A San Francisco based startup announced the launch of its site Associated Blogs Legal. Associated Blogs is a sort of social media site for the legal profession.

According to the press release, the site allows all blogs, briefs, news, events, or attorney profiles linked from its site to be tagged, commented on, and searched in summary. The site links to legal content across the web.

“Attorneys use Associated Blogs Legal so that potential clients can find what they write. Within 90 days we’ll have every legal blog tagged, linked, and searchable in summary from our site. The power in legal publishing is all about the blogging attorney,” according to the start-up’s CEO and co-founder, Scott Stanley, “We’ve built a place to both find and promote the attorney blogger.”

The AB Legal site features peer-ranking of blogs, briefs, and events. The most actively visited rise to the top of the rankings.

The New Legal Networking

It will be interesting to see how this site develops. I took a poke around, and what I found was essentially a list of recent blog posts from some larger legal news websites. After I attempted to search, however, I couldn’t find any of the more prominent blogs that I am familiar with, so I am assuming that the blog is still in the early phases of development.

In general there isn’t that much content yet, compared with the Leviathan that I know is out there, and the site doesn’t immediately present itself as user friendly or visually appealing. I am assuming that substantial changes will take place before the 90 day period elapses.

Once the site is fully loaded though, it will be interesting to see what collection of sites are compiled. For example, will the site draw primarily from the more “traditional” social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter? Or will it focus primarily on legal sites such as Avvo, Lawyers.com, Rocket Lawyer, etc.

I am also interested to see how the site will be indexed. For example, the American Bar Association has a searchable list of Blawgs, that is listed according to topic, region, author or law school. New blawgs can also apply to be listed in the directory.

Is Buying Reviews Against Google’s Terms & Conditions?

Buying reviews is clearly against Google’s T&Cs. From their quality guidelines:

Advertising and spam: Don’t use reviews for advertising or post the same or similar reviews across multiple places, don’t post fake reviews intended to boost or lower ratings, and don’t include links to other websites.

However, it may be appropriate for you to establish “review stations” within your office and encourage clients and partners to write reviews. Blumenthal’s highly respected Google Places blog sheds light on this topic with tremendous insight. Basically, you may encourage people to leave reviews while in your office for Google Places, but do not pay for the review, write the content, or otherwise influence the review. Additionally, other review sites such as Yelp do not permit on-site review stations so make sure your clients and partners stick with Google Places.

Do Reviews Influence Ranking?

Google encourages users to establish “a strong, accurate presence on the web.” A strong presence is evidenced in part by how many reviews you obtain. Therefore, it makes sense that obtaining reviews from satisfied customers is an indication to Google that you’re good at what you do, and should be rewarded with an elevated ranking. How much reviews actually influences ranking is still speculative.

A Real World Example of Google Places Reviews and Ranking

Here are the top Places results for the search term “San Diego Personal Injury Attorneys:”

Here are a few things you should notice:

1. The firm with the most reviews is not #1
2. A firm with ZERO reviews is ranked in the top four
3. Only Google reviews are counted on this page
4. Listings with star ratings clearly stand out due to their orange color
5. Reviews don’t automatically mean stars will appear. You will need at least five Google reviews to make this happen.

How to Identify Purchased or Faked Reviews

Google allows you to click on a reviewer’s image to see what other businesses that person has reviewed. You can open multiple reviewers into tabs and cross reference their respective reviews. What you’ll notice is that some reviewers have reviewed the same business, use similar language, and keyword bloat their content. While this isn’t determinative of a faked review, it’s at the very least suspicious. Here’s an example:

A reviewer “Stan” left the following review for a San Diego personal injury attorney:

Here’s a review Stan left for a Houston, TX Lasik surgical center:

A different reviewer “Jennifer” left this review for the same personal injury attorney:

Here’s Jennifer’s review for the same Lasik surgical center that Stan reviewed:

A few observations about the above reviews:

• All the reviews are keyword stuffed with both the type of business and location
• Both law firm reviews mention the attorney by first name
• Stan left a different Lasik review for a Denver based center a mere week after he left the Houston review (I guess he gets around?)

The rub here is that this firm ranks extremely well for their key terms, despite the use of suspicious reviews. They also get the additional advantage of having 5 star reviews displaying prominently on their Places Page. Firms who choose to grow their reviews organically are thus penalized by their compliance with Google’s quality guidelines. While it’s not clear the firm above pays for the reviews, or even knows of the suspicious individuals on the Page, it is clear the firm is the direct beneficiary of behavior that would violate Google’s quality guidelines.

