Law Firm Marketing Tips for Search Engine Optimization

Last week the Legal Marketing Association's South Florida City Group held a meeting on Internet marketing.

As the group's 2008 Co-Chair, I had the honor of moderating the session featuring speaker Jay Berkowitz, CEO of Ten Golden Rules (http://www.tengoldenrules.com/).

Here are a few Internet marketing "best practices" for law firms that Jay shared with the group:

1. Using the analogy of "an apple a day," Jay suggests adding one page to your web site every day. Of course, this is not always possible given the demands of a busy law firm. However, the point is that adding fresh copy to your law firm's web site on a regular basis is an excellent way to gain great search engine visibility for your legal practice.

2. Try to get clients, associations and other partners to link to your law firm's web site. Inbound links will increase your search engine placement on Google and other search engines.

3. "Search Engine Optimized PR" is also important for search engine visibility. When issuing a press release, post it to your web site about 24 hours in advance of releasing it to a wire service so that search engines can read and create a link to the release. Be sure to include important keywords in the headline and body copy of your press release.

As I always say, "you must be present to win on the Internet." These are great tips to help create high rankings in the search engines (Google, Yahoo! and others) for your law firm.

Law Firm Restructuring: Anderson Kill sets an Example

I just came across an interesting announcement from earlier this year that merits a mention in terms of law firm marketing and strategic planning.

The New York-based law firm of Anderson Kill & Olick, P.C. was faced with the amicable departure of 69 shareholders to Reed Smith after terminating merger discussions. Taking a proactive stance, Anderson Kill issued a press release announcing that it was refocusing its practice on the firm's core competencies in about six key legal practice areas. Read the release here: http://www.andersonkill.com/news_article.asp?newsid=1113

There are times when downsizing or refocusing is the right step in a firm's business development cycle. Such a dramatic action allows you to restate your mission and re-energize the team. In today's turbulent market conditions, perhaps your own firm will benefit from a refocusing or streamlining action.

The tighter your focus, the more effectively you can allocate resources. You will also be able to develop and communicate your USP (unique selling proposition) to the marketplace more forcefully.

Burger King's Success: Insights for Law Firm Marketing

Burger King's management team has orchestrated a successful turnaround in the past couple of years. Today's Wall Street Journal article ("Man Behind Burger King Turnaround; Chidsey Says Identifying His Restaurants' 'Superfan' Helped Beef Up its Offerings," by Janet Adamy) contains some marketing nuggets for legal marketers. Here is an excerpt.

WSJ: What were the keys to your company's turnaround?

Mr. Chidsey: Most importantly, I'd say it was finding who our target customer was, figuring out who was the superfan and not wasting our time trying to be all things to all people.

This is similar to the General Electric (GE) strategic goal to be first or second in each market segment, even if it means creating a unique market niche. The same type of approach works in any business, including law firms. Focus on your "ideal" clients with the right mix of distinctive service offerings. Try to avoid spreading yourself too thin by being a jack of all legal trades and master of none.

This principle can be applied also in regard to multiple practice areas within your firm. Consider eliminating the weak performers in order to focus your resources on what you do best.

(In the spirit of full disclosure -- since this is a legal column -- I must admit to being a fan of the Whopper Jr. priced at about $1. With all too easy access to a Burger King right across the parking lot from my office building, I will continue to watch and weight the firm's success.)