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Pew/Internet reported early August that the percentage of internet users who use search engines on a typical day has been steadily rising from about one-third of all users in 2002, to a new high of just under one-half (49%). With this increase, the number of those using a search engine on a typical day is pulling ever closer to the 60% of internet users who use email on a typical day.

The report provides data supporting the fact that those who are using search engines on an average day are more likely to be socially upscale, with at least some college education and incomes over $50,000 per year.

Accordingly, search engine marketing continues to increase in importance for law firms. FindLaw's white paper "Search Engine Marketing (SEM) for Law Firms" covers that an effective SEM strategy can be a key competitive advantage for law firms that want to generate more visibility, more qualified traffic and, ultimately, more new clients in the online legal marketplace.

Using appropriate keywords and keyword phrases are a key success factor. Effective keyword selection starts with thinking through what makes your law firm unique, in terms of its client base, competitors and practice goals, and working with your SEM expert to build a diverse set of keywords and keyword phrases around those qualities.

 

A good rule of thumb is that you’re usually better off competing for and winning a higher number of unique, small-volume word combinations (“I need to hire a lawyer because I was arrested for DUI in Pittsburgh”) than going after just a few high-volume, and highly competitive, searches (such as “DUI lawyer”).

 

Why is that the case?

• Because 40% of Internet searches are unique searches; they’ve never been done before.
• Because very specific queries usually come from highly motivated prospects.
• Because while being #1 in the search engines for a more common search is great, it’s all about converting new clients — and going about it in a strategic (and realistic) way.

The more specific the search, the more likely it is that a person who clicks-through from that search will be a better prospective client for you. If a law firm specializes in dog bite law in Arlington, Texas, a person who finds the law firm through the search query “Arlington TX dog bite law” is likely to be a far more qualified lead than someone who found the law firm through the query “personal injury law.”

 

You can’t anticipate every one-of-a-kind search, and your Web site would be unreadable if you tried. But a firm can improve its odds of generating traffic from specific, one-off queries (known as “Long Tail” searches). The key: maintaining a well-written, content-rich site filled with a broad range of relevant keywords.

 

By taking that approach, you’ll be more competitive for both Long Tail searches and more popular search terms as well. An SEM expert who understands how legal prospects think and the search terms they use can help you cast a wide net and bring a greater number of well-qualified prospects to your Web site

Edwin Van Riessen

I thought of this on my way to work this morning, when I got to a stop light and saw a small sign that said “Squeegee Squad” and had a web url that I could not read. And my first thought? What do you squeegee? Why do I need your services?

Now think, a potential client lands on your website, and asks: “What do you do?”

“Well, since my company name ends with ‘Attorney at Law…,’ isn’t it pretty obvious?”
Not so much…
With tens of thousands of law firms out there, (seriously, go do a search for law firm, I got millions of  results) you need to separate yourself.

This is why you need a ‘positioning statement’ on your site. Some attorneys do a great job of this. “California Criminal Defense Attorneys” has a strong, short description on their home page, with the flash in the banner further highlighting the firm’s strengths. This personal injury firm created a tag line that separates themselves from their competition, “Not All Attorneys Can Rise Above the Pack.”

These positioning statements help visitors make the decision to stay on your site, and contact you to determine if you are the one who can handle their issue.

Nick McLawhorn

Most law firms interested in driving business from the web are appropriately focused on getting more traffic to their Web site. And why not? Using the web as a starting point to search for and find an attorney to hire is becoming more and more frequent. The beauty of online marketing is that the product performance (search, directory or display ad, email campaign or video) is visible to the advertiser in the form of marketing analytics and reporting which makes figuring out the marketing return on investment (ROI) easier than ever. Here at FindLaw our tracking and reporting of online clicks shows one important distinction: all clicks are not equal.   

Progressive marketers know that clicks from relevant websites, those that are niche focused or are highly differentiated with content-rich user experiences, produce, per click, many more conversions. As users research topics and create pathways to specific content they reveal a lot about themselves, their preferences and most importantly their intent. Understanding the users “online behavior” helps you to figure out the difference between passive browsing behavior and deliberate activity. My colleague Brian Ledis describes the idea of using granularity, sorting out the good prospects from the bad in a sea of traffic, in a previous post on this blog. In effect, sourcing traffic from highly differentiated destination sites does the sorting: visitors to these types of sites are more likely to purchase goods and services than those on general portals, where many visitors have only a passive interest in the goods and services they are exposed to. 

For instance, take the search term “immigration law”. Who might be making that search and what’s their intent? It could be an immigration lawyer looking for a resource. It could be a college student looking for research material. Or a blogger looking for political fodder. Or a law student writing a paper. Or someone looking for an immigration lawyer. Which click would your firm want? Which click would you pay for? 