Finally, Should You Pay for Reviews?

After reviewing countless Places results, it’s shocking to find that many top ranked listings have reviews that display suspicious characteristics similar to those found above. Although Google insists you do not pay for reviews or risk their wraith, it does not appear they have done anything to punish infringers up to this point. With that said, although we can’t make a recommendation you should break Google’s T&Cs, your competition is and they’re currently getting away with it…for now. Keep in mind, Google’s reaction to those scamming their algorithms has been to blacklist sites completely from search results.

If you’d like to get reviews but don’t want to pay, you can always enlist the help of your staff, family and friends. While these individuals may not have used your legal services, they do know you personally and can provide reviews of you as a person, your work ethic, and your experiences. These serve the purpose of being genuine, and can provide legitimate insight into your services.

Useful Conversion Tips

1. Respond to Client Inquiries Quickly
2. Appear Current and Relevant by Updating Your Site Regularly and/or Maintaining a Blog
3. Use Strong and Clear Calls to Action
4. Promote Credibility with Earned Awards, Large Verdicts and Settlements, and/or other Positive Marks of Achievement
5. Use Video Marketing and, if Possible, Star in Your Own Videos

1. Respond to Client Inquiries Quickly

One of the most important aspects of converting users into clients is making sure that each person who inquires about your service receives a response. Although many clients want to talk to an attorney immediately about their legal issue, this isn’t always possible. However, many potential clients who call your firm in need of legal representation do not want to leave a message on an answering machine. Making sure that a live person intercepts your firm’s incoming calls and takes a personal message is not only an element of professionalism, but may help prevent the caller from dialing other firms. This personal contact could be the make or break factor in gaining the client.

2. Appear Current and Relevant by Updating Your Site Regularly and/or Maintaining a Blog

Attorneys often make the mistake that having a static website is sufficient for a web presence. Without fresh and constantly updated content that is easy to navigate and interpret, you may compromise clients from contacting you for your services. Your homepage must be simple and immediately inviting, contact information and an About Us section should be regularly updated, and a contact form is also a great way to encourage online inquiries.

Composing legal blogs for your firm’s site is a great way to drive traffic from users that might not be strictly looking for an attorney in your practice field or geographic area. Since many consumers are using online content to gain answers to their legal questions, creating a generalized FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section is a powerful contribution to the validity of your site, as well as potentially increasing your appearance in search results. Another option to increase knowledge of your services in your area is to offer to write an article for your local paper on a topic such as ‘Why Everyone Should Have a Will’ or ‘Questions to Ask a Contractor.’ Make sure the byline includes the name of your firm and your contact information.

For more guidance on creating content for your website, be sure to read our White Paper in the Resources Section of the LawInfo Legal Marketing site.

3. Use Strong and Clear Calls to Action

As potential clients have spend time on your site researching your firm, they begin to decide whether you can help them and whether they want to hire you. Tell these users what to do next by providing a clear call to action. If you are willing to offer a free consultation, or would like for them to contact you via email for an initial introduction, be sure to tell them how you want them to make their next step(s), such as: “Call Us Now!” or “Sign up here for a Free Consultation”.

Use the following checklist provided by Abacus Law, Inc.** to make sure your site isn’t missing a strong call to action:

• Does every page on your website have a clearly visible call to action?
• Are your calls to action succinct and direct?
• Do your calls to action actually motivate visitors to do something, such as contact your firm?
• Does your site repeat calls to action on your contact forms?
• Does your site naturally blend in calls to action into page content?

4. Promote Credibility with Earned Awards, Large Verdicts and Settlements, and/or other Positive Marks of Achievement

Establishing credibility, trust and dependability with a potential client are all imperative to reducing their typical feelings of apprehension when they are facing a legal issue. If you have met any or all of the following criteria on this list of credibility builders, be sure to include them in a accessible place within your site:

• Client Testimonials and Feedback (Be sure to get the author’s permission to post each review and check with your State Bar to determine whether this is an acceptable form of advertising)
• An Ongoing List of Successful Verdicts or Settlements
• Professional Affiliations
• Current Attorney Profiles and Practice Area(s)
• Awards, Prestigious Honors and/or Distinguishing Rewards
• Practice Area Specializations
• Education Honors

5. Use Video Marketing and, If Possible, Star in Your Own Videos

While many attorneys have simple websites that portray and market their firm, it is also important to distinguish your practice from your competitors through video marketing. Video marketing allows you to add a professional multimedia element to your site while welcoming potential clients personally, educating them on the benefits of hiring your firm, and finishing with a strong call to action. These videos are important in their personable aspect because they allow your client (or inquiring client) the ability to meet you and build rapport immediately. LawInfo.com can produce these personalized video marketing tools for you if your firm is interested.

