Legal Marketing & SEO Blog

I Spy a legal referral company looking for clients.

For law firm marketing professionals seeking competitive intelligence, GoogSpy offers a trove of marketing data. What keywords are competitors purchasing and what audiences are they targeting?

At first glance, GoogSpy offers a clean user interface reminiscent of Google. However, unlike Google, GoogSpy isn't flawless as the disclaimer notes. I've come across an error message or two on occasion, but waiting a few seconds and reloading the page works as a temporary fix. The hassle is well worth the value of the information that GoogSpy uncovers.

So, I ran a search for martindale. The results returned included some matching domain names and search terms.

I clicked on the martindale.com link which then lead me to a page that displayed Martindale's rankings for certain search terms, its top 25 competitors, and Google Adwords it pays for. It appears that Martindale is targeting lawyers seeking legal support services.

I guess that Martindale is trying to become more than just a lawyer directory. Do they give AV ratings to court reporters too? :-) While you are using GoogSpy, don't forget to have a little fun.

I Spy a political party that is targeting the House majority leader.

I Spy a competitive intelligence web site that I will be returning to a lot in the future.

Posted In Free Marketing Tools , Law Firm Competitive Intelligence

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Hi Friends,

Google today released "My Search History" which allows you to see your search history on Google, AND the links on the search results pages that you clicked on.

Above are my first few stored searches as shown on my "My Search History" page.

As you can see, Google stores your search history, and allows you to search your search history. Over time you will be able to view what you were searching for, as well as the link you clicked on for thousands of searches.

At some point, Google will use your search history information to give you the option of seeing new Google search results that are influenced by your previous search history.

Google's My Search History feature will be very useful to legal (and non-legal) researchers. I like it already!

Peace - Tim

:: Again Tonight, Whenever We Wanted by John Mellencamp

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A multi-billion dollar technology company has unveiled the latest wrinkle in search engine functionality. However, this time, we're talking about Microsoft, not Google. Surprised?

Starting from MSN.com, I ran a search for law firm web design.

Similarly, I can run the same law firm web design search from MSN Search.

Here are the search results.

Now, at the bottom of the search results page, there is an RSS link.

Clicking the RSS link, leads you to the RSS Feed for MSN Search page.

You have the option of pasting the URL provided into your own RSS reader, or clicking on one of the three buttons to add the MSN search feed to one of the readers displayed. I clicked on the My Yahoo button, which took me to My Yahoo. I then clicked on the + Add To My Yahoo! button.

My Yahoo then reported that the feed had been added. Clicking on the Go to My Yahoo! link takes me to My Yahoo.

Here's how your feed will appear on My Yahoo—probably without the Lakers background though unless you're a fan too. Glad this season is over.

Posted In MSN Search

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Lately, I've been covering a lot of new product offerings by Google and today proves to be no exception. Google Video offers a world of potential for law firms and continuing legal education (CLE) providers looking to extend their reach online.

For estate planning law firms that provide live seminars to attract new clients, Google Video potentially offers them a means to educate a broader audience on the basics of wills, trusts and estate planning. So, instead of reaching only those clients who can attend a seminar at a pre-determined time and location, Google Video may enable law firms to reach any client at all times of the day.

For CLE providers who are not distributing their courses online, Google Video may allow them to sell their video seminars directly to attorneys. The Video Upload Program FAQ notes that you can charge any price for your video. However, if you do charge users to play your video, "Google will take a small revenue share to cover some of [its] costs," which the Google Video Upload Program Terms of Service discloses to be at least 30% of gross revenues.

Posted In Free Marketing Tools , Google

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Hi Friends,

There has been a lot of talk about blogs and RSS and ATOM feeds the last few weeks/months/years (mostly by Kevin O'Keefe at LexBlog and (My) Yahoo! :)

Justia is focused on RSS and ATOM as well, and set up the Justia Web site development system to incorporate RSS or ATOM feeds from other Web sites or Blogs into Justia designed Search Engine Optimized Web Sites for Law Firms.

Recently we worked with Rich DeLuca and Cyndi Mark of the New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia law firm Stark & Stark on their new Web site. After a couple of months, the 1000+ page Web site went live last week. And while it looks nice and clean (as all law firm Web sites should :), there is a lot of technology under the hood. The Stark & Stark Web site currently incorporates over 50 different RSS feeds generated by their two LexBlog designed Lawyer Blogs - Stark & Stark's New Jersey Law Blog and Traumatic Brain Injury Law Blog. And 50 feeds is just the starting point, we will be adding more feeds for them over time.

Justia's RSS and ATOM feed tools allow Stark & Stark to place their new Blog headlines or posts anywhere in their Web site. For example the content on both the Stark & Stark News headlines and the Business and Corporate Press Mentions pages are produced from Stark & Stark's Web Blogs. Their Blog posts can show up in multiple unique RSS feeds, and the RSS feeds can show up in multiple locations within the Web site.

By incorporating RSS into their Web site, Stark & Stark can now make a Blog post and have that Blog post immediately show up in multiple places on their Web site. Of course we set up the integration of the RSS feeds such that these feeds will be indexed by the search engines like Google, Yahoo! Search and MSN Search, allowing Stark & Stark to easily create and update search engine friendly content.