Now, compare that click with one from a user who is on a vertically focused destination site specializing in helping non-experts navigate the law. That user might research “Immigration Law Overview”, proceed to Immigration Law FAQ and then jump to Role of an Immigration Attorney and proceed to a directory of immigration lawyers. The intent of the user is expressed through their “online behavior” and a lot of it is available in the tracking and reporting metrics. Research by FindLaw shows that a click to a law firm Web site from a relevant site, such as findlaw.com, by a user who has been down the legal research path is much more likely to turn into a client than a user who clicks from a less targeted site such as a general search engine. 

That’s not to say traffic isn’t important. Traffic, multiplied by conversion rate gives us a “net converted” metric, which then can be evaluated in an ROI calculation. It’s at this level of analysis that marketers can truly evaluate the effectiveness of the online marketing efforts in producing what really matters: converted contacts that can be turned into clients.   

Charlie Vanek

Consumers often have products that include confusing instructions regarding assembly, and/or how to avoid risk or injury.  One of the most important pieces from any purchase is an avenue to contact someone when there are questions.  Missing parts or pieces?  It won’t turn on, off, left, or right as it says it would?  Call this number, and ask someone about it.

But this “someone” typically ends up being a faceless, generic person who has a first name but no idea who their client is or what they may actually need.  John Q. Consumer, meanwhile, spends much more time having to explain more than they should rather than identifying the key issue at-hand and resolving it in a timely fashion.

Lawyers are consumers too, and marketing on the Internet can be just as puzzling as any other product.  FindLaw prides itself in offering to you a face, and a last name, and a sense of familiarity with you once your relationship with us has been initiated.  After we assemble your products – your website developed, your spot on our award-winning FindLaw portal secured – you are given a dedicated Account Manager including:

• their full name – first and last
• their direct telephone number
• their direct e-mail address

They serve as your all-around connection from that point forward.  Along with your client development consultant, they are your single-handed, multi-talented, jack of all trades. But if you have an inquiry about your FindLaw experience, you will know who you can talk to.  Personally.  We are masterful at attending to your needs.

Do you have questions?  If we can’t answer it ourselves, we will know where to go, and who to go to in order to get a solution for you.  We will stay in direct contact with you – via telephone, via e-mail – throughout any particular issue to ensure that you get your answers.  We can help you with:

• edits to your site once it’s published, live for potential clients to review
• any billing questions and inquiries from what you are charged
• ongoing  services, such as adding and updating your site (at no additional cost)
• consulting with you not only on traffic to your site, but also your online marketing objectives
• updating your directory products on www.findlaw.com to make sure that they are ideal for drawing clients to you
• any changes to your practice or your firm

This is just the beginning of what Account Managers can and will do for you.  We are the specific person you will want to call, and we are trained to get you what you need.  As quickly as possible.

My name is Sumner Musolf, and I am an Account Manager with FindLaw. I look forward to working with you.
 
Take care.

The benefits of an attorney profile video, and online video media in general, have been extensively highlighted in blog posts and online articles. It can’t be stated enough that an online video humanizes your virtual interaction with a prospective client and that the moving pictures and sound provide a personal (although one-sided) conversation with your Web site visitors.
 
Viewing an online video offers both verbal and non-verbal communication, and provides the prospective client with the feeling of having interacted with an attorney. The video will give a good glimpse of the environment; a professional office background with legal books will let the potential client know they are dealing with a seasoned legal expert.
 
At FindLaw, we’ll not only provide guidance on best practices when shooting your video and script. We’ll also be certain to include a video transcript, as time-honored HTML or plain text is still the best way to fuel the search engine indexes. The conversational or natural language text from your transcript will attract long-tail searches, for example, “When should I hire a divorce lawyer in Boston.”  Your FirmSite will already contain plenty of HTML that will attract short-tail search results like “Divorce lawyer Boston” or vanity searches like “Sam Miller Divorce Law, MA” that will point to your Web site. A video transcript provides an additional layer of drawing traffic to your site.

Online video serves many purposes and is far from being just moving pictures with sound!

Sam Chagani

Efficiently spending your advertising dollars is an art form.  It’s a bit like writing a book – you have to use skill, intelligence, creativity and planning to secure the highest return on your investment.  Properly targeting your advertising is the best way to accomplish this.  With online advertising we want to target with high granularity.

What is granularity?  Granularity is the relative level of scale, depth or detail that characterizes an activity.  For some people, the word granularity brings the image of sand to mind.  So to simplify the notion of granular online advertising, imagine an hourglass – grains of sand slowly being narrowed and diverted at a finely tuned and precise pace.  One by one they carefully slip through, automating the measure of time.

Now, imagine that the hourglass is your practice, the grains of sand are potential cases and the narrow gap between the two halves of the hourglass is your job.  You must set the pace to select the cases that will provide the most positive outcome so you can maintain a successful business.  Should you consider every case at once?  How can you ensure that the cases you do consider will be within the correct scope of your practice?  What if you could tailor and automate the screening process to save time?  

This is how the granular approach to online advertising can help build a more successful practice.

