Law Firm Web Site Optimization tag:www.lawfirmwebsiteoptimization.com,2009-07-27://38 2009-12-15T04:58:04Z Maximize your firm's presence on the web - From design, optimization, content and more - learn important tips to get ahead! Movable Type 4.25 Linking your blog to Twitter tag:www.lawfirmwebsiteoptimization.com,2009://38.647 2009-12-15T04:46:55Z 2009-12-15T04:58:04Z Hopefully everyone is in the habit of updating their blogs on a somewhat regular basis. I know right now I'm pretty far behind but with 5 blogs and a full time job - it's hard. I understand. There are some... Tom Fitzgerald http://www.optilaw.com
Why do this? Well really its more like why not do it. I talked about Twitter recently on my other blog so I won't go into that here. 

First things first lets create a FeedBurner account. 

Just go to FeedBurner.com sign in with your Google account. When you get to the next screen, it'll ask you for your feed address. All you really need to do is put in your blog address. For example 'http://www.lawfirmwebsiteoptimization.com/'

Setting up the Twitter link

Now just click on 'Publicize' then underneath click on 'Socialize', click on 'Add Twitter Account'. If you are already logged into Twitter you can just hit 'Allow' to hit everything happen. If you need to log in as a different user you will get that chance as well .

Make sure you hit 'Activate' at the bottom and you are ready to go. There are more options and settings you can play with but that'll get you up and running. If you haven't used FeedBurner much, I highly recommend it. It's also owned by Google if I didn't mention that already. 
]]> Are you linked in? tag:www.lawfirmwebsiteoptimization.com,2009://38.505 2009-11-18T19:47:54Z 2009-11-18T04:31:26Z Tom Fitzgerald http://www.optilaw.com
My view is to be out there as much as possible. I previously talked about using Twitter as a way to be out there, today lets talk about Linked In.

facebook_v_linkedin.jpg
What is linkedin.com? 

Basically its another social site just like Facebook. However LinkedIn has a twist - its for business professionals. You could argue that Facebook can be used for that, and it is and it works great. LinkedIn may be viewed as less popular but its still used frequently by many - Including myself!

Once you create an account it will ask to invite your business associates and friends. You may be shocked to find out how many people already have an account. After you get a group of people in your network you will begin to network with them. Its really no different than a real life meeting, except its easier here to show everyone what you do. 

Without going too much deeper, LinkedIn is a great tool, its free and easy. Give it a try. Soon we'll go over some other details on how you can use LinkedIn.
]]> Featured Clients on Twitter tag:www.lawfirmwebsiteoptimization.com,2009://38.495 2009-11-09T17:05:42Z 2009-11-17T16:06:47Z Tom Fitzgerald http://www.optilaw.com
What I do know is that it's going somewhere. Google & Microsoft recently announced that Tweets will be included in search results. So this means we have another way to be in front of potential clients. That reason should be enough to get on there and start posting. 

twitter-logo.png

]]> Let's take a look of two of my clients and see how they are using Twitter to promote their firm.

Recent post: "Appellate Argument Techniques: Last week, I argued an appeal in a truck accident case. I was in the Court of Sp.. http://bit.ly/Sm4zi"

Greenberg & Bederman - www.twitter.com/gblawyers
Recent post: "Maryland Injury and Disability Law: Birth Injury Lawyer http://bit.ly/yC4aQ"

As you can see, the posts are short and sweet. Referencing the latest article or blog post on their site. So if you are not on Twitter now, I encourage you to create an account. When you add an article or make a blog post, throw a link in Twitter. Follow some cool people (like me) and see how you like it. See you there!
]]> Be more efficient with Twitter tag:www.lawfirmwebsiteoptimization.com,2009://38.356 2009-08-21T00:42:18Z 2009-08-21T00:51:13Z As I mentioned in my other blog (I'm sure you already read it) I'm currently on vacation. One thing thats hard about blogging and marketing altogether is that it can be time consuming. I wanted to share some tips on... Tom Fitzgerald http://www.optilaw.com blog (I'm sure you already read it) I'm currently on vacation. One thing thats hard about blogging and marketing altogether is that it can be time consuming. I wanted to share some tips on how you can be more efficient and get work done quickly. 

As we know its important to keep you site updated with relevant content. That doesn't mean it has to be a novel or extremely ground breaking. It also mean it doesn't need to take a lot of time. I want to shift gears away from law firms for a moment and show a site for a restaurant close to my home on Kent Island, Maryland. The web site is Jettydockbar.com they wanted a site to show off all the cool stuff that goes on at the restaurant / bar. One of the cool features is right on the main. You will see updates from the owner of the restaurant. It's short its simple and up to date. How do they do this? Twitter.

This is a great example of how using new technology can make things better. My point here is that the owner can quickly open a browser and in under 140 characters say what the current specials of the day are, or give a last minute plug to the evenings entertainment. I'll post in another blog on design tutorials how to implement this on your web site. 

So if you can't blog - tweet!
]]> Building links tag:www.lawfirmwebsiteoptimization.com,2009://38.336 2009-08-11T03:21:03Z 2009-08-11T03:27:03Z So you are working on your content, that's great. What else can you do? Well links are very important. Links help Google decide if your site is really important. After all a site that gets a lot of links must... Tom Fitzgerald http://www.optilaw.com

A Few Tips

Unrelated sites don't help. If you are a law firm in Maryland, having a buddy in New York that runs a restaurant link to you isn't going to help much. In fact I would say it doesn't help at all. So what can you do? Will your competition link to you? Absolutely not! Or maybe they will. It's a common process for blogs to link together. Maybe you will not link to your competitor down the street but what about another law firm that handles a different area of practice? Or perhaps same area of practice in another area? 

