Clients come from all walks of life, they go online at all hours of the day, they point, they click, they research and buy online. In fact, 97% of consumers research online before they make a purchase. This means prospects may be looking for your particular area of expertise right now. Yet you could be one of many attorneys who lose revenue each year by neglecting to maximize your firm’s online visibility in your area.

Internet searches are becoming increasingly more localized and specific to geographic locations. Local search is on the rise as people become more sophisticated search engine users. Because most people seeking legal assistance start their search on Google by entering their location and the specialty they need, local search should be considered part of a firm’s online marketing strategy.

Consider these statistics regarding local search:

• 82% of local searchers follow up offline via an in-store visit, phone call or purchase (comScore)
• 73% of online activity is related to local content (Google)
• 66% of American use online local search, like Google local search, to locate local businesses (TMP/comScore/proprietary average)
• 54% of Americans prefer the Internet and local search over phone books (comScore networks)

Clearly, having a well-defined local Internet marketing strategy can be crucial to certain businesses, particularly attorneys whose main source of business is their communities.

Here are the six elements of well-constructed local marketing campaign:

1. Correct and consistent business listings.

Ensuring that your NAP (name, address, and phone number) is listed correctly and consistently across multiple platforms like Google Places, Yahoo! Local and Bing Local Listing Center is the key element that enables a successful local search campaign. Be sure to claim and check your listings.

2. Place Page optimization.

Last year Google changed its layout to feature local business listings and Place Pages more prominently. A well-executed local optimization plan is now even more vital to leverage leads generated by online listings. Make sure you optimize your Place Page on the three major platforms: Google, Yahoo, and Bing.

3. Ratings and reviews.

Ratings and reviews are the digital equivalent of “word of mouth” referrals and are probably one of the most important local search elements. The quality and quantity of ratings and review contribute to how often the search engines display your listing or your location. They are to local search what “backlinks” are to SEO, creating credibility and authority for your business online. Encourage your clients to write short reviews.

4. Local directory advertising.

While the search engines have done a terrific job of increasing the effectiveness of their local search platforms, Internet Yellow Pages (IYP), city guides, and special interest directories can provide high-value leads at cost-effective levels. Include these ads for a well-rounded campaign.

5. Social networking.

Facebook and LinkedIn are now critical elements of an attorney’s presence online.  For firms whose prospects and customers are increasingly using social media, as we all are, devoting some time and resources to this effort can pay off at the local level, both for marketing promotions and for client service. Keep these accounts active and up-to-date.

6. Local online display advertising.

Online display advertising can be beneficial for generating leads by increasing the awareness of your services. While business listing management and local paid search often deliver clients based on how closely your firm is located, display can help make the case for why they should do business with your firm. Display can also help support other marketing efforts with a consistent, targeted message. Consider adding local display to your campaign.

Local search delivers highly relevant results to the consumer, helping them find the products and services they seek in a specific location and helping attorneys gain clients who are in need of assistance. And for firms with limited marketing dollars, local search offers a more cost-effective alternative, with targeted advertising dollars delivering a higher ROI. To find out more about local Internet marketing for attorneys contact Ian Bardorf at www.bardorfmarketing.com.

Ian M. Bardorf is an Internet marketing and social media advisor to attorneys and law firms seeking to grow and advance their business via the web. This article is copyrighted as original content by Ian M. Bardorf and Bardorf Legal Marketing. This article may be reproduced or republished with appropriate attribution and credit.

You’re right! On November 2, Google announced a major change to how sponsored listings would appear on their results pages. In some cases — but not all – ads no longer appear on the top and side rail, but only on the top and bottom of the page. There has never been a layout change as significant as this one and the shift poses many new challenges for advertisers.

