We have been consulting with quite a few small- to medium-sized law firms in the last two months. Most of them want to have their Websites be Search Engine Optimized. One of the first things we look at are the actual "labels" of the Navigation. Search engines love to look at these and count them as "search terms", more so than headlines.

DO: Be blunt and to the point on your navigation button labels.

DON'T: Be clever or vague. Search engines will be more inclined to overlook or "skip" over your site if the navigation is not precise!

Jerri Hemsworth
www.newmangrace.com
www.succeedonyourown.com

Believe it or not, we still see this scenario time and time again. Unfortunately.

An attorney or accountant decides to start his or her own firm. Yeah! They are in such a hurry to establish themselves with an email address and Website URL, they just want to nail down a URL that contains the firm name and a quickie email address. Here is the thought process:

"I just need an email address. I know I can get a free one at Gmail or Yahoo. Good. Done... Now I need my URL. Done. I'll get a site built later. I know I can eventually direct my email through my site, etc. etc. etc."

BIG MISTAKE! Whenever we see business cards or contact info with professionals using a generic email address (e.g. gmail.com, yahoo.com, aol.com), the immediate impression and perception is "Nope. Not Professional. Not Serious. On his or her own. I won't refer business to this person. They can't handle getting a REAL email account, let alone handle my business!"

Same thing goes for the professional who has a REAL email account through their Website URL (e.g. bob@xyxlaw.com). Then when you decide to check out www.xyxlaw.com, there is nothing there except a "parking spot" landing page from GoDaddy or some other URL provider. Again, BIG MISTAKE!

This is the first thing that should not be skimped on when starting your own firm. There are sites and templates that you can use and set up for FREE (e.g. Weebly.com). All you need to do is buy your URL, pick a template, populate it with your content, and you're good to go. Anything is better than NOTHING! 

Trust us, you are leaving business on the table by not getting a professional email address and having some information on your Website about your firm! It truly impacts your image.

We are committed to helping the small firm and sole practitioner succeed in their marketing. Attorney Marketing and Branding is a difficult world to understand sometimes, and we want to help. We will bring you tips and techniques that we see working in the industry for firms of all sizes. We welcome your feedback, comments and questions. 

So don't be shy. Remember, any posts or comments you make here will help your own Search Engine Optimization for your firm. This is a topic we cover extensively in our WEB 2.0 Guide as well as our BOOT CAMP. Just remember to leave your Website URL with your signature so that the spiders pick you up.

Also, please join our Discussion Forums. We invite the legal community to post their own marketing experiences... what works, what doesn't. Anything that impacts your marketing in your state or city. Let us know.

Again, welcome!