We recommend blogs linking to each other. It helps strengthen both parties. Take a look at Ron Miller's blog - Maryland auto accident lawyer blog. You will see he links to his own blogs and some related blogs in the area. Take a page from him and spread the love. It'll come back.
]]> Site reconsideration tag:www.lawfirmwebsiteoptimization.com,2009://38.269 2009-08-05T04:34:14Z 2009-08-05T04:40:13Z Tom Fitzgerald http://www.optilaw.com
  1. Go to Google's Webmaster Tools
  2. Click on Site Reconsideration
  3. Click Request Site Reconsideration
  4. You can then enter details on why you would another chance with Google.
Quick & easy! Next time we'll talk about some other good functions of Google's webmaster tools in our other blog - Website Design Tutorials.
]]> Microsoft reaches deal with Yahoo tag:www.lawfirmwebsiteoptimization.com,2009://38.245 2009-07-29T08:20:44Z 2009-07-29T17:46:55Z A few hours ago I read that Microsoft has reached a deal with Yahoo. For those of you that don't know the history - Microsoft has been trying to purchase Yahoo for a while now (early 2008). See way back... Tom Fitzgerald http://www.optilaw.com trying to purchase Yahoo for a while now (early 2008). See way back in the day, Yahoo was everything. Not only did were they the first big search engine, they also owned the market share. Then came along  Google and we all know what happened after that. I remember reading a quote from a Yahoo employee admitting that even though they were first, Google had clearly won the search wars. microsoft-yahoo.jpg
]]>
Google revolutionized how we use the web to work, Microsoft took way too long to realize the web was the future. Now Google has a kick-ass web browser, a soon to be operating system, a ton of software packages. Software that is not only free but doesn't need to be installed. Oh yeah they also give free email hosting that blows Microsoft's costly Exchange solution out of the water. Should I even go on? Google Wave anyone?

So what does Microsoft do? Office Live, Windows Live? Anyone even remember these services?

If you can't beat 'em, buy 'em!

Back on topic - Microsoft wanted to purchase Yahoo to try and desperately gain some ground in the search engine world. Even though their browser's default home page was MSN.com and they now have two search engines, Live and Bing, they were still loosing big time. Depending on which report provider you get, you will get different results - however most reports show that Google controls 60% of the search engine market. Leaving Yahoo with 20% and the rest for Microsoft, Ask, and other smaller sites. 

Yahoo declined Microsoft's offer a few times, but in the end it seems they caved in. Let's read a quote from the original article I read.

Microsoft wins in other ways. The deal gives a big boost to Bing. The combined search market share of Yahoo and Microsoft would approach 30%. That's still far below Google's 65%, but analysts say it may provide enough of a critical mass at least to stave off further Google advances and help the enlarged search engine gain some ground. At a minimum, the deal doubles as a kind of insurance policy for Microsoft, in case all of the positive buzz about the Bing search engine doesn't translate into actual market share. By adding Yahoo's 20% market share, Bing assures its place as the only search engine provider other than Google with size that really matters.

So what does this mean to us?

Well soon Microsoft will control three search engines, soon Yahoo will be selling more advertisements because they'll have more market to sell to. However the bottom line is, not many people use Live, MSN, or Bing, so add in some Yahoo and what do you get? You get 'more', but I don't think that is gonna be enough to win. Google is still in the front and in my experience the better man with the better product will always win. I don't want to come off as a Microsoft / Yahoo hater, I'm more of a Google fan. I have used Bing and the bottom line is it doesn't return the right results. Right now I optimize and design web sites, I work hard to be sure they come up as high as possible in the search engines, mainly Google. With Bing and the other search engines, its a mixed bag. I know that, and the average computer user know's that as well, that's why I'll be staying with Google. Still, it'll be interesting to see how this will change things in the upcoming weeks and months.]]> First things, first - Are you updating? tag:www.lawfirmwebsiteoptimization.com,2009://38.235 2009-07-27T11:23:51Z 2009-07-29T01:03:04Z One of the most frequent mistakes made by law firms (or just about any business) on the web today, is their lack of updates. Yes, you must update your site. Actually I should repeat that again and possibly bold it... Tom Fitzgerald http://www.optilaw.com
Don't worry - this isn't too hard. Much like exercise or eating right, once you get started it'll pay off, then get easier. I should also mention that while you are taking the time to update your site, please make sure you are adding text that someone will actually want to read. If you are simply repeating the news that has already been reported - you aren't really helping. 

For example, if you say 'There was an accident on 695 this morning, involving several cars and a tractor trailer. By the way I am a Maryland car accident lawyer.' That's not text anyone cares to read. Now if you repeat the news then offer your opinion and insight, that is something that is certainly more interesting. Why is this information interesting? Can you offer an opinion that wasn't included in the original report? Perhaps a different view? 

Whatever it is you are writing about in your blogs, please keep it interesting and try and get on a regular schedule. Each post doesn't have to be an amazing work of art but try to offer something interesting - your readers will thank you!
]]>