JULY 2009

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OPTIMIZATION GETS CLIENT ON GOOGLE'S PAGE ONE

We recently received a phone call from long-time client Noreen Murphy in Winchester, MA. Noreen wanted to get serious about her website and internet marketing. Though she was generally pleased with the appearance of her website, and frequently received compliments on it from both clients and referral sources ... and occasionally even new cases ... she wanted to focus her marketing and boost her search engine ranking.

We recommended our Level 2 Website Optimization package for Noreen's site. With this level of service, we work with the client to determine the primary key phrases and content organization that will work best to optimize their site for their practice development goals. Once we determined Noreen's primary key phrases, we then expanded that to a master keyword list, which is a broad list of the key words and phrases we wanted to be sure to incorporate into the site content, structural headlines, page titles and descriptions and navigational links. Noreen then wrote and submitted substantial new copy to complete the newly-targeted content areas. (We also can assist you in adding new content, see our Web Content Modules.)

We re-organized and re-designed the site according to the new optimization plan. Additionally, we created site maps, got the site listed with the search engines' local business directories, added an online subscribe form for her e-newsletter, and submitted the new site for indexing.

We saw some changes almost immediately, others will take months to impact search engine rankings, with Google being the slowest to respond. However, Noreen's site has already made it to page one in the organic rankings on both Yahoo! and Bing for her identified key phrases. Additionally, hers is the first site listed, at the top of the Google Search Engine Results Page, on the Google Maps when you search for either Estate Planning Attorney Winchester MA or Elder Law Attorney Winchester Ma.

"No one can guarantee first page rankings on a search engine, not even the search engines themselves." (Seth Rowland, TechnoLawyer, June 30, 2009)  But proper targeting and optimization can greatly improve your online visibility and there is no better way to acquire clients passively than to rank highly on the search engine results page for relevant search times.

For more information about website and search engine optimization, call James at 1-877-352-2021, ext. 0. He will be happy to consult with you about the level of service best suited to your needs.

FREE WEBINAR ON-DEMAND
INTERNET MARKETING & WEBSITE OPTIMIZATION

What makes an effective website work? Why does one website languish unnoticed on the internet, while another jumps to page one on Google and regularly generates qualified leads -- and new clients -- for the law firm? Learn how Search Engine Optimization (SEO) really works, what web browsers want when they visit your site, and how to optimize your website for maximum returns. In this webinar, you will learn about website and search engine optimization, key factors that give your website credibility, how to measure web marketing results, and the four key components of your site that will boost your rankings with Google, Yahoo! and all the major search engines.

Register & Watch this Webinar Now

PRACTICE MANAGEMENT

Recession Opens Three Key Opportunities for Savvy Marketers

RECESSION MEANS OPPORTUNITY FOR SAVVY MARKETERS

Your estate or elder law practice can survive a bit of benign neglect during good times, but the current economy places greater demands on your marketing skills. A recession is nothing if not unforgiving. Mistakes today are not easily overcome. Now is not the time to lose your focus. Remember, the economy WILL recover. But relationships that you allow to fall away now may never be recovered, or only at great cost. Maintaining relationships with your clients and key referral sources and building your brand integrity in the marketplace is imperative to a swift recovery.

In This Environment of Change, Build Client Relationships
The best-kept secret about the recession? It is rife with opportunity. Did you know that more fortunes were made during the Great Depression than at any other time in our history? Those who keep their heads and invest wisely can see great results today, too.

Don't let budget worries now undermine your practice development efforts. If money is tight, give us a call and let us brainstorm with you about ways to stretch your budget. We have many options that can relieve your current budget constraints, while still maintaining your valuable relationships and building your brand today for a quick recovery later. This way, you'll not only stay profitable now, but you will be ready to “hit the ground running” when times are better.

The three biggest opportunities you have right now, are:

1. Build trust-based relationships with your clients, many of whom came to you through a financial advisor relationship that they may have since abandoned. As clients are switching advisor relationships, you have an opportunity to step in as the trusted advisor to keep. This can help you build relationships (and referrals) with their new advisors, AND protect you from having your clients stolen away by these same new advisors who might otherwise be less friendly toward you.
   
   Strategy: Build client relationships with your newsletter. If you cannot afford to mail monthly to all of your clients, then implement a blended approach. Mail quarterly, email monthly. Or mail monthly to your top clients. Let your clients choose whether they want email or snail mail. Court your clients now. Do NOT let those relationships turn cold. Using your SELECT newsletter, you can minimize your time investment, and yet maximize your personalization. Include your own articles, write directly to your clients. Make it really WORK for you.

