Legal Marketing Articles

Archive for July, 2009

SEO

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

Mouse Icon On Find Over Persons Eye Through Magnifying Glass

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO and search engine marketing (SEM) is the best long-term solution for getting your law firm’s website or blog to the top of organic search results and keeping it there. 

SEO and SEM involve many different approaches to web content and design, plus external methods, that all come together to ensure that you’re providing helpful information to the right people (your local clients) and generating as many promising, legitimate leads as possible.

Link-Based SEO

Providing links to your content and website from external sources such as other websites and blogs tells search engines that your site is popular and relevant.  This helps you achieve higher rankings and visibility in organic results. 

You can participate in link and article exchanges with colleagues or other relevant establishments, which also boosts your rank.

Keywords in Your Content

Keywords, keywords, keywords.  They’re everywhere, and you can’t overlook them if you want to be successful in the online market and get the leads you want.  You can try to compete with the millions of others who are going for a slice of the same keyword pie, or you can do a little research and find some niche keywords that apply more uniquely to your particular area of practice and geographic location. 

A skilled marketing professional can work the right keywords into natural and useful copy to not only attract users, but deliver worthwhile information.  Having good optimized content on your side is great for your online and offline reputation.

Optimize Your Social Media Content

If you actively share updates and law information on a micro-blogging site, consider utilizing (or having your marketer utilize) SEO for this type of communication, too.  You can make these posts keyword-rich and encourage them to be picked up in search results.

Social media content, such as a regular full-length blog, needs to be optimized too.  Clients can find you via your blog or website if you use keywords (especially geographical ones), exchange links, and emphasize words, among other methods.  Attempting to gain attention on a social bookmarking website can have its advantages, but over the long-term, simply putting in the effort to optimize your social content as well as your website’s content will pay off and consume less time.

This blog covers but a few of the many possibilities that come along with SEO.  There are quite a few solid approaches to the process that all work very well together and yield the desired results.  Utilizing the knowledge you have about your client base, you can use the right keywords to attract the attention of the leads you want.

Email Marketing

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

Email Marketing

Email marketing is one of the tried-and-true methods that marketing professionals still use to keep potential leads and clients up-to-date and encourages business.  As a lawyer, your clients are your asset and you probably understand very well their needs and concerns.  Sending effective newsletters via email can be a great way to show these potential customers that you understand their needs and are available as a top resource for assistance and information.

Newsletters are one of the most common forms of email marketing.  Other types include email surveys and offers.  Most marketing professionals utilize HTML in their email campaigns, and provide a selection of useful links to clients whose clicks can then be tracked to determine the effectiveness of a particular effort.

Social Media

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
CDs hanging from tree trunk

Carve your Niche with Social Media

Social media can’t be taken lightly anymore; the collaborative spirit of community and the rapid sharing of information that sites under the broad social media umbrella encourage is one of the defining characteristics of Web 2.0 culture.

Not only is information shared, it’s ranked and rated, commented on, bookmarked, and linked to. If you can carve out your niche as a trusted legal resource in the social media market, there’s no limit to what you can achieve in the internet marketing realm.

There are many avenues you can pursue when venturing into the realm of social media; you can produce informative videos or audio casts and share them on user-produced content sites, or you can choose to blog about legal news. You can supplement this activity with micro-blogging – and you can optimize all of the content you choose to display with these various outlets to gain yourself higher organic search results.

The growth in the spread of information on the internet has been furious thanks mostly to popular social media practices. To stand out from the crowd, you need to provide accurate and useful information – something you certainly have a great background in as an experienced law professional.

Establish Your Reputation as a Resource

You can use social media to distribute information on your behalf in order to identify and establish yourself as the go-to attorney for your area of practice. Your content should be simple, easy to digest, and communicate well to your target audience.

The advantage of social media as a tool to deliver your content is that it moves so fast – so you can provide relevant content and get it seen or heard right away by plenty of target internet users. If you can commit to updating your blog or micro-blog on a regular basis with timely information, or having a marketer perform the updates on your behalf, you can preserve your place in the limelight.

Websites

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
Internet address of a website over keys

The Power of a Good Website

As broadband internet becomes more widely available, free wireless networks crop up in cities and towns, and laptops, net books, and PCs become more affordable for everyone, more and more of your law clients are looking to the web for legal information and to find an attorney for their needs.

Having a content-rich website that utilizes Web 2.0 marketing techniques can set you apart from your competitors and give you the edge in the internet marketplace. There are tons of options available that allow you to provide helpful advice and information to leads in order to establish yourself as a trustworthy resource. This blog will explore some of the methods a marketing professional can utilize for you to increase your web visibility and reputation.

Good Content

Having informative, helpful content that incorporates search engine optimization keywords in a natural way can be a great asset for two reasons: it keeps your clients coming back, and it boosts your organic search results on popular search engine sites so you can be sure that new leads will be able to find you.

Targeting your Local Market with Keywords

Using geographically-specific keywords is a great practice for law firms. Clients need an attorney who practices in their city or county, and there is usually less competition for keywords isolated by location. You’ll have to compete with fewer lawyers, and ensure that the leads you obtain via this method are people you will be able to help.

YouTube & Video Content

People respond well to visuals, and seeing a video of you explaining your practice area or accomplishments can incline them to feel more comfortable with selecting your firm for their needs. On a deeper level, your client is looking for someone to represent them and speak on their behalf in a case that is likely very important to them. Being able to hear and see you address them will give them a better feel for your style and make them more likely to choose you for their needs.

Keywords & Functionality

Your site should also incorporate keywords on the technical side, in HTML coding such as title and Meta tags. This is another way of ensuring you rank highly in organic search results and that search engines are able to describe your site and services accurately.

Functionality is a big concern. Ensuring that your navigation and layout appear correctly, that all links and forms work appropriately, and that all of the content is logical and easy to understand can provide your clients with a positive experience that will encourage them to come back and recommend your firm to their friends and colleagues.