The Esquire Interactive Legal Marketing Team

We are dedicated to the success of our clients, which is probably why we have so many long-term clients.  Our clients trust us.  They know that we care about their success and that we understand their budget. We also understand both the business and practice of law, which I don’t think can be underestimated.  I was a business and finance attorney at a large law firm for years, senior counsel at Australia’s largest company, and a general counsel at an aerospace and defense contractor.  In these positions, I’ve worked for business clients and have also hired lawyers in about a dozen countries, so I have a pretty good idea of what in-house counsel seeks.

Sure.  Most great lawyers do a phenomenal job communicating with their clients.  They explain the law, options, and alternatives available and the risks and benefits inherent in various strategies.  Clients then are able to make objective, informed decisions. Our role is the same.  Whether it’s SEO or a particular approach to website development, we want to make sure that our clients understand our recommendations so that they, too, can make informed decisions.

Good website design is more than the images that make up the website.  It also includes the messages and content that are necessary for a website to resonate with potential clients.

The best, most cost-effective way of doing SEO with respect to a new website is to develop a plan for SEO at the outset of the website process.  The biggest mistake we see is that law firms often don’t appreciate the importance of SEO at the outset of website development.  Often, attorneys will hire a developer to build a site that may look nice, but not much attention is placed on the content and messages and how the site will perform in the search engines.  It is important to put as much energy into the design of the site as it is the content and messages that are used on the site to be seen by prospective clients.

Focusing on high rankings should NOT be the first step.  Instead, the first step should be determining whether the website resonates well. Frequently, clients come to us with websites that have very poor resonation.  This can be seen through Google Analytics in the form of high bounce rates, low pages per visit, and short website visits. In these cases, the key will be to dramatically change the website, as higher rankings and more clicks won’t lead to more calls if the website doesn’t resonate. Second, and importantly, focus on a long-term strategy of seeking and maintaining quality rankings.  Short-term SEO plans are another derivation of “get rich quick” plans.  Not only do they typically not work, but they can backfire and cause long-term site damage that cannot be undone.

First, I would highly recommend having your website developed on WordPress.  In my opinion, it’s the best, most robust platform available for law firms.  It’s by far the world’s most-used platform, probably because it is both powerful and very user-friendly. Second, be very careful of who you hire for SEO.  Beware of anyone who promises high rankings for a low price, especially in competitive markets.  Make sure that you know exactly what any SEO company will do.  We’ve seen many law firms get taken down in the search engine rankings when new algorithms are released because of manipulative practices used by SEO companies.  I’m not talking about losing a few spots on the first page; I’m talking about going from page 1 to maybe page 8 or page 15 or worse.

If a website goes from the first page of the search results to page 8 or worse, the first thing to do is to figure out why the rankings dropped.  Often, when we have looked at this for clients who have been using other website or SEO companies, in most cases, it was because the website or SEO company has been engaged in manipulative link-building practices – either “buying” links or setting up deceptive “link farm” or 3-way linking/directory practices. Google takes ranking manipulation seriously.  When it finds out about these practices, it can be the kiss of death for a website, at least in terms of seeking high rankings.  In our experience, trying to “rehabilitate” a website deeply involved in such practices, including using the Google “disavow” tool, often does not work.  Instead, a new website on a new URL is often the best solution, which, of course, is not really a good solution for an unsuspecting law firm that will likely lose out on significant revenue.   Sadly, in most cases, the law firm usually did not know what was taking place by the SEO company, often because the SEO company would not tell the law firm.

Most people who purchase a template website want changes made.  Often these changes take as much time or longer to make in terms of coding than if a custom website was developed.  It’s kind of like buying a house and then determining that the bedrooms should be moved to the other side of the house. A second concern is the fact that it is a template and the statement that it makes about a lawyer or firm.  Are you a template-based lawyer?  To me, this seems to be the statement that is being made. Moreover, the important issue is the work that our legal marketing team does with branding and messaging and to build the best website for a particular law firm’s needs.  Sometimes websites can look good, but they may not resonate with a firm’s potential clients.  We want to bring the whole package together. Third, templates are not always without problems, particularly when plugins are added.  Sometimes there are coding issues, other times there can be compatibility issues.

In a letter, Mark Twain once apologized to the recipient for having written a long letter, saying that he did not have the time to write a shorter letter.  Really good law firm websites are much the same – it takes longer to design an elegant, effective, and clean website than it does to design a website with many more aspects that likely will resonate less. Apple iPad ads are good examples of elegant and simplistic design.  The simple, one-page magazine ads showing an iPad and about ten words or so of text create high resonation and brand awareness.  An alternate ad with a lot more text about specs or functionality simply would not produce the same results.

I have a Master’s and Undergraduate Degrees in Education.  After college, I was a teacher on the Navajo reservation in Northern Arizona, living in a small dorm on a blow-up mattress.

I’m a rabid fan of the KC Chiefs and KU Basketball. I’ve been known to get a little loud during the games (you can ask Jeff about this). One more tidbit, I am a major Peloton enthusiast (fun fact – my favorite instructor is Denis).

