Why Online Law Firm Marketing Can’t Wait
Patience may be a virtue, but it is new cases that keep your law firm growing; and waiting for someone to stumble onto an older website is not going to help your firm achieve those goals.
A common mistake made by many law firms is pushing their website and online legal marketing strategies to the back of their priorities. By doing this, the law firm loses a lot of exposure and potential clients.
Everyday, people and businesses go online – not to the phone book – to look for a lawyer. In every major city and in every practice area, thousands of searches flock to Google and other searches engines to seek legal counsel.
To show you how important it is to begin quickly, we ran a search count in several major metro areas in different corners of the United States. The number represents the number of searches Google received for that keyphrase each month. It’s an approximation provided by Google.
Miami divorce attorney – 1,600
Seattle personal injury – 6,600
Boston bankruptcy lawyer – 1,700
Houston criminal defense – 12,000
Los Angeles immigration lawyer – 3,600
As you can see, the traffic is out there and if your website can’t be found or if it doesn’t look its best, your firm is missing out on new cases.
Keep in mind, search engine optimization does not happen overnight so beginning a strong online law firm marketing campaign soon is imperative to the success of your firm in 2010.
To learn more about legal marketing, law firm marketing, and attorney websites visit SEOLawFirm.com or call 1.800.728.5306.
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What Your Law Firm Website Says About Your Firm
Would a personal injury lawyer use a corporate design for their phone book ad? Would a divorce attorney use an ambulance on their billboard? And would a corporate attorney have an image of a family in crisis? You probably know the answers.
All marketing literature from print to mass media to the web must be properly branded to your practice area. This is very basic. However, many law firms try to cut costs with their online law firm marketing efforts by using templates for their website.
The problem with template designs is that they are oftentimes designed around generic ideas. For example, if a designer is trying to sell their cookie cutter template to as many attorneys as possible, they are going to make it suitable for common ideas. So you will have a gavel, a serious looking professional in a suit, and nine times out of ten, the United States Capitol Building.
However, the template website design will come with a means to communicate with your target clientele. By using a generic design, you’re marketing your law firm as being – well, generic.
The branding of your law firm is a multifaceted effort that must show congruence from business card, to billboard, to letterhead; and even to your website. The only way to truly communicate with your target market and really reap the benefits of your online marketing investment is to have a custom design developed exclusively for your law firm around your practice area(s), and exclusively for your target audience.
To learn more about legal marketing, law firm marketing, and attorney websites visit SEOLawFirm.com or call 1.800.728.5306.
Moving and Shaking Your Law Firm to the Top
At the center of online law firm marketing is search engine optimization. While some less scrupulous search engine optimization companies may give promises of overnight success, the rise to the top requires a little time investment.
Websites that rank highly in Google and other search engines do so because of their clear design, navigation, sometimes age, and the quality of their website.
Search engines want to deliver the highest quality results to their search audience. Google claimed market share from competing search engines like Yahoo and Altavista by writing an algorithm that assessed a quality score to every website and ranked them accordingly. The result, a search engine that displayed top quality search results.
Of course by doing so, they raised the standards of website development and search engine optimization and made it a little harder to get to the top.
In most moderately competitive markets, rankings move up in a “two steps forward, one step back” motion that ultimately stabilizes in a preferred ranking on the first page.
To learn more about legal marketing, law firm marketing, and attorney websites visit SEOLawFirm.com or call 1.800.728.5306.
How Large Law Firms Get Web Traffic
We recently did some research on some of America’s largest law firms to see what they do to get traffic from the web. So we picked a few of the firms from the nation’s top 250 largest law firms. Basically, these firms are becoming content machines.
First, we looked at the largest law firm in the country, DLA Piper. On most of their practice areas (on their website referred to as global services) they have a list of publications separated from the news. From an SEO perspective, what we found most fascinating is that their website has a horrible URL structure (i.e. http://www.dlapiper.com/global/services/detail.aspx?service=629&show=pubs) but their publications have neat SEO friendly URL (i.e. http://www.dlapiper.com/life-sciences-personalized-medicine-shift/). Remember, the structure of your URL plays a huge role in how Google favors your website.
Baker & McKenzie (the second largest firm) was our favorite. Separate from news, they have published a massive number of articles on their site per practice area. Google has more than 34,000 pages indexed on Bakernet.com – a number significant enough to give them their own search box when Googling Baker & McKenzie.
What makes them our favorite is that they are getting close to the same number of pageviews as DLAPiper.com, with only a third of the content; and they could probably get more by optimizing the titles of their content. In fact, DLA Piper has over 100,000 pages indexed in Google, according to Google’s site search tool.
A comparison that puts this into perspective is the American Bar Association’s ABA Journal. When doing the Google site check, the ABAJournal.com website has just 17,000 pages indexed. This means that a legal journal’s website has half the amount of content as the second largest law firm.
Even number 81 (Patton Boggs) on the top 250 law firms list has over 6,000 pages.
