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I have had several conversations recently with law firms that are asking if they can purchase SEO services as more of a “one-time shot”. Another words, they want to pay a one-time fee for some SEO work and then call it a day. While there are some instances where this may be appropriate, I am afraid that lawyers ask for this type of service due to a lack of understanding of how SEO works and what exactly is involved.

If it’s too good to be true……then it probably is.

If it was as easy as paying someone a few hundred bucks, as a one-time fee, to achieve high rankings on the search engines, don’t you think everyone would just be doing that? Do you think that large, successful companies would have business models revolving around performing SEO work if this is all it took? The truth is that the SEO industry exists by virtue of the fact that it is time intensive work and requires constant maintenance to perform it correctly.  However, the return on investment for well executed SEO work can be tremendous.

So what exactly needs to be done?

There is keyword research to perform, on-page optimization that needs to be done, link building on a continuous basis, content production, on page testing, and analytics analysis. After this analysis you should be expanding your efforts, going after more keywords and repeating the cycle. SEO is a dynamic, living thing. It grows and evolves over time. You plant seeds in the beginning and then care for sapling and the tree as it grows. Paying to perform one of these tasks, one-time isn’t really performing SEO.   In the Getting Found In Google guide posted below, we touch on just a few of the aspects and techniques of proper SEO.  After reading the guide, you will see that it takes a commitment of time and resources to perform SEO correctly.

Free Guide: Getting Your Law Firm Found On Google Do You Want To Know How To Get Potential Clients To Find Your Law Firm On Google? Download AttorneySync’s Free Guide On Getting Your Law Firm Found On Google.

When a one-time SEO consultant package might make sense

If you were in a situation where you were performing your SEO services in house, another words had people on staff or even yourself handling the work each month, then it might make sense to retain the services of a professional consultant to do a one time analysis and give you guidance. However, too many firms I speak with do not have an SEO in house to handle the work. Instead, the firm is operating under the misconception that paying someone to perform a once-over on your current website will get the job done. Unfortunately, the legal industry is too competitive and there are too many other firms willing to pay professional SEO services top dollar to get a return on their online marketing. You will not be able to compete with these firms “on the cheap”. You will need to make an investment of time, money, resources, and patience to properly implement a successful online strategy.

Free Guide: Hiring A Law Firm SEO Consultant Are you looking to increase your visibility online but are feeling overwhelmed by the number of service professionals promising the world to you? Download AttorneySync’s Free Guide On Hiring A Law Firm SEO Consultant.

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AttorneySync’s is releasing its latest guide: The Short Guide To Getting Your Law Firm Found On Google.

Simply having a website is like having a needle in the internet haystack. There are many things that need to be done over time to actually get your site found.

Learn About Getting Your Law Firm Found In Google Including:

• Common myths held by lawyers about their websites
• Keyword Research & Competition
• On-Page Optimization
• Off-Page Optimization & Link Building
• Hiring A Professional

Click Here To Download Your Free Guide

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Have you heard the one about the…

“Blanks” are safe from the threat of automation taking over their professions. No one would build a robot to do nothing.

If it weren’t for “blanks”, we wouldn’t need them.

Talk is cheap…until blanks get involved.

It is the trade of “blanks” to question everything, yield nothing, and to talk by the hour.

Two “blanks” were walking along negotiating for their clients. “Look,” said one, “let’s be honest with each other.” “Okay, you first,” replied the other. End of discussion.

“Blanks” are the only profession where the more there are, the more are needed!

What do you call 100 “blanks” at the bottom of the ocean? A good start!

Lawyer jokes? Nope. We’re talking about SEOs.

Like the legal profession, attitudes toward the SEO community are filled with skepticism, distrust, and a general sense of negativity. And, like the legal profession, at least some of this reputation is deserved. Take for example the following SEO paid-search ads:

“Rank #1 In Google In 48 Hours!”
“Top Ranking Internet Marketing Firm We Bring Websites To The Top!”
“#1 Ranked Internet Advertising Firm Results in 24hrs. 30% off Today!”

Hopefully by now, most of us realize that such claims are misleading, irrelevant, and generally dishonest. The truth is that no one can guarantee rankings in Google except for Google. Furthermore, getting “ranked” doesn’t necessarily mean more business for your law firm.

However, as is the case with hiring a lawyer, asking the right questions and being armed with some basic knowledge can help you avoid dealing with shady SEOs.

And, like having a good lawyer, having a good SEO firm on your side can make a all the difference.

As you know, people hire lawyers to navigate the complicated waters of the legal system. Likewise, SEOs perform services that most people typically don’t have a handle on, or more often, don’t have the time to execute. Getting new clients from the internet requires a full-time effort. It’s competitive out there!

When you have a good working relationship with your SEO, you maximize the benefits that the internet can provide to your business.

