Jennifer Dunphy Discusses Marketing Your Firm Online & In Person with the Section

On October 21, 2010 the Sole Practitioner Small Firm section hosted a breakfast meetingrnat the Buckhead Club. Speaking to a full audience, Jennifer Dunphy from VAYU Mediarnpresented “Marketing Your Firm Online & In Person.” VAYU is a full service onlinernmarketing firm specializing in Search Engine Optimization (“SEO”). Ms. Dunphy stressed that “everything starts with your website.” It is your 24rnhour sales person and provides a consistent explanation of “your story” to potentialrnclients. With this in mind, Ms. Dunphy discussed the influential characteristics ofrnsuccessful websites. Specifically, the most important features are aesthetics and functionality. If yourrnsite is boring, the next site is an easy click away. Also of importance are the structurernand focus of information. rnBe clear when defining your services. And, while attorneysrnexist in the written word, clients want photographs. Your photographs should bernprofessional and include a descriptive tag. Additionally, avoid crowding. Keywords are also important. The goal is to be near the top of a search resultsrnpage. Use of strong keywords can help meet this goal. For example, give each page ofrnyour site a title tag. This tag is the language that appears as the link in search results. Asrnan example, if you are Johnny Cochran, your title tag should be “civil rights attorney”,rnnot “Johnny Cochran.” The reason for this is that people search for practice area andrnlocation, not the specific name of a firm or attorney. Links to your website are also highly effective. Specifically, if other websitesrn(under your control or not) provide a link to your website, your search ranking benefits.rnSome example ways to increase the number of links to your website include: asking to bernplaced on other sites; listing in online directories; press releases; published articles; socialrnmedia sites; consumer reviews; interactive web 2.0; blogs; online videos; and Wikis. In order to keep your website updated with fresh information, consider using arncontent management system. This tool does not normally require any softwarernprogramming experience and is easy to use. Some example content management systemsrnavailable include Joomla.org, WordPress.org and Drupal.org. Finally, Ms. Dunphy provided some online marketing 101. 59% of searching is conducted by using 3 words or less. So, it is important to tailor your site to include the necessary keywords for which people might be searching. Such tailoring can be assisted by SEO. Search Engine Optimization and Submission Services follows a formula of identifying your objectives, producing compelling content, designing the look and feel, increasing links, tracking success and revising.rnWebsites that have been “optimized” with SEO, either in house or through a consultingrnfirm, can expect to increase traffic between 38% and 110%.rnIf you have further questions, or would like more information, please contactrnJennifer Dunphy at: jdunphy@vayumedia.com and/or visit www.vayumedia.com.