According to search marketer Brian Whalley in his article  Google Will Change Web Marketing, posted on the Harvard Business Review blog, Google is on the verge of making a quantum shift in how websites will have to market themselves in 2012.

Over the past year it seems that search engine results pages have presented a varying and continually changing look, including changes to Google Places and also the addition of site links in the search results. The Google Panda update, back in February ‘11, also altered the landscape by increasing the focus on high quality, fresh relevant content, which has always been part of SEO best practices. Although attorney websites along with others that already focused on providing a great user experience and relevant content were minimally affected, the update was noteworthy in that it provided a reminder that Google is constantly in flux.

According to this article, Google is changing again and has come up with a "new method for websites to structure data," so its spiders can more easily access the information. This method is structured around the inclusion of schema, or html tags, used to markup web pages that are recognized by all three of the top search engines. Google, Yahoo and Bing all rely on this mark up code to provide the best possible results for user queries. Using the common vocabulary provided by the search engines offers the best chance to get the most bang for your buck when it comes to web marketing.

By adapting attorney websites to the new crawler friendly format, and including these schemas, it will allow Google easier access to the structured data that is often drawn from databases and converted to HTML, making it difficult to recover. Including the special tags that facilitate the spiders will make it easier to capture the queried information. Search engine results should improve for those sites that follow Google's lead. All that said, the best way to continue to achieve high search engine ranking for your attorney website is to follow Google's prescription for high quality websites. Partnering with the right lawyer marketing firm that adheres to those guidelines and fully understands how these schemas will affect attorney web marketing can be one of the most important steps you take. Here are a few of the other basic qualities that Google looks for as their algorithm assesses which sites to present in their search results:

• Is the info or articles on your site trustworthy?
• Does someone knowledgeable about the topic write the articles?
• Does the website have repetitive or duplicate content?
• Is the content well written?
• Would you go back to the website for more information?
• Do the articles or content provide more information than other similar sites?

As the search landscape continues to evolve there will always be a core group of underlying principles, such as those listed above, that remain less fluid and are the building blocks of a solid attorney website and lawyer marketing program. Finding the right partner to help your law firm grow its Internet presence and improve lead generation is also one of those core steps to success. Although there are a good number of web savvy marketers around, the complexity of the search algorithms is vastly more sophisticated than ever before, making it even more important to have the right team in place.

For more information on websites for attorneys, Internet marketing or for a free evaluation of your current web marketing program contact Rene Perras or visit www.cepac.com.

Rene Perras
Lawyer Marketing 101
208 East 51st Street
Suite 309
New York NY 10022
212-759-1126

Content marketing can be defined as the creation and distribution of original content including case studies, blog posts, video, images and articles with the goal of connecting with prospects, creating leads and boosting the brand of a company.

Lawyer marketing experts have been touting blogs and the consistent addition of fresh content to attorney websites for some time now, but the Panda update to Google has caused many to revisit this strategy and include content marketing for lawyers as a key strategy.

It has always been important to have fresh and unique content to help assist in SEO efforts and also to establish your law firm as an authority on the web in the areas of practice you focus on. Establishing your law firm as an authority also means that you are enhancing the user experience by providing visitors with the information they desperately need when they are doing their research to find the right attorney in their geographic area. Writing articles, blog posts and other content that potential clients would find helpful can be the best way to market your law firm on the web. Content marketing is all about creating relevant content that will educate prospects and cause them to act: to call your law firm or fill out your web form.

In fact a growing number of business-to-business marketers have been focusing more on content marketing than on traditional marketing tactics such as PR, TV advertising, print and radio advertising. Recent research published by HiveFire, Inc. in their B2B Marketing Trends 2011 Survey showed that "eighty-two percent of respondents now use content marketing in their programs. Respondents cited driving leads as the most important marketing objective for their organizations." (http://www.getcurata.com/news-content-marketing-survey-2011)

Many of those polled in the research are utilizing the tactic of mixing new content with other relevant information gleaned from the web via blog posts, videos, news articles and other sources as an alternative to creating "pure" content, since it can still provide highly useful information but is a less daunting task. This practice of finding, organizing and sharing content is referred to as content curation.

Since the Google Panda update, the focus on fresh content on legal blogs and attorney websites has become even stronger among lawyer marketing professionals. The balance in creating content seems to be tipping away from just aggregating content towards using the gleaned information as a jumping off point for your own thoughts and becoming a trusted authority and an additional resource for information. It is more important than ever to create your own "pure" content for your attorney website and blogs in addition to any commentary or analysis crafted with curated content. Syndicating that content so that blogs and influence engines, like Google news, pick it up is also key to achieving your law firm marketing goals.

Content marketing for lawyers and for other enterprises is leading the way in Internet marketing and can help your firm's marketing program create a solid brand and presence on the Internet. For more information on content marketing for lawyers using Smart News Technology, attorney websites or more traditional marketing contact Cepac.com Rene Perras Lawyer Marketing Consultant.