Before 11/2/11, results pages included three listings at the top of the page and up to ten listings on the right rail. Advertisers are now competing for fewer spots in the new layout. Based on examples provided by Google, the ad placement shift to the bottom decreases the number of positions to three at the top and two to four at the bottom, a potential fifty percent reduction in listings on the first page of results. Google reports that this change is designed to improve the search experience for users and that it is based on data that ties navigation and click rates to search term and indicates where users are more likely to click based on what they’re looking for. We’ll have to wait and see what the long-term impact is.

Read Google’s official announcement

By Ian M. Bardorf

If you’re like many busy attorneys, you don’t have the time to stay up-to-date on the latest advances in Internet marketing. Your expertise is in helping your clients and providing high-quality legal services. You need a savvy partner that will design and implement a results-driven, cost-effective online marketing strategy.

Most attorneys sign up with a company they believe will take care of their Internet marketing needs and help them stay current. Some of the biggest providers include FindLaw (a part of Westlaw) and Martindale Hubble. These are established companies that were founded to produce legal research in the form of print directories and have since moved into the world of online publications and marketing. Many of you have paid to appear in their listings, both in print and online, and have hired these venerable firms to create and host your websites, and market your practice.

But Internet marketing is more than just a listing and a website, and over time, many clients of these big companies become dissatisfied by not only the level of service but more importantly, the results they get for what they pay. If you’re a FindLaw or Martindale Hubble client, you may be spending more than you need to for inferior results and missing out on other opportunities to help your business succeed. Read on to find out how FindLaw and Martindale Hubble miss the mark.

Local Always Beats National.

Did you know that 97 percent of people conduct research online before buying locally? Or that 64 percent of consumers expect the business within their search results to be within 15 miles of their location? Clearly it’s important to appear in the search results for clients looking for an attorney close by and to work with a marketing partner that understands your area.

Attorneys who have claimed their Google Places listing know how important “localization” is. Google developed this feature in response to the growing demands for local results. Google knows that when people search for a particular service – they’ve been in a car accident or slipped and fallen — they want local results so they can actually find a solution.

But while Google is striving for localization in their search results, FindLaw and Martindale Hubble serve a national clientele and produce products for the masses that are not tailored by geography. For example, the dynamic content FindLaw offers their clients at a premium price is written to accommodate thousands of clients in every state across America. These articles are syndicated content, so not only are they vague and general, but they are not targeted or customized to a particular local market. Their clients are missing a huge opportunity to connect with local prospects on issues relevant in their communities, such as the recent Massachusetts Alimony Reform Act.

More Isn’t Better.

The true value of a FindLaw or Martindale Hubble account is actually a simple listing in their legal directory, but not for the reason you may think. The pitch from the sales team is that their directory attracts millions of visitors every month and is a viable source of qualified traffic. While millions of visitors sounds impressive, you’re really only concerned with attracting prospects that are quite literally within a 25 mile radius of your office. Those are your clients.

The real benefit of being listed in their directory is actually the backlinks from their directory to your website. Backlinks are a critical component of SEO (search engine optimization) and help your website obtain more authority with the search engines and higher rankings. You want to get your website higher organic rankings and backlinks are key.

Typically FindLaw and Martindale Hubble’s directories appear high in the search engine results while individual attorney profiles within do not. The reality is that if a prospect searches for a term like “Metrowest divorce attorneys” and both the FindLaw directory and a local law firm’s website appear in Google’s results, more people will choose to visit the law firm’s actual website than get trapped in a massive legal directory. If they do choose to click on the directory they may have to drill down three or four pages to find the listings they’re looking for, wade through multiple other results from sponsored listings, and they may never see your profile.

Dollars Don’t Equal Results.

The bottom line is that these services are expensive. Many FindLaw and Martindale Hubble clients spend between $1,000 to $2,000 per month. If you don’t like the results you may have to pay more to upgrade your site. What most don’t realize is that you can easily get locked in to depending on their services for years to come, which of course is exactly what they want. If you spend $15K a year to get your Internet marketing underway, the question is how long do you plan to spend that each year? Is it 10 years, 20 years, until you retire? That expense quickly adds up. You could spend a quarter of a million dollars with one company and on just their products and services.

