The technology known as Rich Site Summary (some refer to it as Really Simple Syndication, or simply RSS) has been adopted by many Blogs and Web sites. RSS feeds are a way of distributing news articles or Blog posts directly from a website to your RSS reader. Typically these come as a feed of one sentence summaries of an article.
 
If you prefer keyword summaries to see what a blog is talking about, you might like the tag cloud. Tag clouds are simply a weighted list of keywords in a visual design illustrating the most used words on a website. The larger the keyword in the tag cloud, the greater the frequency of the keyword in the associated site.
 
Want to see an example? Below is a tag cloud of what we've been discussing on our LawyerMarketing blog. You can create your very own free tag cloud from Wordle.



Thanks to Search Engine Land and Top Rank Blog for the tip.

Sam Chagani

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

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

Until last year, most search engine results were text only and looked pretty bland.  The only way to stand out in the crowd was to be at the top of the list.  Then came Google’s revolutionary universal search, which introduced among other things thumbnails of video on Google's search results page.  It’s made a big impact, and other search engines like Yahoo and AOL have followed suit.

Sure, it seems obvious that an image or thumbnail in a sea of text is going to stand out and draw the user’s eye, but there’s proof that it works.  Google has been testing videos in their paid advertisements to compete for user’s attention.  In this New York Times article Marissa Mayer, Google’s vice president of search products and user experience tells us that "text ads are not as effective on pages with search results that include images and video. The eyes of users automatically gravitate to the images more than the text."  This also implies that regular text-only search results are also not as effective on pages with images and video.

So the value of a video thumbnail is clear.  If you want to stand out from the competition on the search engines, then the best option right now is to invest in online video.

Stephen Kmetz

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

Online Search Engine Optimization (SEO) needn’t be confusing. Think of a new recipe you’re trying out – you want to strike a balance between just the right quality and quantity of ingredients, because adding too much of any one ingredient may ruin that chicken casserole you’re cooking.
 
Your Web site needs constant tweaking and grooming to get listed on the search engines. Just like cooking, you can’t cheat by doing too much of one thing and not enough of another. Adding irrelevant keywords to your Web site would make it appear like spam. In our cooking example, this would be like dumping an excessive amount of sugar in your casserole.  It would be sweet, but would it be good?
 
Search engines relentlessly refine the accuracy of their search algorithm. Search engines don’t just grade your Web site on use of keywords, but also on content, links or use of video. Search engines are very picky about what is indexed and where it ranks in the index. How picky can a search engine be? Try this example: Search for dog bite attorney and Dog bite attorney, but note the uppercase D in the second set of search terms. At the time of posting this article, the position of several links changed or dropped off the first page by merely changing the case of “D” in dog bite.
 
The use of competitive search terms, like those found in legal Web sites, creates an even more difficult market to be visible in. There are many legal Web sites supplying the demand for legal content. Standing out from the crowd involves careful thought and expertise in your subject matter, and you need to employ the best keywords and all the other ingredients for that perfect casserole….I mean legal Web site.

Sam Chagani

Information is power, but what's more powerful is how you use that information. The current information age is akin to the 19th century industrial revolution - as technologyevolves at an exponential pace, we must learn to quickly harness its power so that we may wield information like a sword. And what good is a sword if one can't wield it?

Knowledge of the law is also power, but even more powerful is the successful practice of law - in both the economic and practical sense. To harness this power you must let clients know that your services are available, and that you are experts in your field of practice.

By combining the powers of information, technology and marketing, a law firm can quickly achieve great success. This is where online advertising comes into play. The world is rapidly changing and as we embrace technology it becomes incorporated and ingrained into our daily lives. Rarely does anyone search the phone book for goods and services anymore. The internet has replaced it as a much more powerful and user friendly tool.

Online advertising comes in many forms and depending on the goal you set for your advertising dollars, the results can vary. At FindLaw we specialize in marketing solutions for law firms and measure success by "Conversion," which is the ratio of your advertising efforts to leads converted into clients.

A fairly recent development in the world of online advertising is the utilization of Rich Media . Rich Media is defined as the use of multimedia (video, audio, text, animation, still images) that allows for active participation by the recipient. A popular example of rich media used in online advertising is Flash Animation . Flash Animation brings a static (still) advertisement to life. Imagine a full color ad in the Sunday paper leaping out of the page, moving and blinking. This is how Flash Animation enhances online advertisements.

Another popular form of Rich Media is video. With video ads a law firm can reach out directly to their target clients and build a sense of trust, warmth and respect immediately. A lawyer's personality, professional image and expertise can be transferred through a video advertisement. Static ads and print ads (phone book) cannot do this effectively. Prospective clients often have to overcome the barrier of trust when choosing an attorney and video is the most effective method of hastening this connection.

In summary, a law firm must utilize all of the tools available to become successful. Embracing technology and the information age will only enhance the efforts put forth by the firm to grow and obtain new clients.

Brian Ledis

 

There is no denying the growth of the online video industry. With tens of millions of videos available online, the Interactive Advertising Bureau's (IAB) Digital Video Committee has classified the videos into three main categories:

• Premier Programming - generally repurposed broadcast/cable TV programs
• Professionally-Generated Specialty Programming - professional but generally created for a specific subset of online video consumers
• User-Generated Video - created and uploaded by everyday people

Though the production quality, video length, and resolution may vary for each type, consumers use each category for different reasons.

