Category Archives: Internet Marketing Strategies

people

Internet Marketing Strategies: Helping Your Law Firm Get More Clients With Organic Searches

Regardless of the size of your law firm, internet marketing strategies have to be on point because the field is extremely competitive. Still, it’s been well-established that a focus on search engine optimization is one of the best ways to drum up new leads and connect with new clients.

That’s because when people are in need of a lawyer or legal services, they are most likely going to turn to Google. Recommendations from family and friends are often solicited, but absent that, people will strike out on their own with a series of internet searches to find a local attorney with a good reputation. Law firms that don’t bother making an effort on this front are losing a great deal of potential business.

There are numerous internet marketing strategies you can employ, but law firm blogging remains one of the most effective, particularly for the cost. Some companies will venture out into Google Adwords pay-per-click territory, but this can get very pricey. Read More ›

About the Author, rachelrevehl

Partner, COO, Law Firm Ghost Writer
Discover More by rachelrevehl

Internet Legal Marketing Still the "Wild West"

Top executives from Facebook, Ford and Adobe met in Las Vegas this week at the annual Consumer Electronics Show. The interplay offered a fascinating look into the dynamic growth of the marketing industry in the digital age.

Those using 2014 to get serious about their law firm Internet marketing efforts can take heart from the general consensus: Despite a decade of rapid expansion and forced change upon the more traditional mediums of print and television, online marketing remains in its infancy — a wide-open opportunity with significant growth and return on investment for those who continue to invest and innovate.

The conversation among the three executives and Fortune Magazine was particular interesting. Carolyn Everson of Facebook, said the company has barely scratched the service of revenue possibilities. Specifically, “multi-touch attribution,” or credit for brand recognition or other benefits of Facebook content or advertising that, in conjunction with another advertising platform, such as television, induces customers to act. Meanwhile, Ford’s Jim Farley and Adobe’s Ann Lewnes, spoke about the challenges of transitioning to digital media. Even Adobe, which has long been a technology company, has struggled in finding the proper personnel and online marketing strategies for the 21st Century. Legal Marketing

Internet Legal Marketing Requires Comprehensive Approach

Multi-touch attribution is of interest in Internet marketing for lawyers for a number of reasons and is something we often counsel attorneys about when developing marketing plans. Historically, firms would use metered phone numbers in yellow page or billboard advertising and track calls back to the firm. Google analytics and other advances have changed the Internet legal marketing landscape and often show potential client traffic from legal blog writing or website content, even when an attorney is unsure of positive results. Billboard advertising, for instance, may help with name recognition in search results. Or a client may see a commercial on television and use a law firm’s website as validation before calling for an appointment. Is that potential attributable to billboards or the Internet?

The answer, of course, is both.

Ford’s Farley brought up another important point, according to CNN Money: Brand managers too often want to play it safe when introducing a new product, and so rely heavily on TV buys and other traditional forms of media. They know the DVR and other media advances make those buys worth a fraction of their former value. But they also know it’s the safe play and so the resulting marketing plan is inferior and return on investment lags as a result.

When it comes to your Internet legal marketing effort we are here to help. Just look for the 

Content is King for Legal Internet Marketing

I read with interest the informative article on legal Internet marketing in the February issue of Res Gestae. And I applaud RG for helping attorneys make sense of this New Frontier.

One critical piece of the puzzle that was not addressed is the need for high-quality original content in any legal Internet marketing strategy. As Find Law’s Erica Butcher points out, some areas are saturated on the web and “It’s very difficult to rank with DUI right now.”

Yet it’s not going to be any easier tomorrow! What if you are a Fort Myers criminal defense attorney and DUI is your bread and butter? (And I can assure you personal injury is no less competitive). Meanwhile, the competition for bankruptcy and foreclosure representation has skyrocketed since the beginning of the downturn.

It’s all about the content. The truth of the matter is that most of these mass-market platforms will suffice, whether Find Law, Justia, Scorpion, or an independent site builder who knows what she’s doing.

But attorneys typically buy these sites, leave them sit with several paragraphs of content on half-a-dozen pages, and complain they are not showing up in search results. Your work is not finished with the purchase of a site, it’s just beginning! Five years ago, a 30-page site was good enough to show up in some of the largest metro markets in the nation, including New York, Chicago, Miami and Boston. Today, those sites are 100+ pages. And, while a 30-page site still dominates a market the size of Fort Myers, the writing is on the wall.

“If you haven’t been going at it for the past four years, forget about it unless you want to spend a lot of money,” is fine as far as it goes. But it’s the sustained, ongoing effort that counts. Doing a great job on a website that has sat for four years is no better than the firm that spends $3,500 on a new site and expects to rule the world. Until law firms are willing to spend as much money online as they spent on yellow pages, many will continue to be disappointed with the results. It does not yet take that much money, but it does take that kind of commitment.

