Even if you’re at the top of the search engines, you’re vulnerable to new competition. Go to sleep at #1, wake up at #4. Is this a risk you’re willing to take when marketing your law firm online?
A few days ago, I was semi–involved in a debate that was raging on an e-mail discussion list in which I am a member. One person asked a question about marketing your law firm online with a blog, and a lawyer started touting the fact that his website ranked at the top of the organic search engine results for his chosen search term. The lawyer in question does no blogging whatsoever, and essentially stated that blogging was worthless to his efforts at marketing his law firm online.
Of course, this being a marketing discussion group, chaos ensued fairly rapidly. The resident legal marketing professionals jumped all over this poor guy, and basically proclaimed him to be full of shit.
But here’s where it gets interesting. Not only does the lawyer in question do no blogging, he produces no content on any of its websites. They’re all extremely thin, and none of them stand out whatsoever. They’re all filled with the same trite, empty language that is so pervasive on law firm websites. To him, marketing his law firm online didn’t require any content production strategy. And his results were, to his mind, proof that his theories worked.
If I were to hazard a guess I would say that the attorney has ensured his high rankings based on off–page search engine optimization. By that I’m talking about massive numbers of back links to his site from other sites, with appropriate anchor text tied to his chosen search term.
Assuming this to be the case, and further assuming that there is no funny business or “black hat” tactics being employed, then I applaud this attorney for his efforts. Undoubtedly, he gets a tremendous amount of traffic and, I would assume, quite a bit of business as a result of his efforts to market his law firm online.
So, you see, this stands as proof of the fact that you need not blog in order to attain a high search engine ranking for a single term. I would go so far as to say that you don’t need to blog in order to do well for any term whatsoever.
The fact, however, doesn’t mean a thing. We all know that Google and the other search engines reward websites with more content over those that are thin. We also know that people who visit your website are more inclined to hire you after seeing the depth of your expertise reflected in your blog posts.
So even if this attorney ranks very well for a narrowly-defined search term (which may or may not get enough traffic to sustain him), it’s unlikely that he’s able to capture a tremendous percentage of those site visitors and convert them into paying clients. People are searching for information, and won’t stop looking for answers until they find them. If they happen to find them on the top–ranked site that matches their query, then they will go no further. However, if their first click does not result in an informative answer to their question then they are likely to move to the next site presented by the search engines.
I’m sure that my colleague does very well now, but his attitude with respect to his efforts to market his law firm online makes him an easy target. If one of his local competitors establishes a new website and continually adds content that is relevant, in formative, and optimize for the search engines as well as for human visitors then the likelihood is that this new site will quickly rise to the top of search engine rankings with very little effort.
How about you? Are you willing to take on this sort of risk when marketing your law firm online?
Image credit: mlhradio (Flickr)
I think you are exactly right. By adding good new content over an extended period of time he would be rewarded with new hits for searches he would never have dreamed about.Since I have been blogging the number of visitors that arrive at my site due to searches such as: "how to…., What happens when…" went from pretty much 0 to probably 80% of new visitors. My traffic has probably doubled or maybe even tripled and I was someone that ranked for some specific search terms before also.
Jay,
I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that a potential client that doesn't find the answer to their question will go elsewhere. The more savvy people get online the less likely they only click on the first result in the SERPS.
Too many attorney websites focus only on "who we are" as a firm but do very little in providing valuable content and answers to a potential client's questions. Granted, you have to tell people what sets you a part but when you answer questions and provide valuable content – you become THE expert that the client is looking for. Not to mention, more content gives you better results on long tail searches. Great post!
Damon Duncan
This is the same issue I am presented with from other lawyers who market online. Of the bunch I am the only one actively blogging. I will say this. In 7 months I have gone from non-existent to the first page above the fold for most of my search terms. The only thing the others have that I don't is length of time. One younger attorney who has a decent site with no blog sees me as a clear threat, but he doesn't understand how I am doing it without pay per click like he is using.
I will just sit here with my laptop popping out content.
With all the changes going on in the Google algorythms due to the new implementation of Google Instant, lawyers along with anyone else who has focused all their energy on SEO strategies are going in for a sad surprise.
Google instant is the new search engine being used by google. It stands to be seen how many people are going to wait and type the whole key term and how many people are going to actually use it. In other words, all the money spent on SEO optimization may have been thrown out the window.
The key to holding a constant and professional presence online is to use several methods of establishing your presence. Social media is the best way to do this now. Not only does it allow the lawyer to connect with its target demographic, it also positions them as an expert in their field and differentiates them by showing their personality, accessibility, and knowledge.
Sonia Gallagher, Esq.
Business Development Consultant
http://www.timeforlifenow.com
I'd disagree with Sonia in a matter of degrees, Seo efforts aren't thrown out the window, just downgraded. Four years ago my site ranked 1 for like a ton of synonyms and plurals and practice areas. Now you have to target them individually, but having a powerful site makes it easier.
Exactly, David. SEO is the process of being found by people who are searching for you; social media allows for exposure to people with whom you have already established an affinity. Ignoring one or the other is a mistake, so lawyers need to pay attention to both aspects of their online legal marketing.
If your trying the real of social marketing for your law firm I would suggest that you take a look at twiends.com they are basically a social exchange for facebook and twitter. When ever you like someones page of following someone on twitter someone will do the same for your law firm twitter and facebook page. I would also look into joining a free legal directory called Legal Tells. You can create a profile and start receiving free traffic to your firm. You can visit the site here http://www.legaltells.com/