Search Engine Optimisation - Thursday, July 10, 2008 13:45 - 0 Comments

Internet Marketing For Lawyers

Internet marketing for lawyers and solicitors has so far not been exploited to a very high potential. It is one industry (in Australia at least) where the yellow pages still is the dominant advertising medium used to find new clients. Is this because lawyers and solicitors think online advertising does not work for them or has it just not been explored very much by them. Or maybe because a higher percentage of these businesses are run by an older group in the population, who are less open to internet advertising.

From my experience al lot of seo business at least is generated through cold calling. Maybe because lawyers are hard to get on the phone directly, or because their receptionists are very protective, they have missed out on the opportunity to be informed about what is possible online and especially on Google. I am sure they all know what Google is and how popular it is these days.

This means that there is an opportunity available for those in the legal industry who act sooner, rather than later to gain faster returns from search engine marketing and get a valuable head start on their competitors. The competition for high natural Google rankings is comparitively very low for the legal industry when measured against the value of a client for them. So, if it is not difficult or expensive to gain great exposure, and the return will be available in a shorter than normal period, now would be a great time to start.

The websites that currently rank near the top of Google for terms like 'lawyer melbourne' or 'criminal lawyer' are not very strongly optimised. This means that with professional help, any lawyers website could gain high positions in a relatively short period of time. With many people searching these terms every day, the potential to generate many more high quality leads is very high.

The quality of websites for lawyers is also generally poor when compared to other service industries. I know they need to look professional but does that mean old fashioned. A good SEO company or online marketing company should perhaps also bring a more modern look to these often outdated websites.

Google Adwords or pay per click advertising on Google could be used to attract an immediate increase in leads from phrases that are highly targeted to suit a business in the legal industry. Longertailed phrases such as 'family lawyer sydney' should obtain quick organic (or left side) Google rankings and quality visitors to your site. This will be followed by rankings for generic phrases such as 'solicitor brisbane' which will generate high a higher volume of traffic to your site.

Another benefit of acting on this now is that the longevity of your natural ranking will be increased, due to the current lack of competition. Google has a bit of a 'if it's not broken, don't fix it attitude' and it is much easier to maintain high rankings then to gain them new. So your return on investment will be long and the potential for large business growth increased. Internet marketing for lawyers or solicitors is an inexpensive way to gain ongoing new business at a low cost.

Please feel free to comment on this post or ask any questions relating to anything internet.