We begin with a large pool of potential clients (lots of sand), with some being more qualified for your services than others.  Rather than screening every single one you must devise a way to pull in the most qualified (narrow the gap to set the pace).  This is why we advertise, and we want to get granular.  Categories such as practice area, geographic location, and experience are important granular topics.  Provide these details in your advertisements and your traffic – the stream of potential clients that seeks you out – will become more qualified, thus allowing your business to run more efficiently.  

Now, how can we automate this effort to achieve maximum potential?  Effectively, it would be nice to turn a key and let a process or system take over so that you’ll always be assured a steady stream of qualified traffic.  This is the benefit of online advertising.  

Online advertising is growing at an exponential pace.  Every day millions and millions of potential clients search the web for legal services.  Being an electronic medium, it is only natural to automate legal advertising so that the targeting is always precise.  Somewhat like designating that a TV commercial for golf clubs always plays on the Golf Channel.  Setting the ad targeting and trafficking parameters by utilizing granularity increases the likelihood of qualified traffic clicking on your ad and taking action to contact you.  And, with automation we can target qualified traffic with precise granularity every time, thus effectively turning a key and letting a system do the work of delivering highly qualified prospects to your growing practice.

Brian Ledis

Search Engine Optimization is best explained through a real life scenario. Would you park your car and leave it unlocked in a questionable neighborhood? I’m guessing the answer is no. For many reasons you would think twice about where you would leave your vehicle and how secure it is.
 
Naturally, your best bet would be to park in a safe neighborhood, a concept Linda Palecek talks about as it pertains to Web sites in her Power of Association blog post.

The power of linking is incredibly valuable. Inbound links from a business partner’s Web site have the power to boost your site’s page rank. You can also return the favor by linking to their site – a client testimonial posted on their Web site or blog can both serve as a legitimate reference for a prospective reader and will also be seen favorably by the search engines. SEOMoz even suggests asking customers to link to your URL on correspondence such as invoices.
 
Like parking your car in that dimly lit neighborhood, you want to be certain the site you are linking to is legitimate and indexed by the major search engines. A number of credible blogs in the industry have found Bad-Neighborhood.com to be a good resource to scan a Web site before linking to it.
 
You also want to avoid linking to a “Link Farm” or a “Spamdex.” These are Web sites that solely hyperlink to other sites with pages consisting of only lists of Web sites and the Search Engines nearly always penalize Link Farms as soon as they find them. While you certainly can’t control what others link to, be aware whom you link to. You wouldn’t want to devastate your ranking on search engines because of a Web site’s questionable content.

Sam Chagani

The Internet is no doubt a powerful marketing tool for attorneys. Internet marketing done correctly will attract more clients and better qualified clients to a firm. However, many attorneys struggle to find reliable, expert advice on how to successfully market their practice online.

FindLaw seminars offer attorney’s the chance to learn Internet marketing strategy best practices from industry experts in a practical and easy to follow format. These educational seminars provide attorneys insight on the latest trends that a firm can leverage to attract prospects and convert them to paying clients. Topics also covered by these seminars include how to develop effective Web sites, improve search-engine rankings, market ethically online and measure return on investment.

Almost 100 of these seminars are presented by FindLaw each year throughout the U.S. in partnership with various bar association and educational providers. In many cases these seminars are offered for CLE credit. For a a schedule of upcoming events, to learn more about the seminar program or to suggest a partner you’d like us to work with please contact me.

 

Christine Otto

On May 29th, FindLaw hosted two web casts on video under the title "Video: the Next High-Impact Marketing Tool for Attorneys."  Our guest speakers included Laura Hamad, FindLaw Video Field Producer, and Don Sowers, Partner with Takakjian, Sowers & Sitkoff LLP in Los Angeles.  Don is very active in the online legal field, and it's always exciting to hear his insights into the world of internet marketing.  His comments below share in detail why video has become an important component of his online marketing plan.  He specifically covers why video is a natural fit for law firms, how his potential clients have been influenced by their video, and how it has boosted his ROI.  

Video Is Extremely Relevant To Law Firms
“When I do the initial interview with a prospective client, I’ll often ask them: ‘Where did you learn about our firm?  What was it that stood out for you?’  More and more people are saying ‘Your video.  Your video is something that really stood out to us.’  Video is a natural marketing tool for law firms because the practice of law is really about communication and advocacy on behalf of a client.  A prospective client is more likely to call your firm if they have heard and seen you speak.”

Video Creates Contact Opportunities
“With video, the prospective clients are able to size up the firm, size up the lawyer and decide if this is someone they really want to speak to, which leads them to develop a level of trust to make them pick up the phone.” 

Video Conveys Your Personal Image
“Online video presence has become the word of mouth of yesteryear, a substitute for a referral from a friend or a neighbor. You are really communicating your own personal image, presence and character, just like a referral would be, but going out to a huge audience and making an opportunity to really get out there in front of your prospective clients.”