You need to consider the return on your investment over time. With the bigger firms there is definitely a case of diminishing returns. While it may be worth $15K the first year to get your website going, it’s definitely not worth this much in the third year, never mind year four, five, six, and beyond. Thinking about ROI long-term will save you from making an unworthy investment.

Service or Sales.

When’s the last time you heard from your account rep at FindLaw or Martindale Hubble? Were they calling with a great new idea for improving your site or reaching new clients? Most likely it was because they had something new to sell you or they were trying to collect their most recent invoice. Although these large firms are staffed with dozens of sales reps in Massachusetts, chances are when you need something done it may not happen as quickly as you’d like. The Internet is a dynamic marketplace. In order to harness its power and obtain the results you desire you need the flexibility and the nimbleness to make changes quickly.

We all know how great it feels when the barista at the local coffee shop remembers our order from week to week. Think how much more important it is for your agency to understand your clients. A good agency will take the time to learn your market and design a specific campaign to reach and engage them, and not fit your business model into a “one-size-fits-all” approach that may simply be, “how we do it”.

Who Owns Your Site?

Once you’ve decided that you’re not happy with the results, expense, or service you’re getting from one of the big firms it’s time to consider your options. Making a change may not be easy. Findlaw for example, hosts your site, often manages your domain, and controls your content. If you decide to terminate with them, the company will give you your site and most of it’s design elements on a CD. What they don’t tell you is that in doing so they strip out all of the SEO (search engine optimization) of your site, which quite frankly is its true value. You would never notice this from the appearance of the website, but all of its SEO mechanics have been removed. It’s like taking a formula engine out of your fancy sports car and replacing it with a tiny 2 cylinder engine made for a lawn mower.

At the same time, once your FindLaw site is shuttered there is often at least a two-week time lag before you receive your site on CD, which sends up a red flag to Google since you site has been down for that long. Once your site loses its authority, it essentially becomes a new site in Google’s eyes and you have to begin the slow process of optimizing your site and regaining its rankings from square one. Some sites never have the good rankings they had before canceling with FindLaw and they’ve essentially lost their investment. To avoid this, you need to figure out the logistics of transitioning your site to an equally effective and much more affordable solution.

One Channel or Many.

To make the most of Internet marketing, a savvy attorney will take advantage of all the opportunities online, creating a “’digital arsenal” that they can use to attract prospects and engage clients. This can include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Places, Google AdWords,  monthly videos, and listings in local directories and other effective and affordable legal directories like Justia and Avvo. Findlaw and Martindale Hubble do not offer these services and having just a website and a directory listing with just one company won’t cut in in the competitive world of Internet marketing. Unfortunately, even after spending $15K or more a year with FindLaw for just one channel, many attorneys find they don’t have the online presence they need to build their businesses. Ironically, being in more places will help attorneys save money, spend more wisely, and get obtain better results.

Now it’s up to you.

You want to outsource Internet marketing to a trusted provider to save time and get the best results. A good agency will help you help yourself by educating you on the pros and cons of various approaches. Choose a service-oriented agency that will become a true business partner. In this economy, that will make all the difference. To find out more about local Internet marketing for attorneys contact Ian Bardorf at www.bardorfmarketing.com.

Ian M. Bardorf is an Internet marketing and social media advisor to attorneys and law firms seeking to grow and advance their business via the web. This article is copyrighted as original content by Ian M. Bardorf and Bardorf Legal Marketing. This article may be reproduced or republished with appropriate attribution and credit.

If you don’t have a website or your website is simply a business card online without video, testimonials, articles, or Q&As, you may benefit from investing in these services for a year or two to jump start your marketing efforts.

Then you should harvest your investment by transitioning your site to a more affordable option and invest the money you saved in even more marketing opportunities.

