Building a Website
Common Internet Marketing Mistakes Attorneys Make When Building a Website
As I have stated many times before in this blog, in my conversations and in my seminars; there are more bad Internet marketing programs available for attorneys than there are good ones.
One of the most common mistakes I see them make is in the website building process.
MOST attorneys believe they need to have a website. So the first thing they do is build a website or hire someone to build it for them.
Example One: The attorney or law firm may decide to choose to “save money” by building a site themselves or having it done the “cheapest” way possible.
Example Two: The attorney may decide that they are willing to spend whatever it takes to have a beautiful site designed by a competent and creative web designer.
Which one of these attorneys is making the biggest mistake?
Answer: With this limited information we cannot really know which attorney or law firm is making the biggest mistake, but it seems they are both making the same mistake:
They may have both made the mistake of building a website as their first step to improving their web presence, when there are many other things they should have considered first.
Before building a website you need to ask yourself some key questions:
What do you expect from your website presence?
If you want to get new customers from your website, then you need to consider search engine marketing as an option. More people use a search engine like Google, Yahoo! or MSN to find an attorney than the yellow pages. (according to TMP Marketing). You may also want to consider local directories like yellowpages.com, dexknows.com, or vertical directories like lawyers.com, martindale.com and others.
If you simply want someone to find your site when they have been referred to you then you do not need to spend a lot of money on marketing your website.
However, in both cases you need to invest wisely in a website that will meet the following minimum criteria.
A: Represent your firm well online. More people will see your site than see your office. If you have a clean, professional office that puts a good foot forward for your firm, then you should also have a website that is clean, professional and content rich (like you!).
If you skimp on a website with an ugly template or fail to put good content on your site you may hurt your firm’s reputation rather than help it, and you may even lose a referral that checked out one of your competitor’s websites. When you are being compared online your referrals may feel your competition is better qualified to handle their legal needs.
I met one firm who apologized for their site when they got a referral call from someone who began the conversation; “I was looking at your website…”
As you can tell by my blog I am not a website designer; I am a search engine marketing expert. If you came here for some honest information about Internet marketing you have come to the right place, but if you want a website designed for your firm I would have to recommend an expert that works for me to do it for you.
Conversely; most web designers are not up to speed on the latest search engine optimization (SEO) best practices.
B: Your site needs to be search engine friendly.
You may not need an extensive SEO program to meet your needs, but if your website is not search engine friendly then your prospects or referrals may not even be able to find your site when they look you up by name in your city. Furthermore, if your site is built correctly from the start, then driving your site to the top of search engines like Google is going to be a lot easier, and you might even get up there for specific searches with very little additional effort.
I think it is worth repeating: most website designers are not up to speed on the latest search engine optimization (SEO) best practices. If it was my firm, and I was looking to build a website I would first begin looking for an SEO specialist. They can help you find a web designer that will build a site with search engines in mind, or they can manage the process for you so that your web designer builds your site correctly from the start.
Come back soon to learn how to find the answers to the questions below-and do not hesitate to call me at 720-985-7945 for a free consultation.
For what types of searches do you want your site to appear on Google and other search engines?
How competitive is your market?
Who are your competitors and what do their websites look like?
What is your budget for your website?
What should your budget for your website be?
How do you select a website designer?
How will you track the success of your web presence?
How much should you invest in an Internet marketing program?
Should you build your site yourself?
Tags: , attorney marketing, lawyer marketing, search engine optimization, seo