Contest for Website Tune-Up and Book on SEO

Tom O’Leary of The Attorneys ATM is holding a contest offering a free website tune-up as a prize.  In addition, all entrants receive a free copy of his e-book, How To Dominate Google, Yahoo and MSN" To enter the contest, go to this link. 

Below, is my interview with Tom, where he describes his background and discusses various issues related to website SEO. 

1.  Tell me a little about your background and why you are trying to
help law firms.

I’m a former refugee from the corporate world, a dot-com survivor, and for
the better part of a decade, I’ve advised business owners on business growth
strategies, particularly the Internet, in the Trades and Automotive
industries. Through referrals from existing clients, I’d helped a handful of
attorneys grow their business, but had never considered the legal profession
to be a focus of my business.

That changed last summer when I sought advice for a minor legal issue, and
ended up spending two hours in this attorney’s office (a solo), largely
discussing ways to grow his business.

Fast forward a month later, and we’re in his office again, this time
listening to a sales pitch from one of the largest website development and
Internet advertising service companies in the U.S. that serve legal
professionals.  

I was shocked at the cost, underwhelmed by their offerings, and turned off
by their aggressive nature.  If this company was the top-of-the-food chain,
I believed that solos and small firms would welcome a solid and affordable
option.  I haven’t looked back since.

2.  With so much material already available on do it yourself SEO, why
did you write this ebook and what distinguishes it from products
already out there?

You’re right, there’s a ton of material available. In fact, I just recently
reviewed a nice piece of work by David Viney.  But even with all the
material that’s available, there are very, very few that are focused on one
particular industry.

Even the best books on the subject are generalizations where the reader must
adapt the techniques and strategies laid out to whatever industry they are
in.

I wrote this book for attorneys with tools, resources and ideas specific to
the legal profession.  The information is presented in a step-by-step format
that applies to every situation…whether the website is in the planning
stages, has just been released or has been in place for years.

I’ve even linked important examples directly to my website so the reader can
actually see the techniques applied as they would appear on a website.

3.  Why is it so important for lawyers to understand SEO – can’t they
just hire an expert and pass it off to them?

If their business is successful and they have the funds, they should
absolutely hire it out.  But when some SEO vendor is wanting a fee equal to
what my son’s yearly tuition is (it’s a lot and these types of vendors are
out there), it’s just smart business to have an idea what this vendor is
proposing to do and how it can impact a practice.

If it’s an attorney that’s just starting out and they have a basic
understanding of how a website works but a shoe-string budget, this book is
an ideal way for them to discover exactly what the search engines want.  If
you know what the search engines want and have time, the end result is a
dominant website.

I’m even in regular contact with attorneys that have successful practices
yet enjoy working on their own website or blog.  And the book gives them an
opportunity to make their site or blog that much better.

4.  How much time will it take someone new to the Internet to start
getting critical mass visibility in search engines?

A great question, Carolyn.  It’s common for many folks that are not familiar
with how search engines operate to think when they build their site,
potential customers will start calling and sending e-mails.  Unfortunately,
that’s not how search engines treat new websites – particularly Google.

Google, and to a lesser extent, Yahoo and MSN, will treat a recently
launched website like an Infant…they’re going to put you in their
"Sandbox" to play with the other Infants (new sites) till they believe
you’re ready to play with the older kids.

The search engines do this because it’s their only defense against the
phenomenal number of sites that are created with the sole intent to spam
(trick) the search engines.  They know Spam operators create a site, and
then move on to the next one.  On the other hand, Business Owners that are
serious about using a website as an effective marketing tool to grow their
business will put forth the effort needed to have the site released from the
sandbox.

For a new site that’s been properly optimized, it’s simply a matter of being
patient before the site gains significant visibility in the search engines.
The general consensus is the sandbox penalty can last up to twelve months.
For attorneys and almost every other profession I can think of, it truly
depends on the population of where the individual practices and the effort
put into the website.   You’ll find the greater the population, the greater
the competitive threat – thus more work will be needed to overcome that
threat.

