04/29/2010
Kevin Quinlan, law firm marketing expert, offers insight into how including a law blog/newsroom into your legal marketing plan can improve your web presence in Google and the other search engines

Much has changed over the last decade in the way that consumers acquire information and in particular how they stay up to date on news and current events. Information is everywhere and the feeding frenzy among consumers is spreading almost virally. Whether it’s checking in with Google or Yahoo News, browsing CNN.com, or receiving RSS feeds or podcasts, the public is tuned in and wants to stay informed in real time. Breaking news no longer languishes until the 11 pm broadcast to be disseminated, it’s published to the TV station’s website immediately and then reported on the nightly news.

Is your law firm marketing program taking advantage of the new media and incorporating it into your legal marketing plan? Does your law firm website also include a law blog, or even better, a legal newsroom that your attorneys contribute to? Providing insightful commentary on politics or changes in the law that affect your areas of practice, or offering tips and educational articles on legal topics of interest to potential clients and syndicating them through your news engine can catapult your web presence to the next level. When carefully re-crafted, current news tied in to a case study or used to answer typical consumer questions about lawsuits and the law, can get picked up on the web and attract hundreds, if not thousands, of impressions. More impressions can mean more unique visitors to your website and can help build links back to your articles, elevating your profile within the search engines.

Here are four Internet marketing tips for law firms to get your blogs/articles picked up on the web:

1)  Create relevant content. Be newsworthy and informative. Anticipate and answer potential clients’ questions about the legal process as it might relate to their case. Geo target your articles for your sphere of influence.

2)  Articles should have a headline that includes keywords your prospects might be searching for and should clearly state what the article is about. Craft a short summary paragraph that also includes some key words that stimulates interest in the story. Link relevant key words or phrases back to appropriate web pages that include a call to action.

Hint– perform a search on Google and review the related searches at the bottom of the page for other popular key words that might be relevant.

3)  Use social media like Facebook and Twitter to help broadcast your news and updates about your law firm.

4)  Be certain that your blog has the ability to syndicate news feeds.

In order for your law firm marketing program to take full advantage of the trends in new media, it is important to affiliate with an online news distribution/syndication partner that has established online networks so your law blog articles have the best chance for pickup on the web.

Cepac, a lawyer marketing agency, can dramatically improve your law firm’s Internet presence by providing a complete array of services including custom website design for attorneys, social media strategies and lawyer newsroom/blog solutions that include the creation of relevant content.

Cepac’s smart online newsroom software actually helps optimize your articles for better indexing on the search engines and then broadcast the news and articles across a wide network of newswire partners.

For more information on Cepac’s private label newsrooms using Smart News Technology, website design for attorneys or to develop a comprehensive Internet marketing / lawyer public relations  program including social media, contact Kevin Quinlan lawyer marketing director for Cepac.com. Law firms looking for a marketing director for their law firm can also benefit from our services.