Rene Perras
Lawyer Marketing 101
208 East 51st Street
Suite 309
New York NY 10022
212-759-1126

In an attempt to stay relevant in a society that uses the Yellow Pages less and less, the providers of the various books have moved into the online realm and provide directories and pay-per-click advertising programs for lawyers and others. We have often found that when the Yellow Pages and other providers set up their pay-per-click campaigns, they create a landing page with content copied directly from the attorney website that the firm owns. Often the graphics are also identical. This problem is not exclusive to lawyer marketing done by the Yellow Pages, as other providers are also guilty.

Many attorney SEO consultants will tell you that Google will penalize you for having duplicate content. Only in rare cases when "Google perceives that duplicate content may be shown with intent to manipulate our rankings" will they actually penalize a site.

While Google and the other search engines may not technically penalize an attorney website for duplicate content, they do filter out pages that are duplicated so that they can provide the most relevant search results to a query. Returning multiple pages with the same content would be less than useful and a waste of time for most searchers. So in order to present the most useful search results as possible, duplications of content may not all be returned in the results, leaving owners of those sites not appearing feeling like they have been punished. Realistically articles that are syndicated are published on many sites across the Internet and having your articles published on many sites helps build credibility for your attorney website and firm.

While websites may not be penalized for publishing duplicate content, having multiple URL's with the same pages and content is definitely a problem. That is exactly what a landing page or micro site focusing on a single practice area using your existing content and/or images is. While providers too lazy to develop fresh content may promise you that they have your landing pages on proxy servers or have put code in the html that tells Google's spiders not to crawl your landing page, do you really want to take the chance and have the algorithm filter out your content? According to Google's Webmaster guidelines, they no longer recommend that a site block spiders from crawling duplicate content, they recommend that those pages be marked as duplicate. In any case relying on the word of a provider, that may not care about your lawyer SEO efforts because they are focused strictly on pay-per-click, when you cannot verify their promises can cause frustration at the very least.

The lesson to be learned is to be aware of the potential problems duplicate content can cause when you contract with different lawyer Internet marketing providers or to be even safer, keep your entire attorney Internet marketing under one roof.

For more information on Internet marketing for attorneys or a free evaluation of your lawyer website and any content issues that may be at play, contact Rene Perras or visit Cepac.com.

Rene Perras
Lawyer Marketing 101
208 East 51st Street
Suite 309
New York NY 10022
212-759-1126

Considering that Google+ is not yet available for lawyer marketing efforts, it has created a lot of buzz and anticipation among proponents of social media for lawyers. Google has rolled out the people pages but has put a hold on the business pages for a couple of months so that they can work out the bugs and give Facebook & Twitter a run for their money.

According to reports, Google+ will incorporate the best aspects of both in their platform, enabling easy sharing of content among "circles," but the real anticipation is because they will also be offering the sophisticated analytics they are known for as part of the package. This element is key and will be unique to Google's social platform. Knowing how to target key prospects can potentially make a big difference in the odds for success for lawyer marketing and other business efforts. Hopefully that will also mean that relevant content can be more specifically designed for different types of prospects. And more than anything else, having a data based handle on the results from social media for lawyers is just as important as it is for any other medium, whether it be pay-per-click, SEO, print or TV advertising.

Additionally, lawyer marketing professionals view the competition in the social landscape as a plus for marketers and it seems that the potential for Google+ to become a significant force is real. According to a recent survey by Bloomberg/YouGov, Google has already signed up 13 percent of US adults and will add an additional 9% over the next year. They further reported that Facebook is expected to lose 2% of their market share in the same time. Google's capture of nearly 25 million users in a month's time demonstrates growth that is quicker as a start-up than its rival Facebook was at the outset, but it still has a long way to go to catch up to their nearly three quarters of a billion active users.

If your law firm would like to learn more about how a robust lawyer marketing program utilizing SEO supported by social media for lawyers can elevate your rankings to a new level and create a synergistic increase in prospects for your firm, contact Rene Perras or visit www.cepac.com.

Rene Perras
Lawyer Marketing 101
208 East 51st Street
Suite 309
New York NY 10022
212-759-1126

Social media for lawyers has become an important tool for many lawyer Internet marketing programs, especially now that Google, Bing and the other search engines are incorporating Facebook ‘likes' and other social recommendations in their algorithms to help determine search engine results. And while we strongly recommend the use of social media for lawyers as part of a robust attorney Internet marketing program, it can't be utilized in a haphazard manner. Any solid marketing effort for lawyers or any other business requires a strategy that should be implemented, not just the belief that it is important.

In a recent article in eMarketer, research provided by Jive Software and Penn, Schoen & Berland found that although "78% of executives thought a social business strategy was somewhat or very important to the future success of their business," "nearly half (47%) admitted a social plan was necessary but not a strategic priority." As the world becomes more social and social media becomes more entrenched in our day-to-day society, including business, having the proper strategy in place is what will give lawyer marketing programs a leg-up on the competition.

Social media for lawyers can be a highly effective tool as part of a comprehensive lawyer Internet marketing program when the campaign relies heavily on the creation of content for attorneys, as content is what is going to drive traffic from social media and help create rankings for the very competitive legal silo and its long tail key words. Social media for lawyers or other goods and services works best when expert content is created that engages the audience and influences the sharing of that content. And that requires a solid strategy with a constant and consistent effort to achieve the desired result- converting prospects to clients.