FindLaw Offers Unique Video Expertise
“I was contacted by a number of companies that do video in L.A. (we have dozens) but I was not contacted by any that had worked with attorneys.  Video has the same rules as print. FindLaw can protect you because they are sensitive to these [legal] issues. You want to make sure you are dealing with a company that is used to dealing with attorneys.  That’s quite frankly one of the things that has put me at ease when dealing with FindLaw for so many years.”

Video ROI Is Much Stronger Than Yellow Pages
“A number of years ago we’d spend 1 dollar [on Yellow Pages] and we’d probably get a 4 to 5 dollar return on that.  And then, over the course of the last several years, Yellow Pages, with the advent of internet advertising, has taken a back seat.  And now, if we spend 1 dollar, we probably only get a $1.25 return.  So, the return on investment that you hear about, is just not there like it used to be. Well, we have obviously moved our dollars into internet marketing and the Web site, and for that, we have been seeing 3 to 4 dollars for every 1 dollar. 

Now here is the good news: for the last couple of months that we had video up, we have seen a 6 or 7 times return, per month, on what we are spending for the cost of the video versus the amount that is coming in.  Online video is certainly the vanguard here and it is something that the dollars are backing it up, for what you spend and what you getting in return as well.”

You are able to view the archive of the event by clicking here.

A.Purrington

Today’s business owner is generally well aware of the importance of being found on the Internet to generate new leads. Even so, many folks still think that as long as they have enough clients and prospects today, they’ll continue to be able to sustain their future business growth based on referrals from today’s clientele. If that happens, great, but more likely is the case that you’d be missing a large QUANTITY of future business if you’re not easily found on the Internet.

Maybe even more important is the fact that you might also be sacrificing the QUALITY of potential clients and prospects if you are not using the Internet to bring in business. Just because your shop is running at max capacity doesn’t mean you are getting the highest returns from your invested resources!

The only way to establish an Internet presence that ensures both the QUANTITY and QUALITY of existing and future leads is to use a reputable company with extensive experience in the right areas.

With years of professional experience in the legal vertical, FindLaw services and solutions provide you the strong Internet legal presence you need to establish a foundation of quality contacts, both now and in the future.

Remember when you were a kid and adults told you to pick your friends carefully because their reputation also reflects on you? This continues to hold true as adults, especially when you think about marketing. In a previous time I did media buying and planning for a large national retailer. I received solicitation after solicitation to advertise on anything from a milk container to a car door to the Super Bowl. I’m not going to say every option was considered equally, but we did read a lot of them. The thing we always kept in mind was what does that say about our brand? Is this something we want to be associated with? Does this relay the message of who we are and what we stand for?
 
I think these same questions hold true in legal marketing. It’s important to look at whom you partner with and determine if the reputation of this “friend” accurately reflects what you value.
 
You’ve likely heard the stats before, but they bear repeating: the majority of Internet users have watched online video and many do it regularly. This has you thinking that maybe you want to do online video too. There are many options to choose from and because this video will represent you and your firm, you want to select the right one. For instance, it’s important to compare the quality of the videos you’ll receive with the price you are going to pay. Look at what you’re getting. Does that final video reflect who you are and what you represent? Does it meet actual consumer needs? Would you watch the video if you were a consumer? There will almost always be a cheaper option just like there’s a high-end option – the key is to find the option that meets your needs and reflects your brand.  
 
Another example I recently saw has to do with Web site linking. You can link your Web site to just about anything. You may even be frequently contacted to exchange links with a variety of different people. Again, it’s vital to think about what this link says about you. Does this site’s reputation align with your values and brand? Is it something you are proud to be associated with? Sure, it might help drive more traffic, but is it really the kind of traffic you want to have? Also, the more links you apply also provides more opportunities for the consumer to leave your site. Make sure they’re going to something you want to be associated with.
 
These are just a couple examples, but it’s important to consider these types of questions with any marketing you do.  It’s important to continue to drive toward new clients, but in order to attract the type of clients you value as important, you need to carefully preserve the image your Web site through the use quality video and marketing, and by creating a network of trustworthy links.

Linda Palecek

Breaking the myth of the crammed Web site

My first real introduction to technology – at least in terms of something I was to interact with – was at the age of 9 when I used an Apple IIC to play Oregon Trail. And while I may have died a virtual death of cholera due to my lack of hunting skills (Hey, who hunts deer by walking in straight lines anyway?), leaving my wife, two children and a set of oxen to fend for themselves in the hostile American West, my “real” self loved this new world filled with pixels and floppy discs.

My first experience with the Internet, aside from being told that it was a series of inter-connected tubes, was late in college when I logged on to AOL; I indeed “had mail.” What a world. One interesting fact about the early years of the internet was the lack of page scrolling. AOL, for example, wouldn’t allow users to do any vertical scrolling, instead relying upon text fields and list boxes to display information (not to mention splash pages – yikes!). This new technology was limiting and, for me, a bit cumbersome.

