Law Firm Marketing BLOG

This past week the Attorneys Online Department Heads met up at our headquarters in Temecula, California for our annual retreat. Yes it did involve back massages, grueling yoga poses, and some outdoor activities but it was also a time to accomplish a lot of organizing, and improving of our law firm marketing services we provide.

Each day we dedicated time to tweak, and update, our different departments: Sponsored Search Campaigns (SNAP), Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Graphic Design, Copywriting, Newsletters, and also Auditing Client Accounts.

During our off hours I accompanied Cheney, our CEO, to some Anusara Yoga classes. The class on Tuesday was fun and even though I am a rookie in yoga I was able to handle most of the poses. Feeling quite confident of myself, and my meager hand stands, I agreed to go to Yoga again on Thursday which turned out to be the hardest yoga class I have ever taken in my life. (I am not kidding – six days later and my shoulders are still sore) Think of people doing slow break dancing moves – holding their bodies up with just their hands, all kinds of hand stands with splits involved and the regular stretches that make you feel like your legs are wet noodles you can’t walk on. And yes, I was right in the thick of it.

During the middle of this class it dawned on me – I was way in over my head. Too late to quit now though so off I went to try my “modified” hand stand which just meant me putting my front half of my body weight on my hands and arms – that was difficult enough for me at this point. It was not until after the class that I was told if a pose is too difficult to just go into a “child pose” where you curl up in a ball face down on the floor – my kind of move. However I’ll keep that in mind the next time people around me can lift their own body weight.

The “hardest-yoga-class-of-my-life” was a good experience because even though I am a novice in yoga I was able to make it through the class with some determination, and a lot of help from more experienced folks. Their aid in getting me into poses made it possible for me to attempt something beyond my capabilities. One day I’ll do that break dancing move but for now just getting into the pose & lifting one leg is enough for me. 

So how can Yoga possibly relate to our law firm marketing? Well, aside from being a great stress reliever that everyone needs now and then – consider all the patience, determination, and guidance it takes to get a sponsored search campaign, website design, or new content written just right to suit your law firm marketing needs. We offer the guidance; you give us the feedback to make it all work for you. And we all met up in Temecula to help that system be even better this year!

Aside from stretching our bodies out like a rubber band, our goal during this retreat was to walk away with a better system in place to keep our current clients, and potential new clients, up to date with our sponsored search ads, law firm website content, law firm website designs, and new trends to consider.

Although there is still much to be done, the week we spent together was a good head start to help 2008 be a better year for our clients (new and old) and our staff. And now I am back home recovering from the yoga class so next year I’ll be ready to try that handstand or break dancing move with the best of them.
                               

An excellent and easy addition to your law firm internet marketing strategy should be to add your firm to the local business results on Google.  The local business results on Google are a great place to get your firm listed.  Google arbitrarily chooses which businesses to put up; however, you increase your chances of being selected for the rotation if you submit your information to Google by hand.  It is pretty simple to do and we make sure that our clients have all been submitted.  Though we do caution our clients that we have no control over what firm Google selects or how often our firms are rotated into the mix.  When you think of law firm marketing, remember that it is the simple stuff that really helps to complete the package.

            Let’s face it, even though many people think attorneys are made of money, the facts are substantially different. You only have a limited amount of money to spend on everything you need to stay in business, including lawyer internet advertising. You need to find ways that will make the very most of that money. There are some areas of expertise that we have at Attorneys Online, Inc, that will be of great benefit to you.

            Most lawyers have several areas of expertise in which they are very capable of handling most any legally connected issue. Still, though, among that array of possible legal services, there is generally a niche in which the attorney is particularly and substantially ahead of others. That niche is where the legal expert feels most at home and most able to help. Those clients are the ones for which attorney website advertising is best spent.

            When you pay Google and Yahoo to put your ads up on the net, you tell them what kind of keywords that you want your ad to display for. Your attorney website design will only work if you can get the right potential clients to see it. By being very specific in the keywords you choose (such as those relating only to workers comp claims, rather than the whole array of personal injury law) you will be targeting your niche. Then you make a bid with the money that you do have that really counts. Now, instead of bidding $2 each on 200 keywords that cross various practice area lines, you can focus on one practice area with bids of $5-6 each, get very high on the page, and be much more certain of a better return on your investment.

            Attorney internet advertising can get the right clients to your law firm website. It is just a matter of honing the keywords to get those specific clients to lay eyes on your ad. Let us help you more at Attorneys Online, Inc. Specifics will make the difference.