Source:
*www.zeromomentoftruth.com/google–zmot.pdf [Figure 5–1: Cross–category chart] ]]> http://www.lawinfolegalmarketing.com/blog/convert-users-into-clients-with-these-5-tips/feed 0 http://www.lawinfolegalmarketing.com/blog/premium-online-lawyer-directories-are-they-worth-your-marketing-dollars http://www.lawinfolegalmarketing.com/blog/premium-online-lawyer-directories-are-they-worth-your-marketing-dollars#comments Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:46:57 +0000 LawInfo Marketer http://www.lawinfolegalmarketing.com/?p=1134 Read →]]> When considering your marketing options, you’ve no doubt contemplated engaging a company like LawInfo.com who maintains an exclusive (ie. paid) attorney directory. Companies like LawInfo have spent a tremendous amount of resources on marketing and placing our clients in areas that get found by consumers, which means we can attract leads you wouldn’t otherwise receive. However, determining whether a directory is right for you, and which directory will have the greatest ROI can be a challenging question.

Is A Paid Lawyer Directory Appropriate for Your Firm?

Perhaps the biggest challenge with a paid directory is the type of leads your firm will begin to receive. Whereas in the past you may have received referrals from individuals who knew about you and what you do, directory leads tend to have a more cautious element. These people don’t know you, nor do they know your reputation. Therefore, it will be up to you to transform this person from a lead into a client. If you’re uncomfortable with this idea, then you may want to avoid a directory listing.

Which Paid Lawyer Directory is Right for Your Firm?

Obviously, not all directories are created equal. Some cause your phone to ring repeatedly, but the quality of the leads will be junk. Some directories may work for some practice areas in a city, and underperform for others. When selecting a directory, consider these questions:

1. Once listed, how will your listing be found?
2. What is included with your listing?
3. What is the length of the contract?
4. How will the listing impact your website and various other web properties?

To better illustrate the following points we’ll use LawInfo.com’s Directory as an example.

Once Listed, how will Your Listing be Found?

In the case of LawInfo.com, your listing will be found in four different ways:

1. By users who visit LawInfo.com and perform an attorney search
2. By users who find one of our over 3,000 mini directory sites focusing on local markets
3. By users self-diagnosing their own legal issues and finding LawInfo’s free legal resources pages
4. Through one of our major media partners like Univision

The first two points above are important in terms of getting a large number of contacts to your firm. In the case of LawInfo’s “Featured Listings,” we work with only four firms per practice area and area code, ensuring you receive consistent results throughout the year.

The third point above is extremely important for many law firms who demand quality contacts. We find an increasing number of users are self-diagnosing their own legal challenges, similar to how a person might use WebMD to diagnose a medical condition. When a user types into Google Search something like “Who has citizenship by birth?” he or she will find LawInfo’s free legal resource page ranking high on the results page. That user will read the answer and decide then whether contacting the listed attorney(s) makes sense. This is the type of lead that most lawyers love. Additionally, these are the types that can only be generated by sites like LawInfo.com that maintain enormous free legal resource libraries complete with FAQ’s, articles, blogs, and more.

What’s Included with Your Listing?

In order to have an effective listing, it’s important you’re able to track the incoming leads. Companies like LawInfo.com set up our clients with unique tracking phone numbers and contact forms. We provide our clients with cloud-based dashboards that offer the ability to see information regarding how many times your listing was clicked, what phone calls you received and from whom, and how long those calls lasted. Additionally, each listing can be enhanced with a customizable profile that allows you the ability to upload photos, communicate your firm’s marketing message, and more.

What is the Length of the Contract?

Many directory sites will set you up with a year long contract. This is done because it usually takes a few weeks in order to tweak your profile to ensure maximum effectiveness. During this early period your tagline may be changed, photos swapped, and profile language altered in order to better convert mere browsers into contacts. Other directories may offer a pay-per-contact contract, but these are becoming less common as time passes.

How will the Listing Impact Your Website and Various other Web Properties?

Many directory sites allow you to link your listing directly to your website, which can have a dramatic impact on your site SEO. It’s well established that inbound links from reputable websites can enhance your website’s credibility and push it higher in search results. However, not all directory links will have a positive impact. Look out for directories that are well established, and have a high Page Rank value. For example, LawInfo.com has been in operation since 1994, and has an elevated Page Rank value. Our clients typically see a bump in rankings once linking is completed.

