LPM Tip

Local Yoke I: Be Present in Local Search

For many attorneys, marketing remains an enigma. A number of lawyers have told me that web marketing feels a lot like dropping your efforts into a bucket so deep that you can't see to the bottom. Of course, there are analytical tools that can help you track your online advertising investment; but, if you miss the good old days of the phone book, there are online approximations of the old school, that can be extremely relevant traffic drivers in the internet age.

All of the main search engines offer some form of local search feature, through which you can advertise your business, for free. These local results, tied to map services, are the descendants of phone book listings. Search "divorce lawyer Boston" in Google, and note that there appears a map with local results displayed and that those local results are tagged within search results.

How do you get in on the action? Start by creating a free Google Places page for your business; here's Google's very own user guide, to help walk you through the process. You can pay for 'Tags' ($25 per month) that will further highlight your local results. You can also use Google AdWords, in certain contexts, in conjunction with Google Places.

What about Yahoo? Yahoo!

How about Bing? Here's just the thing.

For more on SEO and local web marketing, listen to my recent interview of Avvo's Conrad Saam, at my podcast: 'The Legal Toolkit.'

Tip courtesy of Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor, Law Office Management Assistance Program.

Published March 24, 2011

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