Lawyer marketing polluting the web
Steve Rubel posted this week an 'An All Too Convenient Truth: Many Marketers Pollute the Web.'
In honor of upcoming Earth Day, Steve points out that it's just not the environment that's filled with toxins. 'The all too convenient truth is that it's very easy for advertisers to pollute the web with their garbage.'
Lawyers, law firms, and legal internet marketing companies are among the worst polluters.
- Spam. I'm deluged with emails from people who have never read my blog asking me to exchange links with law sites and blog about legal stories, conferences, and products totally unrelated to what I blog about.
- Splogs. Blogs with gibberish law content or content stolen from legitimate law blogs are rampant. These blogs are supported by lawyers buying Google Adwords and SEO services setting up splogs to link to their unknowing law firm customer.
- SEO. Many lawyers are addicted to search engine rankings like crack cocaine. They get their fix from snake oil salespeople getting them unscrupulous links from link farms and spam blogs.
- Sponsored links. Bankruptcy, DUI, and personal injury lawyers pour money into Google Adwords leaving unseemly billboards all over Google and other sites that display ads.
- Companies selling exclusive blog territories to personal injury lawyers in return for 25% of the lawyer's fees.
- Legal directories providing 'blogs' to lawyers without disclosing that what is being provided is not a blog.
- Law firm website companies producing websites rivaling the worst on the net, but making sure the 800 number is an inch tall.
- Lawyer and client matching service misleading lawyers with promises of clients lined up for them.
- Personal injury lawyer blogs naming injury victims in hope the victim calls them or cutting and pasting news stories in entirety offering no value and violating copyright law.
- Banner ads. Many just litter the web and get in the way of what you want to do. Click-through rates remain abysmal. Eye-tracking studies have revealed 'banner blindness.'
- Video. Law firm videos about lawyer exploits and services offering nothing of value to potential clients produced by law firm website vendors looking for increased revenue.
As Steve says, 'The web is facing it's own global warming crisis as marketers continue to pollute it.' But he n that 'Consumers are voting with their clicks and eyeballs by engaging with authentic content thaotest adds value, while ignoring the rest. That's good news that shows maybe we'll solve this crisis...'
Though there's always going to be lawyers and legal vendors looking for the get rich schemes polluting the web, I'm seeing positive trends in the legal arena as well.
Many good lawyers who would shun unseemly net advertising are publishing blogs offering valuable info to the public and other lawyers. Consumers of legal services, whether they be corporate heads or consumers, are now looking for valuable legal information on the net.
Next Earth Day, may be we'll see a little less brown smoke and haze from lawyers on the net.
As a lawyer new to the blogging world over the past 6 months and having started my own blog....or do they call it blawg....in the past two months, I wholeheartedly agree with the points made. I know I am really trying to discuss issues on my blog to assist the consuming public on legal issues that affect products liability cases. Yes, I do talk about problems with different drugs, medical devices, etc...but I work hard on providing some insight into the issues and my own take on how this might affect the individual. I have seen these blogs that are just an attempt to get "rated" high on google by copying and pasting info into a website, and it sickens me. If you are really going to venture into this world, offer something of value or don't offer it at all.