injury-marketing

SEO is a 4 letter word, and for good reason; well over 99% of people and firms offering the services are either incompetent or selling snake oil. Personal Injury is very competitive as well and results don’t come overnight. Internet marketing does indeed offer a great ROI (I built my last 3 businesses on it) but it goes wrong most of the time.

The Timing

2016 is a unique time. There are many attorneys out there who are well established and gained their clientele via ways other than the Internet such as other marketing methods like signs, business cards, referrals, TV ads, word of mouth, large cases or networking. Some attorneys specialize in niche areas such as aviation injuries or have such a reputation they don’t even need a website. Others practice in smaller towns where the Internet just isn’t that important. In more technically advanced areas with over 100,000 people, the Internet is the place to be.

How to get cases online.

Content & SEO is what it’s all about. Having lots of content that ranks well ensures people will find you when they are looking for you. To have content that ranks you need 3 things.

  • Content. Content needs to answer the questions which people are asking. One of the biggest missed opportunities in the PI world is simply having a bland page on an area of practice such as “premises liability”. I have monitored the traffic to such pages for years and the page is not very useful. Sure, it is necessary to have but content people are asking Google is more along the lines of “Can I sue Walmart if an employee dropped a couch on my head?”. Read more about legal content writing.
  • SEO. Of course, I could write a 1,000 page book on SEO but the gist of it is getting powerful links to your website. Please note that I did not say “a large quantity of crappy links”. Obtaining links is a special skill. ALL SEOs know that this is the #1 ranking factor and FEW know how to actually get them. Just a few days ago I was linked to by CNN completely organically. Regardless of who does your SEO you will be hard pressed to find one who is better at getting links than myself- I have seen it all and watched the injury niche for many years.
  • Website. You need a functional, responsive website with a big phone number on top. Design and prettiness is really unimportant but something that can be done- to me this is not a priority by any means. I have thrown together plenty of lackluster sites which get cases. If your site loads fast and works on a phone you’ve won 99% of the battle here.

Established attorneys and rankings.

Love it or hate it, online anyone can rank. Inexperienced attorneys can rank at the top of page 1, especially in smaller cities.

Doing SEO for an established law firm is great. When I am working with the best it is easy to make them look like the best. If you’ve been practicing in your city for 20 years longer than everyone else have have 8X the reviews this can really help. Additionally, these firms have likely been mentioned by the news before and have natural links. The age of their links and the age of their website are SEO factors.

When to NOT do Internet Marketing

SEO is a journey which doesn’t happen overnight. In many situations it may make sense to get established, network, and get some cases under your belt before you begin dropping serious cash on an Internet marketing campaign. When you can afford one, go with a budget that you can afford long term or permanently. If you can not begin yet the best thing you can do is at least get a website up. If you have time,add a blog to it.

Recap

SEO & content do result in cases and work for a plethora of business types, including personal injury lawyers. If you have questions about it, social media, AVVO or Yelp advertising feel free to contact me today.

Len
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On May 9, 2016   /   SEO News & Tips   /   Leave a comment

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