The Handout & A Comment. Internet Marketing for Lawyers Demystified. How To Get Meaningful Reports. How To Get Meaningful Reports

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1 Internet Marketing for Lawyers Demystified How to Get the Most from the Money You're Spending on the Web The Handout & A Comment Designed in tandem Further explanation Glossary link Goal: to understand enough to investment $ and time wisely How To Get Meaningful Reports 1. Strategy 2. Goals 3. Baseline data 4. Actions (# of items such as links, posts, citations, tweets) How To Get Meaningful Reports 5. Period-to-period data 6. Explanation 7. Recommendations 8. Repeat 2-7 (include #1 2-3x/yr) Essential Metrics for Each Reporting Period 1. SERP rankings (search engine results page) 2. Granular traffic and sources 3. Log of actions taken 4. New backlinks data 5. Contact data (forms, phone, ) 6. Conversion data Top-Level Terminology Marketing Activities that build visibility and credibility in a targeted marketplace among suspects and prospects 1

2 Top-Level Terminology Top-Level Terminology Sales Interactions that get you hired by a lead or an opportunity Business Development The totality of marketing and sales activities Internet Marketing Defined (aka Online, Digital, or Web Marketing) Coordinated marketing activities that take place on or through the Web or , accessed by computer or mobile device Why It s So Challenging 1. Complex 2. Fast-Changing 3. Time-Consuming & Labor Intensive 4. Expensive 5. Aggressive Sales People Beware of Marketing Salespeople and Scams Directories SEO/Rank Promises 1. Speak with firms like yours for references 2. Go with law firm IM specialists 2

3 Four More Top-Level Terms Marketing & List Development Paid Search (Pay Per Click) Local Search Engine Optimization Inbound Links 1. SEO: Search Engine Optimization: Techniques that create organic visibility for your website Four More Top-Level Terms 2. SEM: Search Engine Marketing: Paid advertising (e.g., pay-perclick, banner/context ads) to appear in search results or on targeted websites and social media sites Four More Top-Level Terms Four More Top-Level Terms 3. Social Media A web-based platform that allows the sharing of user-generated content for 4. SMM: Social Media Marketing: Organic activities that increase your social media visibility Paid activities that get you in front of specific audiences (ads or promoted/boosted posts) 3

4 Internet Marketing Goals 4

5 Goals and Strategy B2C vs. B2B What specific practice areas, case types, client profiles and locations do you want to attract? Do you want to build reputation? Pay for leads? 5

6 Know What to Be Found For (Target Phrases to Rank For) Keyword/Key-Phrase research Competition research Google and Social Analytics Google AdWords Measuring ROI Off-line/Pre-digital Only if you are/were contacted afterward (networking, direct mail, speaking, pitches) Online Analytics Trackable data along the way Measuring ROI Online Analytics 1. Traffic data (organic and paid) 2. Conversions 3. Contacts made 4. See Lawyer s Guide article What You Must Track Internally Source of all inquiries and opened matters Analytics data ( s or calls) ASK on phone or by (How did you hear about us? What terms did you search?) Record at first contact Inquiries to sign-ups Typical IM Budgets All marketing: 3-5% of gross revenue $5-80K for site/social media startup $1-10K/mo support/reporting Paid search: Ad spend $50 to 10K+/mo Campaign management $400 4K Creating High-Quality Content Useful information or provocative; no ads (client-centric vs you-centric) Contains keywords and phrases based on semantic search Timely Consistent and focused over time 6

7 Essential Metrics for Each Reporting Period 1. SERP rankings (search engine results page) 2. Granular traffic and sources 3. Log of actions taken 4. New backlinks data 5. Contact data (forms, phone, ) 6. Conversion data Understand Your Contract Ownership/Control Domain name Hosting/SM accounts Site code Text and Images (e.g., West, User, Custom) Third-party apps/tools Understand Your Contract What are you paying for? Hosting One-time design/build Updates SEO / Social Media Understand Your Contract Clarify Vague Language & Get Numbers Ongoing SEO updates as needed How many of each activity described Who Should Do/Manage the Work? Internet Marketing Goals Strategy and set-up by experts VA s and marketing firms In-house staff 7

8 How To Get Meaningful Reports 1. Strategy 2. Goals 3. Baseline data 4. Actions (# of items such as links, posts, citations, tweets) How To Get Meaningful Reports 5. Period-to-period data 6. Explanation 7. Recommendations 8. Repeat 2-6 (include #1 quarterly) Questions? Requests for specific info? Internet marketing audit?