website - lawlytics · seo provider myths 20 • a promise of quick results • “we can get you...
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LawLytics
Phone: (800) 713- 0161
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.LawLytics.com
START YOURESTATE PLANNING WEBSITE
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DAN JAFFE, ATTORNEY & LAWLYTICS CEO
● J.D. - 1998
● Admitted in WA & AZ
● 10 years in private law practice
● Built practices in Seattle & Phoenix
● 100+ jury trials to verdict
● Co-founded LawLytics in 2011
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PRESENTERS
Sophia Oliboni, MSTopic: Design
Rachel Chalot, MSW, JDTopic: Content
Victoria Blute, BATopic: Strategy
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ESTATE PLANNING: THE OPPORTUNITY● Marketing for estate planning cases is changing;
● The internet is a great equalizer.
● There are now two paths to success: Effort or budget.
● Getting started is easy and cost-effective.
● There is a lot of money to be made.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
- Lao Tzu
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THIS ESTATE PLANNING WEBINAR SERIES
1. START (today’s topic): Get going the right way.
2. GROW: Build smart.
3. DOMINATE: Take over.
WITHOUT WASTING TIME OR MONEY
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WHO IS THIS SESSION FOR?
● Your law firm practices estate planning or intends to; and
● You’re starting your website or your website isn’t working; and
● You want it to work; and
● You’re able to invest your time or money to make it work.
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SUMMARY OF TAKEAWAYS
1. Start smart;
2. Don’t overcomplicate;
3. Your participation matters.
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WHAT IS LAWLYTICS?
LawLytics is the leading website system for lawyers who want their marketing to work without wasting time or money.
Unlike full-service marketing companies, our system adapts as the law firm’s needs evolve, so our members don’t overpay.
Unlike do-it-yourself software, our system was built for lawyers, so our members don’t struggle or miss opportunities.
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HOW LAWLYTICS WORKS1. Needs and strategy assessment;
2. Membership registration;
3. Website setup and styling;
4. Content is added;
5. Your website is launched;
6. We train you and help you with strategy;
7. We support and advise you.
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WHY HAVE A WEBSITE FOR AN ESTATE PLANNING PRACTICE?• Your clients are online and will use the internet to make hiring decisions.
• Referral sources and opposing counsel are validating you online.
• You’re already online anyway, so you need to control your messaging.
• Show you care. Show you know. Show that you’re successful.
There’s no magic trick.
There’s a proven method and a window of opportunity.
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MARKETING ASSETS
Invest in marketing assets, but make sure they are assets you own.
Google: “commoditization of lawyers”
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WHY CREATE HIGH-QUALITY CONTENT?
• Search engines will like it;• Your clients will find it;• They’ll know that you care;• They’ll know that you know;• They’ll trust you; • They’ll be more likely to hire you; • They’ll be easier to manage as clients.
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LAW FIRM SEO
Victoria BluteLawLytics Community Manager
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WHAT IS SEO?
Search Engine Optimization (n.): The process of growing your website’s visibility in organic search engine results.
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HOW SEARCH ENGINES WORK
• Crawling• Indexing• Retrieval
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HOW YOUR PNCs USE SEARCH ENGINES
The fundamental problem with law firm SEO…
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HOW YOUR PNCs USE SEARCH ENGINES• My potential client opens their laptop.
• They go to Google.
• Then, because they need an estate planning attorney in Atlanta, they conduct a search
for “estate planning attorney Atlanta”
• They find my website because I’m an estate planning attorney in Atlanta.
• They contact my law firm.
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HOW TO ATTRACT POTENTIAL CLIENTS
Content.
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Law Firms & The Longtail
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SEO PROVIDER MYTHS
• A promise of quick results
• “We can get you to the top of Google.”
• SEO is complicated or that you won’t have time to learn.
• Special relationships with Google
• There’s a secret to ranking well
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OTHER COMMON SEARCH ENGINE MYTHS
• Keyword meta tags
• More web pages = better ranking
• Overvaluing keywords/keyword stuffing
• Paid search helps organic results
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THE CONTENT PROBLEM...
Will you write it?
Excellent!
Yes
Will you delegate
it?
You need content.
No
Yes
Youneed
content.
No
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ConveySameness
Tell A Compelling
Story
InspireConfidence
EngenderTrust
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YOUR PNC: ABOUT THEM AND THEIR PROBLEMSShow them that:
• You know what you’re talking about. Establish subject matter expertise.
• You’re passionate and interested in them and their problem.
• Their problem is complex and they’ll benefit from your expertise and assistance.
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Maps, Forms, Etc.
StructuralElements
Text Images Video & Audio
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CONTENT: YOUR FIRM’S MARKETING FOUNDATION
Types of Content:
• Blog
• Substantive
• Reputational
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BLOGGING
Why do attorneys need to blog?
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SUBSTANTIVE CONTENT
About you and your firm
• About your firm
• Attorney bios
• Office locations
• Recommendations
• Case results, deal flows, etc
About them and their problem
•Practice area pages
•Detailed law pages
•Local pages
•Questions and answers pages
•Case studies pages
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ABOUT YOUR FIRM
• First person vs. third-person?
• Does it engage?
• Does it set you apart and capture your firm’s USP?
• Does it let PNCs and referral sources get to know your firm?
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YOUR ATTORNEY BIO
The most important page(s) on your site(s).
A powerful business generator.
