The Attorney Marketing Blog » Google Tips

Your Law Firm On The First Page Of Google In 2010 – For Free

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:06:53 +0000

Late in 2008, I wrote a three-part series titled How To Get On The First Page Of Google in 2009….For Free.

This guide focused on what Google’s Local Business Listings were – and how any law firm could get on the first page of Google for lucrative search phrases using this tool.

In fact, it was relatively easy. All it took was a little time and effort and you could be shown regularly in the business listings – and your efforts could be seen in as little as one hour – even in hyper-competitive markets.

Well, that all changed in late October – early November of 2009 because Google changed the algorithm for this product. The local business listing not only showed different results but trying to figure out what they wanted to rank well was a bear.

Well, after countless hours, I’ve figured it out. So it’s time to update the guide.

For those new to search engine marketing, take a quick look at the video that gives you an overview of Google Local Business Listings. Everyone else, please continue on.

This product is still far-and-away the best way to make your phone ring quickly – and best of all, it’s free.

If you’re in a mid-major city or rural area, you can certainly put the time and effort into this yourself and do very well.

If you are in a hyper-competitive market, be prepared to spend a ridiculous amount of time on building-up your Google Local Business Listing…and even then, you might have to get help.

At the end of the day, it’s worth two – three clients a month.

Okay, on to Part I – Setting up you law firms Google Local Business Listing.

Preparing To List Your Law Firm on Google Local Business Search

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:05:50 +0000

(See the introduction to Google Local here)
(See Part II here)

In order for your Business to do well on Google’s Local Business Listing, you have to do a bit of work up-front.

For law firms that already have a Google Local Listing, but it’s not showing, review the simple steps shown below and get to work.

For those that do not have a listing…roll-up your sleeves – you have some work to do.

First, make sure your Business address and phone number is on every single page of the website.

Second, if possible, add location meta tags your home page like so:

If you know what the code shown above is, you should know how to add it to your home page – all others, skip it.

Third, the title tags on your site must be in sync with what you do for a living. If your title tags say Home, Welcome, or refer to you personally, stop right now and get some help. To check your title tags say, place you cursor right in the middle of some text on your site, right-click the mouse, and select view source or source.

Near the top of the page, find the content that is between this – and this – . That’s the Title of the home page.

Fourth, edit or register your business with the directories shown below. Google Local Business relies on publicly available information to power its listings. So it makes sense to have your business listed in the biggest business listings available on the web. This is important, so don’t skip this step.

Go to each site, and where you can search for your practice, do so. If you find your business, register with the site then go back and claim it. If you are not listed, you typically see an invite to add it.

***Important note: spend 45 seconds writing-up a nice business description…..and use the same one on every single site where you are permitted to add it – or modify what is there. Be sure to include your City, State, and as many of your important practice areas that will fit. Save it somewhere because you’ll need it when you build or modify your local listing.

(Ed’s Note: To have your info added to these directories, some will require you to register. And I know at least three of them will call you and try to market their services. Also, a number of these websites change the sign-up pages on a regular basis so you might have to search around for the link to sign-up and register your practice. Don’t forget to look at the bottom of the page. They hide the sign-up link in that area quite a bit.)

InfoUSA Add Your Business Listing

And lastly, register your firm with any other guide or directory you can find that shows up on searches in your area.

Just do a Google Search for business, business directory and business listings plus your location and note any business guide or directory (non-legal) that shows up on the first 4 -5 pages of Google search results. Here’s what I mean.

Do a Google Search for your practice area and location and note any guide or directory (non-legal) that shows up on the first 4 -5 pages of Google search results.

Also a search for your location + attorney and your location + lawyer.

Also, do a search for general business directories and listings. Just search for your city + business directory, your city + business listing.

If they allow you to submit your information for free, do so. And if it’s a paid directory, consider investing in it if it’s not too expensive.

Also, if you have clients that own their own businesses and have a website, ask if they will put a link to your site someplace on their site – you reciprocate as well.

When you’re finished with this effort, the hard part is completed.

Whether you already have a Google Local Business or do not – it’s on to Part II – Modifying your Google Local Listing or setting up the initial listing.