The point is that you don’t have to pay just one company a premium rate year over year. Once you decide to take your Internet marketing to the next level, it’s time to move on to an agency that knows your local market and that’s dedicated to your success.

By Ian M. Bardorf

Search Engine Marketing is one of the most effective tactics to generate leads, help you promote your expertise, reach prospects and stay connected with clients. A good ranking on Google’s results pages is a measurable gateway for new business. Enhancing your website so that it’s listed at or near the top of Google, Yahoo or any other search engine is called Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

But along with the growing focus on search marketing has come a proliferation of agencies that claim they provide Search Engine Optimization. Many of these are website design firms or ad agencies that have simply added “search engine optimization” to their websites and have no in-depth experience. They often over-promise and under-deliver. Even worse, some of them can hurt your business in the long run.

Search engine optimization, if done well, is not a product or a commodity, but a sophisticated process that requires well trained and experienced individuals with up-to-date insight on the business.

In a tight economy, you simply can’t afford to spend valuable resources on an effort that may or may not deliver the results you need. Here are six tactics to avoid when considering SEO.

Tactic 1: Promising a guaranteed #1 ranking.

Evaluating a firm to conduct your site’s SEO is time consuming but worthwhile. You’re spending valuable marketing dollars and need to show the return on that investment. It’s easy to be tempted by firms that guarantee top rankings.

But beware of vendors that make this promise. Search rankings are notoriously unstable, and subject to a variety of factors such as the location of the person searching and whether they’ve logged in to Google and are using personalized results. Reputable SEO firms don’t offer guaranteed #1 rankings, fast results, or any other promises that sound too good to be true. Google itself warns, “No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.”

Tactic #2: Claiming rapid results.

Claims about rapid improvements in search engine rankings should be viewed skeptically. SEO is not a quick-fix marketing tactic that can deliver results in a matter of hours or days. Instead, it typically takes a diligent, ongoing process that gradually improves your site’s rankings.

A good SEO project can take three to four months to begin showing a real impact, depending on a number of factors such as the age of your site, the number of quality inbound links you already have, and the competitiveness of keywords. Anyone promising you an upward bump in your results in 30 days is overpromising. Worse, they could be using shady SEO tactics that might deliver a quick change at the expense of long-term search engine visibility.

Tactic #3: Using “black hat” techniques.

SEO providers have variety of ways to achieve higher rankings for a site, but not all techniques are considered above board. Bending the generally accepted rules established by search engines is called “black hat” SEO. And while black hat SEO is not technically illegal, it is discouraged by search engines and can hurt your business in the long run.

Major retailer J.C. Penney was caught in a black hat SEO nightmare after the 2010 holiday shopping season, when Google found that the company’s SEO firm had used a link-buying scheme (paying to place links on hundreds of websites unrelated to J.C Penney) to help the retailer achieve top rankings for broad product terms such as “area rugs,” “furniture,” “home décor” and “skinny jeans.” Google responded by lowering J.C. Penney’s rankings. In just over one week, the average position for a J.C. Penney webpage dropped from #1.3 to #52, according to a New York Times report.

Tactic #4: Buying inbound links.

Attracting lots of high-quality inbound links to your website is essential for improving your website’s authority and search engine rankings, so it’s no surprise that link-building is one of the services that most SEO firms promise their clients.

The problem is, not all inbound links are valuable — and some may even harm you. Offering payment for inbound links, creating new sites solely to link back to a main site, or placing hundreds of inbound links on unrelated pages just to boost a specific page’s rank are a few of many black hat link-building techniques to avoid.

Tactic #5: Focusing on clicks, not conversions.

Rankings or website traffic alone are weak metrics for overall performance. It’s more important that the search results drive relevant visitors that take a desired action – such as signing up for an email newsletter or viewing a video – once they land on your page. Avoid vendors that spend too much time talking about number of website visitors and not enough about how to measure what they’re doing once they get there.