I would say a number of things.  One, social media can be incredibly effective.  Two, for many attorneys in competitive markets like personal injury, social media is becoming a “must-do” marketing activity, much like phone book advertising was critical in previous generations.  Three – social media can actually be fun.  A lot of attorneys like to educate the public on the law.  It’s also rewarding when new clients come to a firm primarily because of blog postings or social media.  Often, these clients remark about how postings were a primary reason for calling the attorney over one of the attorney’s competitors.

First, develop a plan.  When most attorneys start in social media, usually the first thing they do is to start by creating social media pages on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other sites.  However, there is not really a uniform plan or strategy about objectives to be accomplished or what to do after the basic sites have been created. A good social media plan will have objectives to be achieved, messages to be conveyed, and a plan of action.  It will utilize multiple Internet properties that are the most likely to be used by current and prospective firm clients.

Many lawyers use Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools for historical information – like seeing how many website visits their site received.  But that’s not the real power of these tools.  The real power is understanding what pages clients are visiting, how many pages an average visit receives, and the “bounce rate” – which is the percentage of times that a website visitor leaves after seeing only one page, and if there are any crawl errors or broken links on the web site. All of this information can be used to help a firm determine whether the website is resonating with visitors (or not) and if changes should be made.

I think clearly Google has signaled the end of the days for high rankings for law firms, or any websites, based solely on getting a lot of incoming links from low lever websites.  In my opinion, if a being on or being promoted by another website doesn’t have any value independent of the link itself, then trying to get a link is probably a waste of time.  For example, being featured on the ABA’s website would have high value for lawyers; being featured on Joe’s Hardware or a similar site would likely have little or no value. We believe that Google wants to feature websites that are high in authority and have good user experiences.  Law firms should focus on creating high-value, original content.  There are several different tools that we use for clients in creating this type of content. Good user experiences are a little harder to quantify, but in general, they have a lot of clutter, and ads definitely do not contribute to a good user experience.

Where do I start? My favorite part of my job is the challenge of diving deep into a law firm’s marketing to pinpoint weak areas. Investigating and analyzing these aspects allows me to craft strategic recommendations that can significantly enhance performance.

I’m a HUGE nerd, so delving into numbers and stats is genuinely enjoyable for me. Go figure! But it doesn’t stop there. My creative streak runs deep, and I’m actively involved in crafting imagery and designs. This aspect of my job beautifully satisfies my artistic inclinations, making every day the perfect blend of analytical and creative endeavors.

Absolutely. One of my favorite parts about working at Esquire Interactive is how hands on we are with clients. When you call our office, you will speak directly with us, and you will never get passed along to someone else.

I have always considered myself a student for life. Continuous learning and industry engagement are a must in the legal marketing industry. We constantly learn about and test new products to offer our clients the best experience.

Many might be surprised to learn that I am an avid fisher(wo)man. I consider it my therapy! Living on the Gulf Coast has allowed me to fully immerse myself in the local lifestyle. More often than not, you can find me wade fishing, with a keen eye out for trout, redfish, and any other intriguing catch that might cross my line.

The entire legal marketing team at Esquire Interactive and I pride ourselves on our transparent and honest approach, focusing on building long-term relationships and becoming trusted partners in our clients’ success. We are not a one-trick pony; instead, we are here to guide law firms through every step of the legal marketing process, from start to finish!

Law firms can use CSS media queries and a responsive framework like Bootstrap to make their sites responsive. When I code a website, I also ensure that our designs are fully responsive.

Semantic HTML provides meaning to the content structure. It helps search engines understand your content better and aids in accessibility for users with disabilities.

An iframe is used to embed another HTML document within the current page. Use it cautiously due to potential security and usability concerns.

Where do I start? The following are just a handful of reasons why I love coding in HTML:

1. Simplicity and Clarity: HTML is relatively straightforward to learn and understand, especially for beginners in web development. Its clear syntax allows for quick comprehension.
2. Immediate Results: With HTML, you can instantly see the results of your work in a browser. This immediate feedback can be gratifying.
3. Foundation of the Web: HTML is the foundational language of the web. Knowing it allows you to understand and contribute to the basic structure of any website.
4. Integration with CSS and JavaScript: HTML seamlessly integrates with CSS for styling and JavaScript for functionality, allowing for dynamic and interactive websites.
5. Flexibility: HTML allows for a lot of creativity. Whether you’re building a personal blog, a business website, or a complex web application, HTML serves as the starting point.
6. Accessibility: HTML has built-in features and elements that can make websites more accessible to users with disabilities when used correctly.
7. Feeling of Creation: Building something from scratch and seeing it come to life on the web can be a profoundly satisfying experience.
8. Community Support: The web development community is vast and active. Countless resources, forums, and tools are available for HTML developers at all levels.
9. Ever-evolving: While HTML is stable, it does evolve. This means there’s always something new to learn or a better way to do something, keeping it fresh for developers.