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
I just saw an interesting article at Law.com asking whether pay-per-click advertising is worth it for small law firms. The article interviewed Miles Cooper, Managing Attorney of the Veen Firm in San Francisco. He said their firm had always relied on a steady diet of attorney referrals and what Cooper refers to as “cold calls.” I suppose Cooper was referring to potential clients calling the firm, even though I always thought of (and Wikipedia defines) cold calling as the process of approaching prospective customers or clients. Anyway, about a year ago the firm noticed a drop-off in “cold calls,” leading the firm to begin a pay-per-click ad campaign this January. “It was a philosophical jump for us,” Cooper said. “We thought of ourselves as one of the more prominent firms in the city, not a 1-800 ambulance firm. … But we need to make sure that our names are out there.” [click to continue…]
Tagged as:
Ads,
Pay-Per-Click,
PPC,
Search Engine Optimization (SEO),
SEO
According to a February 16, 2009 LawyersUSAonline.com article, almost two-thirds of potential clients begin their search for a lawyer online. The article doesn’t cite the source for that statistic, but even without a source, I’m convinced that many (if not most) clients begin their search for a lawyer online. One subscription service that provides keyword information (and which shall remain nameless here) says that the top 300 searches for the terms “lawyer” or “attorney” generate over 46,000 searches per day. I’m convinced the number would be even higher if you could capture all attorney/lawyer searches (the subscription service I used stopped at 300 searches for “lawyer” and 300 searches for “attorney”). The point of all this is that lawyers, even sole practitioners, need websites. [click to continue…]
Tagged as:
attorneys,
lawyers,
legal marketing,
Search Engine Optimization (SEO),
SEO,
websites