Tactic #6: Offering a One-Time Fix

SEO isn’t a one-time project — it’s an on-going process. Your site’s content has to be constantly refreshed, inbound links added regularly, and your keyword strategy tweaked according to performance metrics. And that doesn’t even take into account ongoing changes to search engine algorithms that make any page’s ranking susceptible to fluctuation over time.

The bottom line is that SEO should be a constant focus for your marketing team – and your agency partner. It’s more than just a few structural fixes, a burst of link building, and a one-time content generation push.

Search Marketing is a service, not a product.

Rather than a one-time, single approach that can be used by companies across any industry, search marketing is a service that improves over time and with experience. An experienced agency will provide better, quicker assessments of your client profile and site objectives; implement more effective optimizations; manage paid search more efficiently; produce better results; and avoid mistakes and pitfalls that cost you time and money.

Now it’s up to you. You want to outsource search marketing to a trusted provider to save precious time and get the best results. A good agency will help you help yourself by educating you on the pros and cons of various approaches. Choose a service-oriented agency that will become a true business partner. In this economy, that will make all the difference. To find out more about Search Engine Optimization, contact Ian Bardorf at www.BardorfMarketing.com.

Ian M. Bardorf is an Internet marketing and social media advisor to attorneys and law firms seeking to grow and advance their business via the web. This article is copyrighted as original content by Ian M. Bardorf and Bardorf Legal Marketing. This article may be reproduced or republished with appropriate attribution and credit.

Since most people (97%) search online before making a purchase, it’s logical that anyone seeking an attorney will head to Google first.

The most important thing you can do to be found in a “local search” is to claim your Google Places page and verify that the basic information is accurate. I wrote an article about Google Places that explains how in more detail.

The second most important thing to attract local searchers is to gather testimonials and ratings for your business. Client reviews are critical for local attorneys to gain visibility on search engines and social directories like Yelp that people turn to for referrals. Reviews and ratings offer two benefits: differentiating your firm from the competition and improving your rankings on the search engine results pages.

Encourage your current clients to write testimonials. Once you have obtained their reviews, submit them to relevant websites and feature them in an easy-to-use and easy-to-find section on your site and LinkedIn profile.

By Ian M. Bardorf

You’ve heard the phrase “content is king” but what does that mean when it comes to your website? It means that good content – news, testimonials, articles, blog posts and more — is the most important element of a successful website.

In fact, last April Google released its latest algorithmic change, called Panda, specifically designed to weed out low quality sites and give priority to good ones on the search engine results page. On its blog, Google urges website owners to “focus on delivering the best possible user experience” by asking themselves if their content is trustworthy, appropriate and well written.

Creating content that is meaningful to your prospects and clients and updating it regularly will improve your website’s rankings and help you promote your expertise, reach prospects and stay connected with clients.

Boost trust and rankings.
Well-written, original, relevant, updated content serves two purposes. First, it presents you and your services in a clear and compelling way that allows potential clients to find what they’re looking for easily and creates a sense of trust, credibility and professionalism. Well-written content can position you as an expert and help engage your prospects so that they choose to do business with you rather than the competition.

Second, Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines rank websites based partly on the currency of the information – how recently it’s been updated – and the relevance of that information to what the searcher is looking for.

Search engines look for current information and like dynamic websites with original content. More recently posted content means a higher ranking in the search results, which translates to more visitors to your site. Worse, if your site does not mention the topic someone is searching for, it’s not going to show up in the results at all.

Update often.
Here’s a dramatic example from my experience at Bardorf Legal Marketing that shows what a difference adding appropriate and targeted content to your site regularly can make.

Last year I launched many new attorney sites. Two of these sites, let’s call them Site A and Site B, worked in comparable practice areas. Site A added content at least once a week while Site B remained stagnant and had no new content. After six months, Site A had received double the traffic (visitors) as Site B, and by the first year mark had gotten quadruple the visitors.

