5 Good Reasons to Choose Foster Web Marketing:

Web Education:

FWM Blog

Update Your Site

AIR Website Provides Good Blogging Ammunition

News Items

View all

Marketing Library

Web Tools

Web 2.0 Presentation for 2007 GLM Superconference

View all

Featured Attorney Web Design Sites

View all

Google: The Great Equalizer for Attorneys

To watch these videos, please download Flash Player

Search engines are meritocracies.

Believe it or not.

Google, Yahoo, Dogpile, MSN and the like are the only scenarios on earth where who you know and how much money you spend make no difference at all. What matters is whether or not you understand and follow the rules.

You can see examples of this every time you use Google. Enormous law firms that bill hundreds of hours a day languish on the back pages of search engines while the two partner firm with an office in an industrial park is firmly entrenched on the first page. The difference is that the enormous law firm either thinks that they can rely on reputation alone or doesn’t need search engine support, while the new firm with office space just off the highway completely understands the rules and parameters of search engines and is reaping the benefits.

Welcome to the World Wide Web. Check your sense of entitlement at the door.

This system of instant communication and instant indexing has created a huge divide between those who understand and those who don’t. And it isn’t based on the number of decades the firm has been in business, or on the pedigree of the attorneys who are signed on as junior associates, or which country club the partners belong to for that matter.

Here is what matters; Do the people at the firm in charge of marketing understand how search engines work or not? Do they know what keywords are? Do they know how to place them in the text on the website in a way that both attracts search engine algorithms and attracts potential clients? Do they know why constantly adding new content is important? Do they understand why blogging is important? Do they understand the importance of regularly adding news updates? Do they understand why having video matters?

If the answer to these questions is yes, then you are probably looking at a small firm that is dealing with the “good problem” of referring new clients, having to hire more staff, or landing that one high profile case that could put them on the map. If the answer to these questions is no, then you have a firm that is either treading water or watching their case load and billable hours slowly but surely diminish as the months slip by.

Understanding how the web works is crucial. It used to be that a small, new firm had to take out ads in the Yellow Pages, throw down the money for a daytime TV ad, have business cards handy at all times, and hope for the best. While these are all still valid resources for law firms (or any business that is starting out for that matter,) the internet has completely leveled the playing field in terms of advertising prominence. You don’t have to pay for prime time television ads anymore in order to get maximum exposure. You don’t have to pay quarter page rates in the phone book. All it takes is knowing what search engines are looking for and adjusting the content of your website accordingly, and the rest takes care of itself.

Search engines are not guys in cubicles. They can’t be charmed or reasoned with. You can’t appeal to common interests or common backgrounds, or let it be known that you went to school with their friends, relatives or fraternity brothers. In fact, directly on their website, Google makes it clear that there is a huge gap between the search engine side of the company and the revenue generating side of the company. A round of golf and tickets to the football game isn’t going to work here.

The rules are in place. All you have to do is follow them accurately and honestly, and you are rewarded in visible and concrete ways. There isn’t a more accurate example of a meritocracy out there. The only obstacle is that the rules don’t make themselves immediately obvious. This is where Foster Web Marketing comes in.

We have dedicated ourselves to search engine optimization. We have combined knowledge of the technical aspect of search engine parameters with the nuts and bolts of marketing. We can work within the rules of search engine indexes while still appealing to the needs of potential clients. And just as it has worked for us, we can make it work for you.

Contact our offices for free website consultation today.