It wasn't you. It was them.
Nearly all of our clients find us after being burned by another SEO agency.
There are a few very good legal digital marketing agencies out there. The “good ones” often share the same traits as us.
Here are the differences between Optimize My Firm and the typical marketing agencies:
Content
Because lawyers know that they “need content”, most agencies take advantage of this by putting up generic articles from outsourced contractors. An article about “why cigarettes cause cancer” is not going to help your website rank higher or generate leads.
Our in-house writers specialize in legal content and understand the types of information your website needs to have in order to convert prospective clients into real cases.
We cover everything from Amazon drivers being bitten by dogs to slip and falls at your local Walmart.
Backlinks
Lawyers know they need backlinks. Most firms hide behind this by slowly obtaining “citations” for you from Yelp, Foursquare, Justia, etc. These are cheap and easy for the agency to get, but they do not help you rank. In fact, if Google catches on to bad links, they can disavow them and tank your site’s ranking.
We want signed cases. Obtaining the backlinks which move the needle involves getting you mentioned in legal publications and local, geographically relevant websites. It takes more time and costs more, but it is the right way to do them – and is the only way that will actually help your site rank better.
Account Managers
Most agencies are being built to scale and sell. They are following a playbook where 1 Account Manager manages 20 or more accounts, turfing the smaller accounts to the junior project managers.
Our entire business model is centered around your success. Our whole team is committed to it.
So our whole team of content writers, SEO specialists, backlink strategists, and leadership brainstorms cutting edge techniques to make your firm stand out in your market.
Local SEO
The vast majority of agencies don’t care if you show up in the Local Pack, Google Maps or Local Search results. Most have no idea how Local SEO works. They simply activate your page and cross their fingers. When they have a problem, they turn to us for assistance and have done so for 15+ years.
Our Director of SEO has been designated by Google as a Google Gold Product Expert for Google Business Pages, a designation only a few dozen people in the world have. We help create new pages, rank existing pages, eliminate competitor spam and broaden the reach of your local listings which drive leads.
Pricing
Some agencies are cheap, which is a huge warning sign. However, most overcharge and under-deliver.
We are not the cheapest and we’re not the most expensive. We always strive to make the ROI work for your firm.
Contracts
Most agencies lock attorneys in to lengthy contracts and hide behind “SEO takes time.”
We want to earn your business by getting you cases and believe you should be able to leave at any time, for any reason. We give law firms realistic expectations and want to be your partner forever.
We Care
Marketing is a numbers game to most agencies. They’re trying to take on as many new clients as possible, locking them into contracts then coasting as they backfill their client load. That sucks.
We put the effort up front to make sure we are only taking on clients that we genuinely believe we can help. We want our relationships to last years – not because of a contract, but because we are offering a good service to good lawyers.
Your Website
We have seen agencies lock clients in to proprietary websites, disable blogging features in WordPress, lock lawyers out of their websites, keep sites hostage on their hosting platforms, and more.
We make sure your website is built on open source WordPress. You are the owner of your site, and we’ll set your site up on your own web hosting account. You should always be in control of your digital assets.
Content
Because lawyers know that they “need content”, most agencies take advantage of this by putting up generic articles from outsourced contractors. An article about “why cigarettes cause cancer” is not going to help your website rank higher or generate leads.
Our in-house writers specialize in legal content and understand the types of information your website needs to have in order to convert prospective clients into real cases.
We cover everything from Amazon drivers being bitten by dogs to slip and falls at your local Walmart.
Backlinks
Lawyers know they need backlinks. Most firms hide behind this by slowly obtaining “citations” for you from Yelp, Foursquare, Justia, etc. These are cheap and easy for the agency to get, but they do not help you rank. In fact, if Google catches on to bad links, they can disavow them and tank your site’s ranking.
We want signed cases. Obtaining the backlinks which move the needle involves getting you mentioned in legal publications and local, geographically relevant websites. It takes more time and costs more, but it is the right way to do them – and is the only way that will actually help your site rank better.
Account Managers
Most agencies are being built to scale and sell. They are following a playbook where 1 Account Manager manages 20 or more accounts, turfing the smaller accounts to the junior project managers.
Our entire business model is centered around your success. Our whole team is committed to it.
So our whole team of content writers, SEO specialists, backlink strategists, and leadership brainstorms cutting edge techniques to make your firm stand out in your market.
Local SEO
The vast majority of agencies don’t care if you show up in the Local Pack, Google Maps or Local Search results. Most have no idea how Local SEO works. They simply activate your page and cross their fingers. When they have a problem, they turn to us for assistance and have done so for 15+ years.
Our Director of SEO has been designated by Google as a Google Gold Product Expert for Google Business Pages, a designation only a few dozen people in the world have. We help create new pages, rank existing pages, eliminate competitor spam and broaden the reach of your local listings which drive leads.
Pricing
Some agencies are cheap, which is a huge warning sign. However, most overcharge and under-deliver.
We are not the cheapest and we’re not the most expensive. We always strive to make the ROI work for your firm.
Contracts
Most agencies lock attorneys in to lengthy contracts and hide behind “SEO takes time.”
We want to earn your business by getting you cases and believe you should be able to leave at any time, for any reason. We give law firms realistic expectations and want to be your partner forever.
We Care
Marketing is a numbers game to most agencies. They’re trying to take on as many new clients as possible, locking them into contracts then coasting as they backfill their client load. That sucks.
We put the effort up front to make sure we are only taking on clients that we genuinely believe we can help. We want our relationships to last years – not because of a contract, but because we are offering a good service to good lawyers.
Your Website
We have seen agencies lock clients in to proprietary websites, disable blogging features in WordPress, lock lawyers out of their websites, keep sites hostage on their hosting platforms, and more.
We make sure your website is built on open source WordPress. You are the owner of your site, and we’ll set your site up on your own web hosting account. You should always be in control of your digital assets.