And we are currently working on adding podCasts to the Stark & Stark site!

Justia Marketing Message: We are producing more Web sites with Blog, RSS and ATOM integration for law firms nationwide. If you would like to learn more about Justia Web services for your law firm, feel free to call us at 888.Justia.1 (888.587.8421) or Contact Us Online. Thanks!

Peace - Tim

:: It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. by Bruce Springsteen

Posted In Justia News

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Yesterday, Google released two new services for mobile phone and wireless device users: Google Local and Google SMS Driving Directions.

Google first released Google Local last year to enable users to find relevant local information with neighborhood business listings, maps, directions, and useful web pages. Now, Google has extended this service to XHTML-enabled mobile phones, but with a cleaner interface. So, whether you are looking for pizza or Pintas in Chicago, Google will show you the way.

The search results for Google Local comes from a combination of Google's index of web pages and Yellow Pages data. If you cannot find your business in Google Local or your information is incorrect, the Google Local Business Center lets you list your law firm or update information about it on Google Local for free.

From the Google Local Business Center you can add a law firm description, they types of payment you take (cash, credit cards, check...), your hours of operation, your contact email and Web site address and the category Services-Attorneys

Once you sign up for updating your listing, Google will send a letter to the address you provided with a personal identification number and activation instructions, activate and Google will add your updated listing to the Google Local database to go live with the next update.

Posted In Google , Online Yellow Pages

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Google Labs offers Google Suggest, one of the latest flavors of the popular Google search engine. This version pretty much looks and works like the regular Google with which everyone is familiar.

However, the twist in this version is that as you type in your search terms, Google displays a list of potential keyword matches along with the number of search results that will be returned. In the graphic below, a search for "vioxx" displayed related matches for "vioxx recall," "vioxx lawsuit," "vioxx lawyer," "vioxx litigation," "vioxx class action," "vioxx side effects," "vioxx attorney," "vioxx lawsuits," and "vioxx news." If you are looking for related keywords to optimize your site, Google Suggest offers a quick and easy list.

Posted In Google

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Last month, Lee Rainie, Project Director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, delivered a presentation [pdf] on the results from the latest Pew survey on internet usage in the United States. The survey data may provide some interesting insights for attorneys who are seeking to tailor their marketing strategies towards the growing online audience. Here are some of the highlights from the presentation, as well as my comments:

• Google. On a typical day, 41 million Americans use a search engine, of which 4 million will google someone they are about to meet. If a prospective client attempts to google you, what will they find? If your law firm has a web site, hopefully that will be one of the first few search results that will be returned. If not, you should consider optimizing your web site or contacting us to learn about Justia's online marketing solutions.

• Blogs. How mainstream are blogs? The Pew survey revealed that 6-9 million people post messages on a Web log (or "blog") daily. Surprisingly, blogging is even more ubiquitous than music or movie sharing on peer-to-peer networks. For lawyers, blogs offer them a means to become reliable, helpful authorities on particular legal subject matters, such as trucking litigation.

• Health Information. What type of information do people seek online? The survey reported that 9-10 million people will seek health information from the internet daily. Lawyers can play an important role in disseminating health information online for a variety of medical problems with legal implications such as dangerous drug reactions or traumatic brain injuries.

Posted In Useful Tools & Web Sites

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Hi Friends,

craigslist... sure you are thinking that this is where you post jobs, buy used furniture or read personals (at least according to my friends :)

But did you know you can also post and present the legal services you offer on CraigsList... for Free! (at least for now). Posting on craigslist works great for attorneys looking to reach the consumer audience - eg personal injury lawyers, wills and trusts attorneys, real estate law firms etc...

Here is what you do... Go to your city's craigslist home page (see links below). Then find the services section and under there you will see a link to legal. Click on this legal link.

You will see a bunch of posts that look like those above. Most will be from other attorneys offerring their services.

Read through a few posts to get an idea of what looks good for your own post and then click on the post link in the top right to post to the section. Write a post, confirm your email and confirm your want your post to go live. It will take anywhere from 5-15 mintues, and then your legal services post wil be up for all to see.

Your post will looking something like this (without the graphic smudges, added by me). Present ther services you offer, your qualifications etc...

And a few notes... Newer posts will show up higher than older posts, so you will need to make a new post of your services periodically. But read the craigslist terms of use and do not spam the boards. There is only one legal services section, so the personal injury posts will show up right along side the immigration law posts.

Only post legal services in the legal services area in a locality you actually serve. Again read the craigslist terms of use for more details.

Below is the current list of craigslist USA localities, but if you do not see your city, and it is big enough to be considered a metro area, keep check back, as craigslist is continuously adding more local sites (and I have not included any of the non-USA localites below).

So find your city and make your legal services post.

Peace - Tim

:: Gentle On My Mind, All the Best by Glen Campbell

Posted In Free Marketing Tools

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Hi Friends,

Well like everyone else, I have decided to take a flight around the USA with Google Maps and post some pictures. But first check out Paul Rademacher's combination of Google Maps with Craig's List Apartment Rental Listings.