Keep it simple.
Most legal concepts are complex for the average person. They don’t know the intricacies of the law. When they are faced with a legal issue, they simply want answers to their questions and guidance on how they should proceed.

When you are creating content for your website, you need to write in everyday language that most readers can understand and connect with. Use these tips to craft relevant, interesting, helpful content.

• Keep it simple. Focus on a few key points and invite them to contact you for more detailed information.
• Make it relatable. Use examples and stories from your past cases to illustrate your points.
• Keep it short. If you are writing an informative article, it should be no more than 500 words. Blog posts and news updates can be as short as 250 words.
• Break up the content. Since your prospects are likely reading the content on their computer screens, use bullet points and subheadings as much as possible.
• Give your prospects a reason to contact you. Every piece of content you write for your website should prompt the reader to contact your law firm.
• Make them an offer. If you have a free book or report, mention it at the end of your article.
• Check your spelling and grammar. Misspelled words and grammatical errors give clients – and search engines — the impression that you are careless or not credible.

You’re the Expert.
No one knows your practice area or community as well as you do. Remember this when writing for your site. Relax and write in a natural voice, similar to the way you would speak to a client in person. Answer the questions you regularly get from clients and prospects.

Here are a few ideas for generating content for your site:

• Share your knowledge. Jot down questions that your clients ask you throughout the week and turn them into FAQs for your site.
• Write about local events. Do you take burn cases? Write about a local fire. Auto accidents? Write about that DUI that happened the other night.
• Give an intern, paralegal or assistant your notes or ideas and let them turn them into website content. Even better, get them on a schedule so they add a set amount of content each week.
• Offer a mix of long articles and short FAQs, blog posts, or summaries of local news.
• Choose a topic from the recent news and write several pieces based on that. For example, if an accident was caused by a teenager texting and driving, you could write an article about the dangers of texting and driving, a news story about the actual accident, a blog post about what your state is doing about texting and driving laws, and an FAQ for people who suspect their accident was caused by a texter.
• Check other blogs for ideas for topics and updates.

Remember, according to Google, an effective website is interesting, informative, useful, attractive, organized, relevant, searchable, and usable. If your site does not meet those basic goals, then it will not meet your clients’ and prospects’ needs, which ultimately means that it will not meet your business objectives. To find out more about creating good website content, contact Ian Bardorf at www.BardorfMarketing.com.

Ian M. Bardorf is an Internet marketing and social media advisor to attorneys and law firms seeking to grow and advance their business via the web. This article is copyrighted as original content by Ian M. Bardorf and Bardorf Legal Marketing. This article may be reproduced or republished with appropriate attribution and credit.

Website content is anything visitors can see on your site. It’s the “meat” in the website sandwich. Although there are many different types of content you can use to connect with website visitors and your clients, here’s a list of common formats that you may want to consider adding to your site as part of an integrated marketing strategy:

• case summaries
• whitepapers
• podcasts
• webinars
• blogs
• newsletters
• research
• tutorials
• video
• surveys and questionnaires
• success stories
• industry news
• FAQs
• how-to articles
• did-you-knows

By Ian M. Bardorf

LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) was launched in 2003 and is now the leading professional network on the Internet. LinkedIn is reportedly growing by roughly one million new members every week — more than one member each second.

Unlike other social networks like Facebook or MySpace, LinkedIn members are professionals, primarily in the service, finance, and high tech sectors. Executives from all Fortune 500 companies are members and one million companies have LinkedIn Company Pages. There were nearly two billion people searches on LinkedIn in 2010.

Most importantly for attorneys, LinkedIn represents a valuable opportunity to market your firm to an affluent and influential membership. Here are ten things that you can do today to start taking advantage of LinkedIn.

