Law Firm Internet Marketing An Executive Summary Using the Q&A Format - Part I

What do I need to know first about law firm Internet marketing?

"In modern business, it is not the crook who is feared most, it is the honest man who doesn't know what he is doing." Pablo Casals

There are tons of vendors out there who want to sell you websites and law firm Internet marketing services. Most are honest people who simply don't know what they are doing. In many cases, they are attempting to sell you something that is overpriced and that won't produce you any new clients at all, let alone good clients. The attorneys I have worked with report to me that the whole Internet marketing process confuses them. They don't know who to believe. Some have spent considerable sums already on websites with little or no results. I aim to stop all that. So keep reading.

Do I need law firm Internet marketing?

Yes. According to Reuters News Services by 2007 there will be over nine million legal services searches done online each month. Additionally, prospective clients and clients expect you to have at least a website or think you may be behind the times if you do not. Finally, while the yellow pages are not a good attorney marketing vehicle today they are going away since people are searching the Internet and not going to the yellow pages.

What is/is not law firm Internet marketing?

Having a website is not law firm Internet marketing. At a minimum you do need at least a "brochure website" of a few pages, however, that website is unlikely to get you new business and is definitely not Internet marketing. The rest of this article (in four parts) is going to help you get clear on what Internet marketing is all about.

Where does Internet marketing begin?

Law firm Internet marketing begins with you becoming an educated consumer and then keyword research. Researching your practice's best keywords will tell us what words your prospective clients are using to search for legal services on search engines, what legal services your prospective clients are the most interested in, what your prospective client is thinking, how to attract these prospective clients to your site at the search engine instead of going to your competitors site, what your competitors are doing/not doing, what content to write for each of your top keywords (recommend writing a page each to at least the top 20 keywords), what are the words to use for PPC law firm advertising and how to begin search engine optimization. If you have not adequately completed keyword research using software tools like Wordtracker you have not done adequate keyword research and are likely to fail at your law firm Internet marketing.

You mentioned, "...what content to write for each of your top keywords...". What are you talking about exactly?

I am talking about what is known as the CTPM model of Internet marketing developed by Ken Evoy M.D. in 1997. This model works because it is in total alignment with how the Internet works. The C is the first part of the model and it stands for Content - create in demand content (you determine what is in demand from the keyword research). The T is Traffic - attract targeted traffic. The P is for pre-sell - pre-sell the targeted traffic (using such things as newsletters, RSS feeds, free downloads, e-books, auto responders, audio, video, and teleclasses). The M is Monetize - this is where you convert these pre-sold prospective clients to clients easily.

You mentioned, "...tools like Wordtracker..." with respect to keyword research in law firm Internet marketing. What is Wordtracker?

Wordtracker is a software tool that can be used to thoroughly research your keywords. Wordtracker is at least arguably the best keyword research tool in the marketplace and there are others. You can go to http://www.Wordtracker.com to get all the details. Your vendor can use this tool easily and should use it for keyword research to put your law firm Internet marketing on the right track from the beginning if at all possible.

You also mentioned "...how to begin search engine optimization." What is meant by search engine optimization (SEO) and exactly what is it and how does it fit into law firm Internet marketing?

There is no mystery in SEO in particular and law firm Internet marketing in general so don't let anyone bamboozle you on that one. As I said earlier SEO begins with appropriate keyword research. If you have not done that you are dead in the water since this is the foundation of everything that comes after in law firm Internet marketing. The next step is the "C" or content mentioned earlier in the CTPM model. You will need to write "keyword optimized" content to each of your top 20 keywords or another way to say this is writing your content in the way that search engines want to see it so they rank you higher than your competitors. Your content needs to fit together in a site plan (the term site plan refers to in what order your pages will appear and how they link to one another) that has an appropriate pyramid type structure. This pyramid type structure includes your home page (the peak of the pyramid) themed keyword phrase being supported by all the tier two pages (the next layer of the pyramid) and their tier three pages (usually the base of your pyramid although you could go deeper) support them resulting in higher rankings for all of your pages. There are some technical aspects to SEO as well like the use of clean HTML, heading text, meta tags, alt tags, site map, etc., however, mercifully I won't go into those since they should be known to your technical person. The bottom line is put nothing in the way of the search engines spiders (spiders are sent out from the search engine to "read" the sites on the Internet) being able to "read" your site like fancy flash pages get in the way big time for instance. To know more in depth about keyword optimization you can go to Wordtracker.com where they have a really fine Keyword Research Guide if you want to know more of the details. All of what I just told you is known as "on site optimization" strategies for law firm Internet marketing. There is also "off site" optimization as well involved in SEO. Off site optimization means getting one-way links from high-ranking pages of other sites that are related to your top 20 keywords (there we are again with that keyword research being vital) that link to your site. Search engines see these links like a "vote" for your site. The more high quality "votes" you have the higher they will rank your site. The term "link popularity" is used to describe this process in law firm Internet marketing. The royal road to high quality links is having (here he goes again) keyword researched and keyword optimized quality content on your website. You get these links from website directories, article directories, online forums, press releases, etc. I left out reciprocal links because most SEO authorities think they are no longer worth the effort since they are difficult to get and don't really contribute much (or can even hurt) to your page ranking.

