1 / 41

b y Michael Waddington, Esq.

Lawyer’s Guide to Getting More Local Clients in 2014. b y Michael Waddington, Esq. What Do I Know About Law Firm Marketing?. Lawyer – Licensed in PA, NJ, GA, SC Duquesne & Temple Law School 1998-2000 - Temple Journal of Science, Technology & Environmental Law

emma
Download Presentation

b y Michael Waddington, Esq.

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Lawyer’s Guide to Getting More Local Clients in 2014 by Michael Waddington, Esq.

  2. What Do I Know About Law Firm Marketing? • Lawyer – Licensed in PA, NJ, GA, SC • Duquesne & Temple Law School • 1998-2000 - Temple Journal of Science, Technology & Environmental Law • Started Building & Marketing Websites in 1997 • 10,000 hours of Internet consulting experience • Have consulted with over 500 law firms on Internet marketing • Own consulting firm, Legal Niche Pros

  3. What Do I Know About Law Firm Marketing? • In 2013, wrote the best selling book, "Google+ for Business Owners” • Lectured to groups across the USA • 5,000+ members in my Linkedin Marketing Groups • YouTube Channel “Lawyer Marketing Series” has 3,775+ subscribers • Featured in Forbes Magazine in 2014 as one of America’s Premier Experts • Wrote a chapter in the best selling book, "Dare to Succeed," with author Jack Canfield, author of "Chicken Soup for the Soul" Free Download - Google+ for Business Owners http://www.legalnichepros.com/google-for-business-owners/

  4. 2014 SOLO PRACTITIONER BOOT CAMP Wednesday, November 5, 2014 Location: The John Marshall Law School Atlanta, Georgia

  5. Slides and Video will be available after the recording • Ask questions in the questions panel

  6. Let’s Get Started

  7. Steps to Local Search Domination Fix Google Places Listing(s) - Audit Your Google Places Listing For Duplicates And Problems. Then, Fix And Optimize, Audit & Cleanup Citations - Find All Your Correct, Incorrect, And Duplicate Listings. Remove Duplicates, Fix Discrepancies, And Enhance Your Listings. New Citation Building - Analyze Your Existing Citations, Analyze Your Competitors’ Citations, And Identify New Citations. Get New Citations. Optimize Website For Local Search. Setup Social Media Sites & Promote Content Using Social Media. Create New Content (Articles, Videos, Photos) For Your Website, Social Media, And Blogs. Get Relevant & Powerful Links. Review Strategy… Then, Rinse & Repeat.

  8. Most Businesses Fail Including Law Firms Just getting by is not the same as succeeding.

  9. Income Categories of Small Firm and Solo Lawyers Earn less than $50,000 $50,000-$125,000 $125,000-$300,000+

  10. Lawyers at the bottom are easy to spot They are negative Jump from one marketing type to another (unfocused) Want immediate, unreasonable results Blame everyone but themselves for failure Don’t have long term plans and goals They surround themselves with similar people Follow the pack Lazy Lawyers at the TOP are easy to spot

  11. This applies to all professions: Financial planning, SEO, medicine, etc. Would you take financial advice from someone who is broke? • 37% of SEOsearned less than $30k in 2013 • 50% of SEOs earned less than $50k • (Source: Bright Local)

  12. Goal: Get & Stay In the $125k-$300k+ Group • Success Leaves Clues… So Does Failure • We must: • Analyze data and study the clues of success • Master the basics (Local Marketing not Facebook) • Systematic approach • Long term plans & goals

  13. WHY FOCUS ON LOCAL INTERNET SEARCHES • By the end of 2014, mobile searches will surpass computer searches • The majority of mobile business searches are for Local Businesses (not national) • In 2013, Local Searches provided the same results (customers) as organic searches • (Local is expected to surpass organic as a source of customers) • Local Searches outperform Social Media, Facebook, Blogs… in getting customers • Few business know how to do Local Internet Marketing • In a 2014 study, 87% of SEO experts agree that Local Marketing is getting more complex & time consuming • Takeaway – Put your efforts into Local Search Marketing before moving on to other areas

  14. Why Google Local is crucial? Desktop search for "divorce lawyer Philadelphia PA" • Top 3 are directories • Next 7 are Google Local Results • NO law firm websites are organically ranked at the top

  15. Google Maps - "divorce lawyer Philadelphia PA" • Similar Results to Google Local • Identical to Mobile Searches

  16. What does this look like on a Mobile Phone? Default View Map Only View Listing Only View

  17. How Do I Get Into the Top 7? 1. Location 2. Relevance 3. Prominence

  18. Office Location Matters “Location is a vector against which all factors and metrics will be considered.” -Ken Norton, Google Latitude

