I’ve recently been blogging (with some help) about the Gulf oil spill at BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig. When I started the blog, I was struck by the fact that there were no pay-per-click lawyer ads when I used Google News to search for articles. But that changed in a hurry. Within a couple of days the lawyer ads began emerging in an ever escalating war to sign up claimants. When mass tort ad campaigns such as this start, I’m usually either involved in it professionally or I follow the campaigns because I find them interesting and, sometimes, educational. As of the time that I’m writing this post, there are seven law firm ads displayed on Google News when you run a “BP oil spill” or “Gulf oil spill” search. Seven law firms and one almost unnoticeable ad by BP.
Perhaps it’s the technology geek in me, or my interest in Internt marketing, but I enjoyed comparing the ads. The lawyer ads all utilized the top line of the ad well, with large blue letters proclaiming something such as “Gulf Oil Spill Lawsuit” or “BP Oil Spill Lawsuit.” BP’s ad, by comparison, simply said “Spill” on the top line. It’s as if they are ashamed to be associated with it, and don’t want to admit which particular “spill” it is they are talking about. But if BP is too embarrassed to shout out its message in a way that competes with the lawyer ads, why even buy an ad on Google? And if BP, a company which had profits of $6.1 billion in the first quarter of 2010, wants to run an ad on Google, why doesn’t it bid high enough to rank higher than sixth out of eight ads?
Somehow the fact that BP is inept in handling its PR makes me even less confident of its ability and intention to clean up the mess it’s making in the Gulf. I’ve written more at BPOilNews.com about BP’s poor PR, including its waffling and refusal to commit to pay for damages caused by the Gulf oil spill. You can also follow my posts about the Gulf oil spill at Facebook and on Twitter @bpoilnews.
Tagged as:
Attorney advertising,
BP,
BP oil spill,
Deepwater Horizon,
Google,
Google AdWords,
Gulf of Mexico,
Gulf Oil Spill,
oil spill
An Online Media Daily article reports that Google’s top-priced AdWord in 2008 was “mesothelioma” costing $99.44 per click. The article cites AdGooroo’s Search Engine Advertising Update: Q309. According to the same report, “mesothelioma” was also Yahoo’s top-priced word, at $60.68 per click. Rich Stokes, founder and CEO of AdGooroo, couldn’t say how many times the top keywords were clicked on each month.
Tagged as:
Google AdWords,
Mesothelioma
SearchEngineWatch.com is reporting that Google is sponsoring a contest with a grand prize of $25,000 of cable television advertising. Contestants create a 30 second or 60 second spot and upload it to the YouTube channel “TV for all contest.” You can even make the ad for free using SpotMixer.com. The deadline for submission is October 5, 2009. Viewers will vote, and 3 winners will be announced October 30, 2009.
This appears to be a good way for Google to call attention to the TV ad service it now offers through its AdWords program. A MediaPost article reports that Google has teamed with SpotMixer to allow advertisers to create video ads to be displayed on the Google Content Network. SpotMixer’s platform automatically converts an advertiser’s existing AdWords text ad into a tailored video ad within the advertiser’s AdWords account. Earlier this year, SpotMixer launched a self-serve video ad creation service for Google AdWords customers to produce and distribute cable TV ads via Google TV Ads.
Lawyers who have been tempted to dip their toes into the TV advertising pool now have a way of giving it a try on a limited budget. But the chance of a lawyer ad winning the $25,000 grand prize? I’m pretty skeptical about that.
Tagged as:
Attorney advertising,
Google TV ads,
Spotmixer,
TV ads
Years ago when pay-per-click ads were new, the first tests showed that searchers preferred to click on the links that appeared on the search page (“organic results”) rather clicking on than the pay-per-click ads. I saw a recent comparison yesterday, when Gord Hotchkiss of Enquiro published an article saying results have remained remarkably steady over the past six years: for commercial searches, about 70% of searchers click on organic results, while only 30% click on the pay-per-click ads.
This is important information for firms trying to decide how to allocate resources between pay-per-click campaigns and search engine optimization.
Mediapost reports that Google will launch AdSense for mobile on Wednesday. Mobile content developers will be able to insert a small snippet of code into their pages; this will tell Google where to display an ad. The ad targeting is contextual, similar to targeting that exists for AdSense partners.
A Google spokesperson said Google is also experimenting on ways to allow advertisers to bid for ad placement on specific applications. Anybody want to buy an ad when an iPhone user Googles the location of the local jail?
Tagged as:
Google,
Mobile AdWords
The law firm of Susman Godfey LLP said Friday it had received preliminary approval of a proposed $20 million class action settlement filed on behalf of AdWords advertisers who were allegedly tricked by Google into paying for ads they didn’t intend to buy. This news comes from a Sacramento Business Journal article.
The class action lawsuit is pending in the Federal District Court of the Northern District of California, San Jose Division. Final approval of the settlement will be considered on Sept. 14.