Cepac lawyer marketing offers highly effective lawyer Internet marketing programs, social media for lawyers and online public relations; along with more traditional lawyer marketing approaches including TV, radio and print advertising.

For more information about social media for lawyers contact Rene Perras or visits www.cepac.com

Rene Perras
Lawyer Marketing 101
208 East 51st Street
Suite 309
New York NY 10022
212-759-1126

 In a recent article about lawyer blogs in the National Law Journal, Adrian Dayton poses the question, "Are some firms too big to blog"? In his piece he states that the largest law firms have shied away from allowing their attorneys to craft their own brands because he believes that it is a "calculated strategy" to "control the message."

While his article is geared towards the largest and highest grossing law firms in the nation, he makes several excellent points that pertain to lawyer marketing for firms of all different stripes. Personal injury law firms, family lawyers and accident attorneys also derive the majority of their new cases from friend to friend referrals and searches on the web. And now with the inclusion of Facebook "likes" in search results, even those lines will become more and more blurry.

Every attorney at every firm potentially has their own brand. By capitalizing on that online brand, attorneys focusing on a variety of practice areas can catapult their online presence to a new level. By carefully building an online reputation as an authority in your practice area and geographical sphere of influence, you can gain the upper hand on your competition. Potential clients searching the web will look at your lawyer website, but even greater credibility is created by personal posts on relevant topics on your lawyer blog. A firm that has several attorneys that have achieved prominence on the web elevates the brand of the law firm. The total is greater than the sum of the parts. Even with a well-known firm name in your area, most prospects hire the lawyer that they connect with, not the firm, per se. Clients want to know what you have to say, not just what your website says about you.

Although lawyer blogs are crawled by the search engine spiders and adding fresh relevant content to your website via your blog is beneficial for search engine optimization, by syndicating articles and press releases your lawyer blog can move to the next level.

Cepac offers private label newsrooms using proprietary Smart News Technology that works like a lawyer blog on steroids. The system prompts you to help optimize your posts for the best chance of pickup on the web. Cepac's nearly 1000 newswire partners, including Google News and PR Newswire spread your news like wildfire amplifying your stature and web presence.

This powerful link baiting tool can help catapult your Internet lawyer marketing efforts and give you an edge over your competition that can make the difference between just getting more unique visitors to your lawyer website and converting them to clients.

For more information on a lawyer blog for your firm, Smart News Technology or other lawyer marketing initiatives, contact Rene Perras.

Rene Perras
Lawyer Marketing 101
208 East 51st Street
Suite 309
New York NY 10022
212-759-1126

Attention lawyer marketing professionals: according to eMarketer, adults 55 years and older, who were once slower adopters of social media, have now begun to connect with brands at a pace almost consistent with younger adults, so give some serious thought to social media for lawyers.

Over the last year and a half mature Facebook users have begun to like brands at a much higher rate than ever before, increasing from 25% to nearly 50%. That is important news for law firm marketing programs, as this older and more financially situated demographic will connect to stay informed, or because of an already established relationship.

If your law firm has shied away from social media as part of your law firm marketing program, now might be the right time to jump on the bandwagon. At nearly 50% there is a long way to go to capture that adult market and for your firm to take advantage of this trend. As Facebook likes and other social media elements become greater components of search engine results, it will become even more important to adopt social media tactics for lawyer marketing. While it might seem that for need driven businesses like personal injury or family law might not maintain a strong following, as past and current clients along with members of a lawyer's off line network join the online social network, the momentum will climb. Search engine results will be affected by the number of likes one firm has versus their competition.

Social media for lawyers and likes on Facebook are akin to the new word of mouth. Integrating a like button on a website is just like asking for a recommendation. In fact, eMarketer has reported that "in 2011, 34% of US social network users told the research firm, ROI Research, they were at least somewhat more loyal to brands they were fans of on Facebook." Loyalty breeds word of mouth recommendations on the Internet.

If you are interested in learning more about how social media campaigns for lawyers can boost your practice and bottom line, contact Rene Perras for more information on attorney Internet marketing, online legal PR or websites for law firms.

Rene Perras
Lawyer Marketing 101
208 East 51st Street
Suite 309
New York NY 10022
212-759-1126

As legal business development trainer Larry Bodine noted in his article Top 8 SEO Mistakes to Avoid in Lawyer Marketing, "SEO is an important part of the work that goes into a website. Just a single mistake could be detrimental to your traffic and rankings. " He pointed out his list of the biggest mistakes that by law firm marketers should be careful to avoid. I wanted to add to his list, as the world of SEO and Internet marketing for lawyers has changed and there are some new pitfalls to be avoided at all costs.

Not choosing a key word rich URL.

One of the ways that the search engine algorithms can determine the relevancy of a page for delivery is based on the URL. If your law firm marketing positions your firm as a New York personal injury firm, then having a URL that includes related terms can help give you an advantage over your competitors and also with Google Places.

Not claiming and optimizing your Google Places listing.

