Getting the Number One Position in Google

We have been explaining some of the complexity in search engine rankings. While there is alot of work involved that attorneys can be spared if they hire an online marketing consultant, how search engine optimization for a high ranking website works should not be a mystery. Hiring a marketing consultant and creating an online web presence is one of the most important and valuable things you can do from a brand image and marketing perspective for your firm. What separates a salesperson from a dedicated and experienced marketing consultant is one that is not afraid to have you check out the results of what they are advocating. Promises to put you in the number one search result position for a query search is a little empty. For one reason, Google does not even put itself at the top for all the services that it provides. This should be proof enough that there is more to site ranking than some gimic. For example, do a Google search for "email accounts" and you will see as of the time of this posting, Gmail which is a Google email account is the fifth search result! Surely Google has a vested interest in making itself the #1 position. It is not #1 because Google, like other search engines is about providing the web user with the best search experience for a particular inquiry.

Check this out for yourself:Google Search for Email Accounts.

The Best Results in the Search Engines

The best results in the search engines will depend on what a user or website owner wants from the experience. So, when I meet with my clients & other attorneys, if they tell me how other marketing consultants told them that they make them number one on Google, I ask them to get these salespeople to SHOW them what they mean. There are many ways to improve ones website presence. It is not rocket science, but it is work and the best marketing consultants take the time to do that work and use the best practices that are advised by the search engines themselves. Make sure your marketing consultant knows what these practices are and check them out for yourself if you need to. If it sounds like a quick solution and a quick fix, be wary. Some marketing strategies can produce results quicker than others, but it is rare that a site can appear on the top of the organic search results out of nowhere for a wide range of searches and stay there.

Ranking High on Google

My philosophy is never to bad mouth other marketing consultants. Online marketing is at once complicated and very simple. It is simple in that at the end of the day, there's no playing the search engines. Search engines such as Google want those searching the web to have the best search results and find the websites that they are looking for. For that reason, you can actually acertain yourself whether the sales person who is pitching you top site ranking is yanking your chain or has something real to offer. It does not serve any search engine to have the same search results no matter what a web user is putting in the query box. Make some queries of your own. The only predictability, is with the pay per click and only to a certain extent. No two websites paying the same amount per click have the exact same ad and appear at the very top. For most webusers it is the organic search results that matter and that is something you can check for yourself. Ask any online marketing consultant to show you actual results. The kind of results you would like for your website.

Is Changing A Website the Same as Changing Firm Name?

Changing a website is not the same as changing your law firm's name. One can change the printed materials, business cards and the name outside the office with relative ease and over time, but switching out domain names is almost as bad as starting with a different website. Also, search engines give credibility to websites that have not changed over time. This way they can respect that the site really is what it says it is. The search engines to not want to see a law firm one day only to crawl the website and discover that it is an aromatherapy spa site or pet therapy website. If you have a generic name for your legal practice such as franchisingandfranchiselaw if you are a franchise lawyer, or Arizonatrademark if you are an intellectual property lawyer saves you having to start a new website.

Your Domain Name is Your Online Brand

Google has made several announcements recently confirming the importance of branding in search engine results. If you need to change your website because of a change in the firm practice, you need to consider the impact of changing your domain name or URL. In some respects, it can be like starting over and have negative affects on your Search Engine Rankings. The time and money you have spent building your online brand with the search engines, could all be out the window with a domain name change. This is something lawyers have to consider from a marketing perspective. One way of dealing with this is to make sure you have a generic keyword URL to begin with. Many of our clients are resistent to this at first because they think of the URL the same as the name of the firm. Whereas one can change the name of the firm with some degree of control, it is difficult to make the same adjustments online.

Changing Firms and Urls

Lawyers know more than most that changing from job to job can wreck havoc on a career. Move too many times and you could kill your career. Changing your domain name could have the same effect in terms of search engine rankings, but sometimes both situations collide when a lawyer must change practice area or the firm and then decide on how that might affect his or her Internet presence.

There are a number of things to consider if you must change your domain name. As we emphasize often here, your website is way more than a business card. At least it should be if you are using it effectively. It is also your online brand. Remember, changing your url is like changing your brand.

Giving Your Website a Blast of Visibility

Video is a smart way to increase the visibility of your website in search engines. It's also a great selling tool to captivate potential clients. Many attorneys are wary of video on their websites as somewhat "tacky," but video has come along way since the talking head against a green background. Video tells your story. If you are an attorney who is good at getting people to sign up, video is a product that you should consider. Clients feel like they have met you before they pick up the phone to call.

At FindLaw, the video field producer helps create a script and walk clients through the shoot. This helps attorneys become comfortable even if they are not used to talking into a camera. FindLaw also has a highly experienced film crew to develop exceptional results. For example, one of FindLaw's videographers worked on Survivor in Australia! Other vendors who sell video do not have the specialized experience of working only with attorneys. FindLaw understands legal consumers and how to reach them online.