  19. DON’T EXPECT TO RANK LOCALLY IF YOU ARE NOT LOCAL! Local is within a short driving distance

  20. Results 1-10 Google Maps - "divorce lawyer Philadelphia PA"

  21. Results 11-20 Google Maps - "divorce lawyer Philadelphia PA"

  22. Results 21-30 Google Maps - "divorce lawyer Philadelphia PA" Offices in NJ… but on the 3rd page

  23. Lesson • Get an office as close to the city center as possible • Target clients in YOUR area (not 30 minutes away) • Examples: • Atlanta divorce vs. Buckhead Divorce • Evans, GA vs. Augusta, GA

  24. What Factors Get Me Ranked?

  25. General Ranking Factors • Place Page Signals (19.6%) • Categories, Proximity to city center • External Location Signals (16%) • NAP (Name, Address, Phone) consistency, Citation Volume • On-page Signals (18.8%) • Presence of NAP, Keywords in Page Titles, Domain authority • Link Signals (14.4%) • Inbound anchor text, Linking domain authority, Linking domain quantity

  26. Key Terms • NAP – Name, Address, Phone • Citation: • Smith & Smith Attorneys at Law • 111 Broad Street • Philadelphia, PA 19101 • 215-222-2222 • NOT THE SAME • Jack Smith Attorney at Law • 111 Broad Street, Suite B • Philadelphia, PA 19101 • 215-111-2222

  27. Specific Ranking Factors – 15 out of 100 Proper Category Associations (i.e. Divorce Attorney, Personal Injury Lawyer) Physical Address in City of Search Consistency of Structured Citations (NAPs are exactly the same) Quality of Structured Citations HTML NAP Matching Place Page NAP Quantity of Structured Citations (Internet Yellow Pages, Data Aggregators) Domain Authority of Website Individually Owner-verified Local Plus Page Quality/Authority of Inbound Links to Domain Quantity of Native Google Places Reviews (w/text) Product / Service Keyword in Business Title (John Smith Attorney at Law) Quantity of Citations from Locally-Relevant Domains Proximity of Physical Location to the Point of Search\n(Searcher-Business Distance) Quantity of Citations from Industry-Relevant Domains City, State in Most/All Website Title Tags

  28. Negative Ranking Factors – 15 out of 50 Listing detected at false business location Keyword stuffing in business name Mismatch NAP / Tracking Phone Numbers Across Data Ecosystem Incorrect business category Presence of Multiple Place Pages with Same/Similar Business Title and Address Mismatch NAP / Tracking Phone Number on Places Landing Page Mismatch Address on Places Landing Page Absence of Crawlable NAP on Website Presence of Multiple Place Pages with Same Phone Number Including Location Keyword in Categories Incorrectly placing your map marker Address includes suite number similar to UPS Mail Store addresses Keyword/city stuffed Place page descriptions Non-Compliant Categories (those that do not fit Listing 800 Number as Only Phone Number on Place Page

  29. Time Line Local Search Marketing is a Marathon • When done by an expert, it takes about 6 months to see solid results in Local searches, sometimes longer • Local marketing is an ongoing task • Local search is time consuming and requires a level of expertise • Use technology to learn about your competition and replicate their successes

  30. Use Technology to Gain an Advantage

  31. Use Technology to Learn from Competitors

  32. Competitor Citations

  33. Competitor Business Categories

  34. How Do You Appear Online

  35. Find and Fix Duplicates

  36. Attention to Detail Minor Errors Can Be the Difference Between Being in the Top 7 and Making $50,000 vs. $250,000+ Citations Remember: Citation consistency is crucial

  37. Like a Wild Fire, Duplicates Get Out of Control

  38. One Online Engine Can Create Hundreds of Duplicates

  39. Incomplete Listings Lower Your Ranking • We are tracking 15 listings • 12 out of 15 are incomplete • Which means, there are hundreds of incomplete listings

  40. Before You Get Started • Proper local online marketing is time consuming and requires a level of expertise. • If you are serious about success and would rather have a team of professionals help you, contact us for a free consultation. • Caveat: We only work with select positive lawyers!

  41. Contact If you have questions or would like a FREE consultation, call 1-888-807-3380. E-mail: legalnichepros@gmail.com WEBSITE: www.legalnichepros.com YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/user/legalnichepros LINKEDIN: www.linkedin.com/in/michaelwaddingtonlawyer

More Related