We have completed the first part of law firm Internet marketing at this point. In part two we will go into Google Page Ranking, dealing with your competitors, RSS, the factors surrounding costs of law firm Internet marketing and more. I am committed to you being a master of law firm Internet marketing at least to the point you will get new clients from your efforts and not get taken to the cleaners by vendors who may not know any better.

You can download free now the 125 page Report titled "31 Proven Law Firm Marketing Strategies" by Henry Harlow and much more. You can increase your income; reduce your work hours as you serve your clients better than ever - guaranteed. http://www.Law-Firm-Marketing-Coach.com

Law Firm Internet Marketing - An Executive Summary Using the Q&A Format - Part II

You mentioned "...your page ranking." What is page ranking and how do I get my pages ranked in law firm Internet marketing?

You don't have to do anything to get your web pages ranked in law firm Internet marketing. It happens when the search engines send their spiders out to read your site. Google Page Rank is the standard on the Internet for success since 47% of the people on the Internet go to Google to do their searching and the other major search engines (Yahoo and MSN) use similar models as Google. If you rank high at Google you will rank high anywhere. The Google Page Rank system is from 0 to 10 with 10 being high and 0 being low. Probably more than 98% of sites on the Internet are ranked 0, 1, or 2. I do recommend you go to Google and get a Google Tool Bar since then you can see the Google Page Rank they have given you and every other web page you ever visit. This is a very useful tool in law firm Internet marketing. First it tells you how you are doing with your website. Next it tells you how well your competitors are doing with their websites, which tells you what you need to do to get a higher Google Page Rank so you are above them in the search engine results. Finally, it tells you how well your vendor has done for you in law firm Internet marketing and if you are searching for a new vendor it can tell you if they know what they are doing since they should show you sites they have built that have good Google Page Ranks. For sure that vendor's site should have a good Google Page Rank don't you think? There is another ranking system called Alexa that is not one you need to be as aware of based on Alexa toolbar users (well over 10 million of them last I knew) and where they are going. You can get their toolbar at Alexa.com. Alexa ranking is based on the lowest number being the best and the highest number being the worst. A low number is under 500,000 thus indicating a website that is in the top 1% of all websites in the world in terms of the traffic that comes to their site. For example CNN.com is #26, GE.com is 4,719, Google is #3, Yahoo is #1 and MSN is #2. The poor Alexa ranks are in the millions with most websites on the Internet being Alexa ranked "no data" not being at all unusual. You site is likely to be "no data" ranked, as are most lawyer sites by far. So be more concerned about your Google Rank.

You have been talking about "competitors" a lot in. Who are my competitors in law firm Internet marketing?

Your competitors in law firm Internet marketing are those people who are trying to rank high at the search engines for the same keywords as you are trying to rank high on. If your down the street lawyer competitor knows nothing about keyword research and how to build a law firm Internet marketing system then he will not be much of a competitor for you on the Internet. Fortunately or unfortunately most lawyers are doing it all wrong with vendors who are over charging and under delivering. You have a great opportunity to get out in front of the pack and stay there because by the time they wake up you will be so far out in front they almost certainly won't be able to catch you in law firm Internet marketing.

Some way back you mentioned "RSS". What is RSS in law firm Internet marketing?

RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication". Trying to stay up with all the new information on the Internet is clearly difficult given the size and growth of the Internet. What if you had a really simple way to get the new information posted at your favorite websites or get their newsletters without them getting caught in spam filters? That is what RSS is designed to do. You sign up on the web site of one of your favorites for RSS and they will send information (text, audio or video) to your RSS news reader on your computer or to your web based news reader (I use Yahoo.com). Where can you get these news readers? Here are some options:

For Windows

Newzcrawler.com

newsgator.com/NGOLProduct.aspx?ProdId=FeedDemon

awasu.com/

For Mac OS X

newsfirerss.com/

newsgator.com/NGOLProduct.aspx?ProdID=NetNewsWire

For Web Based

bloglines.com/

http://my.yahoo.com/

newsgator.com/ngs/default.aspx

While this technology is still new it is growing. Some Internet marketing experts think it will overtake email as the "killer application" on the Internet in a few years since it fixes the spam problem and reduces the number of newsletters coming to people's in boxes. It is good but probably not that good. Right now I would put it on your site as a useful tool in law firm Internet marketing if you offer a newsletter or add content regularly since people who use RSS are going to be very interested prospects if they sign up on your site using RSS.

You said earlier "over charging and under delivering." What should I expect to spend on an Internet marketing site with a vendor that can deliver excellent results?

You may or may not have to "start over" if you have a site now. Also know some vendors charge by the hour, some by the project and some a mixture of the two. If you are looking for a "value vendor" (one who is not the cheapest but also not the most expensive) to build a new website with all of the factors I have spoken about in place you will need to expect to spend from $8,000 to $12,000 for the new website. At this level of spending the website should have 20 pages or maybe a few more in total with the entire "on site" SEO in place. The fee for the site should include the services of a Webmaster (think of this person as being much like a "general contractor" who is building your dream house), keyword researcher, web designer, technician, and website copywriter. If you are looking for someone who is going to do the ongoing webmaster role (think here of having a professional Internet marketer on you team) taking you from where you are now with an existing site to excellent results then work with you ongoing to assess your current website circumstances in detail, make a plan for how to improve your circumstances via your current vendor, manage your current vendor so they implement that plan (or if necessary make the recommendation to you to leave your current vendor as well as find you another more appropriate vendor) you can expect to pay around $70 to $90 per hour to get a quality USA based person to do the job for you.

If you want to view his in depth "Internet Marketing Guide" you can go to http://www.CannonFireMarketing.com. Richard's guide will take you much, much deeper than this executive briefing can. Richard is one of twenty-five SBI Certified Webmasters that you could "shop" if you desire at: http://directory.sitesell.com/certified/index.html. In the interest of full disclosure Richard built my medium size site (and growing) and has been a valuable addition to my team. Ken Evoy, MD, that I mentioned earlier, developed the CTPM model of Internet marketing that currently serves over 30,000 primarily small businesses with their Internet marketing needs, founded and owns the SBI system.

That is more than I expected to spend on law firm Internet marketing. Are there other options?

Yes. If you don't currently want to budget for $8,000 to $12,000 you could begin with a 10 to 15 page site but be sure to do the keyword research (Richard Cannon can do this for you and is a master at it, one of the other SBI Certified Webmasters or maybe your current vendor). The lower number of pages would bring the cost down considerably. Later you can add pages (a must in law firm Internet marketing - like a page per month for solo and small firms). You could also go to guru.com (a virtual marketplace complete with a mediated process) where you can find cheap vendors (think India, Singapore, New Zealand, South Africa and Europeans here at $12 to $50 per hour) as well as value vendors (think $50 to $100 per hour in the USA). If all you want is a "brochure holder" type of site (so you don't look behind the times) you can get one of those built without the keyword research for maybe as little as $800 to $1,000 by a value vendor or half that or less by a "cheap vendor", however, you will likely "throw that away" when you decide to move up to law firm Internet marketing type site. If you really, really want to go inexpensive you could go to Yahoo.com's home page and scroll down on the left side of the page to "small business" and click on that where you can buy something as a decent brochure holder type of site at a cheap price per month.

OK friends, we have completed part two on law firm Internet marketing. In part three we will cover should you have a vendor that has done lawyers websites in the past over a "plain" vendor, why do I keep mentioning the number of pages on a site, how to avoid overpriced vendors, what your domain name should be, intellectual property issues to consider and more. So keep on reading with part three to learn more on law firm Internet marketing.

You can download free now the 125 page Report titled "31 Proven Law Firm Marketing Strategies" by Henry Harlow and much more. You can increase your income; reduce your work hours as you serve your clients better than ever - guaranteed. http://www.Law-Firm-Marketing-Coach.com