Google Places now accounts for many of the top listing on the search engine results pages. While it is free to claim your listing, it requires a full on lawyer SEO effort to capture and maintain your listing in the top group. Nowadays, if you don't appear in the local search results, you may not be on page one. That is especially true with the number of potential clients searching on their smart phones.

Using legal jargon for your keywords rather than the terms your clients use.

Consumers don't use lawyer-speak. If a prospect that has never been involved in a lawsuit before, fell in the parking lot of a local restaurant would they know to search for a premises liability lawyer? Would they know that they should search for the same if they were the victim of an attack because of poor lighting or security in the same lot? In certain cases like DUI, the search terms may be obvious, but for many practice areas, potential client search like they speak, not how you do. Market your law firm for how consumers search, not how you would.

Hosting an attorney blog but not sharing any news or content.

Just having an attorney blog may be helpful for adding fresh content for search engines like Google, but it is not a great vehicle for link building or SEO for lawyer marketing. Sharing content through social media and rss feeds can help create valuable links to your blog or website and help improve your results in the search engine results pages (SERPS). It can also help develop social media relationships and convert your audience into clients.

Creating back links only to your home page.

The more back links you have to your inside pages, the greater the sum will be than the parts. Over linking to your law firm home page will ultimately lead to a plateau in your rankings. The stronger the interior pages are, the stronger the entire lawyer website will be.

Focusing on the quantity of new content rather than the quality.

Google is looking for fresh new content, not key word jammed duplicate content copied from other sites or from content farms. Rumor has it that down the road, original content will take even greater precedence over repurposed text. Ultimately, it is better for your lawyer marketing efforts to craft articles and blog postings that are as unique as possible.

While I am sure that there are still many other pitfalls that can upset your lawyer marketing efforts and inhibit your return on investment, I believe that we have covered many of the most common lawyer SEO errors to avoid, other than to not go it alone. Hiring a seasoned lawyer marketing and SEO professional with a proven track record in the legal marketing industry can give your law firm both peace of mind and a great chance for new client acquisition.

For more information on SEO for lawyers, attorney websites or any other lawyer marketing issues, contact Rene Perras.

Rene Perras
Lawyer Marketing 101
208 East 51st Street
Suite 309
New York NY 10022
212-759-1126

Much has been written by lawyer marketing professionals and others about the imminent death of TV as an advertising medium because of the geometric rise in the use of the Internet and mobile screens. The real question is whether new media is replacing TV viewership or just improving the experience. The answer is important to law firm marketers.

Nationwide research by the Leichtman Research Group found in a recent study that "30% of US households have a television set connected to the Internet, up from 24% last year." They also reported that the "percentage of adults watching video from the Internet on a connected TV doubled over the same period, to 10%."

Interestingly enough, a large influence on the numbers is subscribership to Netflix, which provides streaming TV via the Internet. For their subscribers Internet connected video watching reached 30% vs. the 10% noted above. More importantly, as quoted in the Hollywood Reporter, Bruce Leichtman, president of the research firm stated: "Even with this growth in emerging video services, this isn't creating a significant trend in consumers ‘cutting the cord' to multi-channel video services - including cable, satellite and telco video services."

While we recommend taking full advantage of web videos both on a lawyer website and on social media platforms like YouTube, this data bodes well for lawyer TV marketing efforts. There is no question that creating and maintaining top-of-mind awareness and a solid brand image with TV advertising also supports all other forms of lawyer marketing such as SEO for law firms and attorney pay-per-click ads.

The goal for a need-driven service is to be the first name that comes to mind when the need arises, or to be seen by enough eyeballs on a regular basis so that your message is heard at the right time. That means staying in the game for the long haul and not testing the waters for 2-3 months.

As in all lawyer advertising, the key is to try and clearly differentiate your law firm from the competition. While the various state Bars may make that a challenge, one way is in the production values of the TV campaign. I am sure that everyone has seen spots where a wooden looking attorney standing in front of a law library tries to convince consumers that his firm can help. It is better to air high quality law firm TV spots that speak equally highly of your firm for a longer period of time than to produce new average spots more frequently. Cepac has a long history of creating successful lawyer TV campaigns that create awareness and make the phone ring.

For more information on TV for lawyers or attorney web video production contact Rene Perras.

Rene Perras
Lawyer Marketing 101
208 East 51st Street
Suite 309
New York NY 10022
212-759-1126

Google is taking new steps to make their local search and Google Places more relevant and make the Yellow Pages even more irrelevant for marketing programs for lawyers and other local businesses.

As many law firm marketers already know, Google changed their cumbersome local business center, opened in 2005, to Google Places last April. Subsequently, it has made the Google Places even more important by reserving up to seven of the top spots on their search engine results pages (SERPS), as most searches for goods and services are geographically oriented. Now in an effort to play catch up with Facebook, Groupon and other social network sites that are rapidly becoming more and more popular, Google is focusing on ad products that are geographically targeted. In fact, Facebook recently became the most popular marketing channel for local businesses.

