriters, call (800) 877-2776 today for your free consultation. Once you call you will receive valuable information regarding law firm Internet marketing and all aspects of SEO.   

Law firm internet marketing is a term used to describe that marketing technique used to promote legal products or services using the Internet as its medium. The Internet’s lower cost of dissemination of law firm information and is the fact it is open to a global audience are the key points of differences. Law firm internet marketing also covers the areas of digital customer data management and electronic customer relationship management known as ECRM.

The importance of law firm internet marketing strategies has increased in parallel to the expansion and importance of the Internet. Most established law firms are not just trying to build a website these days as they used to a few years ago. Law firms today are vying online space today and seek to adopt the latest web marketing strategies to increase traffic to their law firm’s main website or landing pages. Law firm internet marketing helps to add many more potential legal clients and the number of quality leads to your website as well. In fact, most law firms will either hire an experience internet marketer for their law firm or will engage the services of a part time law firm marketing consultant to perform these duties at a lower cost to generate new legal business for the firm.

Internet marketing for law firms also includes using traffic analytic tools which can be valuable for finding out which website advertisement are working and which ones are not. It also will show you which content is attracting the most visitors to your website. A good tool such as Google Analytics will show you the hot keyword terms and phrases that people are using to discover your website. These tools can also help ensure a top ranking for your site or software programs to repair broken links. We use Google Analytics in order to better understand your client in your market to improve your results.

A way to increase your revenue to your law firm via law firm Internet marketing is to use keyword suggestion tools. Keyword research is a critical part of a successful law firm Internet marketing campaign. If a law firm website and its search engine optimization and web page content is not targeting the right law firm geo- and practice area specific keywords, in all probability the law firm is not reaching potential customers.

No search engine visibility is a result of bad keywords which will translate in to very low revenues. A much better approach for attracting the types of cases and clients you want for you law firm is to find out what the popular keywords are that have relevancy to your legal service. We typically analyze the search volumes for the keyword phrases to ensure there is adequate traffic to these keyword phrases.

Call us and we can recommend some keyword tools for you.

Law firm internet marketing can be enhanced by enriching one’s website. Many of our clients ask us how to increase traffic to a law firm website that they have launched. Google and other search engines look at how easy the website is to crawl and navigate. Items such as the law firm website design and the legal content impact how they are able to attract users to a particular website. Aesthetically pleasing law firm websites generally attract more legal consumers and web traffic as well as those sites that are easy to navigate. While a law firm website should be visually appealing and reach out to all demographic groups, it should also be user-friendly.

One of the common questions we hear from potential clients is, “How can you help us launch a successful law firm internet marketing campaign.” I would say the most important thing you can do to start is to create a habit of watching the effectiveness of your law firm Internet marketing strategy.

Law firm internet marketing is not all about spending a bunch of money on Internet advertising in order to have a successful website launch. The effectiveness of a law firm internet marketing campaign comes through the use of Internet marketing tools in order to monitor and ensure that the approach and strategies being used and evaluated are working. There several excellent website marketing and email marketing tools available today. Careful analysis and selection of internet marketing strategies will help ensure business success.

The are also several web marketers who will help implement law firm web advertisements and perform top search engine rankings for you. In most cases, it is better to work with an industry expert who understands your liabilities, legal ethics, and your business. Also, we recommend web marketers that will create a detailed market analysis, competitor analysis and come up with an effective law firm internet marketing plan to help your law firm garner the most traffic as it relates to your areas of practice.

Lawyers.com is a highly trafficked and well positioned legal website that offers legal content, legal forms and an attorney directory. The site is currently ranking very well for key organic search results such as “Lawyers”, “Lawyers” and other top searches which makes the site attractive as a law firm internet marketing solution.

The question is: Does advertising on Lawyers.com generate new business for lawyers who advertise in their Lawyer Directory?

Pros:
In our opinion, Lawyers.com does offer lawyers who advertise on their lawyer directory a sizable amount of exposure to potential new clients lawyers. The website directory is fairly straight forward and easy to use. Their appears to be some tracking mechanisms in place in order to measure and track the results of the lawyer advertisements. The Lawyers.com website has been able to maintain leading position within the search engines for an extended period of time.  The user has an enormous amount of lawyers to select from.

Cons:
In our opinion, the Lawyers.com home page is too busy and takes the user more than the optimal amount of time to figure out how to navigate the website.  This could be very frustrating to the user or inexperienced web users which would make a lot of visits leave the website to look at the other sites listed in their search engine search results page. The attorney directory seems to offer an abundant number of attorneys which is good for the user and their ability to select the right attorney for them, however if the attorney is over saturated in your city and practice areas the volume of leads you would receive is greatly diminished.  The attorney biographies are not up to the competitive threshold and lack a lot of good information that users would find helpful.

Overall Rating:  3 out of 5

Interested in have an experience law firm marketing consultant assist you in generating new clients guaranteed? If so, call us at (800) 877-2776 to speak with a consultant today. Our senior consultant, James Greenier has been in the law firm internet marketing industry for over 10 years and has worked with 7 of the 10 most trafficked legal websites. He has advised over 3,500 law firms and knows which marketing solutions work and which ones do not saving you time, money and effort while boosting your success with online marketing.