When adding video to your law firm's Web site, it is important to remember why consumers visit your site. They are looking for information about you and/or the type of law that you practice. It is important that your video be representative of you and your firm.

In our own consumer research, we repeatedly heard that attorney videos have to look professional. The goal of your video should be to provide a good feel for what you do and how you do it, and it should avoid being flashy or cheesy. Consumers seeking legal counsel don't want to hear about why you're the best but how your approach could address their specific needs. Your video provides the "human" touch to your Web site and should help drive consumers to contact you for your knowledge and professionalism. That's why it is important to make sure you use high-quality, professionally generated video to draw the type of consumer you want. While videos in the legal vertical aren't specifically classified by the IAB, videos placed on your site should clearly fit into the proper category - Professionally-Generated Specialty Programming.

Linda Palecek

When a consumer needs to hire an attorney, the reason typically involves a stressful situation that can often turn the experience into an intimidating and frightening one. Once that potential client has contacted you, building a rapport may be easy for you, but the consumer may not be committed to taking the leap to hire you. In the Internet Age, people are likely to do research online before making that initial contact. Placing an online video on your Web site offers you the opportunity to create an initial human connection before the potential client even picks up the phone. In fact, it likely will be the deciding factor in getting them to contact you. Your Web site showcases your qualifications, but a video allows you to showcase your warmth and humanity in a way that traditional media cannot.

If you create a professional video that provides the critical "who you are and how you can help" message, you have the ability to reach many potential customers quickly with no on-going effort. Your video will provide an opportunity to make potential customers feel less threatened by their legal issues, which means they may be more inclined to contact and hire you. And the video will contribute to increased traffic and conversions on an ongoing basis as well.

Online video has become a logical marketing investment as internet users are not unfamiliar with watching video online. 75% of internet users are now watch online video. And not only are they watching with more frequency, but the average online video viewer actually watches an average 3.25 hours of video each month. That's up 66% over last year.

We see that many of FindLaw's customers are adding video to their Web sites. One customer, who recently added one of our custom profile products, stated that they not only receive more contacts from their site visitors, but they are converting more of those contacts into actual clients, thanks in large part to the use of online video.

Stephen Kmetz

 

Here's a real-life situation: You decide you need something-a widget-but you've never needed a widget like this before. You've seen widgets and you probably know some friends that have used widgets, but you personally don't have first-hand knowledge of how to find, evaluate, and purchase a widget. So what do you do?

Let's restate the problem, replacing widget with lawyer. How would you begin to investigate which lawyer is best suited to your specific needs? Where would you go to get the type of information you need to make the best decision?

The answer to both questions for most is the Internet.

Research has shown that nearly 3 out of 4 Americans use the Internet on a regular basis, and that figure continues to climb. Some new business owners are shunning traditional advertising and marketing channels in order to focus on developing their Web presence, and we see businesses started prior to 1994 devoting more resources to bringing their online presence to a competitive level. It's safe to say that we've reached a point where not having a Web presence is no longer acceptable and will likely hinder your ability to effectively reach the majority of today's legal services-seeking audience.

But simply having a Web site isn't enough. As quickly as Internet adoption rates have grown, so too has the transition from homegrown sites to robust, multi-faceted, and professionally-developed sites, with many companies hiring and managing internal Web site design teams. Those that don't have the resources to manage a full-time Web staff hire companies that can provide the expertise and services they need. Competition for the millions of people online has become quite fierce and if you don't have a horse in the race, you're simply not going to see results.

So if you're in the game of selling widgets or legal services, making as much information about you and your firm available online in a robust and comprehensive way is a basic necessity for the success of your business. Most people never anticipate their need for a lawyer, but you must ensure that when that need arises, your Web site tells them all they need to know about why, when and how they should hire you.

Eric Fisk

A team of Fellows of the Society for New Communications Research (SNCR) recently released a new research study regarding consumer empowerment to share customer care experiences. The study discusses the effects of social media and new communication tools on disseminating information to a broad group of people. The study found that over 70% of its 320 respondents' research customer care experiences online before considering the purchase of a product or service. It also found that 84% consider feedback on customer care at least some of the time. Furthermore 74% of the respondents agreed with the statement "I choose companies/brands based on others' customer care experiences shared online."

So what should this mean to you? While consumers do share both good and bad experiences online, it means you will want to make certain that the content on your Web site provides a strong indication of the type of customer care you provide. You can do this by providing text and video content on your site that talks about how you handle different types of legal issues. In our own consumer research regarding video, over 70% of consumers indicated they want a feel for the personality of the lawyer. Use your Web site to capture the character of your firm and its people. This can help take the mystery out of the legal process, help erase the intimidation factor, and provide insight to your practice. This is important because as social media and technology continue to advance, you should use all the tools available to put your best foot forward in your web presence. Make sure you're speaking for you.

And if you think only a few people are using social media, the research by the SNCR would beg to differ. Consider this quote from Dr. Ganim Nora Barnes, a Senior Fellow at the SNCR, "... there is a growing group of highly desirable consumers using social media to research companies: 25- to 55-years old, college-educated, earning $100,000+..."

Linda Palecek