Google’s Local Service Ads For Lawyers – What You Need To Know

Bardorf Legal Marketing

Google’s Local Services Ads are a new way for lawyers and law firms to reach potential clients. LSAs are sponsored listings that appear at the very top of a search engine results page (SERP). The pay per lead model is different than Google Adword’s traditional pay per click model which charges for each click on the ad. With LSAs, you only pay for qualified leads according to your defined practice category and geographic area. The product has been around for several years serving other professional services, but only recently made available to lawyers in certain practice areas including Bankruptcy, Criminal Defense, Estate Planning, Family Law, Immigration, Personal Injury, Real Estate, and Tax law. Local Service Ads Overview There are several requirements to complete before your

Are You Paying Too Much For FindLaw?

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You’ve been with FindLaw for so many years that you’ve lost count. You dutifully pay them month after month, year over year. Your practice is busy, thankfully and quite frankly, you don’t have the time to pay as much attention to FindLaw as perhaps you should considering the thousands you spend with them every year. Calculating the ROI and researching your marketing options is a continuous outstanding issue that remains a nagging constant in the back of your mind. But you’re busy taking care of clients and practicing law and just don’t have the time to delve into the details. Sound familiar? This is the story we regularly hear from past FindLaw clients. After years of paying a premium price, these attorneys realized they had

How Attorneys Get Glowing Client Reviews on Google

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As an attorney, you don’t have a lot of spare time. You are busy representing your clients, poring over the details of legal precedents, and looking for an edge in each of your cases. The last thing you have time for is marketing. And even if you choose to be proactive and implement some small, DIY marketing initiatives, it’s often very difficult to turn these efforts into effective results. Take Google reviews, for example. Consumers increasingly rely on Google reviews for guidance in almost all purchasing decisions. In fact, research has shown that “63.6 percent of consumers say they are likely to check online reviews on Google before visiting a business.” That’s huge! So maybe you decide to ask each of your satisfied clients to

Branding Your Law Firm: How Client Reviews Tell Your Story, Establish Trust and Improve SEO

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Welcome to the trust economy, where potential customers rely more on online customer reviews than they do on personal referrals. At least, that’s what recent data indicates. According to BrightLocal’s Local Consumer Survey, “Ninety-one percent of 18 to 34-year-old consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.” Across all surveyed age groups, eighty-six percent of potential customers read local online reviews prior to making a purchase decision. Are you regularly getting positive online reviews from your clients? If not, you’re ignoring an important means of generating new business through building brand trust and boosting search engine optimization. Brand awareness from the search engine’s point-of-view You want your potential clients to associate your firm with a particular niche, OUI defense or car accident injury for

The Transformation of Law Practice – From Personal Referrals to Online Reviews

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There was a time when people had “their lawyer”. The reliable, trusted, go-to person who would handle all legal matters that life presented. Things are quite different today as most folks no longer rely on just one lawyer to handle all the legal issues that arise in life, whether it be negotiation of a prenuptial agreement, purchase of a home, reviewing a business contract, filing for bankruptcy, mediating a divorce, or drafting a will. There are two reasons for this transformation. First, as the law has gotten increasingly complex, consumers are searching for lawyers who specialize in specific areas of the law. Today, most immigration attorneys would think twice before representing a client in a complex divorce case, at least if they wanted to keep

Why Attorneys Should Have A Live Chat Receptionist On Their Website

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One of the primary ways people research and select attorneys nowadays is through the Internet. The attorney’s “front door” is no longer the physical door to his law office, but rather the home page to his website. And as in other business interactions, the first impression made upon the customer is of vital importance. That being the case, it only makes sense that the marketing-savvy attorney needs an online “receptionist” to welcome any and all visitors who come through that virtual front door. And that is where Live Chat comes into the picture. The Benefits of Using A Live Chat Receptionist Live Chat has been proven to increase conversion rates and customer engagement. For instance, one study found that “live chat is the most preferred