Two of the new ad programs work in conjunction with Google Places. One is called Tags, which places a yellow flag on the Places listing and a pushpin on the map highlighting the location. The second product that was just recently launched is called Boost. Businesses create a short blurb about their products or services, list their URL and set a budget. Google automatically creates a search engine marketing campaign for the advertiser and selects the appropriate key words for the ad that appears with other PPC ads at the top of the page.

While every Google ad program is not right for legal marketing, their focus on local advertising is based on the fact that regardless of the final determining factors in choosing a law firm or any other service, in most cases, proximity to a searcher is usually the starting point.

Regardless, obtaining and keeping your position in Google Places requires more than just signing up for the service. It requires expertise in SEO for lawyers and consistent ongoing efforts for your law firm to achieve this critical real estate. Google Boost may be a useful tool for less competitive arenas than the practice of law, but it makes good sense to get a seasoned lawyer marketing team to help in the selection of key words to develop any pay-per-click campaign to make it as effective as possible.

For more information on Google Places for lawyers, legal website design or a complete lawyer marketing program for your law firm contact Rene Perras.

Rene Perras
Lawyer Marketing 101
208 East 51st Street
Suite 309
New York NY 10022
212-759-1126

While Google may still dominate the pay-per-click landscape for law firm marketing and for other goods and services, recent studies have shown that most searchers may be missing the pay-per-click ads completely. As reported by eMarketer, an eye tracking study by user experience firm User Centric showed that "organic search results were viewed 100% of the time, but only 28% of participants looked at the right-side ads on Google." Even more telling was the amount of time participants spent reviewing the natural search results vs the ads. The research showed that participants viewing Google search results spent an average of 14.7 seconds per page and about 10.7 seconds per page on Bing search results. Less than one second was spent viewing the pay-per click ads on either search engine.

In spite of the accuracy of the research, law firm marketers should be aware that the study was done in a staged environment with specific key words assigned to participants who may or may not have been using their search engine of preference. What this means is that although there is still a place for pay-per-click advertising for attorneys, it does not take the place of an effective lawyer search engine optimization (SEO) program. Web users have gained knowledge through experience and some overlook the pay-per-click ads deliberately rather than because of where they are placed on the page.

In addition, as the web evolves search behavior does as well. Social media sites like Facebook are becoming more of a venue for search and gathering information or recommendations about goods and services than ever before. With the evolution of search behavior and the evolution of the search engine algorithms, it has become increasingly important to have the appropriate lawyer marketing team on your side so your marketing strategy can keep pace with the changes. Whether those changes are to aspects of search like Google Local or to the overall methodology of SEO, having seasoned lawyer Internet marketing professionals may be the key to your future lead generation success on the web.

If you would like more information on SEO for lawyers or how your law firm can leverage social media to boost your firm's visibility, contact Rene Perras.

Rene Perras
Lawyer Marketing 101
208 East 51st Street
Suite 309
New York NY 10022
212-759-1126

Any lawyer marketing consultant worth his salt will tell you that, as part of any lawyer marketing program, social media is good for branding and that it can be helpful in maintaining your search engine rankings by providing link support. One key aspect of any lawyer SEO program is to develop links back to your site from websites with authority status, as Google considers those to be votes of confidence on the stature of your website. While social media links are considered to be from authoritative websites, for a variety of reasons, they often don't pass on the same level of benefit that comes from other authoritative domains. The key is to get many social media links back to your site, as Google in its quest for relevant search results will conclude that your lawyer website is relevant because so many back links can't be wrong. In addition, with Google Universal, videos posted to YouTube can also be optimized and appear on search engine results pages (SERPs).

But is there a downside to having a YouTube videos or Facebook presence, and should trial lawyers be nervous about social media? Many trial lawyers are concerned about the public's ability to post content on their law firm Facebook wall or YouTube account. They worry that an unsatisfied client, beaten opponent, disgruntled consumer or someone they have personally alienated will post unflattering commentary that, in effect, will tarnish the brand and reputation that they have worked so hard to create.

One of the main attributes and goals of social media is to start a dialogue with potential clients, and the best approach is to address any negative postings in a positive and balanced way. Many customer service oriented companies have used this dialogue to change their reputation in the mind of the public and turn around a negative perception. If your law firm would like to take advantage of the benefits of social media link building for lawyers or YouTube videos for law firms gaining traction because of Google Universal, there are techniques that can be employed to minimize the potential for comments that my upset your branding and traffic building goals.

First of all, law firm YouTube channels can be set up with the following comment options:

• Allow comments automatically
• Allow comments with approval only
• Don't allow comments

Facebook offers similar restrictions on commenting on a law firm Facebook page. When set up properly, although a business page is public, visitors can only "like" a firm and Facebook allows various levels of security so you can restrict who can write on your wall or comment on your story. It is important to monitor any "fan requests" and respond accordingly.

If you would like more information on social media for lawyers, creating up a legal YouTube channel or set up and management of a law firm Facebook account, contact Rene Perras.

