Northern California Attorney Marketing Blog

Back in college I had an old Volkswagen (shocker) that needed a new clutch - BAD. I procrastinated (shocker) and let it go so long that I could barely drive it over a speed bump. Money was tight, and there was no way I was going to cough it up to someone else when I could fix it myself!

Bad idea. I ended up destroying the parts I purchased, and finally had it towed to a professional Volkswagen specialist. Money lost, time lost; lesson learned.

If your inbound lead generation for your law firm is barely making it over the “speed bump”, it might be time to take a step back and evaluate if doing it yourself is a good strategy.

First off, what is Google Authorship? Great question! Google Authorship connects a person's online Google+ profile (identity) with the content they have contributed to the Internet in the form of a website or blog.

Over the years, Google has continually changed the way it serves up information for the end-user in an effort to produce the best possible content and user experience. Allowing for experts such as attorneys to claim ownership of their content, Google Authorship will help to build trust and fend off spamming schemes that can have a negative impact on user experience, which can negatively impact Google's business.

When you perform a Google search for local attorneys in your market, you might notice that some of the lawyer’s results have a small image next to it. That’s Google Authorship! Google Authorship helps attorneys to stand out among the rest, resulting in heightened click-through rates by as much as 67%.

“Within search results, information tied to verified online profiles will be ranked higher than content without such verification..." - Google Chairman Eric Scmidt

Don’t Wait Any Longer

If you are like most attorneys, you tend to be competitive. When it comes to search engine marketing, being #1 when you type “practice area + your metro area” (e.g., "personal injury attorney Sacramento"), into the search box, you want to be #1! Who wouldn’t! So, when you finally DO show for such a search term, it feels good. You have succeeded!

Have you ever entered a similar search query into Google on a computer that you have used for the first time, and your law firm website does NOT come up like it does at the office? What happened?

This is for all those attorneys out there who are looking for a detailed fitness plan: You're welcome...

Pop Quiz: What is the correct time it takes the average Web site visitor to develop a first impression of a website?

A) 2 seconds
 B) 6 seconds 
C) 300 milliseconds

Well, according to recent research study by the Missouri University School of Science and Technology, the answer is C: 300 milliseconds.

If your website’s functionality and design fall flat, a visitor will bounce FAST!

Pretend for a minute that you are searching for a divorce attorney here in Northern California. Your Google search shows several family law attorneys in your area. You review a couple of law firm Web sites. One is a nice looking site but standard, with attorney bios, a list of the law firm’s practice areas and generic on its approach. The other site is similar, but also features a lot of content that is relevant to what you were searching for: family law FAQs, articles on related topics for family law, a blog by the managing partner, etc.

Which law firm would you decide to contact? I’m guessing you might prefer to explore the latter site. However, content alone—no matter how compelling—isn’t enough. It also needs to be refreshed on a regular basis. Here are the top 3 reasons why fresh content is a key factor in your overall online marketing strategy.

Have you ever looked around a room and noticed people on their smart phones, staring at the screen intently, zooming, panning with their fingers, scrolling up and down, squinting, clicking links and waiting for something to happen? It’s kind of funny to watch, actually!

Have YOU ever done that?  I have. You locate the site that you are looking for, but then you need to zoom in, pan around in frustration, and further search for the information you wanted, but nothing loads correctly? Have you ever just given up out of frustration and moved on to another site? I have.

Get found, build your brand, and convert more and higher quality clients

Happy Monday!

Have you ever wondered why your law firm’s website doesn’t show up in the major search engines? Or perhaps your website does show for certain popular search terms, but you are not seeing much success with new prospective clients contacting your firm from the Internet? Could it be that the Internet just doesn’t work as a tool for quality lead generation for attorneys?  Or is it possible that something is missing from your current strategy?