The same can’t be said for my son whose first foray into technology - specifically that of the Internet - was at the ripe old age of 2. He could log onto the Web, open up his “favorites” folder and peruse a variety of Web links (Wiggles, Barney, Disney, et al). The amazing thing (and what is the most pertinent in terms of this article) was his natural inclination to scroll down the page. Inherent in his and each of our Web experiences is that we will and most definitely do scroll. By embracing this knowledge, FindLaw’s talented Web development teams don’t have to worry about cramming as much information and imagery at the top of a Web page as we first believed or were led to believe. We can now design open and user-friendly designs.

In the beginning (right around Al Gore’s creation of the Web) Web designers and developers looked at the Internet much the same way a newspaper editor looked at a newspaper. Most newspapers were (are) displayed to potential customers folded in half; meaning that only the top half of the front page is visible. Editors knew that this space, which they called “above the fold,” could convince a reader to buy the paper as it would be the first information viewed by their readers.

As time passed and research became made available to them, Web designers began to see that users may not necessarily come to the home page (think SEM and the value of targeted content) upon first visit to a Web site, instead coming to a more specific search-related page on a site. Also, users expected that whatever page they were to land on or visit, they would have to scroll. After scrolling became a consistent implementation on all Web sites, Web browsers alleviated the concern that users won’t scroll.

Famed Web expert Jakob Nielsen touched on this topic 3+ years ago when he said, “On the Web, users expect vertical scrolling. As with all standard design elements, it’s better to meet user expectations than to deviate.”

Nielsen also wrote that users will stick with a site as long as they feel that they are getting closer to their goal of finding the information they want. This search is referred to as the “search for sent.” Draw the user in with compelling imagery and pertinent text and they will continue to move through your site; this is where we come in.

When designers at FindLaw are asked by others (clients, the field, et al) to place as many elements above the fold as possible, the answer indubitably should be: “Where is the fold?” With viewing screens coming in all different sizes and resolutions – from iPhones, PDAs and Blackberrys to widescreen LCD monitors - where then is the fold? Unlike the aforementioned newspaper, the fold of a Web page has no fixed location. Most data shows that the largest majority of page “folds” can hover anywhere from 600 to 610 pixels – and this accounts for only 10% of the folds! If you add in the next few largest fold distributions (570 and 630 pixels), together they account for only 26% of fold locations. Basically, the fold is everywhere! How would you account for where the fold is since we don’t know what each user’s default font size, window size, or screen resolution is? If we design for one, we lose the rest. Braced with this knowledge and the current shift to Web 2.0’s cleaner and less cluttered sites, designers are more in tune with users as well as the presentation of information.

That said, FindLaw’s Web Designers do place great emphasis on what goes atop a Web page, but not at the sacrifice of the entire site - much less the user. The top of a FindLaw-created home page should, in most cases, answer these questions:

1. Who is the firm?
    • Name, location, practice area(s) focus
2. How can I contact them?
    • When and how (phone, email, what hours, etc).
3. Why choose this firm over the competitor?
    • Market differentiator

Answering these questions in a graphically powerful (and hopefully unique) way helps the user make a decision in a timely and non-frustrating way. With abundant data showing that the majority of Web users scroll and that most sites have a scroll-bar, we can better design sites, placing data and imagery throughout the site/page to improve the overall user-experience. Some liken this to the analogy of an attractive person who has no personality: If a site crams as much info as possible at the top of the page and leaves the rest of the site “empty,” the designer has failed. If a designer has a site that is well thought out and designed top-to-bottom, the site has a better chance to be successful — good-looking AND smart!

While the Web is littered with valuable data supporting that there is indeed no fold, here are a few very supportive metrics based off a 2006 (and a subsequent follow up in 2007) ClickTale* study of over 120,000 page-views:

• 91% of all pages viewed had a scroll-bar
• 76% of all pages viewed that had a scroll-bar were scrolled to some extent
• 22% of all pages viewed that had a scroll-bar were scrolled all the way to the bottom

Are users less likely to scroll to the bottom of a page? No. Visitors are equally likely to scan the entire page, no matter the length. As my 2-year old son proved (and seemingly anyone who uses the Web), people scroll until they find what they are looking for. Scrolling is also associated with Web 2.0 design because big, clear text and spacious, clean content implies longer Web pages.

What recommendations do the designers at FindLaw have for their clients (and the field)? Because users are more inclined to scan Web sites for data instead of reading a site line-by-line:

• Divide your layout into sections with graphics to draw the user in.
• Let your designers create a visually compelling header area to draw users in and make them want to scroll. (Click data research from CrazyEgg shows that even though a tag line may not be a link, users are clicking on it as they expect it to bring them someplace. Use this as an opportunity to sell your firm’s overall message and get users to delve deeper into the site.)
• Think of your firm in comparison to your competition. Why choose you? It’s not simply a matter of “we return phone calls promptly” (all firms do and should), but think larger — “We get results prior to court. We are former police officers. I am a former judge.”
• As users visually scroll, minimize written text (maintain the content minimum as to not affect the search engines’ ability to find your site) and maximize images. Entice users visually to stay on your site.
• Make the search box prominent as users find these mandatory in their search for answers or help.

