The Rainmaker Blog : Law Firm Marketing and Business Development : The Rainmaker Institute : Stephen Fairley : Professional Legal Marketing

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If you’re an estate planning attorney in Detroit, chances are you’re not looking for clients in Phoenix. You are, as are most attorneys, a local business. Which means you need to optimize your website for local search, as well as employ other tactics to make your firm locally visible to those searching for your services.

Here are some tips for optimizing your website or blog for local search:

Include local keywords in your content, URL and tags. If someone is looking for legal services, it is highly unlikely they will type the name of your firm into a Google search box. This is why I always recommend a URL with your location and practice specialty – i.e., www.FortMyersEstatePlanning.com. Location should be in your page title, header tags, meta tags and content as well, and you should also include long-tail keyword variations for your area.

Blog. Every time you add a new post to your blog is a new opportunity to get found using local search terms. Be sure your content discusses local issues and always add your location somewhere in your post – for example, instead of saying “We can help you...” write “Our Detroit estate planning law firm can help you...”

Optimize your site for mobile. Almost half of Google Map usage is on mobile devices, so you need to make your site mobile-friendly. To learn how, see my post last month on If You Lack a Mobile Website, You're Turning Prospects Away.

Local contact information. Be sure you have a real “Contact Us” page with your physical address, phone number and Google map.

In addition you should employ these additional tactics for getting good local SEO:

• Add your firm to local directories like your local Chamber of Commerce, bar association and other business organizations.
• Have a Google+ account.
• Get reviews on Yelp! and other similar sites that profile local businesses.

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PI Attorneys: Register Now for PILMMA Fall Summit Sept. 21-22 in Las Vegas

Join me at the Personal Injury Lawyers Marketing and Management Association (PILMMA) Fall Legal Marketing & Management Summit on Sept. 21-22 in Las Vegas, when I will be making a special presentation on 5 Proven Strategies to Double Your Referrals.

There are a host of other nationally renowned speakers who will be joining me for this prestigious summit, including:

James Mitchell Brown, author of the book Marketing for the Contingency Fee Law Firm, is the nation’s leading consultant for contingency fee firms. Brown has been an attorney since 1973.  He formed Attorney Consultant Inc. in 2004 and has been recognized throughout the country for his expertise in teaching marketing and business management skills to attorneys.

Mark Wolfe has been practicing in the area of personal injury litigation since 1987 with an emphasis on auto-negligence cases. He is a partner in the Mobile, Alabama firm of Boteler, Finley & Wolfe. He has tried over 200 car crash cases to verdict and handled over 3500 car crash claims or cases.

Patrick Anderson will share the strategies and results of successful PI attorneys who are using iPhone apps to bring in “winnable cases”. His Case Study documents a step-by-step marketing blueprint used by PI firms to generate thousands of legal app downloads in a few short months.

For those who are not already members of PILMMA, you will be able to attend this two-day summit and get two months of PILMMA Gold Membership rights at one all-inclusive rate. PILMMA members and non-members can register online -- simply click this link and learn how you can start snagging these big cases for yourself!