Here are a couple of basic questions that can help you hire the right SEO for your law firm:

1. Does your service include organic seo? The first thing to make sure is that we’re talking apples to apples and not apples to oranges. Some “SEO” firms will talk “SEO” but are really offering paid-search solutions. Paid-search is fine, but it’s simply not the same thing as organic SEO.

2. How quickly can you get me a top ranking? This is really a trick question. If the SEO responds with anything short of 2-4 months, be wary. The truth is, good SEOs won’t sell on ranking. Further, getting “ranked” is only part of the picture. You can probably get yourself “ranked” for your name in a couple of days. But unless you’re Brittany Spears, or President Obama, chances are not that many people are searching for your name (In fairness, branded law firm campaigns can produce results if implemented properly).

3. What specific strategies do you employ? What are you planning on doing? There is a wide spectrum of activities that an SEO might employ. These can range from benign and ethical, to flat-out malicious. Find out exactly what strategies your SEO plans to use and make sure you are comfortable with them. Ask them how they plan on obtaining links to your site. If you don’t understand their terminology, look it up. The internet is filled with information about SEO strategy. Make sure you are on the same page.

4. How do you charge for your services? Don’t lock yourself into long-term service contracts with your SEO. Make them prove value to you on a regular basis. Insist on reporting metrics. Just like every other form of marketing, you need to measure the value of your SEO’s services.

Photo by Hartboy

Free Guide: Hiring A Law Firm SEO Consultant Are you looking to increase your visibility online but are feeling overwhelmed by the number of service professionals promising the world to you? Download AttorneySync’s Free Guide On Hiring A Law Firm SEO Consultant.

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There is a great article over at the Legal Practice Pro blog discussing the sobering numbers involved with paid search.

Using Google AdWords to market your law firm? If you’re paying for ads and ignoring your organic search engine placement then 84% of web surfers will never click on your ad. Even worse, only 8% of all internet users will account for 85% of all clicks.

Jay goes on to make the point that your search engine strategy needs to encompass more than just paid search, and I couldn’t agree more.

Let’s back up a second here. I talk to lawyers that aren’t quite sure the distinction between paid search ads and organic rankings. If I perform a search for “personal injury lawyer” Google returns results to me. At the very top and on the right side of the page are paid ads. Law firms and companies will pay each time a visitor clicks on this ad.

The results underneath this are the organic results. These are the results that Google’s algorithm determines to be the most relevant to a user’s search. You can not pay to be listed in this section, your site must come up naturally. However, once you appear here, you pay nothing when someone clicks on the link to your website.

The point that is being made is that 84% of internet users click on the “organic search results”, not the paid ads.  For your firm to truly take advantage of search engine marketing, you need to appear where the users are clicking.  Don’t let 84% of your potential market pass you by.

Free Guide: Hiring A Law Firm SEO Consultant Are you looking to increase your visibility online but are feeling overwhelmed by the number of service professionals promising the world to you? Download AttorneySync’s Free Guide On Hiring A Law Firm SEO Consultant.

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Some interesting facts from Yasir Khan regarding SEO companies:

“90% of them fail to increase your rankings: It is shocking but very much true! Some SEO companies focus on providing you thousands of links from their own network of websites. Talk about using link farms! Other SEO companies will simply do massive amounts of directory submissions in the hopes of getting you to rank high. Needless to say, these are all standardized techniques which do not work anymore.

85% do not understand SEO and internet marketing any better than you do: This is quite surprising but true. To prove this point, just ask them about some less known SEO techniques or explanations about their methods. They will most definitely give you a vague answer. Some SEO companies are so ignorant that they tell their clients that their services entail submissions to over thousands of search engines and directories for $29.99. If you have basic SEO knowledge, you would understand why that is a problem.

80% will offer directory submissions: Most SEO companies will charge you a high price for submission to 200 or 300 directories. Firstly, directory submissions can be done for free if you invest $150 into a specialized directory software, so these SEO companies are ripping you off. Because most SEO companies present directory submissions as their major service, it is quite logical to believe that they are not experienced enough to tap into better ways to market websites.

30% will spam across the internet: Now this is just a good estimate. The fact remains that most of the new SEO companies simply start spamming on forums and blogs in order to get a lot of links to their clients website. They think that it is the link quantity and not quality which matters. They might even go so far as to get the clients website penalized or even banned!”

While I’m not exactly sure how he came to these numbers, Mr. Khan makes some great points about pitfalls in hiring an SEO firm. Whether it be a new car or an SEO company, if you buy something without any knowledge, you are more vulnerable to getting swindled.

When you’re talking SEO for your law firm, there is one sure fire way to make sure you’re not being taken. Measure your results. If you’re not seeing results with your SEO dollars, spend them somewhere else. Just like every other lawyer marketing or advertising investment you make, SEO investments have to produce positive return on investment.

Free Guide: Hiring A Law Firm SEO Consultant Are you looking to increase your visibility online but are feeling overwhelmed by the number of service professionals promising the world to you? Download AttorneySync’s Free Guide On Hiring A Law Firm SEO Consultant.

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