Questions to Ask Before Buying SEO Services

Securing the right search marketing agency for your law firm or other professional practice is challenging. Here are questions you should ask not only of yourself, but to potential search engine optimization (“seo”) consultants, before you sign on the dotted line.

Questions You Should Answer First

• What are my goals? Better positioning on search engines is an “ok” goal. But it’s more valuable to you if the goals are specific (and realistic), such as “20% more inbound leads” or “50 requests for more information per month.”
• How will I measure the success of this campaign? I work almost exclusively with law firms, and it’s common for lawyers to want double or triple firm revenues as a result of an SEO campaign. But in nearly all cases, this isn’t realistic, since contested matters could take many months or even years to yield fee revenue. Instead, refine your goals a step further and look at total number of cases or files working as a good indicator of success (at least early in the campaign).

Questions Good Consultants Will Ask You
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of people selling SEO just looking to get rich quick. Most don’t have a clue about your business and very few even understand the basics of website optimization. The best, most capable consultants will ask questions like these:

• How much can you afford to pay for a lead, subscriber, download, etc.?
• What’s worked best (and least) in the past to generate the above?
• How will you measure the success of this campaign? The consultant is looking for realistic, measurable goals, which you’ll have already prepared.

Questions to Ask Your SEO Consultant
Finally, the time has come for you to examine the qualifications of the consultant. Ask some or all of these questions to help make your decision the right one:

• Do you have proof of your work? You’re looking for the consultant or vendor to have or quickly produce client testimonials, case studies, and sample rankings for firms similar in size and scope as yours.
• What results can I reasonably expect? And how long will it take? Demand to see or have prepared a detailed game plan. Get vague responses explained., and avoid any consultant or vendor promising specific placements (e.g. “We guarantee first place results for keywords on Google”).
• What is your experience in my industry? Work with a specialist. You wouldn’t go to a general practitioner for your heart condition, and neither should your law firm or other professional practice go with an all-purpose vendor.
• What techniques do you use to achieve results? What is the overall strategy? Anyone who mentions “meta-tags” as their first answer should be shown the door. You really want to hear them say things like “produce high-quality content” or “develop relevant inbound links within your industry.”
• When do I get updates? How often do you communicate to me? Who can I call with questions? At minimum, monthly reporting on progress and monthly reports on positions achieved should be the norm. And every program should have a point-person or main contact person, since most vendors use a team of specialists, strategists and analysts to fulfill your objectives.

Armed with these questions, you’re certain to catch most consultants (even the good ones) off-guard. Listen carefully to the responses, and if you get resistance, move on.

Photo credit by svilen001.

Four Ways Your Website Helps Automate and Expand Your Business

Every day, tens of millions of searches are conducted online by people looking for local service providers. How many potential customers are you missing by not having a web presence? Having a website today is not only “hip,” it’s mandatory. Companies with websites are in control of a resource that works non-stop, providing customer service, processing orders and gathering information.

The problem? Most businesses never reach their full potential because they fail to realize that websites are employees – employees that work to gather leads 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. The sooner you realize this, the closer you’ll be to reaching a new level of success; one that comes from possessing a global presence, a constantly networking and marketing tool, and a full-service establishment that serves your customers and potential clients effectively all day, every day.

Used properly, a website will change your online destiny and heighten your understanding of what your clients expect from you as a professional company, and, scary to say, what many of your competitors could well already know: websites have an enormous amount of power, both online and offline.

Your task is to harness this power in a way that works for you, and it starts by changing your mindset on what a website is, and why you either need one, or need to proactively put the one you already have to work. Consider this: radio took 37 years to get 50 million listeners. TV took 15. The Internet did it in less than 3 years. In today’s ultra-competitive economy, a website is your way of being heard.

First, your website acts as a customer service representative. Websites can provide customer service for your company like no other employee on your payroll. What other employee do you have that works non-stop, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year, for year after year after year? So leverage your website for what it’s great at: providing useful information about your business, such as your services and procedures. Recent news about your company or industry that may interest potential customers also can be posted to your website and updated regularly. Your website can and should provide unparalleled customer service on your behalf.

Second, your website acts as a public relations manager. Websites communicate who you are and help you connect with potential customers. Regardless of whether you’re locally famous or not, your website can make you known globally. By providing clear definitions, information and articles in simple terms everyday people understand, your website can make you more money and attract new customers. Not to mention the potential for making a more personal connection with people by including online professional biographies. A website thrives on attention, and when others reference it, link to it, and love it for providing what they’ve been desperately searching for, it shines brighter than ever, attracting yet more attention. By using your website and the knowledge you currently posses, you can become “the” expert who not only understands your own business, but how to communicate that understanding into the practical, hard-and-fast information surfers seek out.

Third, your website acts as a document provider. Websites can make the lives of your customers and staff easier. Ever faxed or mailed a form to a customer that they could easily have filled out online? Allowing your website to provide forms, general paperwork and documents with your company letterhead already in place saves everyone time and money. Your administrative staff will thank you, too, when you use your website to reduce both unnecessary office traffic and time spent needlessly explaining general documents. Do your clients and yourself a favor by providing forms, general paperwork and documents online.