1. Create a profile.
Like a resume, a LinkedIn profile allows you to share your professional expertise, your work history, accomplishments, skills and strengths. Even better, your profile can also include your photo, firm logo, links to your website, blog, Twitter feed, video, and more. Profiles also get good rankings on the search engine results pages and make it easier for people to find you online.

2. Update your profile.
If you’re a LinkedIn member and have allowed your profile to languish, spend some time keeping it up-to-date and bringing it to life. Make sure you are connected to all the attorneys at your firm and that recent professional highlights, awards or activities are included. You can also list specific practice areas and skills that will demonstrate your expertise and bring your profile up when someone searches on those terms.

3. Customize your URL.
Click on the Profile tab, and then scroll down to the “Public Profile” section. If the link ends in numbers and letter and slashes, click on the edit link and choose your name (or firm name), to give your public profile a more polished appearance.

4. Put links to other websites on your profile.
Right above the public profile link is a section where you can put three Web site addresses. If you have a blog, website, Facebook profile, or Twitter account, put those links there. Choose “other” in the drop down so that you can rename what the link shows the reader.

5. Build your network.
Email people in your address book and ask them if you can connect with them on LinkedIn. Either invite them to invite you, or ask for permission to get a number of good connections quickly. Include your LinkedIn address in all firm marketing materials, newsletters, and your email signature with an invitation to connect.

6. Get recommendations.
A recommendation is a brief endorsement of your work that will help you get business. Ask previous and current clients or people you know for recommendations, and return the favor. This will show on your profile, which adds to your credibility.

7. Create a company page.
A company page is a profile of your firm, listing everyone who works there and information about its specialties. A customized page with your logo makes your firm look more established and increases your visibility on the search engine results pages.

8. Update your status
You can send status updates on LinkedIn the same way you send status updates on Facebook and Twitter. You can announce events, speaking engagements, new clients when appropriate, attorneys who have joined the firm, relevant changes in the law, the latest in estate planning, or include links to interesting articles you have read.

9. Make announcements to your network.
LinkedIn email, called “InMail,” allows you to easily contact everyone in your network for important announcements or event invitations. Think about inviting your connections to your next Chamber of Commerce speaking engagement and you could double the number of attendees.

10. Get involved.
When you create a LinkedIn profile, your activities can be included in update emails other people in your network get. The more you participate the more you’ll be included. Every time someone sees your name on the network it reminds him or her about your firm, and the more likely they are to refer business to you when someone asks them a question about something they’ve seen you participate in.

LinkedIn offers a valuable opportunity for attorneys and small law firms to get referrals, connect with prospects, and stay in touch with clients. LinkedIn profiles also commonly show up near the top of search engine results. But it can be a challenge to make the most of it. To find out more about building your business on LinkedIn, contact Ian Bardorf at www.BardorfMarketing.com.

Ian M. Bardorf is an Internet marketing and social media advisor to attorneys and law firms seeking to grow and advance their business via the web. This article is copyrighted as original content by Ian M. Bardorf and Bardorf Legal Marketing. This article may be reproduced or republished with appropriate attribution and credit.

LinkedIn offers a number of applications (apps) for members to connect with other members and promote their expertise. Four that I think are especially valuable for attorneys are:

Events
The Events application adds a box to your profile that shows what events people in your network are attending. This helps you find events based on your industry and job function. You can sort by most popular events, search for events, and create new ones.

Answers
LinkedIn Answers is a tool that allows you to ask questions and answer inquiries posed by other members. It is a valuable place to share knowledge and expertise. To try it, click on the “Answers” tab.

Groups
Nearly 18 million members are a part of LinkedIn Groups, with 1.5 million joining groups every week. Groups are an opportunity to participate in conversations that are relevant to your firm’s practice areas and to answer questions that match your expertise.

SlideShare
With this app, you can share presentations and documents with your LinkedIn network and upload PDFs, presentations, video or more. You can also browse and comment on the presentations of others in your network, and see the latest presentations from your network on your homepage.