Unbalanced Scales – Weighing Marketing Options for Your Law Firm

The past few years have not been kind to any business, and law firms have, by and large, been no exception to the rule. People still need attorneys even in a down economy, but the fact of the matter is that they are less willing to spend money on attorneys fees when they have less money to begin with. None of this should come as any surprise, but it is surprising how often law firms and attorneys are at a loss when it comes to ways to find new clients. Unfortunately, this is a class that never gets taught in law school.

If you own or operate a law firm and haven’t had as much new business as you would like, then I want to introduce you to the concept of search engine optimization (commonly known as ‘SEO’). SEO is not the only way to market a legal practice, and although it’s one of the best ways, there are certainly situations where other forms of marketing may work better. Here’s why more law firms should pay attention to search engine optimization:

  1. Inbound Marketing: In the marketing industry, there is a common distinction between inbound and outbound marketing. In general, outbound marketing is an effort by the company in question to reach out to a potential client and initiate a client-relationship (think, for example, of calling a contact who you know might need your legal services). On the other hand, inbound marketing is marketing that aims to make a company visible to any potential clients who are actively looking for services or products offered by that company. The distinction is not always clear-cut, but it’s important for a law firm. In general, attorneys think about going out and networking (which is always an excellent idea), but the results are limited. Search Engine Optimization allows you to reach more potential clients more quickly.
  2. Efficiency: Let’s be frank – your law firm is your business, and you want to control costs like any other business. Advertising – even in print, but especially on TV – gets very expensive very fast. Advertising online is a good and attractive option, but I would argue that the money is better spent on a long-term SEO solution for your law firm. The rankings and traffic that result from good SEO can last for a very long time and can continue to benefit your law firm down the road.
  3. Competition: In today’s market, it’s getting harder and harder to differentiate your legal services from those provided by the attorney or lawyer down the street. Consequently, it’s prudent to take a different approach to marketing than the guy or gal down the street. There are law firms that already engage in SEO, but there are not as many as there could or should be, and you can take advantage of that fact.

Practicing law is not an easy profession, and the demands of the job have only increased over the past few decades. However, finding clients doesn’t need to be the most difficult part of your legal practice. As I mentioned above, search engine optimization is by no means the only way to get your law firm in front of more potential clients. It’s a method that we have helped many firms use to find many new clients on a ongoing basis.

If you want to get started, it probably makes sense to seek the help of a professional, although many SEO tactics can be tackled yourself if you have the time. In any event, I urge you to get started today, even if it’s with a different type of marketing. Your legal practice and career will greatly benefit down the road.

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What Do Family Law Firms Deal With?

Most of us do not hire family lawyers until we find ourselves trapped in a seemingly endless problem. We also do not bother knowing which law firm to go to in case we get across the need to have a legal consultation. Your family is probably your biggest investment in life. You have not just invested financially but you also invested emotionally, mentally and spiritually. So it would definitely hurt you to find your marriage, which is considered the foundation of your family, drowning in problems that are most likely going to end up in a divorce. With this, you have all the reason to protect your family by knowing which law firms can best help you in cases of unwanted family problems like divorce.

Family law firms can with your divorce or your separation from your partner. However, it does not end there. The firms also deal with other problems that may arise from your divorce. They deal with those things that would guarantee you and your child a secured future despite ending up in a broken family.

The usual causes of divorce are physical and mental abuse. If you have an abusive partner, you can protect yourself and other members of the family even prior to your divorce through restraining orders or protection from abuse orders. Both are things that the firms can deal with.

Child custody, child support, grandparents’ rights and property division are among the biggest factors that prolong the process of divorce. But if you consult family law firms that have knowledgeable and experienced lawyers, these things can easily be resolved. You are guaranteed that your child’s future and relationships with the other members of the family is not damaged. Family law firms that have well experienced family lawyers are also able to guarantee fair property division unless you have signed any agreement that restricts you from getting a share prior to your marriage.

If after your divorce you plan to get into a second marriage, you should also make sure to protect yourself and all your investments to make sure that you do not end up in dumps in case your second marriage does not work. Family law firms are able to deal with a prenuptial agreement or anything similar.

Although family law firms in general are able to help you mend broken family relationships, they are also able to help you create a family. If in case you and your partner would like to adopt a child, they can help you with all the necessary legal adoption processes that you would need to go through. Family law firms primarily deal with everything that you may need in order to have your ideal family if you are just looking to establish one and create a good family relationship despite not ending up in a perfect marriage. They deal with what would provide you and your family that security you need and the peace of mind when you move on with your lives after a huge trial.