FindLaw Providing Web Based Client Leads to UK Firms

Thomson Reuters FindLaw, recently announced that it has the acquisition of Contact Law (www.contactlaw.co.uk), which offers Web-based lead generation services to small and medium-sized law firms throughout the U.K. Based in London, Contact Law introduces prospective clients to its network of more than 4,000 lawyers throughout the U.K. so that consumers with legal needs are able to obtain top-quality and cost-effective legal advice from local, specialist attorneys. The acquisition allows FindLaw to expand its global presence in the market for law firm client development services. It is also an exciting opportunity for Contact Law whose customers will benefit from the resources and expertise FindLaw can provide.

Finding an Attorney

Sometimes lawyers have been practicing for so long, they can forget how "real people" go about finding attorneys. Regular folk may only come into direct contact with attorneys through limited circumstances e.g. divorce, a car wreck, but not know how to find an attorney if they need help making a will or with a defect in their house. Indeed, they may not even know how to find a divorce or personal injury attorney to suit their needs especially if they have a complicated matter. Others may not even know an attorney can help them with what they feel is a unique need. Potential clients usually start by asking family or friends. The lawyers they reach through these means are limited by the experiences of their social circle. Others may use the yellow pages or television, but this provides very limited information regarding the expertise or experience of the lawyer. More and more people are turning to the Internet to find a lawyer. Sometimes, they may not even be looking for a lawyer, but their legal inquiry points them to the lawyer that seems to meet their needs. If you are a lawyer who does not have an Internet site, you need to find an experienced lawyer marketing consultant who can help you establish an effective website to draw in those potential clients.

Relying on Referrals for your Lawyer Marketing

Many attorneys resist marketing on the Internet because they feel that they get sufficient clients from referrals. While there is nothing wrong with getting clients from referrals, lawyers should consider if this is the only method upon which they wish to rely and the opportunities of online marketing with a trustworthy marketing consultant. When you depend on referrals as your main source of new business, your control over the type of business you receive depends on those referrals. Your client base depends on what cases are sent your way. If you have to pay for those referrals, you should consider how much you pay out compared to a marketing plan that allows you to control your flow of new clients and self select the type of cases you would like to handle.

Websites Versus the Yellow Pages

According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, the recent downturn in the economy may be one additional factor turning the Yellow Pages into a tail spin. As many competitors vy for precious ad dollars, consumers are demanding more accountability. In addition, Yellow Pages has such an association with print, that online users rely on search engines to find the results they need. And these are results that aren't just traffic, but results that are likely to result in actual clases and client calls.

Protect Your Reputation Online

A website can serve many purposes. At a minimum it is your business card online, but it's also a means of maintaining control over your firm's reputation. However, once you are out there on the Internet, so are your competitors and detractors. Lawyers should always check their name to see how it measures up on the Web, but the results are not all out of a lawyer's control. There are a number of vehicles which allow lawyers to update profiles that contain biographical information that they wish to convey. The following profiles serve as good examples:

FindLaw Attorney Profile Peter Greenfeld
Ziki Profile Howard Kornberg
Hotfrog Profile Glitsos, Kratter & Associates
Naymz Profile Scott David Stewart
MerchantCircle Profile
Lasiter & Jackson
FindLaw Firm Profile Law Office of Peter Greenfeld P.C.
AVVO Profile Cynthia Henley

Find an Attorney ASAP using Google411

If you have a million numbers in your cell phone, but need to find that right number asap, Google has made it easy to locate an attorney with just one number. By programming 1-800-goog411 into your speed dial, while on the road or even at home, you can reach that local franchise attorney by hitting your preprogrammed number for 1-800-goog411 . The service is free and the best part is you only have to respond to a request for city, state, name the attorney and connect to the law firm you need. Also wonderful is that you can use this service nationwide. The following link will help provide you with a quick demonstration. http://www.google.com/goog411

Google Wiki and Customized Searches

Search Wiki allows you to customize your search result so that you get results tailored to your preferences. This explains the arrows to the right of search results that you may have seen to the right of your search results. Certainly, Google pages are looking alot different lately and there's more to website visibility than there ever was before. From the visitor's perspective, Search Wiki now allows you to enhance or demote certain results. For example if you have a new puppy and prefer a certain dog toy or treat over another, you can make sure that it always comes up first- and create annotations along the lines of (this site specializes in information on therapy pets or foster dogs and training tips etc...). You need to set up and sign into a Google account to activate this feature.

Does Google Always Translate Clicks into Site Ranking?

Anyone who claims to know how Google ranks sites, is at best, just pulling your leg. Certainly, there are grey areas in which some webmasters operate and get away with greater visibility on the web than they deserve. It is a dangerous game to play. Google is always checking to make sure that rankings reflect quality sites. One way some law firms try to manipulate their site ranking is by clicking on the home page of their website as often as possible. While the number of visitors to a site is a factor in determining Google's page rank, Google is savvy enough to know where those clicks originate. Clicking on your site, won't necessarily hurt your site's ranking, but at a minimum it does waste precious client billing time and can just provide misleading information for your firm if you want to find out where your traffic is really coming from.