2. Go directly to niche markets and target consumers, bypassing the financial advisor relationship altogether. Witness the marketing campaign recently launched by Charles Schwab. Schwab is capitalizing on the fact that many people are dissatisfied with their financial advisors, encouraging to "take the reins" on their own investments. Times of change, uncertainty and transition are OPPORTUNITIES that you did not have before. Step in NOW to take advantage of these “loose prospects” in the marketplace!
   
   Strategy: Implement a consumer marketing strategy. Identify your niche markets and optimize your website to attract them. Utilize keywords to improve your search engine ranking. Add valuable and compelling content to keep visitors on your site. Include interactive components that allow you to capture leads and then drip-market to them. An e-newsletter is a MUST. Targeted web content, webinars, even recorded teleconferences and white papers are all good ways to start capturing leads and turning your website into a marketing workhorse. Remember that your website must attract visitors, retain visitors, and capture lead (contact) information.  Then you must have a method in place to drip-market to your leads and convert them into clients.
   
   Caveat: Don't be the last to adapt to recession-induced changes in consumer behavior! Be aware that consumer habits that are changing now, likely will NOT go back to the way they were before. Folks who are dumping their financial advisors and going online to do their own research, or working with discount brokers like Charles Schwab are highly unlikely to EVER go back to their financial advisor relationship. Once bitten, twice shy. You need to position yourself NOW to market directly to consumers.
    

3. Team-up with quality financial advisors. Even the best financial advisors are challenged right now by the melt-down in the financial services industry. This is a great time to build (or re-build) quality relationships, bring new marketing ideas, and help your best referral sources thrive.
   
   Strategy: Focus on select referral relationships. There are always a few stand-outs in any industry, and you likely know which financial advisors qualify. Focus on them. Send them your newsletter (preferably to their home) and your e-newsletter (to their office). Bring fresh ideas to them. Keep them close. Use your SELECT customization options to write directly to them. Add content to your website that will help them sell estate planning concepts. Have us build a webinar on your website, give your top financial advisors a password and let them use your webinar in their offices to sell your services.

There are many marketing strategies to help you do this, even with a constrained budget. For as little as $299 a year, you can add topic-specific, engaging content to your website that will drive traffic to your site, improve your search engine rankings, and help you reach your target markets.

Here is an example: http://www.estateplanningpartners.com/IMS_Content_Modules.htm

To learn more about website content modules, or other recession-savvy, budget-friendly marketing strategies, call us at 1-877-352-2021. Ask for James. We are more than happy to brainstorm with you and come up with the best marketing solutions for YOUR practice NOW.

SERVICE SPOTLIGHT

Web Content Modules Drive Traffic, Engage and Impress Your Online Prospects

Click Here to view Sample Elder Law 101 Content Module

web content modules drive traffic, engage & impress

We have tremendous positive feedback on our new website Content Modules! Deploy these powerful, topic-specific modules on your website to drive traffic and differentiate your firm online. Not only will they add a real Wow! factor to your site, but they also give you keyword-rich, topic-specific content, automatically indexed by all the major search engines.

You already know that search engines love content. These content-rich modules are just the ticket to drive focused traffic to your site -- choose from 11 titles, including Elder Law 101, Business Owners, Estate Administration, Charitable Planning, even Pet Trusts ... and more!

Once you get visitors to your site, the next vital step is to keep them with engaging content. Your website visitors will love the interactive features, including page-turning, zoom in or out, and email to a friend. They also can print any or all pages directly from within the document. Additionally, hyperlinks within the document are all active, so your readers can click-through your document directly to any page on your site.

Click Here to View A Sample:
http://www.dpub.us/IMS/Elder-Law-101.html

Pricing for one title is just $299, which includes personalization, publishing, hosting and licensing for a full year. Volume discounts also apply.

For more information, visit our website at http://www.estateplanningpartners.com/IMS_Content_Modules.htm

or call James at 1-877-352-2021, ext. 0.

COMPANY NEWS

EXPANDED ELDER LAW CONTENT NOW AVAILABLE TO SELECT NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBERS

ELDER LAW NEWS
ONLINE LIBRARY FEATURES EXPANDED ELDER LAW SELECTIONS

If you subscribe to the SELECT newsletter for your clients and referral sources, you already know that you can pick-and-choose your articles and even submit your own articles. And now, you also can choose to focus all or part of your newsletter on Elder Law issues, with our expanded online library! Many of you practice in both estate planning and elder law, though some emphasize one aspect of the practice over another. Now, you can choose to add more elder law content to your front page or inside, or both. We will continue to add elder law articles, so if you have a suggestion for a topic, please let us know. To find out more, contact James at 1-877-352-2021, or shoot him an email: james@estateplanningpartners.com and he will be happy to give you an online demonstration.