How Attorneys May Unknowingly Put Their Reputation and Website Visitors at Risk

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So you succeeded in creating and launching your law firm website —it’s polished, professional, and providing your firm with that online presence we all understand these days is of such importance…and is growing more and more crucial. What many attorneys don’t understand, however, can be truly detrimental to their website and in the long run detrimental to their legal practice–not just financially but also to the attorney’s professional reputation. Think of the website you so carefully built as a home or perhaps more appropriately for attorneys, your office space. Your clients and welcomed visitors should feel safe as they browse helpful information from your site and learn more about you and your legal services. They expect a level of professional responsibility while visiting your website

Attorneys Beware – Top 4 Internet Scams Busy Lawyers Need To Know

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Attorneys are busy professionals with a lot on their minds; primarily clients and their cases and they don’t have time to get caught up in Internet scams targeting their vulnerabilities; mainly their need to be visible on the Internet and their lack of time to properly research Internet and marketing services. Below are four of the top Internet scams all attorneys need to watch out for and avoid. Domain Renewal Scams Before you launch a website on the Internet, you select and register a domain name. An example would be (mylawfirm.com). There are hundreds of domain registration companies, but some of the most notable are GoDaddy, Network Solutions and Register.com where you purchase a domain for usually under $20, and you typically renew the domain

How Attorneys Can Protect Their Online Reputation

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You never get a second chance to make a first impression. That is why your online reputation and Google results are so important. Competition among attorneys is fierce and to make sure that what your potential clients are seeing and reading about you is accurate; you need to be proactive in managing your online search results. Busy lawyers often neglect how they appear on the Internet when someone Google’s their name. It’s important to understand that the Internet is now the primary research source to find attorneys. Managing your online presence is critically important to growing your law practice and maintaining your good reputation. Why Your Online Reputation is Important We live in a modern, technical world and the first place people turn when they

8 Critical Website Elements Attorneys Need to Convert Visitors to Clients

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We are living in a technological era. All you have to do is survey the landscape of Google, YouTube, social media, and of course the ever-expanding universe of websites, and it becomes all too clear just how critical it is not only to have a website, but also to ensure it delivers all you need. If you follow some simple guidelines, your website will provide potential clients who land fresh on your page, the information and confidence they need to contact you to discuss their legal issues. The bottom line—your website needs to be a stunning reflection of you and your legal services, providing the information and credibility needed to convert visitors into paying clients. We all know how important time is, and as our

Is Your Website Secure? What Attorneys Need To Know About Upgrading to SSL.

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Trust plays a critical role in lawyer/client relationships and a lawyer’s ability to acquire and retain clients. The same holds true in the online world as well. Visitors to your website need to trust that your site is safe and secure to browse. Additionally, search engines like Google place greater value on websites that make the extra effort to ensure their visitors are viewing a safe site. In today’s age of Internet hackers, spammers, spoofing, and phony sites, it is not only responsible to secure your website but it is a distinct advantage as well. A Brief History of SSL SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer, but don’t let technical jargon get in the way of knowing what goes into making your HTTPS site secure.

6 Things Every Attorney Should Know To Rank Well On Google

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Have you ever “Googled” yourself? What did you see? If you searched specifically for your name, your website is probably listed right at the top of the results page. But if you typed in a more general term related to your practice, you may find your website on the second page or even lower. That’s because Google – the search engine giant – rank results according to a complex algorithm. This mathematical formula takes into account hundreds of different criteria when deciding which websites are the best match for a searcher’s query. There are many factors, but in general, Google is looking for credible websites with high quality, relevant and recent content. But ranking well is challenging so it’s important to have reasonable expectations and

What to Look For When Hiring a Marketing Firm For Your Law Practice

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To survive and thrive in this competitive economy, your firm needs a well-designed and well-executed marketing plan. An effective marketing plan will raise your profile, establish your reputation, and generate leads that can be turned into new clients. Most attorneys understand the need for a strategic marketing plan, but few have the time or expertise to implement one. The rise of the Internet, Google search, social media and mobile phones have changed the way attorneys reach and engage their clients. Traditional tactics such as yellow page ads and face-to-face networking used to drive prospects. Now people expect real-time access to information about your firm on their phones and make decisions by reading reviews – the online equivalent of word of mouth. This means that attorneys

How can I be sure I’m making the most of my marketing budget?

