Step 1 - High Google Ranking. Step 2 - Getting the Phone to Ring

So, a funny thing has happened since the last time I wrote on here. My law firm internet marketing plan has actually been working to perfection. I now rank number 3 on Google for Seattle DUI attorney, my targeted keyword and the most searched term in that category on a daily basis. So, how much has my business picked up? None at all.

Before I get there though, I want to let you know a little bit about what I've found to be successful from a law firm internet marketing perspective. First, I have no on site optimization at all. It stinks. I don't know it well, so I simply haven't paid much attention to it. And my mentors in this business have always preached that it doesn't really matter that much. I had no reason not to trust them, so I went for it.

Bottom line, although the on site optimization will work, and you need it in the most basic sense (your keywords and links between your sites), using metatags and all of that stuff will only help you so much. If you want to get your law firm ranking high in Google you need links. And you need a lot of them. It can be done. And it does work extremely effectively.

So, back to the point of the article, getting people from website to phone. This might be the hardest part of all (much to my chagrin). See, when I was designing my site, I'd done it with an almost sick concentration on making Google like it. The text I used was decent but not necessarily compelling. I didn't have anything on there that would necessarily make people want to pick up the phone and call. But, just being on top of the Google search rankings for Seattle DUI attorney isn't worth squat if people aren't calling.

So, we are now on to part two of the law firm search engine optimization blog - getting people from the internet to your door. It all boils down to a term that is widely used by marketers everywhere - call to action. This is basically the thing that says "Call us today at 555-555-5555." It is what lets people know what the next step is.

And to get to the call to action, people have to want to call you. This is where compelling text and an overload of information come into play. People won't read it all, but it makes them feel secure in knowing that you know what you are talking about. The more pages the better for your potential clients and for Google.

One last thing before I wrap this up for today. Part of the on site law firm website optimization is a meta description. This is what Google uses as the little teaser when your website is displayed in the search engines. For example, these are the four at the top of "Seattle DUI attorney."

1. DUI defense lawyer Peter J. Peaquin provides aggressive and experienced legal defense for people charged with DUI or other drunk driving charges in the ...

2. You deserve a Seattle DUI attorney that values your reputation as much as you do. Call us today to speak with a Seattle DUI lawyer that will work to keep ...

3. Find, research and rate 68 DUI lawyers in Seattle, Washington. Free attorney background profiles, disciplinary sanctions, and client reviews.

4. If you or someone you care about was arrested for DUI, it is essential to hire a motivated and extremely trained Seattle DUI attorney to defend your case ...

Now, admittedly, none of these are very strong. But to get people to click on your site, you need that teaser to say something of meaning. You need to get people to click through to your site and then pick up the phone to call you. Oh, and by the way, since I've started writing this article I've moved up to number two.

Bottom line, this is something you can do. You can get your law firm to the top of the Google search engines, and you can do it fast. You just have to decide how much work you want to do.

Law Firm Internet Marketing | One Site or Multiple Sites?

Before I get started, I want to talk about something that is more law practice related and starting a law firm related than just law firm internet marketing. In this day and age, if you are focused on a specific area of law or even a sub-area of law, you are destined for failure. There is too much money and time wasted marketing and learning fringe areas of the law to make a couple bucks that could be better spend promoting what it is you really want to do.

For example, as you all know, I'm a Bellevue DUI attorney. That is pretty specific. It is specific geographically (though I really work throughout King County, about a 30 mile radius - which I'll touch upon in a bit). It is specific from a practice perspective (criminal law). And it is even a specific sub-area of law (DUI). I have experience fairly good success promoting my practice this way and find that it is getting easier and easier to move forward with a concisely defined practice.

Now, this relates to law firm internet marketing in a couple of ways. First, when you have well defined practice areas (and I'm about to answer the question!) you need to have a website for each practice area. Second, if you work in different geographic areas you need to have different websites for those geographic areas.

The need for different practice area websites should make sense on several levels. If people are looking for a Bellevue DUI lawyer, they don't want to know what I can do for traffic tickets, for wills, or for anything but DUI. If they come to my site and it is all about DUI, that helps me establish that I know what I'm talking about. Also, Google loves this. It makes you site extremely well optimized. You can't help it. Every page will about DUI and how to fight a DUI.

The need for different geographic areas also works well for clients and for Google. People usually like to work with people that are nearer to them. If you live in Seattle, and market your firm exclusively to Seattle, you may be missing out on a lot of potential clients who are looking for attorneys in or near their towns. But you can create a website that will let them know you are marketing exclusively to their town. And Google will know it too.

Bottom line, your law firm internet marketing websites need to be focused, full of great content, and have lots of great links pointing to them. Anything less won't be competitive in a couple of years.

Law Firm Internet Marketing | Don't Forget On Page SEO

This week I made huge strides with my law firm internet marketing efforts, just like I knew I would. After continuing to press on, create high quality backlinks, and follow the plan, I'm firmly on page one of Google for many of my desired search terms. And the best thing is, once you start to get recognized for your primary keyword (in my case, Seattle DUI lawyers), you begin to get picked up for all of the other keywords.

But I wanted to touch on something else today. Something that I think will make a difference in the long term sustainability of my law firm SEO efforts. And that is the on page optimization of your site. I must be honest with you, though, I don't know much about this apart from what I preach about content and links. But there are other aspects of your site that can help you out with your SEO work and that will help turn those leads into phone calls once people start to actually find your site.

Because I don't know much about this area, I've enlisted the help of a buddy who I trust who knows about this kind of stuff. I'm paying him, since I feel like everybody should get paid for their work, and I'm interested to see if it moves me up the search engine rankings any further (I'm hovering around 5 right now with most of the terms).

Bottom line, the stuff I'm talking about here works. It takes a lot of effort, and quite a bit of time, but it costs you no money, it will provide you with a steady stream of business, and when the phone starts ringing consistently, it will likely never stop. So keep up the good work. Keep getting those backlinks, and never stop thinking about what you can do to make your law firm SEO efforts more effective.