Net Neutrality Act – Opinion

Want to see something funny? Want to see something scary? I’ve got a video that’ll do both for you…

The Internet Non-Discrimination Act of 2006 aka “Net Neutrality Act” (basically) seeks to allocate Internet bandwidth available to end-users and corporations according to a formula based upon who’s willing to pay the most and ~some kind~ of formula determining the general importance of the user. The altruistic goal is to leave bandwidth available for operations essential to American business and take bandwidth away from P2P networks, video pirates and other bandwidth hogs.

Summarized from an article on ZDNet, the Act’s key principles include:

• Preventing interfering with, blocking, degrading, altering, modifying or changing traffic on the Internet;
• Prohibiting creation of a priority lane where content providers can buy quicker access to customers, while those who don’t pay the fee are left in the slow lane;
• Allowing consumers to choose which devices they use to connect to the Internet while they are on the Internet;
• Ensuring that consumers have non-discriminatory access and service;
• Having a transparent system whereby consumers, Internet content, and applications companies have access to the rates, terms, and conditions for Internet service.

BUT, what the Act is shaping up to be is a formula for rewarding corporations (with lobbyists) more bandwidth, leaving the rest of us with a regulated, limited pipeline. I support the current administration, but I think the wrong people are in power on both sides of the aisle when it comes to this issue. I’ll save a more extended diatribe for later but The Daily Show with Jon Stuart had an hilarious (and frightening) peek into how this process is going – I thought I’d post a link to it for visitors to view. [Video]

What do you think? Visit SaveTheInternet.com for more information.
[tags]Net Neutrality Act,Internet bandwidth[/tags]

Written by jclayc on July 19th, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on General SEO Discussion.

Legal Domain Name Market

Just a quick post to say hello to Blawg.ca. In a recent post, the site owner(s) opened the domain name up for auction, with the highest bidder to own the registration for the www.blawg.ca domain name. Since the topic crosses two things I’m often involved in (domain names & legal blogging), I thought I’d call everyone’s attention to it. I’ve bought and sold .com legal domain names in the past with varying levels of success so (given proper marketing), the sale process should be an interesting one to watch.

Written by jclayc on July 17th, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on General SEO Discussion.

Link Development for Lawyers

In the past, gaining high search engine rankings meant carefully manipulating on-page elements like META tags, keyword density and site structure. While these things are still important, top search engines like Google, Yahoo! and MSN are increasingly valuing off-page factors in determining which sites rise to the top and those that are effectively “demoted”.

Two of the most important [tag]off-page factors[/tag] are the number & quality of websites linking in to a firm’s site.  Incoming links (sometimes called “[tag]backlinks[/tag]”) are essentially seen as a “vote” for the firm’s site – the more “votes” a site receives, the more authority for a subject is conferred upon the firm’s site.  Bringing this full circle, when a site is seen as an authority on a subject, the search engines rank the site higher within its search engine results pages for related keyphrases.  This is the ultimate goal of this type of search engine optimization: increase your authority and you increase your rankings.

Ways To Build [tag]Quality Links[/tag]:

One of the surest ways to get one-way, incoming links to your site is to develop quality content.  Quality content brings visitors who, in turn, bookmark the articles, talk about them online and often create links back to your site in their discussions.  Keep in mind that quality content doesn’t have to be long, exhaustive articles about a subject (although this is the form it often takes). Quality content could be i) a topical blog; ii) an interesting game related to your practice area; iii) a light-hearted “top 10” list related to your areas of practice; iv) a brief presentation of recent verdicts; v) a calculator or other “math widget” related to your practice; vi) a reference list of popular online forums & resources … and the list goes on.   There’s a reason quality content is also called “[tag]link bait[/tag]”.

Taking the quality content idea one step further, the firm should consider posting articles to sites such as GoArticles.com, ArticleCity.com, ISnare.com and EZineArticles.com.  Article sharing services like this allow authors to put a blurb about themselves (with their firm name and URL) in the footer of their article. These articles are, in turn, published by others on their website, complete with the firm’s URL.

Another good way to establish one way [tag]incoming links[/tag] to your site is to post press releases to free online services like PRWeb.com, EMediaWire.com and PRLeap.com.  Anytime the firm hits a milestone, has an announcement or even a major verdict, they can publish to PRWeb and, from there, the press release is distributed and reprinted all over the web. This can be a very effective way of building one-way links. What’s great is that most of these services are FREE!

It’s a good idea for attorneys to post to topical message boards and blogs, giving advice or just chatting about the topic.  When they do, they should make sure they put their web URL in their signature line.  This will establish an incoming link every time the attorney posts.  Moreover, since the forum, blog or message board is topical, the incoming link will likely be from a site directly applicable to the firm’s website content.  This is even better than a simple link (return to the idea of quality instead of quantity of links.) This approach is often a very good way to get relevant incoming links online in the shortest period of time.

Another very, very important point: make sure the firm is listed in all of the local search databases – complete with their firm’s URL.  (Go here for an in-depth discussion and local submission links.)  These local databases are distributed to hundreds of directory and online yellow page websites and often supplement search engines’ “standard” natural listings.  Local listings are a great way to get a jump over your competition and, once again, these are mostly free submissions.

