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Archive for January, 2011

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How to Promote Your Business Online for Free, Part 1: General Listings

Monday, January 31st, 2011

Trying to compete against large firms and businesses on a small budget can be a daunting task. Wondering how to promote your business? It’s easier than you think. There are some easy and free ways to promote business online.

Michael Gray, in 13 Ways to Promote Your Local Business for Free, gives some great tips on how to promote your business or firm. Consider starting with listing your firm on any of these sites:

Google Local – This should be your first step, as it is an easy way to promote a business online.

Simply create a Google Local account by entering your firm’s contact information, and then verify it. In a few weeks, you should have a map listing of your firm.

Once you have that, be sure to take advantage of several free tools. Google Coupons allows you to create coupons that will appear on relevant searches. Another great tool, Google Base, tries to weed out the best, most relevant answer from different data sources. You can upload your firm and its services into Google Base and earn special treatment.

Yahoo! Local Listings – Learn how to promote your business using this free tool.

Clients searching for your firm will easily be able to find your listing because Yahoo! Local arranges by category and location.

Yahoo! Reviews – Once you have registered your firm in the Yahoo! local listings, take advantage of their reviews.

Encourage satisfied clients to post positive reviews. The more positive ratings, the more preferential treatment you will receive.

Continue to check back at BestLegalMarketing.com for more tips on how to promote your business online. More free tools will be posted in upcoming weeks. In the mean time, find information on internet marketing, email marketing campaigns and more!

Posted in Internet Marketing, Reputation Management, SEO, Strategies that Work | No Comments »

Google Instant and Instant Previews: Will It Change Search?

Friday, January 28th, 2011

At the end of 2010, Google launched two new products: Google Instant search and Google Instant Previews. These new tools may change the way people search on Google – and ultimately change the way people search for your law firm. Below are some tips to keep your website and search campaigns ahead of the curve.

What is Google Instant search? It’s searching while you type – that’s the basic idea. When just one letter is entered into the search bar, Google uses a predictive algorithm to start guessing what the searcher is looking for.

So, how will Google Instant search affect SEO and PPC campaigns your law firm worked on so diligently to create?

PPC: Will your impression count change or be less relevant? Will you be charged with these irrelevant impressions? The answer is NO. An impression won’t count unless the ad remains on the page for a full 3 seconds.

SEO: Should I optimize my site for specific letter combinations? Should I pepper my page with “La” if I’m trying to promote my law firm? Again, the answer is NO.

Google Instant search predicts what “La” indicates and serves results for the anticipated search. Google does not serve results for the combo “La,” but rather for what “La” indicates – “Lawyer,” “Law Firm,” etc.  That said, it would be more effective to strengthen your SEO by adding more content around your specific legal services. That way, if someone types in “Trial Att,” Google will serve your page for “Trial Attorney.”

The overall takeaway? Your campaigns do not need to change much. Reporting may look a little different for a while, but your campaigns should yield the same end results – more clients!

What is Google Instant Previews? As the name suggests, Google Instant Previews allows a searcher to preview your landing page before actually committing to a click. (FYI: Instant Previews is only for SEO results and does not affect PPC ads.)

Here are a few things to consider when optimizing your site for Instant Previews:

  1. Get rid of Flash. Previews does not include Flash graphics, so if your site is built using Flash, your preview page is going to look subpar next to competitors’ pages.
  2. Hire a good Web designer. You need to make your page visually appealing for a window only 300 pixels wide. Make your graphics and images as clear as possible.
  3. Optimize text. Previews includes “text call-outs” where the user’s search query is highlighted in orange on the site in the preview snapshot.

Now that you’ve learned about Google Instant search and SEO, consult BestLegalMarketing.com for more helpful tips on law firm SEO, SEO friendly Web design and much more!

Posted in Internet Marketing, Latest Tech Tips, SEO, Tools on the Horizon | No Comments »

E-Newsletter Best Practices

Monday, January 24th, 2011

Your law firm newsletter is a great way to communicate with your customer base and keep it informed on what’s new with the industry and your firm, as well as encourage new business. But there are a few things to keep in mind to make it successful:

It’s not about you
What do your readers want to know about, your latest promotion? No. They want to read about what’s relevant to them – what can save money, time or both. Here is an opportunity to become an expert in your field and write about newsworthy information that is relevant to your firm and your clients’ interests.

Subject line
Identify yourself, so readers know immediately that this is your e-newsletter. But be wary of using any phrases like “free” or even “newsletter,” as those words can send your email straight into the spam inbox.

Include a table of contents
Once an email is opened, a reader will only take 2-3 seconds to decide whether to read it or not. Buy putting information up front, your reader knows what they can expect to find in your e-newsletter.

Have a strategy and timeline
Probably the king of the e-newsletter best practices is to have a purpose for your newsletter. How should it help your business? Are you building readership and/or gaining clients? You need to develop a comprehensive marketing strategy. What are the objectives? How often will you send it? What messages do you want to get across and what is the call to action?

Let them pay it ‘forward’
Build your readership by offering an easy way for current readers to forward your newsletter to others. But make it easy to unsubscribe, too. These features make the user feel in control and more accepting of your email.

Follow these e-newsletter best practices and start a successful newsletter campaign for your law firm today. For more information on newsletter subscriptions, legal email marketing and more, turn to BestLegalMarketing.com!

Posted in Email Marketing Campaigns, Internet Marketing, Strategies that Work | No Comments »

Promote Your Firm with Video Marketing

Saturday, January 22nd, 2011

You may have begun to hear more about video marketing as an emerging tool in online marketing. Sound too difficult or expensive? Video marketing is actually a great way to promote your firm, and the return on investment can be big.

Here are five reasons to consider video marketing:

  1. Accessibility – Internet access is more available than ever these days. This means you can reach more viewers quickly.
  2. Awareness – Online videos create awareness of your firm. Viewers can learn more about your services, your history and get a personal feel for your firm.
  3. Free Advertising – It may cost a bit to create the video, but once created, virtually anyone can upload the video for free. During a depressed economy, that’s going to be attractive to potential clients.
  4. Demographics – Teens aren’t the only ones online these days. A recent survey reports that computer users between the ages of 35-44 and 45-54 are just as likely to search and view video online as viewers ages 18-24.
  5. Results – You are much, much more likely to rank within the top pages of Google search when you have an online video within your site. How much more? 53 times more likely than text alone, according to search data!

Need more information on how to create your video marketing campaign? Browse BestLegalMarketing.com to learn more about social media and blogging for your law firm.

Posted in Internet Marketing | No Comments »

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