Legal Marketing & PR

Website or Blog?

Kevin O?Keefe had a great blog today called, 6 reasons large law firm blogs beat law firm websites with RSS feeds.

While I agree with Kevin?s premise. I think it applies to small firm and solos just as well. And from my own experience, I know a blog will beat a Web site when it comes to results. Shortly after my first practice area blog went live, I received a phone call from another Kansas family law attorney. The first words out of his mouth were these. ?How the hell are you ranked higher than me in a Google search?? My response, ? I have a blog and I will beat you every time.?

But, as Kevin states, blogs harness the power of RSS in a way a static Web site simple can?t do. Here are the six reasons.

• Content on a website is much less likely than blog content to appear high in search engine results when relevant searches are performed by in-house counsel, exec’s, the media, and other interested parties.
• Website content must be promoted. Word of a blog with valuable content spreads across the Internet by virtue of news sites and other blogs citing the content.
• Website content is generally seen only by existing clients. Blogs, akin to an online magazine on a niche subject, are read by clients of other firms, lawyers at other firms, the media, and other bloggers.
• Over 20% of senior exec’s in this country read one business blog a week and the number is growing. How many exec’s read law firm articles?
• Measure of influence is quickly becoming of critical importance for web content by places like Google Blog Search. Influence is determined in large part by being cited by other blogs and news sites with RSS feeds. Law firm articles will not be cited.
• Innovative companies, large law’s targeted clients see blogs as innovative. Law firm articles/alerts, whether including an RSS or not, are looked at as more of the same. ‘All law firms do that.’

To truly take advantage of the power of Internet marketing, use a blog as one of your marketing tools. And with the blog, take full advantage of the power of what RSS can also do for you and your readers. If you don?t know what RSS is, be watching for an upcoming screencast on the subject. And if your readers don?t know what RSS is, you owe it to them to educate them on it.

Full post as published by Blawg for Profit on October 31, 2007 (boomark / email).