Rene Perras
Lawyer Marketing 101
208 East 51st Street
Suite 309
New York NY 10022
212-759-1126

As reported in PC Magazine, the Wall Street Journal and other publications, Google has accused Bing of cheating claiming, "their testing has concluded that Bing is copying Google search results." Google claims to have run a "sting" operation and altered their results algorithm to see if Bing would do the same. Microsoft denies that they copied, but indicated that the company does study how users interact with Google to improve Bing, as one of more than 1000 such signals. One question for lawyer marketing professionals is, if the allegation is true is this really such a bad thing for their legal clients?

Many firms that do SEO for lawyers place the lion's share of their focus on Google search results because it is the dominant search engine in the marketplace. It is important not to overlook Bing and Yahoo, as there are still consumers that utilize these search engines as well, and Bing has been creeping up in the number of searches it performs.

That said, the work for legal Internet marketers would be that much easier if all of the search engines utilized the same algorithms. These formulas are constantly changing and SEO is a full time endeavor to keep pace with the changes and maintain the Internet real estate achieved on the search engine results pages (SERPS). A great example of a major change is the way in which Google changed their focus from Google Maps to Google Places several months ago.

Google maps, also known as the 10 Pack, took up space at the top of the SERPS yet still allowed for 10 search results on page one. With Google Places the first 3-7 spots on page one can be taken based on the search terms used and the geographic info provided by your computer's IP address. The natural results of a search now often appear under these top spots in Places moving them down on the page. Obtaining and maintaining your law firm's position in Google Places requires an ongoing effort as this algorithm also is in constant flux.

If your law firm marketing program does not include SEO for lawyers or your position in Google Places is below lesser law firms in your geographic area of influence, contact Rene Perras to find out how to jump-start your new client acquisitions and grow your law firm's practice.

Rene Perras
Lawyer Marketing 101
208 East 51st Street
Suite 309
New York NY 10022
212-759-1126

As part of any lawyer marketing program, Google Places or Google Local has been getting a lot of buzz since it was revised a couple of months ago. It has been touted as the best way to reach thousands of Google searchers in your law firm's area of influence, since most consumers now search online for goods and services rather than in the Yellow Pages.

There are a few major misconceptions about getting placed at the top of the list and for legal services and others that are equally competitive it is not as simple as making sure you claim your name and make certain that the information associated with the listing is accurate.

While just following Google's checklist and creating an account for your name will ensure that your name and info are listed, it by no means guarantees that your name will appear in or near the top group. Since Google Places was modified a few months ago often there may be as many as seven map listings above most of the naturally searched or organic listings.

Google has created a completely different algorithm that it employs to determine the placement of all of the listings within a local category, like injury lawyers, that appear based on the terms used in the search. This local algorithm contains potentially thousands of variables, so in order for your law firm to appear in the group at the top, your listing must include more of those elements than your competitors who are vying for the same Internet real estate and most likely utilizing similar key words.

Your lawyer marketing program can take advantage of Google places, but it helps to have a legal SEO expert to assist in setting up and maintaining the listing to drive prospects to your law firm. A top lawyer marketing firm can perform key word research to determine the most relevant search terms in your locality. These keywords help optimize your listing to offer the best chance to achieve the results your law firm needs to be competitive. Google's results are based on impartial mathematical formulas that are always changing, requiring an ongoing effort to maintain your ranking.

That said, having a robust SEO for lawyers program in place seems to be one of the elements that helps boost positioning in Google Places. That is an ancillary benefit to having your website ranked highly in search engine results pages which naturally is a key goal of any lawyer Internet marketing program.

If you want to learn more about how your law firm can get placement at the top of Google Places for lawyers or about SEO for your law firm, contact Rene Perras.

Rene Perras
Lawyer Marketing 101
208 East 51st Street
Suite 309
New York NY 10022
212-759-1126

Lately there has been a lot of buzz in the Internet marketing world about potential legislation proposed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which would create a revolutionary privacy system that would allow consumers to opt out of data capturing by websites they visit. The privacy program utility would be built into web browsers like Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari and would require that by the check of a box, opting out, consumers would prevent websites from collecting cookies that track their web behavior.

While legal marketers and other Internet marketing specialists are greatly concerned about the potential damage to the ever-growing Internet marketing arena, which according to a 2009 Interactive Advertising Bureau study, "an estimated 80% of all online ad campaigns use some form of behavioral targeting technology," consumers seem to be less concerned and are focused more on the invasion of their privacy. Even though the benefits of viewing ads that are targeted to their specific needs might seem to outweigh the negative of being presented with useless advertising, most consumers would opt out.

According to a recent USA Today/Gallup poll more than two thirds of consumers "don't believe advertisers should be allowed to target online ads to their interests based on the sites they have visited," reports Emarketer. Even offers of access to free content barely moved the needle, although some respondents were comfortable with allowing behavioral targeting by a few advertisers of their selection.

As is true for much of the confidential data collected about consumer shopping habits, both on and offline, ignorance is bliss. Most consumers avoid focusing on the vast data collected about their credit card use, frequent buyer programs at supermarkets and the various discount and rebates they readily fill out and send in. The same has been true for Internet marketing, as many users know about cookies and notice repetitive display ads appearing on many sites they visit, but give little thought to the mechanism behind it. As this proposed legislation has become more prominent in the news, the public is faced with a glimpse of reality that they find quite distasteful.