As any AdWords user knows, Google charges advertisers when users “click” on one of their ads. When the advertiser creates an ad, he or she tells Google the maximum they are willing to pay per click. But according to lawyers for the class, advertisers can find themselves paying for ads they didn’t intend to buy. According to Susman Godfrey:
“During this process, users encounter two adjacent boxes. Into the first, customers enter the amount they wish to pay per click of an ad displayed on Google.com. The second box is marked ‘optional.’ Into this box, a user can enter the amount they would be willing to pay per click of an ad appearing on a third-party Web page. But leaving the box blank does not prevent ads from appearing on third-party sites,” the law firm said.
Google “places the ads on third-party sites anyway. And users are automatically charged per click based on the amount they entered into the first box. This suit arises from the fact that both actions occur without the user being informed,” the firm added.
Tagged as:
AdWords,
Google
One of the reservations I’ve heard some lawyers express about pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is that you don’t know who is clicking on your ads. If you’re paying $85 for someone to click on your mesothelioma ad to visit your site, is that person a mesothelioma victim or a competitor? Now comes a study from U.S. based Click Forensics that says the average click fraud rate of PPC advertisements appearing on search engine content networks, including Google AdSense and the Yahoo Publisher Network, was 28.2%, up from 27.1% in the previous quarter. See article here.
Note that this figure applies to the “content” networks, such as ads that appear on blogs and news sites using Google’s AdSense program. There is a built-in incentive for the publishers of the sites to engage in fraudulent clicking, as they share in the revenues from each click. The article does not give an estimate of the number of fraudulent clicks on Google’s and Yahoo!’s search engines.
One user of PPC ads suggests that you factor the fraud rate into your calculations. Tony Jewell , chief technical officer of job search engine Workcircle, advises factoring in a degree of risk and focusing on return on investment. “If 20% of clicks are invalid, are the other 80% good enough for it not to matter?” he said. “If the traffic sends customers who convert, and hence is profitable, then we’re happy.”
Tagged as:
Google AdWords,
Pay-Per-Click,
Search Engine Marketing
The Wisconsin Bar recently published an interesting article with 10 Internet marketing tips for new, small law firms. While the article is sometimes short on specifics about implementing its suggestions, it is a very good beginning point for lawyers without experience in online legal marketing. I’m just going to list the 10 headings here without the full text of the article; you can read the full article here. I’m going to add some explanations/suggestions based on my own experience.
- Advertise Online.
- Invest in a professionally designed and developed web site.
- “Consumerize” your web site.
- Incorporate video on your site. [The articles suggests that you "Develop an introductory video of the managing partner that showcases personality as well as expertise. Post the video on the web (and YouTube) and even consider a TV spot down the road." My caveat, if the managing partner doesn't come across well on video, do not use the managing partner. Use the lawyer who looks best and comes across as most genuine on video. If you have to, and your bar regs permit it, hire a professional before you put up a video with a white-faced, stuttering managing partner. Also, if you can afford it, spend the money to shoot a professional video. You don't have to spend a fortune to hire a pro, and the results will be worth the money. For ideas about using video that aren't limited to interviews with your managing partner, see my post "Use online video to do things you can't do on TV."]
[click to continue…]
Tagged as:
Attorney advertising,
Google AdWords,
Internet for lawyers,
Law firm websites,
Online Legal Marketing,
Search Engine Optimization (SEO),
SEO
A site named ask in wiki claims to have a list of the top 777 paying keywords from 2008. I don’t know if it’s accurate, but if it is, it’s interesting to see how many of the top keywords are related to personal-injury litigation. Mesothelioma lawsuits are especially sought-after, with bids starting at more than $85.00. [click to continue…]
Tagged as:
keywords,
Mesothelioma,
Pay-Per-Click,
PPC
In an interview yesterday with CNBC’s Bill Griffeth and New York Times reporter Andrew Ross, Google’s CEO said he’s bullish on mobile advertising–suggesting the medium can target consumers more easily. That’s really not surprising, considering Google’s December 8, 2008 announcement of a new option that allows AdWords advertisers to show desktop text and image ads on the iPhone, the T-Mobile G1, and other mobile devices with full (HTML) Internet browsers. With more powerful browsers on mobile devices such as iPhones and Blackberrys, people are using cell phones for more than voice communication and email these days, and the trend is certain to grow.
In the interview yesterday, Google’s CEO said of mobile ads, “They should be worth more, advertisers should be willing to pay more, and there should be greater conversions, which is ultimately what advertising is about,” he said.
I agree. That’s what led me some time ago to stock up on a variety of legal-related .mobi (for “mobile”) domain names. All of my .mobi names are suitable for mobile websites, but a few are perfect for development as iPhone apps. Google announced in December 2008 that users had already downloaded 3 million iPhone apps, and that number continues to grow.
If you’re a lawyer, legal marketer or iPhone application developer interested in developing iPhone apps or mobile sites targeted at lawyer advertising, feel free to contact me to discuss development and/or advertising possibilities.
Tagged as:
iPhone apps,
legal marketing,
mobile ads
What can we do together? Since 1999 I've been using the Internet, websites, blogs, online video, Twitter and other social media to help thousands of injured people find great lawyers. We've organized national networks of lawyers in over forty states to take on Pfizer, Bayer, Yamaha and other multinational corporations. We've put consumers on a level playing field, and had fun doing it. If you're a great lawyer looking for more clients, contact me and let's see what we can do together.
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