If you’ve been using professional SEO practices for a while, then you probably think everything about your online reputation is just fine. But there may be some surprises lurking beyond the first page or two of your search results. Perhaps some negative reviews from former clients that you’ve never seen before? Images of you that someone else posted and tagged with your name from that party you’d rather forget? An angry letter you let fly to the local newspaper and now regret? Is it easy for someone who Googles you to tell immediately what type of law you practice and where you are located? Or ..read more

Originally published on Sept. 9, 2015, and updated on Oct. 3, 2019: One of the most common questions I get from attorneys is how to identify the right social media networks for their firms.  Frankly, it’s not that hard. The most important thing in identifying the right social media platform is to know your target market.   If you don’t know that, then any marketing you are doing anywhere is just a shot in the dark. Once you know the characteristics of your market, you can then focus on the social media networks that do the best job of reaching that audience.  Here are demographic breakdowns on ..read more

Originally published on Feb. 20, 2017; updated on Sept. 26, 2019. A strong referral base is only built over a period of time and is based on cultivating great relationships with referral sources. Developing those relationships is a two-way street, especially when it comes to building a referral network of other, noncompeting attorneys. Achieving this goal is impossible if you are only asking your legal peers for referrals when you see them.  It requires regular contact and you showing as much concern for their business as you are asking them to show for yours. Here are my 8 simple steps attorn ..read more

This post was originally published on Dec. 18, 2018, and updated on Sept. 24, 2019: Do you know how much money each lead is really costing you? How much does it cost you to get a new client? Knowing the answers to these questions can mean the difference between a profitable firm and a struggling one.  These numbers are known as “KPIs” — Key Performance Indicators. They are the critical numbers or metrics that run your law firm. Two of the most important KPIs that every law firm should be tracking include: (1) your Cost Per Lead (CPL) and (2) your Cost Per Client (CPC).  There are some simple w ..read more

Having high-quality content on your law firm blog is one of the best ways to improve your Google search ranking and online authority. When people — your prospects — like what you have to say online, you are rewarded by Google as well as by those who are ready to hire an attorney to help them solve their legal problems. But creating good, consistent content is not easy. Too often, the task of continually pumping out posts falls by the wayside when you get busy doing other things. This is why creating an editorial calendar for your blog is so important. It serves as a guide and a reminder to kee ..read more

Originally published on May 22, 2019; updated with new info on Oct. 10, 2019. Here’s a lesson that many attorneys learn the hard way: you will never have that lifestyle law firm you want if you keep taking on the wrong types of clients. These are the people that fall outside a pre-defined category of what constitutes your ideal client.  You need to look at your most profitable clients and create an ideal client profile, then qualify your leads to fit that profile. These five tried-and-true tips will help you attract your ideal client and keep them coming back to you: You can find additional ..read more

If you’ve been using professional SEO practices for awhile, then you probably think everything about your online reputation is just fine. But there may be some surprises lurking beyond the first page or two of your search results. Perhaps some negative reviews from former clients that you’ve never seen before? Images of you that someone else posted and tagged with your name from that party you’d rather forget? An angry letter you let fly to the local newspaper and now regret? Is it easy for someone who Googles you to tell immediately what type of law you practice and where you are located? Or ..read more

Originally published on Sept. 9, 2015, and updated on Oct. 3, 2019: One of the most common questions I get from attorneys is how to identify the right social media networks for their firms.  Frankly, it’s not that hard. The most important thing in identifying the right social media platform is to know your target market.   If you don’t know that, then any marketing you are doing anywhere is just a shot in the dark. Once you know the characteristics of your market, you can then focus on the social media networks that do the best job of reaching that audience.  Here are demographic breakdowns on ..read more

Originally published on March 8, 2019, and updated on Oct. 1, 2019: You know the importance of digital marketing for law firm business development. You realize that much of your online success — if and when it comes — depends on doing the right things SEO-wise so your law firm website shows up on the first page of Google. You know that you certainly do not have the time (nor the inclination, probably) to become an SEO expert. You did not go to law school for this. So you hire someone to take this on — either someone on your staff or an external resource. Because it’s important. It must be done ..read more

Originally published on Feb. 20, 2017; updated on Sept. 26, 2019. A strong referral base is only built over a period of time and is based on cultivating great relationships with referral sources. Developing those relationships is a two-way street, especially when it comes to building a referral network of other, noncompeting attorneys. Achieving this goal is impossible if you are only asking your legal peers for referrals when you see them.  It requires regular contact and you showing as much concern for their business as you are asking them to show for yours. Here are my 8 simple steps attorn ..read more