“I'm going to give you a little advice. There's a force in the universe that makes things happen. And all you have to do is get in touch with it, stop thinking, let things happen, and be the ball.”
Ty Webb (Chevy Chase) in Caddyshack.
Positioning Yourself as an Expert.
Is your website in touch with what you do best? Does your website reflect the true strengths of your company? Are you. . . “the ball”? When it comes to marketing yourself online, it is important that your website represent your expertise in whatever it is you do. Positioning, yourself as an expert, is in fact exactly what your customer wants. Think about it another way, would “you” want to do business with someone who is not a specialist in their field.
Below are tips that will help better position your website today:
1) Professional Design – One of the most essential elements in conveying your credibility is the look and feel of your website. Do you have a professional design or a site that looks like it was built in 1999? Remember, you only have 3-5 seconds to make an impression. Make sure, it’s a good one.
2) Clean Navigation – Does your site have an easy navigational structure? Or is it cluttered with choice? Most users can only process 5-6 main navigational topics, so better to keep it simple. Besides, can you really be an expert if you specialize in a thousand and one topics?
3) Text – If you don’t tell them you are qualified, they won’t know it. AND while your website copy should really try to solve customer’s needs, there is no harm in letting customers about your expert skills (which, come to think of it, is an answer to a customer need).
4) Logo and Certifications – Visually, there is no better way to prove your expertise on your website. Add every relevant award, affiliation, and educational certificate you can to your site. If you have an e-commerce site, Better Business Bureau and Versign type security certificates provide an added layer of protection and credibility to your site.
5) Be Mistake Free – Nothing screams amateur more than a website with typos, misspellings, broken links, and faulty navigation. If you can, proof your site often and respond quickly to any communication that spots your errors.
If you follow the Caddyshack path, there will be a force in the universe that will make things happen for you, providing you with better web results.
Ron Weber is currently the President of SD Interactive, a San Diego Internet Marketing Agency, and a GIANT Caddyshack fan.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Search Engine Marketing for San Diego Attorneys
Have you ever “Googled” yourself?
Or more importantly, when potential clients search online for your practice, does your website show up? Sadly, if you are like most others, your own clients would likely have a hard time finding your website online, even if they were to search for you by name.
In today’s world, the Internet has replaced the Yellow Pages and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) has now become a vital tool for many businesses, giving websites increased exposure, traffic, and customers. Having visibility in the search engines is critical in today's marketplace, and it will be critical in tomorrows.
If you truly want to maximize the potential of the Internet, the best strategy involves a marketing mix of both pay-per-click marketing and search engine optimization. The former will get you traffic right away, and the latter is a longer term investment that can pay healthy dividends for your practice.
Fortunately, the search market for San Diego Attorneys is less competitive than most, so the time to act is now.
Pay Per Click Marketing
Pay per click marketing is an ideal tool for San Diego Attorneys that want to be found on major search engines, immediately. All you need is a website and a budget and you can start marketing yourself today! While you must indeed ‘pay’ every time someone clicks on your advertisement, there are many benefits to this type of marketing:
1 – Geographical Targeting – You specify which city, states and regions you wish to display your ad.
2 – Keyword Targeting – People search in many different ways. You can target for an unlimited number of keyword phrases.
3 – Set your own Budget – You spend whatever you want, period. There are no minimum spends. Be aware though that click charges usually range anywhere from fifty cents to a few dollars a click.
4 – Time to Market- Your campaign can be launched on Google and Yahoo! in less than 24 hours.
5 – Tracking – You track your campaign results through an easy web-based interface.
6 – Flexibility – If your ad is not working, you can easily change the text of your ad.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Unlike pay per click marketing, Search engine optimization (SEO) is used for those willing to improve the ranks naturally, over time. Usually a long term strategy, SEO involves selecting the right keywords for your practice and making your website more “search engine friendly.” Once you are at that stage, more advanced tactics such a link building is essential for obtaining and retaining your rankings.
Below is a list of things you can do today to improve your rankings tomorrow!
1 – Keyword Selection – Keywords are everything! Make sure you know exactly what keywords are relevant to your practice. More importantly, however, is to know how potential clients search for you.
For example, a prospective client in San Diego might look up "San Diego Attorney" "San Diego DUI Attorney", "San Diego Lawyer" and/or "San Diego DUI Lawyer."
2 –Website Copy – Search engines love written text (they cannot read images), especially content that increases regularly and is laden with keyword phrases. Keywords are extremely important for helping the search engines learn and properly index your site into the appropriate categories. Make sure your keywords are reflected in your website copy.
3 – Site Submission – Simply go to Google and Yahoo! and submit your site for free.
4 – Search Engine Friendly –First of all, make sure your site was not built in either all Flash or all Frames. The search engines do not have the ability to read these sites. If okay, make sure to ask your web design company to check for broken links and unreachable URL’s. Good code is essential for rankings.
