After almost two weeks, I’m finally getting around to putting this blog to use. Between when I registered LawFirmBlogging.com and installed WordPress and today, I’ve launched 3 new sites. It’s getting hectic.

It really is amazing to see how popular blogging really has become. What strikes me as funny is that the only real difference between a traditional web site and a blog is the automation of formatting. That’s really the only difference I can see.

Try to get your marketing staff or attorneys to write an article or some content for your web site, and they look at you with blank stares…..but offer them a blog, and they’re writing all the time.

I guess what I mean is, the ability to administer and control one’s own content was the key obstacle in appropriating content in the days of the “old web.” I may be overly simplistic, however, in that there is a lot to be said for having your “own” blog, rather than just a piece of the firm’s site. There is a sense of accomplishment gained by typing in a box and pressing submit that you don’t get by emailing text files to your webmaster.

I am now charged with the task of promoting one of my clients’ blogs, MassLawBlog.com.

I think I’ll use this particular project as an example, and will show it here to see the progression of the blog, and hopefully I’ll learn a few things on the way that readers will find useful. So here is some key information:

The site: http://www.masslawblog.com
The author: Lee Gesmer, attorney and partner at Gesmer Updegrove LLP

Step One: “Hey Google, we exist!”
Google is still the top dog, so we first want to ask Google to spider the site. To do this, I go to http://www.google.com/addurl/?continue=/addurl.

I fill in the form, giving the URL and some quick comments. Here, I use the text in the “about” section of the Mass Law Blog:

News and information related to IP, business law, Internet Law, antitrust and practice in the Massachusetts state and federal courts, with a dash of music (jazz and guitar-oriented) and technology thrown in to make it interesting, at least to him

After submitting this form, Google says:

Thank you

Your URL has been successfully added.

They also give a link to Google Sitemaps, a way to tell Google you’ve updated. This is probably a good idea to get into later on.

Step Two: Configure Technorati
I already have a technorati account, so I go to technorati and enter the URL of the blog in the “Claim a Weblog” form. After the form is submitted, techorati gives me code to add to the blog:

I then copy this code, and add it to the sidebar template in WordPress. Then, I ping technorati, and that’s all. So now, every time a new post is added to the blog, Technorati will know, and will index the post.

Step Three: Other Blogs
Okay, we’ve got the two big sites down (Google and Technorati), now it’s time to get some smaller ones to link to us.

The reason for this is two-fold: First, I want as many blogs to link to the MassLawBlog as possible simply because the more links, the bigger the probability that new visitors will stroll in. Second, because Google’s Page Rank Algorithm gives a point value to sites based on the amount of inbound links. In short, if a lot of sites link to you, Google thinks you’re more important, and thus raises your rank in their indexes. Good Stuff.

I go to google and search Law Firm Blogs. After a few companies that are seeking to set up blogs for attorneys, I find Blawg, a directory of legal weblogs.

Excellent. On Blawg, you don’t even need to register in order to submit your blog. So that’s just what I do.

Now I’ll spend some time looking at similar blogs, and will compile a list in excel that we’ll use for linking.

That’s all for now. Here are the stats for today:

Popularity: 1% [?]

Lawyers should have blogs.

There. I said it.

What is the goal of a law firm’s site? We could go on and on about this for volumes, but I think I can sum it up fairly succinctly:

A Law Firm site exists to position the firm as an expert in a specific area (or areas) of law.

Hard to argue with, huh? That’s the basic premise. As a law firm, you want potential clients to think of your firm as the go-to firm. If your firm specializes in high tech and licensing agreements, you want software company owners to think of you when they need work done. That’s pretty simple.

What’s more difficult is this: How do you establish your firm as the expert?

In the dark ages of the web (the mid to late 90s), just having a web site for your firm would have set you apart. But that time has passed, and it’s never coming back. No use wishing for old times to come back.

Now, since every firm you compete with has a site, it’s back to the drawing board. So, how can you convince someone you’re an expert?

Prove it to them.

And this is where the blog comes in. Having your attorneys maintain a blog can be a great way to position your firm as the expert in a particular area. Sure, it takes attorneys away from “lawyering” for a while, but the benefits far outweigh a few minutes of down time per day.

I’ll get much more in depth about this in subsequent posts.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Well, I finally did it. After trying to fit in posts about law firm web design, marketing, and blogging in my other blogs, I made the decision to make a blog devoted exclusively to these topics.

The idea is simple: Most businesses have web sites. Some sell products online, while others let the public know that the companies exist. Law Firms have a unique challenge. They don’t sell anything online, and from the perspective of the client, they all appear to be the same.

With that said, Law Firms have to come up with creative ways to show prospective clients that they are the right firm for the client’s issues.

So how do you, as a law firm, do this?

Well, it’s not that simple. Just having a site and submitting it to search engines is not enough. It takes some effort, and it takes some time. But there are some common sense approaches to marketing your site. I will give some of these tips here, and others will be available in my forthcoming eBook on Law Firm Web Marketing.

I’ll also be going over some ideas on how to tune up your law firm’s site. To be honest, most law firm sites are very similar. Most have a description of the firm’s history, their practice areas, and their attorney profiles. Some have articles written by attorneys, and some have email newsletters.

I’ll be going through each of these and highlighting “best practices”, as well as some tips on how to stand out from the crowd. I’m very excited to get started with this new venture. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or requests.

Popularity: 1% [?]