A Social Media Strategy For Lawyers (That Actually Works!)
Someone Threw Something At My Mailbox (And Where I Threw It Next)
An article titled “11 Reasons Why Your Business Should NOT Advertise with Yellow Pages” was first published online in 2010. But keep reading, because you don’t need eleven reasons for not advertising in the phone book.
You only need one. It’s a complete waste of money.
And you don’t need an internet marketing company to tell you that the internet will continue to be the key to attorney marketing.
The phone book has been dead for a long time. It isn’t coming back.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE SCENE OF THE CRIME?
I’m telling you this because the subject was tossed at me – literally – several weeks back.
I saw someone toss an item from a moving white van toward the approximate vicinity of my mailbox.
I had a hunch that it might be a phone book, so I ventured outside to inspect the item, and I was right. Unfortunately – yet somehow, also predictably – an attorney was advertising right there on the cover of the phone book.
It was drive-by marketing – in broad daylight. And the white van made a clean getaway.
My generation – and almost certainly yours as well – as a special file for telephone books. The circular file.
WHO USES A PHONE BOOK IN 2018? (THAT’S RIGHT – NOBODY)
No one uses a telephone directory in 2018, especially to look for an attorney. It’s bulky, and it’s difficult to read and use. If you keep it, it ends up becoming clutter.
Anyone seeking an attorney in 2018 will go online and will probably consider several attorneys before reaching out to one.
Phone books are superfluous. We toss them in the trash, and – quite honestly – if you are advertising in the phone book, you might as well be tossing your cash in the trash as well.
Phone books are local. The internet is global. You can change a phone book ad – maybe – after a year. You can update your website immediately and easily.
WHAT ABOUT RETURN ON INVESTMENT?
The cost of phone book advertising in 2018 is entirely out of proportion to its value – which is zero. You simply get no return on investment from telephone directory advertising.
Phone books simply are not the way telephone numbers are stored in the 21st century. We don’t watch movies at drive-ins, and we don’t need operators for long-distance calls, either.
And we could probably do with less drive-by marketing.
WE DO MARKETING RIGHT
If you’d like to learn more about how our internet marketing company helps attorneys and law firms, email us – info@socialfirestarter.com – or call us at 619-607-4300.
But even if you don’t contact us, please – stop wasting your money on phone book ads that millions of people are tossing into the garbage.
Does Google Treat Lawyers Like Pizza?
A client emailed us several weeks ago with a question about Google Maps, and the answer is something that’s important enough to share with everyone.
Our client is in Edinburg, Texas. He told us that he was conducting searches for “personal injury attorney Edinburg” and for “personal injury lawyer Edinburg.”
He told us, “When I search from my office, the firm shows up, but when I’m in other parts of Edinburg, the firm is not coming up in the maps, and it’s ranking fifth or below.”
WHY AREN’T YOU SHOWING UP ON GOOGLE MAPS?
Why is this happening? It’s everywhere – not just Edinburg, Texas. It happens because your precise location is perhaps the most important element Google considers when it returns search results for products and services.
If you are located closer to the consumer who’s doing a search, you have a better chance of showing up on the map or receiving a top ranking.
That is a formula which works great for ordering a pizza. The problem is, when you are seeking an attorney, you don’t want the closest lawyer – you want the best one. Google could be doing this for several reasons.
It could just be lazy coding, or it might be something that Google can fix soon for specific services like doctors, accountants, lawyers, real estate agents, and similar professional services – where consumers are seeking the best rather than the nearest.
IS THERE A WAY TO INCREASE YOUR VISIBILITY ON GOOGLE MAPS?
Google Maps was not always this way. In the past, if you ranked for Edinburg, it didn’t really matter exactly where you were in Edinburg – you were still going to show up on the maps.
Edinburg’s not a particularly big city, but now, even in different parts of the same small city, we are discovering these kinds of search proximity issues. Depending on where you are located when you are searching, your search results will be completely different.
Increasing the number of quality backlinks that link back to your site is the surest way to increase your visibility on Google Maps. You must have high-quality backlinks.