Final Thoughts

Remember, when contemplating a paid directory it’s not enough to simply perform a Google search for a local attorney and see what directory ranks. You must consider the various ways directories are found, and the quality of incoming leads from these sources. If you’d like to learn more, you can click here on the LawInfo Directory, or contact a LawInfo sales representative at (866) 636-6127.

]]> http://www.lawinfolegalmarketing.com/blog/premium-online-lawyer-directories-are-they-worth-your-marketing-dollars/feed 0 http://www.lawinfolegalmarketing.com/blog/law-firm-marketing-and-google-pages http://www.lawinfolegalmarketing.com/blog/law-firm-marketing-and-google-pages#comments Thu, 24 Nov 2011 01:23:11 +0000 LawInfo Marketer http://www.lawinfolegalmarketing.com/?p=752 Read →]]> Mark November 7th, 2011, on your calendar. Why? Because it’s the day Google released their new social media platform for businesses called Google+ Pages, and unilaterally declared war on Facebook. This new platform promises to “help you connect with the customers and fans who love you.” What that means isn’t obvious, but after using the new product extensively it’s clear Google has created a product that directly competes with the most popular websites in the world. The only question now is whether Google+ Pages is worthy of your time and efforts.

Google+ Pages Overview for Law Firms

It’s important to understand that Google+ Pages is an offshoot of Google+, the social media platform Google launched to individual users in June of 2011. Since that time roughly 40 million users have created a Google+ account. These accounts allow users the ability to customize a profile page to include photos, videos, and other basic information. If you already use a Google Account for Picasa Web Albums or YouTube, Google will recognize who you are and ask whether you want to link all your accounts, which allows for effortless cross-platform sharing. With Google+ Pages, businesses are now allowed to create profile-like pages that can both promote the business, and engage customers via messaging, live video chats, and more. These Pages are similar (if not identical) to Facebook Fan Pages of which you may already be familiar.

Should Your Law Firm Create a Google+ Page?

This isn’t a tough question at all – You must absolutely create a Google+ Page for your law firm immediately. This recommendation isn’t based on the idea you’re going to become a social media guru and attract a hundred clients through your efforts, it’s rather based on the fact that Google has failed to implement an effective way to verify brands, which leaves open the possibility someone else might claim to be you, and subsequently wreck your reputation or hold your Google+ Page hostage. Conversely, there isn’t a clear means for Google to distinguish like-named brands. If your firm has a common name, take action now and be the first to claim your name. LawInfo Legal Marketing’s recommendation: Get a Google+ Page today if for the only reason to claim your brand.

Since Google+ Pages is at its core a social media platform, the same social media rules apply for attorneys. Be smart, be careful about what you share, and properly implement strict privacy settings. LawInfo’s October 2011, newsletter “The Lead Counsel Edge” featured a series of articles on the topic of social media that might be of interest to you:

• A Social Media Platform Overview: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, & YouTube
• Ethically Use Social Media with these 8 Easy Tips
• White Paper: How to Create a Facebook Page for your Firm

Click to create a Google+ Page for your law firm.

Click to sign-up for the LawInfo attorney newsletter “The Lead Counsel Edge.”

Click to learn more about LawInfo Legal Marketing.

]]> http://www.lawinfolegalmarketing.com/blog/law-firm-marketing-and-google-pages/feed 0 http://www.lawinfolegalmarketing.com/blog/using-your-competitors-name-on-adwords-can-get-you-sued http://www.lawinfolegalmarketing.com/blog/using-your-competitors-name-on-adwords-can-get-you-sued#comments Wed, 16 Nov 2011 02:32:57 +0000 LawInfo Marketer http://www.lawinfolegalmarketing.com/?p=545 Read →]]> Recently a case involving the ubiquitous law firm “Binder & Binder” was decided in California. Simply put, the Disability Group Inc. purchased the name Binder & Binder on Google AdWords. Both firms practice in the realm of personal injury where most cases are taken on contingency and require more quantity over quality. So the Disability Group decided that in order to help bring new clients in, they would advertise with Google.

For many, trying to figure out what consumers are searching for and how to capitalize on their advertising budget, is a time consuming and frustrating promise. The Disability Group decided to latch onto the recognition of a competitor (how they received their recognition is another story) to try to build their own brand.

What’s the Problem?