Here’s a more realistic example.  Let’s say a solo has just recently begun
practicing in an area with a population of a 100k to 200k.  She decides to
have a website site built and optimized by a vendor.  This attorney should
see her website gain critical mass visibility in as little as 3 months.

If she builds the site herself and dedicates several hours a week to
optimizing the site, she should gain significant visibility within 6 – 9
months.

Obviously, if she practiced in an urban setting with a population in excess
of 1 million, the time to gain visibility would be considerably longer and
more costly, regardless if she hired the work out or did it herself.

On the other hand, if an attorney has a site that’s been up-and-running for
a year or more, the search engines are well aware of the website.  They’re
just waiting for the owner to give them something.  A recent example I can
cite is a solo that practices in an urban center with a population of more
than two million.  He’d built the site himself and I was brought onboard to
coach him on an as-needed basis.  His site went from oblivion to the top
spots on Google for almost every single keyword phrase (what his clients
were searching for) he targeted.  He really worked hard and has earned each
and every new client he’s getting.

If an attorney hires a pro to optimize their site and it’s been around for a
year or more, the results are typically much quicker.  I’ve seen the same
results I mentioned earlier accomplished in less than three weeks.  The
fastest I’ve ever seen it done was two weeks.  Those are the exceptions, not
the rule.  It’s usually a month to a month-and-a-half timeframe.

5.  I know that people will download your book, but if they can focus
on 1-2 parts, which ones would you direct them to.

The two areas I would focus on are Title Tags and Content because they’re
very important and it’s what jumps out at me when I first review a clients
website.

Title Tags are your first and best shot at telling the search engines what
your site is about.  These tags, which are located in the source code on
every page of a website, tell the search engines what that page is about and
later, can match that info to what your potential clients are searching for.

Here’s the mistake that 9 out of 10 attorneys make – and to get my point
across, and not embarrass anyone, I’ll use a fictitious attorney as an
example.

This attorney has a practice in Baton Rouge that’s focused on Divorce.  The
Title Tag on his Home Page says "Law Offices of Attorney Gene Smith" and
search engines grab that info and stash it in their databases.  So when
someone in Baton Rouge searches for "Attorney Gene Smith", the search
engines happily provide his website smack dab at the top of the search
results.

The problem is, Gene has told the search engines that his site is about the
"Law Offices of Attorney Gene Smith" and there are only a handful of people
each year that search for "Attorney Gene Smith".

The search engines want to know what your business is about, not who you
are.  Here’s a great way to think about this – if someone asks Gene what he
does for a living his answer would typically be "I’m a Divorce
Lawyer/Attorney in Baton Rouge" and that’s what the search engines want.  In
fact, that’s what Baton Rouge residents want to know as well because they’re
searching for divorces lawyers using that exact search phrase each and every
month.

If Gene would change his Title Tag to match that search phrase, he’s taking
the first step in gaining visibility from the search engines.

Carolyn, I’d even advise your readers to see what their Title Tag says on
their Home page.  All they need to do is bring their website up and look at
the extreme top-left of their monitor.  There, they’ll see a phrase followed
by either "Windows Internet Explorer" or "Mozilla Firefox" depending on
which browser they’re using.  The phrase shown before the browser identifier
is the Title Tag.  If it says something similar to what Gene’s said, the
site needs some work.

The other area I’d suggest your readers focus on is the Content of their
website, or what your potential clients will be reading.  There are hundreds
and hundreds of books that cover effective content and copywriting, but I’ll
state it clearly with one sentence.

When a potential client gets to your website, particularly the home page,
they only thing on their mind is….What’s in it for me.

The potential client doesn’t care about your education.  They don’t care
about your ideals or how you run your practice.  They don’t care that you’ve
won this award or that award.

If the majority of your home page content is about yourself and your
practice, the potential clients are hitting the back-button on their browser
in the blink of an eye and you’ll never get a second chance.

However, when the content is engaging and focuses on them, you’ve got them
hooked.  If it answers their questions and addresses their fears, wants,
needs and desires, the likelihood of the potential client picking up the
phone to call you, or firing off an e-mail, increase dramatically.  

And really, that’s all any businessperson wants…an opportunity to get a
new customer or client.