Google considers the quality and number of your backlinks when it ranks you, so whenever you publish something, speak publicly, or participate in a charity event, ask for a link on that organization’s website.
Too often, a less-than-professional internet marketing company will simply automate the backlinking process to create lots of poor backlinks for a client, but Google can recognize and penalize automated backlinking.
However, an experienced, professional internet marketing company can help you build the quality backlinks you need to improve your visibility on Google Maps.
How to Get Law Clients to Insert Keywords in Reviews Without Appearing Spammy
How to Get Law Clients to Insert Keywords in Reviews Without Appearing Spammy
How To Quickly Increase Your Google Rankings (With No SEO Skills)
Clients usually hire our internet marketing company to overhaul their entire internet marketing presence, but some clients need results ASAP.
Social Firestarter can typically launch a comprehensive lawyer website with all new content in about six weeks, but in the interim, we optimize the content on the existing website as a first step. That increases calls and leads immediately.
What we do is simple. We take a top keyword or phrase from the client’s website – say “criminal defense attorney” or “personal injury lawyer.”
IDENTIFYING KEYWORDS IS THE KEY
We use that phrase to determine what other keywords are used by the highest-ranking pages which also use that same key phrase, we add these other keywords to our client’s pages, and then we watch the client’s ranking improve.
Google relies on synonyms and close variants of those synonyms to determine a page’s content and topic. Thus, to rank for “criminal defense attorney,” your content must have related words and phrases such as:
1. arrest
2. DUI
3. bail
4. legal consultation
5. and scores of other possible keywords
The biggest challenge is determining which keywords are the most important. We use a website called Text-Tools.net. Buy a membership – it’s not costly – or check out the free trial.
HOW DOES TEXT-TOOLS WORK?
When you login to Text-Tools.net, go to “Semantic Analysis” and then click “TFIDF.” When you type in the keyword you’ve chosen – “criminal defense attorney” in our example here – Text-Tools lets you see:
1. which web pages are ranking highest for the keyword you entered
2. what other keywords those sites have in common
The search will take several minutes. When it’s complete, go to the left column, click “Jobs” and then click “Completed.”
You’ll usually see a list of your completed searches, so at the top of that list, find the search you’ve just completed for “criminal defense attorney,” and under the “URL” column, click “Analysis.”
DON’T BE INTIMIDATED – THIS IS EASY
You’ll see a chart. It may look overwhelming at first, but it’s actually simple.
It charts the twenty highest-ranking web pages that use the keyword you’ve entered, and it shows the other keywords those pages are using.
You may see a thousand or more words – don’t let that bother you. At the top of the page, click “Show,” and you can choose to see only 50 or 100 keywords.
Then click “Compare” (top right), and allow several minutes for the comparison to appear. While you wait, go back to your own page and click “Command-A” or “Control-A” to highlight the entire page.
HOW TEXT-TOOLS MAKES THIS METHOD EVEN EASIER
Copy your page, return to Text-Tools, and below the chart, paste all of the content you’ve copied into “Semantic Analysis: Text Input.” Then click “Analyze My Text.”
A new chart will appear, and the “gaps” in that chart will point to the keywords that are on your competitors’ pages – but not on yours. These are the words you need on your site.
Click “Show 100” or 200 or 500 to see even more keywords you may need.
Text-Tools makes it easy, because at the bottom of the page, you’ll see “Adding some of the following terms might improve the ranking of your text,” and a list of the keywords you need is provided right there.
THAT’S ALL IT TAKES
Add a little content to your page, maybe rewrite some content, and write to “weave” your keywords smoothly into your text. When you’re finished, you can go through the process again to check on your improvement.
Just adding a few important keywords can increase the relevancy of your page, the quality of your content, and your ranking. As your ranking rises, so will your calls and leads.
In summary, use Text-Tools to find the keywords you’re missing. Google will associate you with those keywords and will likely start to rank you higher.
WHERE CAN YOU FIND MORE MARKETING HELP AND ADVICE?
At Social Firestarter, we’ve seen clients move from page four or five to page one of the Google rankings using this method alone.