In the end, trust your designer and the designer’s experience and expertise in creating sites that not only attract users, but engage them. Let your designer open up your site to give the user more visual breathing room and don’t fret that a user won’t know what to do; they are more savvy than we give them credit for.
...

Besides, you've been scrolling through this entire entry ;-)

*Data provided by ClickTale who collected a subset of roughly 120,000 page-views, as well as the research done by Jakob Nielsen.

Collin Hummel

Law firms with an effective Web presence have a tremendous opportunity to generate new business and enhance client service. Consumer research has shown us that 73% of consumers want a “feel for the personality of the lawyer,” and written words and static images are unable to completely satisfy this desire. Video is quickly becoming an indispensable part of a law firm’s Web site.

The results of a poll among participants to FindLaw's webcast "Video: The Next High-Impact Marketing Tool for Attorneys" shows that the topic is of great importance to attorneys. The majority of attendees indicated to be presently considering adding video to their law firm Web site.

I have video on my site - 9.7%
I have considered adding video but have not done so - 56.5%
I have not thought about adding video to my site - 24.2%
I have decided against adding video - 1.6%
My firm does not have a Web site - 8.0%

You are able to view the archive of the event by clicking here.

You can also get more information about online video on LawyerMarketing.com and learn how video on their website has benefited the practice of other attorneys.

Attorney Internet video is one of the most promising, innovative and powerful advertising methods available to win new clients.  Not only should your video be professional, succinct, and convey a sense of trust and loyalty, it should also be readily and easily viewed by prospects seeking your services online.  How can you make your video as accessible as possible?

As with the search engine marketing and optimization of your firm website, your professional attorney video should be treated in the same fashion.  Begin by displaying the video on your website and optimizing it to be easily found by and displayed on popular search engines such as Google.  Remember – prospective clients seeking your services online are twice as likely to retain you after watching your video.  

Another method of making your video accessible to prospective clients is to have it displayed on a professional legal web portal such as FindLaw.  Prospects searching the largest and most popular legal website in the US will have access to your video and be able to easily find and associate the services you provide in the practice area and geographical region you specialize in.

You can also display your video on 3rd party video portals such as YouTube, Brightcove, AOL Video, Yahoo! Video, etc.  Professional legal web portals like FindLaw also maintain legal TV channels within certain 3rd party video portals to help increase the visibility of attorney videos.

Why wait?  Online video has, and continues to experience tremendous growth.  Take advantage of the technology now and win new clients today.

Brian Ledis

In the crowded online marketplace for legal services, where Web sites struggle to attract attention, video is a terrific tool for communicating your unique message in a format consumers enjoy. A well crafted online video can help you connect with more prospects, and promote your firm in a way that's both personal and highly professional.

Consumers research an average of 4.8 Web sites before choosing an attorney, but when video is added that number decreases to 1.8 because consumers feel more comfortable and are more apt to retain an attorney who they feel they know. The bottom line is- video generates Web site hits and telephone calls, and it's an engaging, customer-friendly format.

Register for our Web cast today to learn more about the following:

• Why Video?
  The next high-impact marketing tool for attorneys
• Attracting qualified leads
  Video search engine optimization & distribution
• Delivering Results
  Video that converts prospects and serves clients
• Getting your money's worth
  Evaluating return on investment
• Ethical Considerations
  Register for this Web cast. We have two highly qualified speakers prepared to provide insight into why video is the next high-impact marketing tool for attorneys, as well as to answer any questions you may have:

Don Sowers
Takakjian, Sowers & Sitkoff LLP
www.formerdistrictattorneys.com

Don Sowers has been a FindLaw customer for over eight years. He is the managing partner of Takakjian, Sowers & Sitkoff LLP, a Criminal Defense firm with offices throughout Southern California. Previously, he served as a Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney and as Chairman of the Los Angeles County Bar Association's Criminal Justice Section. Don was an early adopter on the Internet, posting the first of his seven sites on the web back in 1999. He has been a presenter on Internet marketing panels and he participated in the Beta version of FindLaw's Internet video production.

Laura Hamad
FindLaw Video Project Manager
www.LawyerMarketing.com

Laura Hamad graduated summa cum laude from Minnesota State University Moorhead with a degree in Mass Communications. She worked in communications at the state teacher's union before joining the Project Management team at FindLaw in August of 2006. Laura has been working with FindLaw video products since the first video beta began in August of 2007.

As a Video Project Manager, Laura helps her clients identify and create the story for each of their videos. She then directs the video shoot, ensuring that the client's vision gets captured during the day.

Thursday, May 29, 2008
11:00-12:00pm CST

Thursday, May 29, 2008
3:00-4:00pm CST

My legal education began after law school when I started working for Dakota County’s largest employer: Thomson Reuters.  I sold Westlaw online legal research and print publications to new and existing customers, all of them sole practitioners and small law firms.