According to the BNA E-Commerce Law newsletter;

“The purchase of a competitor’s registered trademark through Google Inc.’s AdWords program for sponsored keyword advertising on the search engine website constitutes use in commerce under the Lanham Act”

The Lanham Act is a federal statute about trademark law. It prohibits trademark infringement, trademark dilution and false advertising. Here, the court said that after applying the eight-factor test of AMF Inc. v Steekcraft Boats, that it was likely there would be some confusion by consumers. The Court awarded Binder & Binder $292,000 in lost profits and damages for willful infringement. (from lawprofessors.typepad.com)

What This Means

Simply put, when utilizing Google AdWords, don’t purchase AdWords of your competitors (for example if you’re McDonalds, don’t purchase Burger King as a search term). However, there are some questions that do come up, such as the term “Xerox” and “white out.” Both of these terms are fairly common, but are also names of companies, if you ran a copy machine manufacturing company, could you purchase the name Xerox on Google AdWords?

]]> http://www.lawinfolegalmarketing.com/blog/using-your-competitors-name-on-adwords-can-get-you-sued/feed 0 http://www.lawinfolegalmarketing.com/blog/legal-marketing-tip-claim-your-free-google-places-page http://www.lawinfolegalmarketing.com/blog/legal-marketing-tip-claim-your-free-google-places-page#comments Thu, 10 Nov 2011 07:52:50 +0000 LawInfo Marketer http://www.lawinfolegalmarketing.com/?p=484 Read →]]> For decades law firms relied on local marketing strategies that included various paid initiatives. The Internet now allows firms the ability to implement full marketing campaigns for free. Within a day an attorney can claim various profiles, upload images and videos, and get listed on search engines – all without spending a dime. The trick is, where should an attorney focus his or her marketing efforts given the limited time and resources most lawyers face?

The Google/Facebook War

Google is currently feeling the pressure of its formidable competitors: Facebook, Yahoo, and Bing. In fact, Bing searches now account for over 30% of U.S. web searches according to the latest figures (LINK).  People may be turning to these competitors because they claim to offer a better user experience and provide more relevant search results. Whatever the reason, Google feels the heat and has reacted.

Google Places

In the last couple of years, Google has undertaken an incredible effort. They have created a “Google Places Page” for every single business in the United States. In fact, here’s LawInfo’s Places Page. These Places Pages provide general information, images, and videos about the business. Until recently, these Places Pages were peripheral to Google’s “typical” organic search strategy, but that all changed a few months ago…

Google Places Overtakes Organic Listings

In late 2010/early 2011, Google began aggressively listing Places Pages in organic search results. In fact, many searches are now dominated by Google Places (click here to see an image of what this means). Although Google has not publically stated how they rank these Places Pages, they have provided some guidance that all businesses including law firms should heed immediately.

Claim Your Google Places Page for Free

Google Places Pages exist in two states: 1) Un-verified Places Pages, and 2) Owner-verified Places Pages. If you own a business you should conduct a search for your Places Page by typing your business name into Google. Once you find your Places Page you should next take the necessary steps to “verify” your Page. This means clicking on the “Business Owner?” text in the upper right hand portion of the Page, and following the proceeding directions. In order to authenticate you as the business owner, Google will either give you a call or send you a postcard with a special link. Once completed, your Places Page will have the “Owner-verified” status. Once your Page is verified, you can work on editing your business information.

Make Your Google Places Page 100% Complete

Although Google doesn’t state how they rank Places Pages in search results, they do tell you when your Places Page is 100% complete. In order to be 100% complete you typically need to offer business details such as:

• Website
• Operating Hours
• Email
• Business Description
• Additional Details (e.g., practice areas, areas served, etc.)
• Images
• Videos

LawInfo has provided a comprehensive rundown of everything you should do to make your Places Page the best it can be. Find our free Google Places White Paper here (LINK).

Getting Assistance with Your Google Places Page

Not everyone will have sufficient time or resources to fill up their Places Page with the content it needs to be 100% complete. Here’s where LawInfo can really help. LawInfo offers to verify your law firm’s Places Page for free. If you want help getting your Places page to 100%, we offer the Local+ package that provides:

• Five videos. One customized to your practice and four practice area informational videos
• The creation and optimization of a custom YouTube Channel
• Image optimization
• Attorney written custom content, and more

Find out more about the LawInfo Local+ package here (LINK):

As always, if you have any questions regarding legal marketing, don’t hesitate to contact a LawInfo representative at (800) 397-3743. We’re always happy to answer any questions you have about our various products and services, including the Local+ Package.

 

]]> http://www.lawinfolegalmarketing.com/blog/legal-marketing-tip-claim-your-free-google-places-page/feed 0