Building Your Law Firms Google Local Business Listing

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:04:58 +0000

(See The Google Local Introduction here)
(See Part I here)

Part II

To take advantage of Google Local Search, go to Google Local Business Center and login if you already have a Google Account. If you don’t have an account with Google, go ahead and create one when you get to the login page.

If you have an account and login, and are not taken to your listing, click on the large Google graphic seen at the top left. You should then be taken to your listing where you can edit it. If you end up looking at a report of how your listing is doing, click on the large Google graphic seen at the top left again – that will take you to the edit area.

For new users, once you’re logged in, click on “Add New Business”.

For new users follow along – for those with an account already, modify based on the information below.

Begin to add your business information. Pay particular attention to three areas.

In the “Company/Organization:” field, you’ll put your firms name.

Google does not want you to add any other information there. But I’ll be honest – much of your competition is.

They are adding key terms to the business/organization name field.

This is what the Company/Organization field would like if your firms name was the “Law Offices of Walter Thompson”

Walter Thompson Law Offices

But this is what your competition will occasionally do – the example shown is for a Criminal Defense Attorney in Abilene, Texas.

Walter Thompson Law Offices: Abilene Texas Criminal Defense Attorney

This keyword stuffing is against Google’s Terms of Service and could get you kicked out Google’s Local Business Listings.

I’ll leave it up to you to decide what Business/Organization info you wish to to use.

The second area to watch is the e-mail field. I’d recommend using an e-mail address that matches your URL. Don’t use a gmail or other e-mail address if you can avoid it.

The third area that’s vital is the Description Field. Grab the description you wrote earlier and used on the directories and add that to this section. There is only room for 200 characters so if your description is too long, modify it. But keep your city and your major practice areas intact.

Now click “Next”

If Google already has a listing set up for you practice, they’ll show it and ask if you want to claim it (do it) – or you’ll be led to the next page.

You’ll then have the chance to complete the rest of the information fields – complete all that apply to you. One that I like, and is extremely important, is the “Categories” field. There you can add practice areas that are important to your firm.

So, if you’re a PI attorney, you’d enter terms such as “Injury Lawyer”, “Wrongful Death Attorney”, etc. You must, however, choose one of the main categories that Google uses to classify your practice. For the example above, the a normal reference to a PI attorney is “Personal Injury Attorney”.

So if this attorney began to type Personal Injury…..Google would populate the field with choices, one of them being Personal Injury Attorney. Experiment a bit if you are having issues here – you’ll find one that will apply. If all else fails, just choose “Attorney”.

Google gives you five categories – use them all. As long as you have one of their categories, add your other areas below it.

Next, you can add small images or even a YouTube video, hours of operation and payment options. The more you complete, the better the listing will do.

The last step is the Google verification process. You have two options. One, you can choose to have Google mail you a postcard with the PIN you need. Or, you can choose to have them call you with their automated system.

Choose the call feature because their postcard system can take a while. The call verification can make the process move much quicker – I’ve seen businesses listed in as little as a couple of hours. Just make sure you’re at the phone number you used when setting up this listing because the phone will ring immediately.

Just enter the PIN and you’re ready to go.

Here’s a little secret before I go.

To really boost the power of your Google Local Business Listings, have your clients add reviews and work on getting user content.

When you’re phone starts ringing a little more….you’ll know why.

Change To Google Local Search To Impact Law Firms Nationwide

admin — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 00:15:43 +0000

I’ve posted numerous times about the value of Google’s Local Business Listings. For those of you unfamiliar with this Google product, it’s the map and 10 business names that appear at the top of a Google search results page when someone uses a geo-term – like Los Angeles or Tampa – along with a request for a product or service.

These listings can be very, very lucrative – so much so, that some law firms are paying consultants up to $10,000 for about 11 hours of work (ed’s note – I don’t charge anywhere near that) to get their business listings to show up when potential clients search for legal assistance in their town or city.

This past weekend, Google began showing definitive signs of expanding the capabilities of their local search product by initiating what I’ll call a beta-test of the new Google Local Business search.

