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
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
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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