Law Firm Internet Marketing | What We're Trying to Do

I've been reading a lot of blogs lately about business, about search engine optimization, and about marketing in general, and I decided it was probably time to start over at the beginning to talk about what exactly it is the whole point of the internet search stuff is. I sometimes forget that most lawyers haven't spent the amount of time that I have on this kind of stuff, and most of it is completely foreign.

So today, we're going to start at the beginning. We're going to talk about internet marketing from a high level standpoint. We're going to talk about what the whole point of this thing is. My hope, after you read this, is that you'll have a better understanding of the point of internet marketing for your law firm and you'll take an interest in it (since it's likely going to be vital to your success moving forward).

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What I Mean By Law Firm Internet Marketing

Back in the old days, when someone needed someone, like a lawyer, they would do one of two or three things. They would either ask their friends and family, ask someone at work, or go to the yellow pages.

What sucked about all of those methods, from the point of the consumer, was that there was no real way to check out the lawyer before calling them. You had to just take them at their word.

The thing that sucked from the attorney's perspective was that there wasn't much of a way to differentiate yourself from all the other people out there calling themselves attorneys.

But that's all changed.

The internet has become the new Yellow Pages, and so much more. What the internet allows you to do is reach your customers when they need you, AND to show them how you are different from everyone else, the value you can provide, and that you are trustworthy and honest. That is law firm internet marketing in a nutshell. That is what we are talking about here. That is what can make or break your law firm, no matter how established.

First Stage of Law Firm Internet Marketing - Search Engine Optimization

Think about what you do whenever you have a question that you want to answer Google. Do you go and type in the name of the website that can answer the question? No. You ask Google for the information that you need.

The same thing happens when people are looking for your services. They don't type in the name of your law firm, they type in what they are looking for, for example Seattle DUI attorney. From there a bunch of law firms and other information related to Seattle DUI attorney become available.

With search engine optimization you are doing what it takes to rank at the top of the list for your desired search terms. So, for example, if you search Seattle DUI attorney you want to be the first result in the main pages (not the ads at the very top of the screen or down the right side of the screen).

How SEO Works

If you think about SEO from Google's perspective, the way it works becomes pretty clear. First things first, Google's goal is to answer the question the searcher types in in the first result.

That might seem pretty easy to do, but you have to remember there are millions and millions of web pages out there all trying to be that first result. For Google to get through all of that information they've had to create a computer algorithm to do it. The algorithm, very basically, looks at two main things to rank the sites whenever a search query is made: (1) the content of the site; and (2) the links that point to the site.

I must admit here that no one really knows exactly what Google looks for in their algorithm. That's one of the tightest guarded secrets out there. My suggestions are just that, suggestions, based off of my own experience and those that have come before me.

We all know about the content of your website. That speaks for itself.

But what are backlinks?

Backlinks are those links that are out there on the web linking back to your site. Google uses these links to determine the popularity of your site and what your site is about. The more links you have, the more respected the sites are that the links come from, and the more those links utilize your keywords, the higher your site ranks.

But What are Keywords?

Keywords are simply those words that people use to search for you. Using the above example, the keyword would be "Seattle DUI lawyer." Another good one would be "Seattle DUI attorney." If you have links with your keywords pointing to your site, that tells Google not only what your site is about, but that someone out there on the internet thinks that your site is an authority on that keyword.

Second Stage of Law Firm Internet Marketing - The Call to Action

I can tell you this from my own experience, that just ranking high on Google will not make you a rich lawyer. You've also got to have your website set up so that once people get to your site they actually want to call you and have you help them. There are a lot of different components to this, but the idea is to get your potential client to know, like, and trust you, and then tell them what to do next so you can show them further how you can help them.

Figuring out the exact formula for this is difficult. It takes a lot of experimentation, a lot of testing, and a lot of measuring. But there are some things that you must have to make your website as good as it can possibly be.

Okay, that's a quick run down of law firm internet marketing. Okay, maybe not so quick. But we're going to talk about it a lot more from here on out so that you at least understand what you're getting yourself into when you hire someone to help you.

What Do You Want to Know - Comment, Questions Welcome

What questions do you have about this stuff? Let me know. Ask a question. leave a comment. And don't forget, if you're interested in this information, subscribe to my feed.

My goal here is to help you with your marketing, to help you with your internet exposure, and to keep you from getting ripped off. Can't wait to get started.