Take look at the video below to see what Google is testing….and how it’s going to change the way your potential clients find you.
(if you have trouble viewing this video, click here to see it)

Can Your Website Compete In Your Market?

admin — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 03:03:33 +0000

One of the most common questions I get when talking to a potential client is “How do I know if my website can compete in my market?”

It’s a great question…and I want to show you how to find out.

All you need to do is enter your town or city, your practice area and follow it up with lawyer and attorney. For example, let’s say you are a criminal attorney that practices is Waco, Texas.

So you hop on the big G and enter ‘waco texas criminal lawyer’ and the top 10 results pop-up like so.

Now look up at the top right of the image of this image – it’s a cut-out of the top right of the Google search page results for his term. See the ‘118,000 for waco texas criminal lawyer’. That means that there are 118,000 web pages he’s competing with (by the way, Google will give you this info on every search you ever do – and the number changes every day).

Now that looks like a lot of competition, right? Wrong.

If that number is less than 500,000, it’s a term you can compete for….and with a bit of effort and time – dominate the search engines for that particular term.

Now let’s say this attorney in Waco is ambitious and wants to target criminal searches for the entire State of Texas. He plans on offering free consultations and pick and choose the cases he wants (Federal) and refer the rest out (which is smart).

So he hops back online and types in ‘texas criminal lawyer’ and sees 1,470,000 results for this term. See the image below.

Damn, there goes his statewide plan. Conventional thinking says the number is to big to challenge.

Not so fast. There’s one more piece of information G will give us that will let us see how competitive this term really is.

So this attorney types in ”texas criminal lawyer” – just like I show here with double quotes.

Now it shows 13,300 results. See the image below – top right.

These results are web pages that have that EXACT TERM. And this number is a more accurate figure of the actual number of competitors.

Anything less than 20,000….can be dominated as well. Again, with a little time and effort. So go ahead and do a search in your neck-of-the-woods and see what the competition looks like.

Local Business Listings Show Up In Less Than Six Hours?

admin — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:09:26 +0000

I had an enjoyable conversation with a divorce lawyer in L.A. who had taken the time to follow the strategy outlined in How to get on the first page for Google in 2009 – for Free and he had some interesting news to pass along.

After he had set-up a few of the profiles that are part of that effort, his local business listing was showing up on various searches for his location and practice area….in less than six hours.

That might be the quickest I’ve seen yet. If you haven’t yet taken the time to set up your Google Local Listings, see the link above for more information. It’s a great way to get your phone to ring a little more than it does now.

Tags: law+firm+internet+marketing attorney+marketing marketing+for+law+firms

How To Get On The First Page Of Google in 2009….For Free (Part I)

admin — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 18:20:46 +0000

Sometime in June, I ran across this post – LA Dog Bite Lawyers in Cat Fight over Maps on Mike Blumenthals Blog (a great blog by the way). In that post Mike details an e-mail conversation he had with a PI Attorney in LA that had a few issues with his Google Local Business Listings.

It seems this attorney had paid an Internet Marketing firm a significant amount of money ($10,000) to have his firm show up prominently in the Google 10-Pack for search terms related to Los Angeles related PI search terms. And the firm he hired engaged in “Map/Business Listing Spam” – and for that, Google banned all of this listings.

I’ve been experimenting and testing Google Local Business listings for more than a year now (nowhere near what Mike does though) and without a doubt, the Google 10- Pack might be one of the Top 3 Internet Marketing moves any law firm can do.

You’ve probably seen the 10-Pack before. If you need a refresher, here it is.

When you do a search for almost anything on Google, and use a geographical location as part of what you type in, Google will provide a map and up to 10 business listings related to your search….at the very top of the page. Like this search for “cincinnati car accident lawyer” -

This is perhaps some of the most valuable Real Estate on Google….and if your business is not listed….you’d better look into it.

And did I mention….it’s FREE.

It’s no secret that the businesses that get the most clicks are those listed on the first page of Google – and the higher the result, the more clicks you get.

What Google has done here is to give small businesses the chance to compete with the big-boys for position. As long as you serve the area that the search term is focused on, you have the chance to show up in the local 10-pack.