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Law Firm Internet Marketing

The internet is the most powerful, most robust, most targeted advertising medium ever devised. The reason is that consumers are turning to “inbound marketing” – meaning they actively seek out products and services and research them online rather than rely on older “outbound marketing” messages to sway them. Thus, “inbound marketing” has tremendous potential and application for law firms and law practices looking to get the attention of prospective clients online.

Fewer and fewer Americans are turning to things like the hard copy phone book to find products and services. Instead they begin on Google with a keyword phrase, like “Boston injury lawyer” hence, they are “inbound” to your website.

As more and more law firms turn to the medium, it is time to ask yourself what is your law practice doing to advertise itself online? The great thing about online marketing is that start up costs are very low and the learning curve can easily be mastered. Just remember, utilzing search engine marketing it is possible within a very short amount of time to achieve practically full coverage for your targeted niches.

Thus, for example, if you are trying to achieve max visibility for the phrase “Boston injury lawyer” on Google, you’ll need to gauge how well your current website is optimized for this phrase. Visit Google, MSN, and Yahoo and search for the targeted phrase. Is your website visible in the top 100 results for any of these search engines? If this phrase is critical to your business and your not turning up in the top 100, chances are you have yet to attempt any on-site optimization of your web assets.

Easy fixes like title tags, meta data, and internal link anchor text can help catapult your site higher in the rankings. Are they all optimized for your keywords? If the easy fixes fail to help you may need the help of a search engine optimization expert. They will be able to tell you about additional minor changes you can make to your website that will help make your site return higher in the search engine results.

In addition, you will need to actively begin building links to your website. Links are the “fuel” that drive search engine results – at the most simplistic level, the more links you have from relevant websites the higher your site will be returned in the search results for your targeted keywords. As on-page changes are introduced and links built, your site will begin rising in the search engine results garnering more and more traffic along the way.

Another main component of any law firms internet marketing strategy should be to buy pay per click (PPC) advertising from one of the major providers. Currently, these providers are Google, Yahoo and MSN. As an example, Google displays PPC ads under the “Sponsored Links” headline along the right hand margin (and sometimes the top) of the search results for any given search. Using the Google AdWords program, advertisers are able to bid for placement on a keyword by keyword basis amongst these sponsored links. Each time a browser clicks through to one of these links the advertiser pays for the click based largely upon the amount of their bid. The Google program gives any advertiser absolute control over daily budget and in which geographic region the ad will be displayed in. Thus, your law firm will have total control over the cost and scope of the PPC campaign.

Clearly, law firms, solo practice attorneys and other law practices can achieve maximum exposure using SEO and PPC. If implemented correctly these two methods will begin to drive a steady stream of potential client leads to your website.

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Law Firms Should Look to Marketers as Rainmakers

Small and mid-sized law firms around the nation are faced with the proverbial question – what comes first the chicken or the egg? In the case of marketing, many firms are learning that marketing needs to come before client acquisition and investing in quality marketing is key. The competition among lawyers and law firms is too severe to view marketing as a luxury.

Small and mid-sized law firms need to invest in marketing and view their marketing firm as their primary rainmaker. The right marketing firm will bring clients into a firm through a multi-faceted approach.

Marketing for law firms should include: Internet marketing, local marketing including advertisements, networking, seminars and public relations among other forms of marketing. With a marketing firm focusing on their area expertise and the attorneys focusing on their area or areas of expertise success comes much easier.

Internet marketing for attorneys is vital. Many small and mid-sized law firms are realizing that they do not need websites with all the bells and whistles. A clean, professional website that is seen by their target audience is much more effective than a state-of-the-art website that is seen by no one. The best marketing firms are having law firms spend less on website development and more on Internet marketing.

Internet marketing is much more than search engine optimization and pay-per-click campaigns. The top marketing firms are also working with clients on webinars, optimized press releases, podcasts, social networking and more.

In addition to a comprehensive Internet marketing campaign, marketing firms are using an integrated approach that focus on branding and targeting specific markets and populations. While the lawyers focus on practicing law the marketing firms are researching local opportunities to bring clients into the firm ranging from local ads in publications and church bulletins, to opportunities to be interviewed on the latest legal news.

Optimized press releases and e-zine articles are a great way for lawyers to show expertise in a particular area, while the marketing firm stays on top of what the law firm can and can not say (for example, few marketing firms know they should not use the term “expert” to refer to lawyers in most areas of practice).

The best marketing firms, whether local or not, can also plan and execute highly effective seminars and social events to expand the firm’s client base. The key is the marketing firm maximizing the law firm’s return on investment – the measure of a truly great rainmaker.

The highly competitive legal industry requires firms to invest in high quality marketing that is specialized, diverse and integrated. The top marketing firms are offering this unique approach to small and mid-sized law firms around the nation.

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