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If you would like to get more out of your marketing budget, you may want to consider hiring a firm to help. Here are some questions attorneys and law firms should be asking themselves and thier potential marketing partner. Questions to ask yourself: Can you meet with a local account representative who can make immediate changes to your marketing campaign? Is it a long-term relationship or is it always a new rep? Are you getting the results you expected? Do you feel you’re getting your money’s worth? Can you be spending your monthly budget better or more effectively? Have you considered taking your budget and reallocating it across more opportunities? If so, how? Who will help you manage all these different relationships? Questions for your

Using the Law to Protect Your Online Reputation

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Reviews are very important these days. Eighty-five percent of consumers say that they read online reviews for local businesses to determine whether these businesses are good or not. But with more people reading and posting reviews, you need to make sure you are protecting your good reputation. Part of reputation management is monitoring review sites and your search engine ranking. You want to make sure that when someone searches for “your name” that the positive reviews outweigh any negative ones. We encourage our clients to be proactive and obtain favorable reviews on selective review sites. But more and more we are hearing from clients who get inaccurate, misleading, or defamatory reviews and are unable to get them corrected or removed entirely from online properties, namely

Google Penalizes Non-mobile Responsive Websites

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On April 21, 2015 having a mobile-friendly website will become more important than ever. That’s the date Google has picked to start penalizing non-mobile responsive sites. Google is going to start lowering the rankings of any site that isn’t mobile ready. Google wants to give searchers the best results possible, and sending someone to a site that’s difficult or impossible to read via mobile is not a good experience. Mobile-responsive sites are those that “respond” to a user’s screen size. According to a recent study, 60% of U.S. adults now choose smartphones or tablets over PCs to find information before buying products and services offline. With more people spending more time on their mobile devices, the pressure is on to make sure your website is

Legal Marketing Year in Review

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2014 was a big year in Internet marketing. Some of the hottest trends – the rise of mobile and the explosion of apps – were plain to see. But many of the biggest changes happened behind the scenes. These affected Internet marketing dramatically but were invisible to the average Internet user. Staying up to date in this evolving landscape is a challenge. In this issue, find out about the big changes in 2014, five lessons for 2015, and how we work very hard to keep you safe, secure, and visible. 5 Factors That Influenced Your Online Visibility It seems like every year there is big news in Internet marketing. The tools and techniques continue to evolve. This forces attorneys who market themselves online to get

Yelp For Attorneys: Marketing Opportunity or Reputation Nightmare?

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Good reviews are a great way to connect with new clients and build your business. Avvo and LinkedIn are preferred places for attorneys to share reviews. But last spring, an online survey claimed that Yelp is the most popular and trusted website for legal reviews. I read the report shortly after it was published and didn’t give it much merit. However, it received recognition from industry influencers who re-published the findings on their blogs. Yelp starting pushing the positive claims to my clients who in turn asked me about the benefits of advertising their legal services on Yelp. Yelp is undoubtedly a well-liked site, with reviews on everything from hotels and restaurants to barbers and mechanics, and even some attorneys. But is Yelp really the

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Author: Bardorf Legal Marketing

Google’s Local Service Ads For Lawyers – What You Need To Know

Are You Paying Too Much For FindLaw?

How Attorneys Get Glowing Client Reviews on Google

Branding Your Law Firm: How Client Reviews Tell Your Story, Establish Trust and Improve SEO

The Transformation of Law Practice – From Personal Referrals to Online Reviews

Why Attorneys Should Have A Live Chat Receptionist On Their Website

How Attorneys May Unknowingly Put Their Reputation and Website Visitors at Risk

Attorneys Beware – Top 4 Internet Scams Busy Lawyers Need To Know

How Attorneys Can Protect Their Online Reputation

8 Critical Website Elements Attorneys Need to Convert Visitors to Clients

Is Your Website Secure? What Attorneys Need To Know About Upgrading to SSL.

6 Things Every Attorney Should Know To Rank Well On Google

What to Look For When Hiring a Marketing Firm For Your Law Practice

How can I be sure I’m making the most of my marketing budget?

Using the Law to Protect Your Online Reputation

Google Penalizes Non-mobile Responsive Websites

Legal Marketing Year in Review

Yelp For Attorneys: Marketing Opportunity or Reputation Nightmare?

Bardorf Legal Marketing

Supreme Internet Marketing for Attorneys

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