Get listed in virtual yellow pages One of the easiest things that you can do up front to boost your online presence is to get listed in the top virtual yellow pages. This can help boost your chances to succeed in local search queries by providing consistent location and contact information across the web. Also, lawyer and attorney keywords are highly competitive to rank for in Google and Bing.

The local directory sites often show up for local search queries giving you a chance to get exposure from first page results. Here are a few of the most popular from this great directory list over at hubspot:

● Google Places
● Bing local
● Yahoo Local
● Merchant Circle
● YellowPages.com
● Supermedia Network with social media

The buzz around social media includes many tales of great success along with just as many failures from big brands and small businesses alike. While there are dozens of ‘gurus’ that will give you ideas on how to use social media, it is best to view it just like you would networking face to face. Apply the same principals to reaching out with websites like LinkedIn.

Build out your personal profile and request partners in your firm to do the same. As you meet new people, whether they are clients, colleagues, judges, other lawyers, or just friends, send them a request on LinkedIn. Here is a great list of linkedin tips to get you started. Build a website that is dynamic and useful If you are interested in marketing your firm or individual practice online, you probably recognize the value of having a website.

However, knowing how to design it and what type of content and features to include is a different story. It is important to build a website that is dynamic and useful with linkable assets that can boost your SEO and improve credibility. Building interesting content that might have viral potential is challenging, especially in an industry like law.

However, there are many useful things you can include on your website:

● FAQs – You can generate a ton of brand awareness and website traffic just by optimizing pages for frequently asked law questions. If you are really feeling adventurous, do some keyword research and find the best ways to word common questions to optimize traffic potential.

● Downloadable Forms. All kinds of businesses and individuals need common contract and legal forms that they are going to find for free on the internet one way or another. Including these on your website can be another source for search engine traffic.

● News and educational content. Are there common misperceptions or issues that arise in your particular practice of law? Chances are that if you run into the same problems over and over, people are searching for information about those problems on the internet. You will want to be the one that answers those questions. Branding on the internet Since legal issues can be very confusing, many people turn to the internet to research questions about how the law works and what options are available to them in the event that a lawyer is needed.

Unfortunately, lawyers do have a bit of a reputation to live down which is really an opportunity in disguise. Many lawyers and law firms have generic websites that have generic copy and simple pages like about us, contact us, and maybe some services pages. Make your website different. Stand out with a design that doesn’t look like a template and copy that reads like a human, not mass produced. SEO tips Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of coding your website and networking online in order to appear as relevant to specific search queries on engines like Google and Bing.

In short, it is showing up in Google. While all of the above tips will directly or indirectly help your SEO, here are some very specific SEO basics to get your website optimized for search.

● Submit to lawyer directories. Quality niche directories can provide good back links and referral traffic if you can get your firm listed. Be careful not to submit to too many and watch out for spammy directories. As a rule of thumb, imagine if you would use the website as a client looking for legal services. Here are a few lawyer specific directories to submit to: - Bestlaywers.com - Attorneypages.com - Lawyers.com - Local-attorneys.com

● Optimize your page titles and copy. Keyword research will help you find which keywords potential clients use to find information on law services and legal issues. For example, the keyword “attorney” might be more popular than the word “lawyer” for certain areas of law. Here is a great guide for keyword and page title best practices.

● Update a blog. Building great content for a blog is a great way to target long-tail keyword searches and generate backlinks which are extremely valuable for SEO.

Jacob works with Morgan and Morgan in Atlanta. He lives just outside the city with his wife Lili and thier Shiba Inu, Henry.