Law Firm Internet Marketing and Paid Backlinks

I had a reader comment today, and I thought I'd turn it into the topic of a post. That makes it easier for me to write, and if one person has a question, I find that many people often have the same question. And when it comes to law firm internet marketing, I know there are a lot of unanswered questions. So let's get to it.

Here's the question:

I've been reading your articles for some time now and finally have a question. Nicely written by the way. I have NO technical skills whatsoever and even I understand what you're advising. . . So, does it help to increase your site's google ranking by registering with paid sites? Does it contribute to the backlinks?

Before we get too far, thanks a lot for the comment. I try to write this so anyone can take the information and use it. And, I know I've got to keep it simple for all the attorneys out there. For many of us, if we don't understand it, and it doesn't pertain to a case we have, we just stay away from it.

Here we go. Paid sites and your Google ranking. If all you do is pay for the site to put your information on it, like yellowpages.com or something like that, then I don't think it's going to help your Google ranking. It may help your law firm internet marketing efforts in other respects (particularly with Google maps and their local listings), but as far as organically moving you up the ladder, it probably won't help too much.

Whenever any wants to call me and sell me something, I always ask them what's in it for me. They always tell me they'll get me business. That's bull. Think about how you find stuff on the internet. You ever go to yellowpages.com to find a plumber? No, you just Google plumbers and then try to find one that's reputable. Same with lawyers.

What I then tell them is that I'm very impressed with the business they can give me, but what I'm specifically looking for are dofollow links that I can manage any way I want (read - I can make the links keywords that are beneficial to me - no "here" and "law firm name" and things like that). Some can offer this. If it's available I try to negotiate out what that alone would cost. Just tell them you don't want the other stuff - they need to makes sales so they'll often make some concessions for you (and NO ONE else is asking for this type of stuff). If the price is right, and their site looks decent, then I'll do it. Most of the time I pass.

To give you an idea, I've used paid sites twice - a local news station that let me make my own copy and include backlinks, and nolo.com. I just signed up with nolo - they gave me 25 backlinks for a fairly small monthly fee (I honestly can't remember it, but I think it was under $100/month). And this is also a test to see if they drive any business - like they of course claim that they can.

Hopefully this answers your questions. The key, as always, is to get backlinks. They are key. Good luck, and keep working at it - it takes time, but it works!

Law Firm Internet Marketing | Google Local Results

One of the great things about Google is that it is equal opportunity, particularly when it comes to law firm internet marketing. There are ways you can get up to Google very easily (pay to have an ad at the top or in the right hand column). There are ways you can get up to Google that are very difficult (organic SEO). And there are ways you can get up high on Google that are of medium difficulty (local search results).

I've talked a lot about the easy and hard methods oflaw firm internet marketing, but not much about the medium method. And that is simply because I haven't given it a lot of thought until now. I was showing up in the local results for my traffic keywords, I wasn't for my DUI keywords, and I figured I'd get to it when I got to it. Well, now's the time.

If you don't know, when you do a search in Google for something local, whether a DUI attorney, a good mexican restaurant, or a car dealership, a map pops up at the very top of the page with 10 local results that Google thinks might fit what you are looking for. Right below that are the organic results (you can usually see 2 or three results without scrolling down). I'm talking about doing what you can to show up on the map in those first ten spots.

The first thing you have to do, which will take you about 20 minutes, is to go to the Google local business center and claim your business profile. It's easy. And when you fill everything out, make sure Google knows what you are about, but don't keyword stuff. Just let it come naturally. If you have pictures, include them. If you have video, include it. The more information you provide the better.

One problem I've run up against with Google local is how to manage having different websites for my different practice areas. If you didn't know, to optimize each of my practice areas for Google I've created different sites. I have a traffic site, a DUI site, and a criminal law site. Each has it's own separate URL. This is difficult for Google maps, because you are only allowed to put in one URL. Until now I've tried to have 2 local listings, one for DUI, one for traffic. The traffic one is doing great, the DUI one sucks.

So, how have I decided to work around this problem and bolster my law firm internet marketing footprint? I did what I usually do. I got out on the internet and checked out what other people were doing that was successful. And I stumbled upon something pretty quickly. The key is to have a major hub that relates to each of your practice areas that you can use for your Google local "base."

Thankfully, I have something just like that - my "firm" website. Every law firm has a website with their name in it, right? Most use it for everything, I just used it so I'd have a legit looking email address when communicating with people. But now it is going to serve as the hub for my Google local web presence. The set up is easy. When people click on the map marker, it sends them to my firm website. It then gives them three possible directions to go, depending on they type of services they need "DUI | Criminal | Traffic." Clicking on any of the links then sends them to that specific site.

If you aren't on Google local, you're passing up a free, easy marketing tool. So go out and claim your profile today. If you aren't sure what to do, look at the people that are up on the list right now and borrow from the things that you like that they've done. Next time I'll talk about what you can do to bolster your Google local profile once you've claimed it and got it all set up. Until then, keep plugging away. The secret to law firm internet marketing is that there is no secret - it takes work and time, and nothing else.