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HIERARCHY OF POTENTIAL CLIENT NEEDS
They Want To Know How Much You Care
They Want To Know How Enthusiastic You Are
They Want To Know What You’ve Done
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OFFICE LOCATIONS PAGES
• More than just an address and phone number.
• Bring your office to life and make it interesting.
• Add dynamic maps (LawLytics does this for you automatically).
• Add attorneys at each location (Single click in LawLytics).
• Add office location facts. What you do there? Directions, parking, finding the suite, landmarks, etc.
• Add office pictures (internal and external).
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RECOMMENDATIONS
• Write a good lead-in to your recommendations page.
• Explain each recommendation to give it context.
• Consider the order of your recommendations to tell the story your way.
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YOUR CASE RESULTS
• Give each result, deal flow, representative client context.
• Each entry should tell a story that your PNCs and referral sources can relate
to.
• Explain details in both legal and simple terms.
• Add visual elements such as maps, pictures, videos.
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TELL A COMPELLING STORY
The Facts
● Detailed fact patterns that tell a relatable story.
● What was at stake?
● Who (or what) you were fighting for?
● Where did this happen?
The Challenges
● What were the odds?
● What needed to be overcome?
● Who was your opponent?
● How did you prepare?
● Why did you care?
The Result
● How did it improve a person’s life or the world?
● How did it stack the deck in your favor going forward?
● Marry to recommendation when possible.
The Quest
● What heroics or ingenuity did you bring to bear?
● How did your background make you uniquely suited to win?
● Marry to bio when possible (see Bio Clinic Webinar).
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Who did it help?
Why was it necessary?
Why did you
succeed?
What did you learn?
What were the odds?
Where did it happen?
Is it replicable?
Why is it remarkable?
The Story Of Your Results
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PRACTICE AREA PAGES
• Describe in their language (usually not lawyer-to-lawyer).
• Give simple overviews of each area. Then cascade to more complex and
nuanced treatment of each topic:
• On the page.
• On different pages using intuitive linking.
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DETAILED LAW PAGES
• Let readers drill down in as much detail as they are curious about.
• Don’t be thwarted by the idea that readers consume only a small fraction of
what you write. This is a good thing.
• If even one client asked you about a detail in the past, many more may be
curious about the same thing.
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LOCAL PAGES
• Get hyper-local.
• Call it out with its own page, map, pictures, etc.
• Estate Planning Examples:
• Banks
• Brokerages
• County Recorder’s Office
• Probate Courts
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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS PAGES
• Q&A’s may be woven into any other page, or displayed on dedicated
free-standing FAQ page(s).
• Write the question like your PNCs and clients ask.
• Answer in simple and direct terms.
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CASE STUDIES PAGES
• Use real, published cases and fact patterns as teaching materials.
• Create hypothetical case scenarios and talk about possible outcome and
approaches.
• Consumers respond to fact patterns that they can relate to.
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Landing Pages
Substantive Pages
BlogPosts About Pages
LANDING PAGES
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INTRODUCTION TO CONTENT
Rachel Chalot, JD, MSWVice President of Content Operations
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CREATE GUIDING AUDIENCE PRINCIPLES
- Synthesize common characteristics of a potential new client
Who are they?
What is their mindset?
What is the target “local language” (geographically and colloquially)?
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WHAT IS NECESSARY TO LAUNCH?
Focus on covering the basics, while planning for the future
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THINK LONG-TERM
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PRACTICE AREA PAGES : COMMON MISTAKES
• Concern about size
• Incorporating audience guidelines
• Are inadvertent mistakes avoided?
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TRANSITIONING TO GROW
Track as much data as possible
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TRANSITIONING TO GROW
• What types of cases are you attracting?
• What trends do you notice in your area?
• What questions are being asked of you (and your staff)?
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ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE
• (800) 713-0161
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GROW YOUR ESTATE PLANNING PRACTICE: FEBRUARY 27
• Additional tools for long-term content strategy and planning
• Lessons learned from successful estate planning firms / pitfalls to avoid
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DEVELOPING HEALTHY CONTENT HABITS
• How often?
• What topics?
• Who will write it?
• “It’s not a brief, it’s a blog!”
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WEBSITE DESIGN FOR ATTORNEYS
Sophia Oliboni, MSSenior Designer
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YOUR ESTATE PLANNING WEBSITE
Is your website design for you or
for your potential clients?
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AESTHETICS IN WEBSITES
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WHAT IS USABILITY? WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?“Coffeepot for Masochists,” from the
collection of Don Norman, 2002.
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FOCUS ON WHAT MATTERS.
Don’t sweat the small stuff.
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THE IMPORTANCE OF WHITE SPACE
Minimalism brings important
content forward and minimizes
distractions.
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LESS IS MORE: HICK’S LAW
Related phenomenon:
“Analysis Paralysis.”
Too many choices can
overwhelm.
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YOUR LAW FIRM WEBSITE LINKS
“View our firm’s case results here.”
vs.“View our case results.”
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YOUR LAW FIRM’S BRAND
How does branding affect an estate planning practice?
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DEFINING YOUR LAW FIRM’S BRAND
• What is your firm’s mission?
• What are the benefits of choosing your firm?
• What do clients think of your firm?
• What qualities do you want prospective clients to associate with your law firm?
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CHOOSING A LOGO
What’s in a good logo?
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LAW FIRM TAGLINES
Does your tagline capture your brand?
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NEXT MONTH:GROW YOUR ESTATE PLANNING WEBSITE
Learn more about design details
that encourage potential clients
to engage your firm.
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GETTING STARTED
The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
- Lao Tzu
