When employees are injured at work, they often turn to an attorney’s website to gather information about workers’ compensation laws. Injuries suffered at the workplace are typically sudden and unexpected, and an injured worker may have no idea about where to turn for help.

Helpful workers’ compensation web pages let injured employees know about next steps. After suffering possibly serious injuries, someone who was injured on the job is probably facing missed work and lost wages, and a workers’ comp webpage should be geared toward helping this person sort out how they are going to pay their bills after being injured on the job through no fault of their own.

Depending on the firm, some attorney’s websites will not include a workers’ compensation page. If an attorney refers those cases out, for example, the attorney may or may not choose to include a page indicating this service.

In general, a workers’ comp page should be informative and include state-specific information. It should let the injured worker know how you can help and what services you offer for these types of cases. Even if you do not handle workers’ comp, you may want to include a page on it because third-party claims may arise from people searching for this type of information.

Wagner & Wagner is a personal injury law firm that has been in Chattanooga since just after World War II ended and they have a brand new website. http://www.wagnerinjury.com/ Please check it out. They specialize in Workers’ Compensation, Personal Injury, Bankruptcy, and Social Security. They are very happy with the final product and so are we, they are great to work with and great lawyers.

I got asked a question the other day that caught me a little off guard. I guess when you have been working in this industry for a while you start to think that everyone knows the terminology and what they stand for.

The question was "What does SEO stand for and how is it different from SEM?" SEO stands for search engine optimization, meaning optimizing your own site to show up on the search engines i.e. Google, Yahoo etc. SEM stands for search engine marketing, meaning not only optimizing your own site but incorporating other strategies to help the overall online marketing of your business. These strategies could include PPC, Social Media and  Developing You Tube Channels just to name a few.

Like I said sometimes you get so entrenched in this business that you forget that this is still a new learning process for many people. I hope this helps and if you have any questions or want more detail don't hesitate to ask. 

Page 1 is a big advocate of blogging. We understand the importance of it and know that regular blogging not only helps your SEO, but it also helps build rapport with your clients and potential clients. That being said, one of the hardest things for our clients to remember to do is blog. It is understandable that blogging often takes a back seat to the more important things, like winning cases for your clients, but hopefully this post will help you realize that blogging doesn't have to be a time consuming thing. Just a few minutes a week can do wonders!

Things to Remember:

Blog posts don't have to be long. I think one of the most intimidating things about blogging for a lot of people is that they get overwhelmed with the process. Many people think that they have to write an in-depth blog that is at least 1,000 words long. That's not true at all. One or two paragraphs might be all you need to communicate a thought, idea or the latest news.

Blog posts don't have to be complicated. Remember who you're writing for. Statistically, most people who are reading the content on your website and blog don't read above an 8th grade level. We don't write content here above the 10th grade level. Keep it simple.

Blogs should be interesting. Your readers aren't going to care about the technical, in-depth information that you yourself might find interesting. They are going to want to read about topics that they can relate to and that might benefit them in some way. Even if you're writing about a topic that might otherwise be boring, try to find a way to add some humor or personality into the post. And don't feel like your posts always have to be about law-related topics or your firm. If you feel comfortable sharing that you just celebrated your 25th wedding anniversary or your daughter's wedding or you just returned from a trip to Cabo, by all means, post it! These types of personal posts will allow your readers to feel like they're really getting to know you.

Let your personality show through. This ties in with number 3. People like to relate to other people. If they want to read a textbook, then let them read a textbook. If they choose to read your blog, then give them something to grab on to. Let your personality reflect in your writing. Add some humor to your posts if appropriate. Use funny analogies to help get your point across. Think of things that would make you interested in reading a blog regularly. Or, ask your non-lawyer family and friends what would make them read a legal blog.

Post often. The more often you post, the more it will help your SEO. It will also show your readers that you are on top of things and active in sharing your knowledge. Don't get a blog set up and then let it sit there for months on end. We like to encourage our clients to blog once a week, but if there is breaking news or you have some free time, by all means, add a blog post. Even if it's just a paragraph.

There are lots of tips and tricks out there to help people become better bloggers. These are just a few of the ones that I find most helpful when discussing blogging strategies. Hopefully, they help you too!

I stumbled upon a link to the "Web's Worst Lawyer Commercials," which has attorney videos that will make you chuckle.

But it did drive home an important point that your online reputation, credibility and image are keys to converting visitors to your website into consultations and new clients.  If you have video on your website, or are thinking about adding it, be sure to consider:

• Is it produced with the right quality?
• Does it promote relationship, rapport, credibility?
• Are there compelling "next step" directions?
• Does it communicate points of differentiation between you and your competitors?
• Which pages does it make sense to have video?

Don't assume that television-produced commercials are always appropriate or effective for your website.  Developing website videos should take into account that the online audience is very different than your "interruption advertising" audience.