There are many ways to effectively include Internet marketing for lawyers, including legal blogs, SEO for law firms and pay-per-click. Some strategies can incorporate behavioral targeting but there is also a vast array of methodology for lawyer marketing that does not require it. Partnering with an experienced lawyer marketing firm can help you navigate the waters and drive unique visitors to your website and increase your conversion rates to capture more new clients.

For more information on Internet marketing strategies for lawyers or law firm websites, contact Rene Perras.

Rene Perras
Lawyer Marketing 101
208 East 51st Street
Suite 309
New York NY 10022
212-759-1126

Lawyer marketing and lead generation to grow the practice of a firm under the shadow of the various state bar advertising rules can be a daunting and time consuming task. While each state adopts their own lawyer advertising rules, there are certain guidelines that are generally consistent, regardless of requirements to self regulate or submit advertising for bar review. Whether it's a print ad, a billboard, website or TV spots, it takes time and experience to make your way through the maze.

Law firms that practice and advertise in overlapping media markets or in national campaigns have an even greater challenge than those in isolated markets. Requirements may seem similar but are not always equal. For example, Florida prohibits the use of language that "promises results" whereas New York allows statements that are "likely to create an expectation about results the lawyer can achieve." NY also allows statements that "compare the lawyer's services with other lawyers" and "characterize the quality of a lawyer's services" both of which FL prohibits.

To make matters more complicated, the US Supreme Court recently refused to review the issue of how far lawyers can go to attract new clients. This decision leaves in place a Federal Court ruling invalidating portions of NY state's lawyer advertising rules. The rules prohibited the use of alternate names and slogans that might suggest that the firm possessed an unproven ability to win cases. The new rules were designed to prevent false or misleading advertisements, however the rules were viewed as a freedom of speech issue and would have potential impact on advertising for almost all industries that advertise. Either way, it will certainly have an impact on the bar advertising rules for lawyers in many other states where the rules are already fairly stringent.

Whether your law firm marketing initiatives will include TV advertising, direct mail, print advertising or Internet advertising and SEO for lawyers, it is important to align yourself with an attorney marketing firm that is highly experienced in working within the various state lawyer advertising rules and crafting legal advertising that compels and complies.

For more information on traditional and Internet marketing for lawyers that drives the bottom line and meets the regulations, contact Rene Perras.

Rene Perras
Lawyer Marketing 101
208 East 51st Street
Suite 309
New York NY 10022
212-759-1126

Just as many law firm marketers focus their attention on Google, the 600 lb. gorilla in the room, and think less about the other search engines, many also just focus on Facebook as if it were the only social destination for lawyers.

Most attorneys are familiar with LinkedIn and its exclusive focus as a network for professionals in an environment that fits in better with business and employment networking rather than reconnecting with high school friends. LinkedIn has always been more about sharing knowledge and business through recommendations and connections than sharing personal lives. In fact, many of the features offered by Facebook have been either passed over or added later, perhaps as the comfort zone for social media has grown.

One of those features that have recently been added and is causing a lot of buzz is the new "Company Pages" feature. In the space of a single week more than 40,000 companies have signed up. While similar to Facebook pages, this tool reaches a different pool of prospects and will become important for law firm marketing professionals to use to promote their law firms and communicate with potential clients and other lawyers. This will become even more effective as members start to become more aware of the new feature and develop an affinity for it.

As is true for traditional lawyer marketing like TV for attorneys, lawyer referral direct mail and outdoor advertising, the key to success lies in having a strong media mix. It is fine to start out with a Facebook page for your law firm but a broad approach that includes Twitter, LinkedIn Company Pages and other Web 2.0 properties as part of the media mix for your lawyer marketing plan will add value and diversify your target audience.

To find out more about how social media marketing for lawyers can help generate and convert new clients for your law firm, contact Rene Perras.

Rene Perras
Lawyer Marketing 101
208 East 51st Street
Suite 309
New York NY 10022
212-759-1126

Google Places also called Google Local or the Seven Pack is a system created by Google that can be instrumental to lawyer marketing efforts, as it was devised to help businesses be found by web searchers in their local sphere of influence. When set up properly, your law firm will appear at the top of the search engine results page (SERP) with your name, address, phone number and link to your website for the keywords that have been associated with your listing. Functionality has been upgraded to enable snapshots of your home page, videos or photos to appear with just a click.

While it is certainly possible to set up a Google local lawyer listing yourself, Google determines which listings will show up for the key words typed into the search box by applying its local algorithm. This formula is based on many variables so for your listing to appear in the group at the top, it must include more of the variables than other law firms competing for the same real estate using the same or similar key words. What that means to your lawyer marketing program is that it is helpful to have a legal SEO expert to assist in acquiring and maintaining the listing and driving business to your law firm. The right law firm marketing shop can perform key word research to ascertain what are the most relevant search terms in your area of influence. These keywords are used to optimize your listing to provide the best chance for success in achieving the desired results. Google's results are based on impartial mathematical formulas that are in a constant state of change, requiring an ongoing effort to maintain the ranking.

