Law Firm Marketing BLOG

Last week, the heads of our company divisions met in Temecula, California for staff meetings to discuss the latest trends in lawyer marketing and to brush up on our skills.
 

Search Engines Optimization (SEO) for lawyers’ websites has definitely been the focus.  Many of our clients are already showing up well in the natural/organic listings; however, the rules continue to change.  The biggest lesson: don’t try to outsmart Google.  Make sure you narrow the focus of keywords per page (no more than 10), have good titles and descriptions in your meta tags, and focus your H1 tags.  Don’t go after generic words; find keywords that really explains who you are – not just a New Jersey personal injury attorney, but that you are an Atlantic City security negligence attorney.  The more specific – the better.
 

Pay-per-click is still a strong aspect of a law firm’s marketing strategy.  Since some keywords can cost $40/click, you really want to be wise in the keywords that you choose – again, the more specific the better.  Then you want an appealing title and description; make sure it has a call to action.  Also, try more than one ad to see what works best.  Google allows you to rotate ads and then automatically chooses the most effective one.  If Google offers help, definitely take them up on it! 
 

Another hot topic was attorney website designs.  The biggest point to make is that you want your law firm web design to be different; don’t use the typical columns and gavels – use pictures of your firm and office and city.  Use a logo and a slogan – that may be what someone remembers.  Don’t be afraid to let the website show consumers who your firm really is – do you wear jeans and boots to the office, are you all business all the time?  It’s no longer a matter of what color is most appealing – it is what lawyer website design best describes who they are and to what type of client they want to connect.
 

As always, there was goal planning, convention planning, and more planning.  But, that’s not to say we didn’t get to have fun, too.  We went surfing in Carlsbad (or I guess you can call trying to get on your surfboard and getting beaten up by the ocean surfing) and we went wine tasting in Temecula.  Did you know that Temecula is Southern California’s wine tasting region?  Wilson Creek’s almond champagne is definitely my favorite sweet drink.  But, if you are looking for a laid back winery that is informative and fun – go to Cougar and make sure to say hi to the two dogs Sandy and Diego (get it? San Diego? Haha!)
 

I think this session definitely revitalized us and we are back and working hard already!

Vlasac and Shmaruk’s, LLC became our first Russian-speaking law firm.  Jack Vlasac and Boris Shmaruk were looking for a more effective website to attract clients throughout New Jersey. 

The law firm’s internet marketing campaign already includes optimization strategies, which we will continue when designing the law firm website.  Our customized attorney website design will stress the firm’s focus on personal injury cases in New Jersey.  Since the firm already has a logo, we will use that as a starting point; once the site’s corporate identity has been created, the attorneys will be able to transfer this to all future marketing pieces, such as letterhead and brochures.  We will also be incorporating a state-specific eNewsletter for New Jersey personal injury; this newsletter will be refreshed weekly and will assist in optimization strategies.   

Vlasac and Shmaruk’s New Jersey personal injury law firm is unique in its ability to cater to English, Spanish, and Russian speaking clients.  In addition to personal injury cases, the firm also assists clients with real estate litigation, municipal court matters, medical malpractice, commercial litigations, estate planning, workers compensation, insurance litigation, PIP, condominium litigation, and collections.

While the American Bar Association’s Annual Convention was not good for us, we did manage to have a lot of fun in San Francisco this year.

2007 marks the third consecutive year that we have exhibited at the American Bar Association’s Annual Convention and there is a marked difference between this year and 2005. One of the first things that we noticed was that the number of exhibitors continues to dwindle; a large portion of the remaining exhibitors are corporations (such as Chase Bank). Secondly, the number of attendees that visit the exhibitors continues to plummet, as well. This year we made only 27% of the contacts that we made last year. Not only is the booth the most expensive one of the year, but the convention does not provide tables and chairs (the only convention not to do so), but there is not even a free coffee bar provided in the morning to encourage attorneys to come and talk to us. We had waaaay too much free time on our hands, as you can see from our YMCA picture.

But, when we weren’t at the convention, we did have a chance to see a lot of San Francisco. We went to a party at the Ritz, a party at the Flood Mansion, had Indian tapas at the E & O Trading Company (highly recommended – even to vegetarians), Italian food at North Beach, chocolate covered strawberries at Ghirardelli, cruised down Lombard Street (the most winding street in the world), snapped pictures in front of the Golden Gate Bridge at night, went out to bars along Haight and Ashbury, and (some of us) managed to stop by China Town and Fisherman’s Wharf. My favorite meal was at a Taqueria in the Mission section of the city, That was a lot to pack in every night, but we had a great time! We stayed at the Hotel Rex on Sutter, which is a boutique French hotel – very nice. Though the rooms were small, the hotel itself was cozy and fun; the bar was a great place to have drinks with clients. Two doors down from the Hotel Rex was the Cantina: Latin Art Bar; they had fun music and a great drink selection, including pitchers of five spice margaritas and pomegranate Manhattan’s.