We checked these three on Cubestat to get an estimated pageview count to see how the content was working for them:
The following are daily pageviews:
DLA Piper (dlapiper.com) – 6,304
Baker & McKenzie (bakernet.com) – 6,005
Patton Boggs (pattonboggs.com) – 1,349
You do not have to be a giant law firm to make Google recognize your practice as a significant resource. Contact SEOLawFirm.com to learn more.
To learn more about legal marketing, law firm marketing, and attorney websites visit SEOLawFirm.com or call 1.800.728.5306.
A Simple Law Firm Marketing Tip to Get More Cases
If your law firm is getting website traffic but converting to fewer cases, one simple fix could be a quick upgrade.
Oftentimes, law firms that have been around a while, have traffic going into their website. If the domain name (www.yourlawfirmname.com) has a few years behind it, that greatly helps the search engine optimization process. Google looks at websites that are more established, have stood the test of time, and offer valuable content. So an aged domain name is a big plus for the search engine marketing side.
While Google likes seeing websites that have been around the web for a significant length of time, that does not necessarily mean they want your design to be old. In fact, if your design is more than a few years old, it’s time for a new one.
The standards for web design have changed significantly over the years. Back in the early nineties, websites frequently used frames (a website structure that uses 2-3 webpages and displays them as one). Now if you use frames, chances are Google has tucked you away deep into their search pages.
With website designs constantly evolving, your law firm should not be left behind. Most people put a lot of emphasis on the professionalism of websites when deciding to contact a lawyer, make a purchase, or engage in any other transaction. Your website is an extension of your firm and represents the quality and professionalism of the service you provide.
So to bump up conversion and get more out of your online marketing dollars, a new website design could be a simple fix.
To learn more about legal marketing, law firm marketing, and attorney websites visit SEOLawFirm.com or call 1.800.728.5306.
Your Law Firm Marketing Needs a Call to Action
When you have traffic on your law firm’s website, you are only halfway to your goal. Google wants to see high quality websites with error free code and professional design. Designs that offer easy navigation for both your end user and the search engine bots are key to getting favorable rankings in the search engines.
Once you have a professional website with inbound links, and your website appears on the first page, then it is time convert traffic to new cases.
Your website must include a call to action. What do you want your visitors to do? Do you want them to read about your achievements, your history and your education? Certainly those are all very important items to have on your website to build a level of confidence in your legal abilities. Ultimately, you want an email or phone call.
The best way to improve your website’s conversion is through a call to action. You must tell your visitors what to do. For example, you can have information about your area of practice, and then periodically interrupt with “click here to contact the Law Office of Joe Lawyer.” That link should, of course, take your visitor to a detailed contact page.
Another important element for conversion is making a short contact form readily available. On every single page of your website, you should have a basic contact form that visitors can easily click on to contact your firm. You do not want to make your prospective clients work to find out how to contact you. Make it obvious and make it simple.
To learn more about legal marketing, law firm marketing, and attorney websites visit SEOLawFirm.com or call 1.800.728.5306.
Immediate Traffic from Online Law Firm Marketing
Unlike other legal marketing and search engine optimization companies, we like to express an honest expectation of how search engine optimization works. The search engine optimization process is progressive, which means a newly optimized website will gradually make its way to the first page of Google for its related search terms.
So at first your attorney website may rank on page 5 (shortly after the SEO re-indexing) then it will work its way to page 3, then 2, and then ultimately to the first page.
So does that mean you are not going to see results for months? Not at all. Utilizing a series of traffic sources is what gets you to the first page.
You have two main elements of search engine optimization: onsite relevance and third party websites linking to your law firm’s website. The inbound links build credibility for your website, thus resulting in a high ranking.
What are the traffic sources?
Newswires – On most of our standard plans, we write two press releases every month for your law firm. Those press releases go out to newswires that syndicate to Google News and other relevant news sites and blogs. As people read your press releases from these sources, they click through to your website, thus building not only links but traffic.
Blogs – Your website blog can be syndicated to Digg, your Business Facebook page and Google Blog Search (Google’s search engine for blogs). As content is posted to your onsite blog, it gets syndicated and distributed throughout the web – again, carrying your link and leading web traffic back to your firm’s website.
Social Networks – Social networks are a great traffic source. In fact, we now work with over 6 social networks. These networks allow us to post content to their high traffic, high page ranking networks. As a result, your information and website links reach a targeted audience of potential new clients looking for information related to your area of practice.
The combined search engine optimization process will yield immediate clicks and traffic to your website, even before your website is ranked on the first page of search results. However, this isn’t necessarily the case with all law firm marketing companies because no other company offers the combined press releases, articles, blogging, social networking and writing services as a standard part of their law firm marketing package.
To learn more about legal marketing, law firm marketing, and attorney websites visit SEOLawFirm.com or call 1.800.728.5306.