Additionally, with 80 percent of US consumers now owning smart phones the demand for mobile search is rapidly increasing. That is especially true for those consumers that utilize their smart phones as their only access point to the Internet. These particular consumers are also among the prime prospects for law firm search, as they tend to be less affluent and may lack the social network to obtain a referral. Google local can be configured for the mobile web.

In the incredibly competitive arena of law, Internet searches are one of the most significant ways potential clients research their options with regard to hiring an attorney. Having a website is a given, and Google Local is rapidly emerging as one of the must-have weapons in your arsenal so that your law firm can be found.

For more information on SEO for lawyers or how Google Local for law firms can ramp up your lawyer marketing efforts, contact Rene Perras.

Rene Perras
Lawyer Marketing 101
208 East 51st Street
Suite 309
New York NY 10022
212-759-1126

Over the last few years, more and more law firm marketers have adopted search engine optimization (SEO) as a key weapon in their lawyer marketing arsenal. With millions of consumers doing research to find the appropriate lawyer for their needs it is imperative to elevate your legal website's Google search results above your competition. This can be achieved by using pay-per-click advertising or by improving natural search results through SEO, the process of optimizing your legal website so that it ranks higher in the search results for certain search terms and semantic themes. The majority of consumers choose natural results over pay-per-click.

SEO is a long-term commitment and although it is possible to get instant results, more often than not, for a very competitive field like personal injury law the process requires a consistent ongoing effort. Virtually all of the competition in a law firm's geographic sphere of influence typically is competing for the same search engine real estate by focusing on similar key words and by building links.

It is important to home in on the specific areas of practice that your law firm focuses on or would like to develop and to do so like a laser beam. The reason for the specificity of focus is that although Google's algorithm is highly complex, to put it in an overly simplistic way, Google uses two basic factors in determining where your website should be on the search engine results page (SERP). Google looks at the relevancy of the content on your legal website compared to the terms searched for, and also looks at how many highly relevant sites are linked back to your site. The higher the number of links and the higher the PageRank of the sites linking back to your site the better the chance of appearing on page one in a high position. We recommend using syndicated news releases as a technique to add content and attract links through our Smart News Technology platform.

Google describes PageRank as "Pages that we believe are important pages receive a higher PageRank and are more likely to appear at the top of the search results. PageRank also considers the importance of each page that casts a vote, as votes from some pages are considered to have greater value, thus giving the linked page greater value". The more relevant your content and the more highly ranked relevant links your legal website attracts, the higher your PageRank and the better your search engine results will be.

Occasionally, some of our clients that have outlined to us the areas of practice they would like to optimize for in their syndicated news releases and on their web pages, want to shift gears and try to attract clients for a practice area based on publicized recalls of products, for example.

One reason that it is important to stay focused on specific areas of practice and their associated key words is because the addition of content containing completely different keywords can dilute the relevancy of the content on the pages and attract less relevant links from associated sites. When this is done as a one-off reaction to a story in the news versus the ongoing consistent addition of content and links, the result can be to cause a backslide in search engine results.

Outlining a clear lawyer Internet marketing plan with your SEO consultants can go a long way to achieving the goals your law firm has outlined. Finding the right marketing partner is important and working closely with them assists in your understanding of the process and in maintaining realistic goals.

For more information on SEO for lawyers, content writing or Smart News Technology, contact Rene Perras

Rene Perras
Lawyer Marketing 101
208 East 51st Street
Suite 309
New York NY 10022
212-759-1126

A new report by eMarketer indicated that properly crafted and produced TV spots can perform well when repurposed for the Internet, which bodes well for lawyer marketing programs. Research released in September demonstrated that TV spots used on the web created higher brand awareness than those ads produced specifically for the Internet.

The results also showed that although brand awareness was improved for the entire range of ages, the intent to purchase or give consideration to a purchase was the highest for the demographic of 18-34 year olds. Clearly this is a positive development with regard to production costs of producing TV spots. We recommend producing TV spots with high production values that fulfill the three main goals of advertising: image, top-of-mind awareness and traffic building. The ability to use high quality TV spots on the web can give your lawyer marketing program a boost over your competition.

The findings pointed out that what is important is not necessarily whether the ad was originally created for the web or for TV, but whether the viewer found the ad to be informative and relevant to their needs. While the survey was conducted for a variety of business categories, some scored higher than others in the percentage of viewers that watched the entire ad. Certain products were more appealing to the viewers and engaged the viewer to a greater extent. This factor may be less important for law firm web marketers, as personal injury law is strictly need driven. Those who have the need for representation would naturally tend to be more engaged and that is the target for legal marketers.

Law firm marketing can reach new levels when prospects are faced with a consistent message across many touch points. Video, whether produced originally for a lawyer TV campaign or specifically for Internet marketing including YouTube and website videos, can help create top-of-mind awareness and presents law firm marketers with the best chance to be in front of prospects when the need arises.

To learn more about lawyer TV ad production or how you can take advantage of YouTube and other web video marketing tactics for law firms, contact Rene Perras.

Rene Perras
Lawyer Marketing 101
208 East 51st Street
Suite 309
New York NY 10022
212-759-1126