For more advanced practitioners
5 – Link Building – The search engines highly value sites which have a lot of links pointing to them (not from them). In other words, if many relevant sites link to your site, your site must be important. Keep in mind that it isn’t particularly effective anymore simply to get links from anyone. So a link from your brother the plumber is not very valuable to a San Diego Divorce Attorney, but a link from Divorce Magazine is extremely valuable.
A final thought.
While following these recommended tips, your site will be much better positioned for long-term rankings in the search engines. However, please keep in mind that many of the search engines these days, especially Google, factor in several “off the page criteria.” Google considers other factors such as the age of your site, and click through behavior, into their algorithm. It is important to note that optimization is no longer just about bringing people to your site but rather, it is about having a site that people get value from, as judged by items such as your inbound links and visitor click through activity. If your site does not deliver value, consider designing a new site that can.
Ron Weber is currently the President of SD Interactive, a San Diego Internet Marketing Agency.
Or more importantly, when potential clients search online for your practice, does your website show up? Sadly, if you are like most others, your own clients would likely have a hard time finding your website online, even if they were to search for you by name.
In today’s world, the Internet has replaced the Yellow Pages and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) has now become a vital tool for many businesses, giving websites increased exposure, traffic, and customers. Having visibility in the search engines is critical in today's marketplace, and it will be critical in tomorrows.
If you truly want to maximize the potential of the Internet, the best strategy involves a marketing mix of both pay-per-click marketing and search engine optimization. The former will get you traffic right away, and the latter is a longer term investment that can pay healthy dividends for your practice.
Fortunately, the search market for San Diego Attorneys is less competitive than most, so the time to act is now.
Pay Per Click Marketing
Pay per click marketing is an ideal tool for San Diego Attorneys that want to be found on major search engines, immediately. All you need is a website and a budget and you can start marketing yourself today! While you must indeed ‘pay’ every time someone clicks on your advertisement, there are many benefits to this type of marketing:
1 – Geographical Targeting – You specify which city, states and regions you wish to display your ad.
2 – Keyword Targeting – People search in many different ways. You can target for an unlimited number of keyword phrases.
3 – Set your own Budget – You spend whatever you want, period. There are no minimum spends. Be aware though that click charges usually range anywhere from fifty cents to a few dollars a click.
4 – Time to Market- Your campaign can be launched on Google and Yahoo! in less than 24 hours.
5 – Tracking – You track your campaign results through an easy web-based interface.
6 – Flexibility – If your ad is not working, you can easily change the text of your ad.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Unlike pay per click marketing, Search engine optimization (SEO) is used for those willing to improve the ranks naturally, over time. Usually a long term strategy, SEO involves selecting the right keywords for your practice and making your website more “search engine friendly.” Once you are at that stage, more advanced tactics such a link building is essential for obtaining and retaining your rankings.
Below is a list of things you can do today to improve your rankings tomorrow!
1 – Keyword Selection – Keywords are everything! Make sure you know exactly what keywords are relevant to your practice. More importantly, however, is to know how potential clients search for you.
For example, a prospective client in San Diego might look up "San Diego Attorney" "San Diego DUI Attorney", "San Diego Lawyer" and/or "San Diego DUI Lawyer."
2 –Website Copy – Search engines love written text (they cannot read images), especially content that increases regularly and is laden with keyword phrases. Keywords are extremely important for helping the search engines learn and properly index your site into the appropriate categories. Make sure your keywords are reflected in your website copy.
3 – Site Submission – Simply go to Google and Yahoo! and submit your site for free.
4 – Search Engine Friendly –First of all, make sure your site was not built in either all Flash or all Frames. The search engines do not have the ability to read these sites. If okay, make sure to ask your web design company to check for broken links and unreachable URL’s. Good code is essential for rankings.
For more advanced practitioners
5 – Link Building – The search engines highly value sites which have a lot of links pointing to them (not from them). In other words, if many relevant sites link to your site, your site must be important. Keep in mind that it isn’t particularly effective anymore simply to get links from anyone. So a link from your brother the plumber is not very valuable to a San Diego Divorce Attorney, but a link from Divorce Magazine is extremely valuable.
A final thought.
While following these recommended tips, your site will be much better positioned for long-term rankings in the search engines. However, please keep in mind that many of the search engines these days, especially Google, factor in several “off the page criteria.” Google considers other factors such as the age of your site, and click through behavior, into their algorithm. It is important to note that optimization is no longer just about bringing people to your site but rather, it is about having a site that people get value from, as judged by items such as your inbound links and visitor click through activity. If your site does not deliver value, consider designing a new site that can.
Ron Weber is currently the President of SD Interactive, a San Diego Internet Marketing Agency.
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