Optimizing Your Existing Attorney Website
As the web standards change, your website may become an obsolete part of your law firm marketing effort. However, not all attorney websites are over the hill. You may in fact own a search engine friendly website that just needs a few modifications.
Here is a checklist to determine whether or not you need to upgrade your site’s design.
Format – Is your website written in HTML, ASP or ASPX, PHP, or CFM (Coldfusion)? If it is written in something other than HTML, is there a content management system that allows you to edit online? Many older content management systems are not SEO friendly. If you are using a program that is sub-hosted by a service provider, chances are, it is also not SEO friendly. However, if your website is in HTML and has a fairly modern design, you can probably get away with doing search engine optimization on your existing site without having to build a brand new one.
Navigation – When talking about navigation on a website, we are referring to the method of which your visitors get from one page to another. Are text based links present? Do you have a menu that is intuitive? Or are you using fancy Flash effects? If your menu is text based, you might be in good shape. However, image and Flash based menus are not SEO friendly. Therefore, if you are exclusively using those types of menus, you may need to do a full upgrade.
Design – If your design was ahead of its time, you may be able to keep it. Visitors generally like larger buttons, lowered text, and an overall easy to read website. Put your main points at the top and everything else below. If your existing website does that, you’re probably in good shape and just need some SEO attention.
You can ask us to review your existing website by visiting http://design.seolawfirm.com. Keep in mind, we offer both design services and search engine optimization only services for websites that are SEO compatible.
To learn more about legal marketing, law firm marketing, and attorney websites visit SEOLawFirm.comor call 1.800.728.5306.
What Your Law Firm Can Learn from Apple
An easy way to stay ahead of the competition is to look at other law firms in your area to see what they are doing, and then implement a better strategy. That’s actually basic marketing. However, to really be an innovator in your field, look around at other industries and see what you can learn from them.
This week, let’s look at Apple. Everyone is familiar with the Apple culture of simplicity and clean design. When you walk past an Apple store, do you see big red letters that say, “Computers and MP3 Players Here at the Apple Store”? No. You see a silver background and the white Apple logo. They don’t even include the rightful trademark symbol at the top right of their logo…it would take away from the simplistic feel.
I remember several years ago being in New York City looking for the Apple store on 5th Ave. I was meeting someone there and they assured me I couldn’t miss it. Many companies strive to make their major metro location bigger and more extraordinary than their suburbia locations.
The New York City Apple Store, however, is in a basement. It is different than the other stores, rising above the platform is a 2-3 story glass square with the Apple logo in the middle. The basement is the same light pine wood colored table filled concrete floor experience that you will get at any of their other locations. But it’s simple. It’s clear. It communicates with their target market. Even with its simplicity, it stands out.
What law firms can learn from Apple is their dedication to simplicity. If there is ever a market that needs simple clear direction, it’s your target market; those who are in need of legal counsel.
The mistake that many attorneys make is their desire to put themselves at the top of the highest billboard with flashy colors and clever statements of toughness and dedication. However, if you placed two billboards side-by-side for two attorneys, and one was red and yellow with “We Are Dedicated to Getting Results” and the other had a white background with easy to read text that simply said, “After an Accident, Call…” the simple method will always convert better.
When developing your law firm’s website, think simple. What are your clients looking for? What is their point of stress at that very moment? In as little words as possible, how can you convince someone that you are what they are looking for? The answer is always simplicity.
On the other side of the issue is the need for content on your website. Certainly Apple can get away with a lot of white space and no valuable textual content on their homepage… after all Apple’s company name is their most valuable keyphrase. But you, as a lawyer, have a wider list of keywords that need to be addressed. A picture is worth a thousand words, but a thousand words can be read by Google.
In our next article, we will conclude this feature with Part II discussing how to marry the simplistic “Apple like” tone with the content needed to succeed in search engine optimization.
To learn more about legal marketing, law firm marketing, and law firm web design, visit SEOLawFirm.com or call 1.800.728.5306.
What RSS Can do for Law Firm Marketing
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. With a name like Really Simple Syndication, the workings for a beginner can be anything but simple.
Most popular blog platforms will automatically generate RSS feeds. Blogs like WordPress, Blogger and TypePad will create an RSS feed based on your blog entries. Then other blog owners can receive your RSS feed and subscribe to your content. Or they can subscribe to your content using an RSS feed aggregator like the freely available Mr. RSS Puller (http://mrrsspuller.sourceforge.net/).
RSS feeds allow people to customize the information they receive. If you like the technology section of the USA Today, but the political commentary of the Washington Post, then subscribe only to those categories. If you are interested in what is getting published on other websites, plug in their feed and have it automatically updated.
On the marketing side, having an RSS feed readily available will increase the number of eyes that have access to your content and if they syndicate your content onto another website, the RSS feed can also build new inbound links to your website.
To learn more about legal marketing, law firm marketing, and law firm web design, visit SEOLawFirm.com or call 1.800.728.5306.