Keep an eye out for non profit organizations with websites… a tiny contribution can sometimes be an easy way to get your firm’s URL on their sponsors page. Since .org and .edu domains are valued a bit more than .com, .net and others, this is a good strategy no matter your level of link development.

The items I list above are strategies for gaining one-way, [tag]non-reciprocal links[/tag] since they are valued more highly than reciprocal links.  This doesn’t mean the firm shouldn’t/couldn’t solicit topical, related websites for a link exchange.  Usually, a brief email message introducing your firm, what you liked about the website you’re viewing and a copy and paste version of the link code you’d like them to add to their site is a good way to cultivate these relationships.

Notes:

Not all links are equal.  It’s best to avoid “Free For All” (FFA) sites, link “farms” (websites where there are nothing but advertising links) and services that promise thousands of links to your site within days.  Aim for quality rather than quantity.

It is best not to buy or purposefully gain a large number of links within a short period (weeks).  Search engines appear to have a “link aging algorithm” that watches for quick link building techniques and penalizes those sites perceived to participate. If you happen to have a large number of places ready and waiting to post your link, it’s a good idea to implement these in stages over a few months.

With natural search engine rankings, there are no guarantees of the placement a website will achieve and there is no explicit control of what copy the search engines choose to associate with a website’s listing. In other words, the search engines are ultimately 100% in control of these results. To a certain extent, you can craft your content and develop your links but will ultimately find yourself “at the mercy” of the engines’ ever-changing ranking algorithms. Work diligently, continually market your site and relax about the rest.  If a firm’s site is relevant, contains good content and hasn’t participated in any suspect SEO activities, good rankings will come in due time.

[tags]link development[/tags]

Written by jclayc on July 17th, 2006 with 4 comments.
Read more articles on General SEO Discussion and Local Search Marketing and SEO for Law Firms.

Legal Considerations – SEO & Website Development

Back from a brief hiatus, today I’d like to start a discussion of some of the legal issues that should be considered i) when directing the construction of a law firm’s website; and/or ii) when initiating a search marketing campaign for a firm. Although there are a number grey areas between what’s already covered by each state’s [tag]Rules of Professional Conduct [/tag] and new topics opened up by the Internet, there are a few guidelines that I advise lawyers pay attention to just to be safe.

An immediate recommendation: visit LegalEthics.com for a more extensive presentation of relevant case law or, better yet, consult your specific state’s Rules of Professional Conduct directly.

State Disclaimers: One of the most important things in posting any sort of [tag]legal advertisement[/tag] is making sure you get your general state [tag]advertising disclaimer[/tag] right. Yes, these rules apply to the web as well as billboards and TV ads. A good place to start is http://www.visibility.org/disclaimer.html. Here, you can find a quick listing of most state advertising disclaimers. How extensively you have to brand your website varies, but you’ll want to (at minimum) include the appropriate disclaimer on your homepage if one is required. (I believe most lawyers have this one covered in the print advertising context, if not a web context as well.)

Other Disclaimers: An offshoot of this, you’ll also want to look into

1. your state’s rules on disclaiming links pointed to other websites;
2. your state’s rules regarding proper contact form disclaimers attesting that no attorney/client relationship has been established. These things are being ruled upon daily, so again I advise checking your state’s regulations.
3. your state’s rules on publication of your firm’s physical address. Some states require it on your homepage.
4. your state’s rules on disclaiming images of people on your website. If your site uses stock photos of professional looking people on it, you may want to consider adding “actor portrayals” or something similar.

Language (aka “The Hard Sell”): The law seems to be very picky when it comes to what you can say about your firm, adjectives you cannot use and how exactly you can urge people to consider your services. There are hundreds of specific examples that can be found but some things you need to investigate before you use:

1. be very careful about using phrases establishing experience like “…specializes in…” or “…a certified xyz lawyer…“. For phrases such as these, there are specific explanitory statements required in some states that must be printed.
2. be very careful about using words like best, great, super and other comparitive terms. Many states don’t want these in ad copy, domain names or email addresses. An extension of this, you’ll even want to be mindful of using phrases like “largest jury verdict”, “attorneys who get results” and “40 years of combined experience”
3. be careful about representing the scope of your practice in both word and image. In other words, don’t say your firm is national in focus if it isn’t. Don’t put a big map of the United States on your homepage if you only handle cases in Peoria.

[tag]Website Filing Requirements[/tag]: law firms should check with their state regulations on advertisement filing requirements. There are rules in Kentucky, Texas, North Carolina and elsewhere that firms keep a copy of their advertisements (websites?) on file for a few years either in-house or actually with the state.

You Are the Expert?!: I am not a lawyer! I can’t speak for every state’s rules and certainly won’t ensure that the items I’ve discussed above are everything you need to think about when undertaking a search engine marketing campaign. In other words, this article is a good starting point for your own investigations. Ultimately, each law firm is responsible for the contents of their site, not CaseDetails.com! Regrettably, this leaves firms in the position of either having to hire state-specific, Internet legal specialists to assure them their site complies with local regulations or, themselves, becoming “experts” on their state’s rules. Neither of these is an enviable position – that’s why I’m laying out what I’ve found and you can take it from there![tags]legal website development,legal SEO[/tags]

Written by jclayc on July 7th, 2006 with 2 comments.
Read more articles on Design Topics and General SEO Discussion and Legal Websites and SEO for Law Firms.