Press releases can be useful for lawyers, even in this digital day and age. It’s a good way to get out the word about some newsworthy event like a major victory or new initiative, though cultivating relationships with the press before you have a potential story is far more likely to bear fruit. Still, sometimes the old ways are good enough.
Lots of lawyers are using online press releases as a means of attracting valuable inbound links and attention, thereby raising their SEO profiles. Nothing wrong with that, either.
The disturbing trend I’ve been seeing, however, is the dissemination of online press releases for evens that are far from newsworthy. It’s the online equivalent of broadcasting your child’s first successful use of the potty.
Actually, it’s worse than that because the potty trip is exciting for at least the parents and grandparents.
Consider, for example, the free consultation in bankruptcy. In many areas, the lawyer doesn’t charge for their first visit with a potential client to talk about bankruptcy. It’s a non-issue no matter how you slice it.
In spite of that fact, some lawyer in Los Angeles has taken it upon himself to pump out a press release claiming, “Los Angeles Bankruptcy Lawyer, Hamid Soleimanian, Offers Free Consultation for Personal Bankruptcy Cases.”
To channel the Church Lady, “Well, isn’t that special?”
Think that’s one-in-a-million? Guess again, my friend.
Another bankruptcy lawyer – this one in Tahoe, California – has put out a release stating, “Reputed Bankruptcy Attorney is Now Serving the Tahoe Area, California.” I’d let this one slide if it weren’t so painfully obvious that it was crafted solely for the perceived SEO benefits. Take this section of the, “release,” worded so badly as to make the reader doubt whether these lawyers can properly speak and write the English language:
“We help our Tahoe bankruptcy clients get out of debt and go on with their lives. Being in bankruptcy practice for more than 13 years, we have filed and handled thousands of cases and have helped them to save millions of dollars”, says the spokesperson of Bk-help.com, when commenting about their services.
Free consultation is offered by the law firm for Tahoe area residents who finds them in difficult financial situations. “We deliver a Tahoe bankruptcy attorney representation that is second to none with our focus on providing courtesy and excellence to all our bankruptcy clients”, the spokesperson adds further.
There are more, but I thought it best not to belabor the point.
A press release can be a useful tool, or it can make you look like you’re blatantly gaming the search engines with useless crap to clog up the pipeline. I’m willing to make a bet that after a few releases like the ones above, the law firms will never get a second glance – even in the event that these folks have something newsworthy to report.
The ones I’ve highlighted here do nothing of value to the world. They’re outright manipulations of the system, making the lawyers look bad. The first one screams, “Hey, I’m just like everyone else in town!” and the second proclaims, “We can barely string together a coherent sentence!”
That’s a shame, too; these may well be excellent attorneys who have much to offer their communities. They may be competent, caring and worthy choices for people looking to solve a particular legal problem. Their offices may be staffed with intelligent people who genuinely care about delivering the highest level of client service. None of that is remotely evident in these releases, though.
So next time you decide to promote your firm using a press release, consider whether it’s actually news or just a thinly-veiled attempt to get some SEO juice. If it’s the former then good for you. But if not then maybe not so much.
Image credit: BenSpark
If these are legit new releases, I am afraid to see what other news anyone who picks up this garbage publishes. My bet is that someone told them that this is a cheap and easy way to connect with prospects. Reminds me of when I put drunk driving ads on projected scorecards in bowling alleys. made perfect sense: bowling, drinking, driving home. It generated exactly zero calls. Just because something is an idea, doesn’t make it a good one.
Bill Balena recently posted..K is for Know