Today, the competition on the Internet is enormous-with thousands of new law firm websites and blogs popping up each year. Your website has to stand out and these templated websites that some of these mega web designers are pumping out are doing your more harm than good.

Here are some of the big mistakes I see being made.

• the top third of the first page of your site is devoted to your logo (no one cares about your logo)
• there is no introduction video on your site. Your competition has video–yes, some of it is crappy, but you have to be thinking about this in 2010
• your copy is all about your. Does your website begin “Mr. Jones is a graduate of XX, he’s been practicing since XX and he really, really works hard for his clients?” That’s boring.

You really can’t afford to give up the thinking about your website to some designer who has no clue about how to really attract clients. And most have no clue.

I’ve got a series of articles about how to make your law firm website work for you over here. If your website is not producing cases, send your web designer the link.

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This site is on a very cool WordPress Theme and is worth your study.

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And, while we can teach you how to drive tons and tons of traffic to your website(s) and blog(s) (note the use of the plural here) all that traffic is for naught if it doesn’t eventually turn into paying clients. After all, you can’t take “visitor count” to the bank and get a receipt for it, can you? Don’t believe me? Google “Best Attorney Websites” and look around at some of Tom’s work. While many (but not all, believe me) web developers have figured out how to get on the first page of Google without paying those exorbitant “pay per click” charges Tom is the only one I’ve seen who is able to help lawyers develop the message that tells potential clients “you have arrived at the right place, stick around.”

Again, we reject the thought of the majority. We reject websites with scenes of courthouses, gavels and pretty pictures of lawyer reception rooms—choosing instead to enter the conversation that is already running through the potential clients’ head, reassure them that the answer is here at this website, and eventually hit them with our message. The message that we are the answer they have come looking for.

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This video was professionally filmed at the Fairfax Video Studio.

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The “above the fold” section of your website is where the eyeballs go first. The consumer is looking for answers to their questions, not your firm name.

Think: “what would be an interesting headline that would grab attention and compel further reading?”

The really advanced web marketing attorneys have compelling video in this space but you don’t necessarily have to have video…but gosh…you should have some sort of compelling headline.

Just think of how different you would look.

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There was a panel discussion about social media and ethics and, when talking about Facebook, Leslie, said “what’s the point?”

This was a great question. Not that lawyers can’t use Facebook to get cases-they do. But MOST lawyers have no “point” in their marketing. They have no plan.

They learned somewhere that they should spend XX percentage of their budget on marketing and advertising and they just do it. They buy some advertising piece without ever thinking about a plan.

Here’s how you should be thinking:

1. what do you want your life to look like

2. how do you design your practice to support your life

3. who is that perfect client that you LOVE who supports what you have designed your practice to be

4. Now, lets go out and design marketing FOR THAT PERSON, not for everyone

5. Figure out what you want THAT PERSON to do to respond to you

6. Develop a system to handle the leads/cases.

By the way, the Webweaver’s event was terrific. If you are interested in marketing your practice and you saw the ads for the event and didn’t respond…well…you missed something really good.

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Seems that times are tough for some search engine optimization companies. There’s a group in California that’s been cold calling a bunch of Foster Web Marketing clients to “warn” them about impending doom with their sites and Google.

Then, they launch into a sales pitch.

They actually sent a pretty interesting email, too.

When pressed to get on a three way call with Foster, they declined. It’s pretty obvious that this company was using some less than morale sales techniques in an attempt to steal Foster Web Marketing’s clients, but luckily all of their folks are very satisfied with the services they are receiving and brought it to Tom’s attention as soon as they were contacted.

Anyway, there’s one very detailed message about Cyber Technology here and another about WebOpts here.

As always, do your due diligence.

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Its ridiculous. SEO (search engine optimization) takes work. There is no magic bullet. Create content; join the conversation, etc is the work it takes.

Attorney web marketing expert Tom Foster has a warning and story of how BWM got “dinged” by Google by trying to trick the algorithms. That’s what many of these “we guarantee you a spot” folks must be doing (that is if they are doing anything other than cashing your check.)

Lawyers beware. You must at least understand enough about internet marketing to know how to talk intelligently to your webmaster and to understand what is going on.

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