You want to show up well for DUI? Write 10 pages of DUI content. Or 20. “What to do if I get a DUI in Fort Myers,” “Second-offense DUI in Lee County,” “Underage drinking and DUI in Southwest Florida.” This gives you 10 or 20 more bites of the apple when it comes to Google and has the added bonus of addressing the various inquiries of potential clients. In that same vein, blogging is a great way to add content to your site on a regular basis. When you do so, Google scans your site more frequently, and ranks your site higher. There are also linking and other technical benefits to blogging.

Two-thirds of clients who are not getting a personal referral are finding an attorney online. And that number is growing by the day. Social media, website videos, website press releases and unique, quality content are all worthwhile investments. Beware of duplicative content. If your content exists elsewhere on the web, Google will ignore you. And why shouldn’t it? You have nothing to say.

Google wants to display the most relevant search results for a given term. Yes, researching keywords and finding a balance between relevancy and competition is critical. As is link building. But the overarching question when it comes to legal marketing — both traditional and electronic — has not changed. What can I do to best reach the client? If you are answering that question with a dynamic web presence, you are a step ahead of the competition and are likely to stay there.

Law Firm Ghostwriter is located in Fort Myers, FL and has provided website content and internet marketing services to law firms since 2007. Today we work with law firms in more than 30 states and in 20 of the nation’s 25 largest metro markets.

Legal Internet Marketing & The Death of Yellow Page Advertising

Lest you think the yellow pages retain marginal value when it comes to legal marketing, even the phone companies are ditching them, according to CNNMoney.

At Law Firm Ghost Writer, we have been helping law firms with a full range of legal Internet marketing services since 2007. Some firms were spending  thousands of dollars on yellow pages back then. Some firms continue to do so today.

While Internet marketing for law firms has exploded onto the scene, the disconnect continues to be in the percentage of a law firm’s marketing budget that is directed online. We still have clients that spend $500,000 on yellow page advertising, and $10,000 a year on their website and Internet advertising — and even a budget that robust will permit investments in website content and a professional blog writer for your firm’s legal blog.

And a robust Internet marketing strategy is certain to be far, far more effective. It doesn’t yet take yellow-page dollars to have a dramatic impact online; but it does take that sort of commitment.

We suggest those firms crying poor re-evaluate their marketing priorities and earmark a substantial portion of their budget for their Internet marketing effort. We have seen the results in our own business, and in the businesses of countless clients. In fact, I suggest law firms spend their first $25,000 a year online.

Even AT&T is ditching the yellow pages; and being applauded by Wall Street for doing so. The phone behemoth announced a nearly $1 billion deal to sell its phone directory business to Cerberus Capital Management. AT&T will retain a 47 percent stake in the new entity, to be called YP Holdings LLC.

Calling the phone directory an “albatross” around AT&T’s neck, the article said the paper directories still go to 150 million homes in 22 states. How many consumers actually use them? Not many in San Francisco — which has already banned unsolicited delivery of the books.

And that’s just one phone company. Law firms often find themselves over a barrel, buying ads in multiple books in an attempt to ensure coverage. And the directory companies continue to come up with antics and outright gimmicks (double-truck plus, anyone?) in an attempt to retain customers.

AT&T has tried to rebrand the yellow pages by turning YP.com into a city guide and local advertising portal, but with limited success. Directors continue to push law firms into online directories, which provide little value. And still the phone giant took a nearly $3 billion write down on its directory business in late 2011.

What it means for consumers is likely more of those cheesy yellow page commercials (like the commercials begging you to send mail, which the U.S. Postal Service recently launched).

What it means for law firms, is it’s past time to focus on a comprehensive Internet marketing strategy that includes social media marketing, press releases, website video and other strategies aimed at making your firm’s website the dynamic center of your legal marketing efforts.

Legal Internet Marketing & The Death of Yellow Page Advertising

Staying competitive in today’s legal market takes a dominate Internet presence. Even the most reticent law firms are making significant investments in their online presence in the face of the diminishing returns and increasing cost of yellow page advertising.Legal Marketing

2009 is the year it became official, according to TMP Directional Marketing, which used comScore date to determine usage rates:
Search engines rank first for the first time with 31% closely followed by print Yellow/White Pages (30%), online Yellow Page-type sites (19%) and local search sites (11%).

A closer look at those numbers shows that more than 6 of every 10 clients are selecting an attorney online, either through a search engine, online phone books or local search sites. Make 2014 the year you finally get serious about your legal internet marketing strategy.