During my tenure as a sales representative, I learned the features of Westlaw inside and out – as I learned the lawyer’s mind inside and out – through 50 cold calls a day, relating to varied personalities, and closing contracts.  My job in sales was to market our products to lawyers. 

In my current role as attorney editor at FindLaw, my job is to market the legal services of those same lawyers to prospective clients.  I am still a “humble peddler”, as a fellow cube mate in sales often said; instead of hawking the company’s wares, I hawk those of the lawyer.

I am uniquely situated for this – like every member of my team – not only because I am a lawyer but because I grew up fused to the computer since birth.  I understand the Web’s mind as I understand the lawyer’s. 

The lawyer craves authoritative pillow talk on the common law.  The Web, however, craves hits and clicks.  My job is to introduce hits and clicks to the common law and create a Web site with, as we say at FindLaw, “well-written content specifically designed to achieve your business goals – the conversion of Web visitors to clients.”    

When Mr. Smith is charged with drunk driving, you want the Web and the lawyer to understand each other.  If they do, Mr. Smith will be client Smith, and that’s lawyer marketing.

Chris Bradley

 

About Your Firm

The Firm Overview Should Be the Heart of Your Web Site

One of the most important pages on your Web site could be your Firm Overview (sometimes called About the Firm). It's the perfect place for your law firm to really distinguish itself-if you do it right.

In earlier columns I wrote about differentiating your site from your competitors with credentials and service statements, and giving your site personality. Your Firm Overview page is a critical carrier of this kind of valuable, "soft" information.

Do you have an inspiring or even a heart-rending story about the circumstances that led you to a law career? Tell your clients so they'll know your heart is in your work and you understand the challenges they face.

Does your firm have a mission statement? If it's meaningful to you and it demonstrates your commitment to your clients, this is the perfect place to share it.

Customers want to know that the law firm they are working with is made up of real people who care. After all, they are trusting you with their finances, their families, and their futures. Show them who you are and you'll set yourself apart.

If you can't inspire, at least inform

Okay, you can't think of anything inspirational to say about your municipal law firm. You just started your real estate practice and you don't have a good story to tell. At the very least, your Firm Overview page can be a good place to include useful information that doesn't fit elsewhere on your site.

• Your hours of operation
• Languages your staff speak
• Whether you make home or hospital visits
• Resources your firm offers to clients
• Publications or media stories
• Your willingness to speak to groups on legal subjects

So before you decide to ditch that Firm Overview, think about what your prospective clients might want to know about you. Use this unique space to help your firm stand out. It may be your only chance to do so.

Check out the entire series on how your law firm Web site can stand out:

• "I don't like to brag, but...." Don't let modesty prevent you from telling people what they want and need to know
• You Don't Say: Letting others say it for your with testimonials and representative cases
• "We Answer our Phones:" How to set your firm apart with real service statements
• Memorable or Mockable: How much personality is too much personality for a Web site?

Leslie MacKenzie

 

Memorable, Not Mockable

How Much Personality is Too Much Personality

You have an office dog (or cat). You serve on the board of a controversial nonprofit. You wrote...a law book, a series of legal advice columns, a mystery novel. You feel strongly about holding nursing homes accountable because your own grandparent was abused in a long-term care facility.

In addition to being a lawyer, you are a unique individual with a story of your own. But how much of that uniqueness do you want to share with prospective clients on your law firm Web site?

Standing out from the crowd

When your prospective client is searching for a law firm on Google or Yahoo, they are going to visit several sites on that first search engine results page. Will yours stand out enough that they click on it? Is it memorable enough to go back after looking at a few others?

It's vitally important that you stand out from the competition. In earlier articles I wrote about using credentials and service statements to position your firm in the minds of your prospective clients. Giving your Web site a distinct "personality" is one more way to differentiate yourself.

Unfortunately, many lawyers think that the very idea of personality is extreme. They equate "professional" with boring and settle for forgettable.

Don't fall for that.

There are many excellent legal Web sites that reach viewers hearts and have them reaching for the phone because they've communicated who the lawyers and law firm really are.

• He shared why he became a lawyer.
• She told stories about cases that were important to her.
• They demonstrated that they are involved in their community.
• She included inspirational quotes.
• They've convinced readers that they understand and they care.

Think it only works for small firms? Think again.

Sure, it's easier for a solo practitioner to share personal stories, but big firms can have personalities, too. I wrote a site for a law firm that had been working in labor law for more than 100 years. Their Firm Overview page had a wonderful photo of their founder with labor leaders from the turn of the last century. You just knew that they were a dedicated group carrying on a proud tradition.

Far out and too far out

Local conditions should figure prominently in determining how much personality will be acceptable.

For example, in some states and in smaller towns attorneys often ask me if it's a good idea to acknowledge their Christian faith on the law firm Web site. I ask them if it informs their practice of law (usually family law or estate planning). If they say it greatly influences their approach to clients, then I think they are only being truthful when they mention it on their site. It may be an important selling point to someone looking for a lawyer who will take their religious views seriously.

