A single mouse-click can result in hundreds of Internet Marketing listings, so it is vital to make sure that your business catches their attention right off the bat. The first thing to do is to be sure that your website supplies the potential client with enough information about your practice to meet their needs. Important pieces of information it should contain includes any specialized practices offered, i.e. DUI, taxes, bankruptcy, etc, how they can reach you, both via email and telephone, and a bit of background on the attorneys working there. Also, make sure that all of the information on the website is always kept up-to-date, as current polls revealed that more than 60 percent of those surveyed said they first verify a practice’s authenticity, and whether it will meet their needs, online.

Of course, it doesn’t matter how well the website looks if no one can find it. Since most searching is currently done via sites like Google, placements on such search engines is pivotal to an establishment’s online advertising success or failure. Search engines work by matching selected key words to websites containing those, or similar words, so including service specific search words, such as corporate taxes or Chapter 11, could lead to a higher standing on the search result page, which would in turn increase a firm’s views and potential clients. Another creative idea is to reward people for a common goof-up…getting lost. When people aren’t completely sure how to spell a company’s name, they generally try to guess at it; search engines bring up pages matching the keywords, and the closest counterparts, so just signing up a few variations of your company’s web address, such as Larry’s Law Firm .com, .net, and/or .biz will assure that they’ll probably see your establishment’s information first.

Once you get potential new clients to your website, you need to keep them there, and this is mistake-making territory. Studies have found that the average person responds to stories concerning another man-on-the-street much better than high-flown self-testimonies.

Avoiding mistakes will help to keep clients who have viewed your website, but to attract more visitors, it’s essential to differentiate your firm from the myriad of others competing for the attention of the same audience. Other ways to make your legal team stand out include providing legal service consumers with some type of e-correspondence periodically, whether they are active clients or not, to keep them informed of any changes in staff or additional services being offered by your colleagues, or create a forum where current and former clientele can provide feedback on their experience, if they are dissatisfied or have suggestions for improvement. Also; remembering that word of mouth is the way that many people share their service and business experiences, various members of the organization might compile stories petitioned from satisfied or long-time customers, which could be gathered into an interactive guestbook and linked to the business’s main website.

Whatever tactics you choose, the key to success lies in the ability to set yourself and your business apart from the throngs of online competitors.