Real Lawyers Have Blogs : Law Blogs, Blawgs, Law Firm Marketing

Lawyers call me all the time wanting a blog for the sole reason of higher search engine rankings. 'I don't care what I have to pay you, I don't want to learn about blogging, and I don't have time to write blog posts, I just want to rank higher than my competitors.'

Though law blogs often rank higher on Google than websites, law blogs don't exist for SEO shenanigans. Law firm website developers and law firm 'SEO experts' who don't have a clue about blogs don't understand this.

Unfortnately, I'm seeing the same disturbing trend as Edelman Senior Vice President Steve Rubel.

Some respected experts are advocating launching social media marketing programs solely for the purpose of influencing search engines, rather than with the intent of fostering collaboration and genuine communication.

This represents a clear and present danger to the fabric of the community. If you care about the social web, then you should be alarmed.

Search engine optimization (SEO) professionals of late seem poised to take over blogs, digg, StumbleUpon and other sites with a range of tactics, some legit, others more questionable with the intent of building Google Juice and nothing more.

Steve goes on to explain that if you're using blogs appropriately, high rankings will follow anyway.

To be clear, I do not object to the way that blogs, digg links and Wikipedia rank highly in search results. What does get me hot and bothered is when consultants and bloggers propose launching such an initiatives solely for influencing search. SEO, like word of mouth, should be a byproduct outcome, not a primary objective. Any brand that plays in this space should be aiming to create value. Do that and the other stuff will follow.

The vast majority of LexBlog's 300 plus blogs rank near the top of Google for their area of law. That's happening as a result of good blogging and proper blog site architecture, not because of SEO shenanigans.

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Law firms are not the only ones who do not understand blogs are not some sort of mini website you're looking to fill up with legal information.

Blogger and journalist, Kristine Lowe, saw that BCC staffers kept fretting about filling a blog as if it were a blank page. She told them to stop looking at blogs that way and advised:

Find the conversation. Join in. Contribute to it — indeed, contribute journalism, answering questions, finding facts, fact-checking the ones that are there. But to do that — beware — you have to talk at a human level with other humans with opinions (who don't want to talk to a closed door).

To heck with the large law firm baggage that you can't enter into an online conversation. 'We'll take a position contrary to someone else in the firm. We cannot give legal advice. We cannot comment on what other lawyers are saying.' That's rubbish.

I've read law journal and bar publication articles. I've been at legal conferences and seminars. I've attended with other lawyers networking functions whether they be civic boards, rotary meetings, or cocktail receptions.

Lawyers converse at those functions. They offer opinions. They give views on where they think the law is heading. They point out pitfalls for the unwary. They respond to the views and questions of other lawyers.

Conversing is how we learn. It's how we network. It's how we grow as professionals. But for the conversing and networking I did as a young trial lawyer, I would not have been the skilled professional I was when hung up my lawyering shoes 9 years ago.

Kristine is saying the same thing as Steve Rubel who preaches - 'Find the conversation. Listen to the conversation. Engage in the conversation. Empower your audience by adding value to the conversation.'

Blogging is a conversation. Not only do you learn and grow your reputation by joining in, you will not be conspicuous by your absence.

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Generally, I wouldn't advise taking a look at a book billed as covering the 'world's top 30 bloggers.' A blogs import is determined by the value it offers its readers, whether their be 45,000 or 200 readers.

But reading the chapter on Steve Rubel in Blogging Heroes made me realize there's much to learn from those who have staked their livelihood to blogging. Like me, Steve put it all on the line back in 2003 believing that blogs were going to have a very big impact on business.

In all things it's good to have someone you can model yourself after in your effort to succeed. One of the guys I followed was Steve - still do. And reading the chapter on Steve this morning reminded me of my roots in blogging. Started to get my juices going. You can download the chapter here.

You could do a lot worse than Steve's keys in starting a new blog.

• If you want people to come to your blog, you must offer them something of value.
• Bloggers just starting out must post in high volume to build an audience.
• Sometimes it's easier to go where people are than to get them to come to you.
• With competition among news bloggers being so strong, and bloggers filling every available subject, the best option for new bloggers is to find a niche.

Steve also drives home a leading benefit of blogging. Learning. Learning is the primary reason Steve blogs. Having heard the same from Mark Cuban earlier this week, I realize it's the same for me.

Everything I have learned about Internet marketing, social media, blogs, and virtual communities, I've learned from others on the net. In the mid 90's it was through conferences, books, and the limited time I had to talk with authors and conference presenters. For the last 4 years it's been blogging - reading, networking, and writing. Blogging is learning on steroids.

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