Now on to the photos....

Wrigley Field in Chicago

The Bellagio and Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas

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Hi Friends,

Google added satellite images to their Google Maps. Now you can see where you are going from above, anywhere from a Space Shuttle View to a Helicopter view. Personally I find the Amazon A9 street view more useful, but the space-sky view is pretty neat. All of this work is about getting into the local advertising - online yellow pages market.

My puppy, Sheba the Hug Pug, and I took walking trip to see where the first commercially viable integrated circuit was invented by Bob Noyce and his team at Fairchild Semiconductor. But before we took our walk, we decided we would like to see what the building looked like... from above (an especially kewl view point for a Pug :).

Here is what 844 E. Charleston Rd. looks like from above on Google Maps.

Posted In Google , Online Yellow Pages

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Hi Friends,

I would like to show you a few more samples of Justia's search engine optimized Web sites, before I move on to my post about Google Map's new satellite pictures, and how they can be used with Amazon's A9 street level photos to track...

Below are two more personal injury law firm clients in large metros (Atlanta and San Francisco) and a new Chicago estate planning lawyer client, that are now all doing very well in Web search results for multiple key words and localities. They do especially well in Google, but are also showing high organic result placements in Yahoo! Search and MSN Search.

Ken Shigley is an Atlanta Georgia personal injury and business litigation attorney. He was one of the first lawyers to have a Web site (back in the mid 1990s), and was already doing well for the key words Atlanta Injury Lawyer (his domain name is http://www.atlantainjurylawyer.com :). But his firm was not doing as well for many other key words and phrases, such as Georgia Injury Lawyer, Atlanta Trucking Lawyer, Georgia Trucking Lawyer, Georgia Trucking Attorney or Atlanta Accident Attorney ... Now he is doing well, in fact at the time of this post he is number 1 on page 1 on Google for each of those search terms. He is also doing well on most of those terms on MSN and Yahoo! (#1 for a some of the terms).

Of course the work that Ken did getting links to his Web site over the course of many years has really helped. We made sure he could take advantage of all those links coming to his Web site, by optimizing its structure and page layout.

Bostwick and Associates is a San Francisco personal injury and medical malpractice law firm . Their Web site was not performing well in the Web search engines. We redid their Web site and now... San Francisco Injury Lawyer (#1 - Page 1 on Google), San Francisco Medical Malpractice Lawyer (#1 - Page 1), California Medical Malpractice Lawyer (#2 - Page 1), Kaiser Malpractice Lawyer (#2 - Page 1) and for their Hawaii office, Honolulu Injury Lawyer (#2 - Page 1) and for their Denver office, Denver Injury lawyer (#7 - Page 1). They do well for many other terms as well (eg Anesthesia Injury they are #1 - Page 1).

And of course Chicago personal injury law firm William G. Pintas and Associates is still doing well (in fact even better that they were before :). You can read about how well they are doing for Chicago Injury Lawyer, Chicago Injury Attorney and more in the previous blog post and how William G. Pintas and Associates moved from Google result page 13 with FindLaw to number 1 - page 1 with Justia.

Well those are the first three personal injury law firm Web sites we have released. Three firms, three large metros - Atlanta, Chicago and San Francisco - and three Justia clients doing well in the search engines.

And to show it is not just personal injury firms we are helping, Joel A. Schoenmeyer is a Chicago estate planning lawyer. His site went live last week, and he is doing pretty well for Chicago Estate Lawyer (Google #1 - page 1), Chicago Estate Planning Lawyer (Google #1 - page 1), Chicago Trusts Attorney (Google #3 - page 1), Illinois Estate Lawyer (Google #5 - page 1), Oak Park Lawyer (Google #1 - page 1 - Joel's office is in Oak Park).

In general our client's Google and MSN search rankings have improved relatively quickly after their Web site goes live. Improvement in the Yahoo! results has taken a bit longer, normally a week or two. The primary reason that Yahoo! Search is slower to update is that Yahoo! has the Site Match feed product, where companies pay money to have their Web pages included in the Yahoo! Search Web index, and have them re-indexed on a daily basis. If Yahoo! were to index sites quickly, companies for free it would compete with this paid product. The other search engines, Google, MSN Search and even Ask Jeeves have moved away from paid inclusion (see our take on paid inclusion in the Justia SEO center). That said, the Yahoo! Search results rankings do improve once the Yahoo! index update takes place.

Feel free to visit the Justia SEO center for free information on optimizing your Web site. It is what we read, and we wrote it :) And while talking about free, Justia does offer free Justia template Web sites, although they are not customizable and have less search engine optimization features than our paid offerings (but they are free :)

Or you if you want Justia to build you a custom search engine optimized law firm Web site contact us online or call us at 888.587.8421. We will build and fully SEO your Web new site, at a reasonable price (Justia Web Solutions' Prices), just like the Justia clients mentioned above did a few weeks ago.

Okay enough product marketing... onto Google Maps new satellite pictures feature!

Peace - Tim

:: Comes A Time, Comes A Time by Neil Young

Posted In Justia News , Search Engine Optimization

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