To learn more about how our internet marketing company chooses keywords and raises the rankings for our clients, email us – info@socialfirestarter.com – or call us at 619-607-4300.
We’re always ready to answer your questions about keywords, content, and increasing your Google ranking.
How To Rank Your Videos On Page One Of Google
You can generate leads right now – with only a few clicks of your mouse – even for videos that have languished for months with almost no views.
You’re about to read a step-by-step walk-through on how to rank a YouTube attorney video high on Google. It’s a proven method that our internet marketing agency uses and recommends.
It takes five steps:
1. Purchase Wirecast® for YouTube.
2. Set up your YouTube channel for live streaming.
3. Livestream your video.
4. Edit your video.
5. Watch it rank on Google, and start gathering leads.
Step #1: Purchase Wirecast® For Youtube
Purchase Telestream’s Wirecast® software from their website. It’s easily worth the $695 investment – as you’ll see – or check out the free trial version first.
Step #2: Set Up Your Youtube Channel For Live Streaming
With the software installed, login to your YouTube channel and “Creator Studio.” Click “Live Streaming” and enable it.
You’ll get an automated confirmation call or text from Google with a six-digit code. Enter it and click “Create Live Event.”
Let’s say that you want to rank high for “Dallas Personal Injury Attorney.” Put that phrase in the title (or “Cincinnati Divorce Attorney” or whatever keyword is right for you).
How Can You Get The Maximum Impact From Your Title?
Put your phone number in the title, and it will also appear on the Google search result page. That alone may generate calls and leads.
Try to use two keywords or phrases – for maximum impact. Your title might look like “Dallas Personal Injury Attorney – Fort Worth Medical Malpractice Attorney – 555-555-5555.”
Enter a start time for the “event.” Give yourself about thirty minutes to complete the setup. For “Type,” select “Custom” (for more encoding options) and then open “Advanced Settings.”
The key Advanced Setting is “Location.” In this example, our attorney should enter “Dallas” and “Fort Worth.” Click “English” for “Language,” but leave the other settings on the defaults.
Have The Right “Thumbnail” Already Selected
Click “Create Event” in the top right corner. You’ll have the opportunity to pick a thumbnail – think of it like a book cover or a movie poster. It’s an important choice.
You’ll be asked to “Choose Maximum Sustained Bitrate of Your Encoder.” Choose “Custom Injection” and then select “Create New Stream.”
You’ll be asked to “name” the stream – although you’ve already “titled” it – for convenience, you can name it “Wirecast.”
For “Maximum Sustained Bitrate That You Can Support,” select “500 Kbps – 2000 Kbps (480 p).” Then “Save Changes.”
You’ll be asked to “select Your Encoder.” Click “Wirecast for YouTube.” Then, at the top right, click “Save Changes.” You should see the confirmation message “Event Successfully Saved.”
Finally, below the YouTube search engine, click “Live Control Room,” and you’ve done all you can for the moment on YouTube. Open the Wirecast® software.
Step #3: Livestream Your Video
To stream a video you’ve already created, under the “File” menu, select “Import Media” and choose that video. Under the “Output” menu, select “Output Settings.”
Click “Authenticate” to connect the software to YouTube. Click “Allow” when asked if the software can “manage” your account.
Click “Stream,” and the video will begin encoding to YouTube. Return to YouTube and click “Preview.”
Check that the preview is “Good.” After a few moments, YouTube will give you the option to “Start Streaming.” Select it. You’ll be asked to confirm live streaming. Click “Yes.”
Let the video play through two or three times – that helps with editing. When you finish streaming, it typically takes about five minutes to complete processing.
Step #4: Edit Your Video
By letting the video stream two or three times, if there was any problem in processing, you can edit those parts out, and you’ll be able to edit the video for its highest possible quality.
If you’ve done everything else right – immediately, even while it processes and before you’ve selected tags or added a description – your video may be ranking high on Google.
If not, or to learn more about how our internet marketing agency can help you create highly-ranked YouTube videos, email us – info@socialfirestarter.com – or call us at 619-607-4300.
We’re always ready to talk about video and answer your other internet marketing questions.