Fourth, your website acts as an intelligence-gathering tool. We would all like to know what our customers are expecting from us before they say it, and there is absolutely no better way to have this knowledge in-hand than to allow your website to perform a bit of intelligence-gathering on behalf of your business. In this manner, your website is able to gather information and provide you with powerful insight that will improve all aspects of your business – both online and offline. Through feedback forms, website analytics and surveys, your website can be your company’s perpetual covert intelligence agent, working around the clock to help you get to know your clients so you can better communicate with them.

Essentially, the costs associated with creating, maintaining and distributing a website are minimal compared to the ROI your company will receive. Where else can you find a single, consistent medium to provide your company with ongoing customer service, public relations, document delivery, and intelligence gathering, which is not only accurate, but also complete?

With your website working for you fulltime, your company can level the playing field with larger competitors. A valid website will expose you and your company to global markets, while complementing the work you are already performing offline. By tapping the power of your website, you have hired an employee that never needs to be fired and that works just as hard as you do.

3 Step Marketing Plan

When it comes to successful marketing, most consultants tell you to put it in writing. But who has time to write 20, 30, or more pages? Instead, try this simple, yet powerful, 3 step plan, which answers these questions about you and your business:

• Who are you?
• Who do you help, and why?
• What should you spend?

Who are you?
Every business has something that makes it unique, which becomes the basis for your unique selling proposition (“USP”). Most consultants will have you examine your business, looking for ideas, but that takes away time from earning money. Here’s a trick — instead of trying to figure it out yourself, simply survey your currents clients asking them why they bought from you. You’re bound to find some gems from which to build your USP on. Once you’ve got your USP, integrate it in all your marketing efforts. You’ve got to stand for something in today’s marketplace.

Who do you help?
Begin by crafting a service description similar to this: I help (people, business owners, etc.) who have this problem (legal issues, leaky pipes, etc.) in this location (Dallas, Orange County, Utah, etc.). Show them how you serve their needs and their needs alone. The most important element of your business is your service description — not your signs, storefronts or office space. Add demographic questions to your business survey, and find out where your clients live, work, play, eat, what kind of car they drive, musical tastes — anything and everything to help you uncover patterns, which you’ll then use to laser-focus your marketing. Why do you get up each morning to help your clients? The answer to “why” helps your clients connect to you emotionally, which is on a much deeper level than price. Get the advantage and answer why!

What should you spend?
Marketing budgets are easier to express as a percentage of sales, but take the extra time and figure exactly what you should spend to acquire a new client. Three to five percent of gross annual sales is a rough starting point. Let’s say you have a law firm in Texas, and clients bringing in uncontested matters spend an average of $700 each time they see you. This client hires you twice a year for about five years. Simply put, the lifetime value of this client is $7000. If you only take 5% of this amount and apply it to your marketing efforts, you’d need to invest $350 to attract one new client. Then multiply this number times the number of clients you want to attract to create your budget.

Plan for success by drafting and documenting this simple, yet powerful, marketing plan. Writing it down forces you to think about your business and serves as a constant reminder. Refer to your plan often, and make minor course adjustments along the way. With plan in hand, set a timeline and begin implementing. As the saying goes, “most people don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan.”

Strategy to Get More Business Testimonials

Every business owner knows testimonials are a powerful form of social proof. Frankly, every single one of us who shop online rely on social proof. hen was the last time you bought something on Amazon, or anywhere else, without reading what others had to say about the item? Unless you have no concerns about getting value for your dollars, you instinctively rely on social proof.

But how do you get more testimonials for your service business? Instead of shackling your best clients to a desk, locking them in a room, giving them pen and paper, and coercing them to write (and write well!), try this strategy instead.

First, come up with a short list of questions your potential clients should ask of yours or similar services (make sure the questions emphasize benefits). For example:

• Is your service exclusive my industry or company?
• How often will you call or visit my team with updates?
• What type of guarantee do I get?
• What time commitments do I need to make?

And so on. Then, present this list along with a handful of current clients for your prospect to contact.

When your current clients are contacted for information — and let’s face it, it will be via email — they’ll be compelled to write back what looks like a well-written testimonial. The glicken (*) is when your current clients copy (‘cc’) you on this message. Voila! Instant testimonial.

This approach even helps your active clients further remember why they did business with you in the first place, and may spawn more referrals.

How would this strategy work for your business?

Texas Marketing Seminars

I spoke before 40 attorneys in Fort Worth on using the Internet to find and attract new clients. This was the third time I presented to the Bar this year, and their membership continues to have an ever increasing appetite for marketing content. From there, I drove to Austin, and spoke at a networking event (and cocktail hour!) before a more intimate crowd.

Being lawyers, they focused on gathering facts, asking technical questions and taking notes. But the real discussion happened after the presentation, as I went from table to table. Discussions ranged from helping to control a tarnished online reputation to starting a new law firm. My advice to both: get a new website or blog up and running first, before doing anything else (your best defense is a good offense!). Create local profiles, engage in social marketing. Be part of the conversation instead of the topic.

These two events complete a successful 2009, where I presented search engine marketing seminars to a cumulative audience of more than 1,000 attorneys. I want to thank both the Tarrant County Bar Association in Fort Worth and Perry’s Steakhouse in Austin for their gracious hospitality.