What’s that worth to an Attorney?

Well, the attorney in California that had his listings banned saw an immediate drop in business of 30%.

Obviously, the monetary gain of being listed in the Google 10-pack is phenomenal.

On to Part II – Getting Ready To Set Up Your Law Firms Google Local Business Listing.

I’ll show you how to do it….and how to increase the chances of your firm showing up almost every single time someone does a search for your practice specialty.

Tags: google, attorneys, lawyers, law firms, local business listings, maps

How To Get On The First Page Of Google in 2009….For Free (Part II)

admin — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 18:19:03 +0000

PART II – Preparing To List Your Law Practice on Google Local Business Search.

Go To Part I

Go To Part III

In order for your Business to do well on Google’s Local Business Listing, you have to do a bit of work up-front.

First, make sure your Business address and phone number is on every single page of the website.

Second, if possible add location meta tags your home page like so:

And third, register your business with the directories shown below. Google Local Business Listings relies on publicly available information to power its listings. So it makes sense to have your business listed in the biggest business listings available on the web. This is important, so don’t skip this step.

(Ed’s Note: To have your info added to these directories, some will require you to register. And I know at least three of them will call you and try to market their services. Also, if you can’t find a way to add your business, use the search function on the website and if no result is found, you should be offered a chance to add it.)

InfoUSA Add Your Business Listing

And lastly, register your firm with any other guide or directory you can find that shows up on searches in your area. Just do a Google Search for your practice area and location and note any guide or directory (non-legal) that shows up on the first 4 -5 pages of Google search results.

And so a search for your location + attorney and your location + lawyer.

Also, do a search for general business directories and listings. Just search for your city + business directory, your city + business listing.

If they allow you to submit your information for free, do so. And if it’s a paid directory, consider investing in it if it’s not too expensive.

When you’ve completed this, it’s on to Part III – setting up your Law Firm on Google Local Business.

How To Get On The First Page Of Google in 2009….For Free (Part III)

admin — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 18:18:31 +0000

PART III – Setting up the Google Local Business Account

Go To Part I
Go To Part II

To take advantage of Google Local Search, go to Google Local Business Center and Login if you already have a Google Account. If you don’t have an account with Google, go ahead and create one when you get to the login page.

Once you’re logged in, click on “Add New Business”.

Then simply begin to add your business information. Pay particular attention to two areas.

In the “Company/Organization:” field, you’ll put your firms name.

Google does not want you to add any other information there. But I’ll be honest – much of your competition is.

They are adding key terms to the business/organization name field.

This is what the Company/Organization field would like if your firms name was the “Law Offices of Walter Thompson”

Walter Thompson Law Offices

But this is what your competition will occasionally do – the example shown is for a Criminal Defense Attorney in Abilene, Texas.

Walter Thompson Law Offices: Abilene Texas Criminal Defense Attorney

This keyword stuffing is against Google’s Terms of Service and could get you kicked out Google’s Local Business Listings.

I’ll leave it up to you to decide what Business/Organization info you wish to to use.

The second area that’s vital is the Description Field. Make sure the description of your practice includes your City, State, and as many of your important practice areas that will fit.

Now click “Next”

If Google already has a listing set up for you practice, they’ll show it and ask if you want to claim it (do it), or you’ll be led to the next page.

You’ll then have the chance to complete the rest of the information fields – complete all that apply to you. One that I like is the “Categories” field. There you can add practice areas that are important to your firm.

So, If you’re a criminal lawyer, you’d enter terms such as “DUI Lawyer”, “Criminal Defense”, etc. At last look, you could add up to five categories.

And if you have small images or even a YouTube video, do that as well.

Choose the call feature because their postcard system can take up to 6 weeks to process. The call verification can make the process move much quicker – I’ve seen businesses listed in as little as a couple of days. Just make sure you’re at the phone number you use for your business because the phone will ring immediately.

That’s all there is to it.

When you’re phone starts ringing a little more….you’ll know why.

P.S. – Next, I’ll show you how to set up Yahoo Business Listings