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. 

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!

• 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.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9stTDivYNE

The myth is most elderly abuse happens in the nursing home, but it actually happens a lot more when the elders are alone with their family.  Anthony makes mention that legal professionals and individuals need to help educate the public on how to look for signs of elderly abuse.  

While you and I have the opportunity to watch this video and get this information online, the elderly don't.  They are not as fluent with the Internet as younger generations.

That's why it's important for you, as an Attorney, to help your community by posting videos, blogs and pages on your website with helpful information about Elderly Abuse Awareness Day.  By helping others, you will in turn possibly help your practice.

So the BIG Question is:  When people search the web for information about Elderly Abuse, can they find your website easily??

Pretend you are a family member searching the web for helpful information via Google, Bing, YouTube, Yahoo, etc.  Do you find your website?  

If not, Page 1 Solutions may have some helpful Internet Marketing tips for you.   

Also, let us know what you are doing to help educate the public via the Internet.

The search engine marketing strategy of having multiple websites allows you to:

1-      Develop highly targeted content on one specific area of your practice.  This allows you to have an entire website, with a targeted domain and multiple pages, devoted to a limited number of keyword phrases.

2-      Create effective back-linking, which is an important SEO strategy to create credibility in the eyes of the search engines.

3-      Provide visitors with an understanding that this specific area of you practice is a core competency. 

4-      Have the opportunity for your practice secure multiple 1^st-page listings for your most important niche keyword phrases.

5-      Increase your Internet real estate and build long-term search engine equity.

The below are some examples of different niche/mircro websites:

erbs palsy lawyer

Medical malpractice lawyer louisiana

Explosion attorneys

http://www.page1solutions.com/social-media-survey-legal.html

What do they have in common? They both have, or are about to, cut-corners on their website optimization in order to save initially, and adjust later as their business grows. Does this story sound familiar?

The elder firm cut corners in its web marketing years ago when it was opening its doors. Today they are considering switching to its 5th SEO-company to fix their on-going issues and poor internet rankings. They believed they could spend less on their web-marketing and upgrade the website when they earned more business.  Unfortunately, after paying not once, or twice, but four times for a new website due to cheapening the best approach for the best results, they are paying nearly 3.5 times the amount they could have. The results are only about 1/3 of what they had hoped to have received in leads, clients and page-rankings. Suddenly, they are forced to make their 5^th change and get “serious” about their website optimization decisions.

So what did they do? They counted on friends and business acquaintances to help develop their Internet Marketing strategy. They had one company build a website for next to nothing, another company helped with SEO, a friend shot video, and they spent nights excitedly creating the content. They saved so much money and “had it all figured out.” But, then a funny thing happened as years went on. Techniques for Search Engine Marketing for Lawyers have changed. Competitors developed more dynamic and optimized websites which knocked them out of the page rankings. Their website stopped growing with new information because of a limited template website. Suddenly within a year and a half, their website was outdated and being buried alive by their competitors. One plan was to spend more time and resources bandaging the site, but there was too much to fix.  So a new website was purchased and developed. Different players were involved, and the thrill of marketing was gone.

Today, their webpage results are nowhere near where they dreamed it’d be as they have spent more money than they ever expected. A representative from the elder firm confessed "If we were to start all over again, we would have done things much differently with our SEO and website plans. Cutting corners is costing us dearly after all of these years. We thought we'd be able to migrate our website to another SEO company later on, but we were dead wrong. Our initial website and follow up sites where never able to accomplish the things we wanted them to do because they were too cheap, yet at the time attractive. We're paying more than we expected and should have done things correctly even though it appeared to cost a too much at the time."

The young firm appears to be headed down the same path while, too, trying to cut corners on their web marketing. After serious considerations of their options, they are going to count on peers to create a boot-strap website, employ a friend for SEO, use a small firm for video and write the content themselves. It sounds like a decent, cost-effective plan, but it doesn’t usually work. There are too many variables. Are each of the components developed to work with the other? Have they been tested to work with each other? Does a videographer know how to optimize video? Is the content properly optimized? Lastly, is the website dynamic enough to change as new SEO techniques are developed? The plan sounds good until you consider the question “what are our needs going to be in one year, two years, five years, etc?”

The young firm said “we want desperately to do this right from the start, and will get back in touch with you, but for now, we have to consider saving money.” Ultimately, just like the elder firm, they may pay 2, 3 or 4 times the amount they should have if they choose not to cut corners.

The elder law firm wishes it go back in time and do its Internet marketing properly, yet the new law firm appears headed down a path full of similar, preventable Internet issues. Ironically, the young one is unaware they are at the beginning of a long, painful process, while the other is coping with cost-cutting decisions the other is about to make.

It’s easy to say “do the right thing and not cut corners”, yet sometimes it’s harder to do. So maybe the idea is to ask yourself , “where do I want to see my Internet Marketing in 1 year, 2 years and 5 years?” I don’t believe one would say “I want to spend money on new websites continually” especially since this can be a huge, costly investment.  Make your website choice a dynamic one.

That’s just two firms at different points of a troublesome timeline.