On the other hand, I've seen a few prima donna personalities who engage in things I think never work on the Web, such as:
• Political rants (unless you're running for public office or willing to exclude a sizeable percentage of your potential clientele)
• Fanciful imagery that fails to capture the serious nature of your work (I can't think of a time a unicorn belongs on a law firm Web site)
• Irrelevant information, like restaurant reviews or photos of lawyers schmoozing at social events... ho hum.

So take a little risk-a calculated risk-and let your personality shine through, but stay focused on how that ultimately serves the client.

Watch for upcoming blog on how to help your law firm Web site stand out:

• About Your Firm: The Firm Overview Should Be the Heart of Your Web Site

Leslie MacKenzie

 

We Answer Our Phones

Differentiating Your Firm with Real Service Statements

You're going to think I'm kidding, but it's not uncommon for lawyers to tell me that what differentiates their law firm from the firm down the street is the fact that they answer their phone.

I'm here to tell you that answering your phone is NOT a marketing differentiator. It's a basic expectation. You're not going to get brownie points for doing it. Neither will returning phone calls, or offering a vague promise of "personal service."

Service can be a strong market differentiator in law firm Web marketing but only if it reflects your law firm's concern for the needs of your clients and demonstrates your effectiveness in providing quality legal representation.

What IS personal service, anyway?

Here are more than a few service statements that stand out in my mind:

• Phone calls returned by the end of the business day or within 24 hours
• 24-hour answering service
• A cell phone number to reach the attorney
• Weekend and evening appointments
• Handicapped accessible office space (especially for personal injury firms or those that serve seniors)
• A playroom for children of clients
• Exceptionally experienced staff with specialized skills
• Staff or lawyers who speak the clients' language
• A team approach to handling cases
• A dedicated investigative team
• Assistance processing insurance claims
• A shared computer workspace that allows lawyers and clients to work together online
• Videoconferencing capabilities that allowed the law firm to work effectively with clients in other states and overseas

Large firm, small firm dimensions of service

Service statements work for both large firms and solo practitioners. Large firms can make the most of their extensive resources. But the challenges a large firm face are those of creating a human face (you're more than a corporation), and communicating that every client is treated with care, as an individual, not as a case number.

Smaller firms can really excel with service statements because of their greater ability to work one-on-one with clients. Think creatively about ways to communicate that benefit. And don't be afraid to use the first person singular voice. "I work hard to protect your interests" is a very strong statement that, coupled with credentials and testimonials can quickly earn you your readers' trust.

So before you talk with your Web writer, talk with your partners and staff. Think about what clients have had to say about your firm...what they've appreciated about working with you. And turn those positive traits into positive service statements.

Watch for upcoming blogs on how to help your law firm Web site stand out:

• Memorable or Mockable: How much personality is too much personality for a Web site?
• About Your Firm: The Firm Overview Should Be the Heart of Your Web Site

Leslie MacKenzie

 

You Don't Say

Letting Others Say it for You with Testimonials and Representative Cases

In my last article, I started to talk about ways to distinguish your law firm from other law firms on the Web. It's vitally important to make it obvious to your visitors why they should call you, rather than another attorney and I listed four ways to do that.

1. Communicate your credentials
2. Let others speak for you with testimonials and representative cases
3. Differentiate your firm with service statements
4. Let your personality shine

Now we're going to look at ways to use testimonials and representative cases on your site.

Web readers don't like to read puffery and self-congratulatory statements, but they do want to know that the lawyers and the firm they are considering hiring has been successful. The value of testimonials and representative cases is that someone else is saying good things about you, without you needing to say it yourself.

Testimonials can be extremely effective and motivating. They aren't allowed by every state ethics board, but if they are allowed in yours, consider looking through your thank-you files for letters you've received from grateful past clients. Look for letters that are short and that mention the issue (watch for search keywords). Ask clients for permission before you post them, and include a name or partial name.

Representative cases are another great opportunity to strut your stuff on your law firm Web site, quietly. When writing up an effective case, provide some non-identifying information about the client, a brief description of the legal issue, and note the result (for example, a verdict or settlement, acquittal, or dropped charges). If there were some particular challenges you faced in the case, share it.

Representative cases have the added benefit of being rich in search terms that will help your Web site get found in search engines. They often rank high in search results. And what better place to enter your Web site than on a page that highlights your successes!

It's all about standing out. If you need some advice about how to gather this kind of material, whether it should be a separate page or a blurb on a specific legal practice page, or what amount of detail to include, your writer or editor can offer guidance.

Watch for upcoming blogs on how to help your law firm Web site stand out:

• "We Answer our Phones:" How to set your firm apart with real service statements
• Memorable or Mockable: How much personality is too much personality for a Web site?
• About Your Firm: The Firm Overview Should Be the Heart of Your Web Site

Leslie MacKenzie