Content Cannibalization

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In my ongoing campaign to try to get lawyers to abandon the content content content mantra spewed by inexperienced SEOs… this showcases how publishing for too much content has an overall negative impact on SEO rankings.  Ben Sessions, is one of the more active SEO driven lawyers, but fell into the trap of just publishing as much as possible, in an attempt to “break into the Top 10.”  What he really was doing was creating multiple pages that were all competing with each other – once we handled this content analytically and strategically, in Ben’s own words, “we broke into the top 10 for keywords I’ve been trying on for year, by making one simple change.” 

Webinar Replay: SEO Content Strategy

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Join Mockingbird’s Founder Conrad Saam with SEO expert Kevin Gleason to discuss SEO content strategy. This webinar was recorded via zoom on Wednesday, April 27th at 10:00 am PT.

To check out all upcoming Mockingbird webinars and events, please check out the Events Page.

 

 

 

 

 

Luhrsen Goldberg | Not Abiding By Majority Rule

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Not Abiding By Majority Rule

The Women with Mockingbird

The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience. – Atticus Finch

Not Abiding By Majority Rule is an interview series with some of the female business owners, partners, and leaders that Mockingbird has the fortune of working with every day. Women are nearing 40% of attorneys at U.S. firms today, which – credit where it’s due – is a large jump from a decade prior. But there is still a steep decline when it comes to women who have a significant financial stake in firms. Female attorneys account for only 23.3% among equity partners. 23%!! To be clear…

…if you have 4 equity partners in a room, less than one of those people is female.

So, we’re going to talk about the less than 1 in 4.

Because they are awesome.

Because they had to be.

Today’s interview is with Luhrsen Goldberg, a women-owned personal injury law firm out of Lakewood Ranch, Florida. Named partners Julie Luhrsen and Christina Goldberg have established a reputation as skilled, tenacious and trustworthy advocates for their clients, and are redefining the practice of personal injury. They are a boutique law firm with a mission to restore justice by getting their clients the maximum compensation for their injuries. And it’s made the Sarasota competition pay attention to these two women. Let’s just say they may or may not have received a cease and desist asking them to stop advertising.

What made you want to become an attorney? When did you know?

JL: Unlike my law partner (who knew at age 8 that she wanted to be a lawyer), becoming a lawyer was a decidedly gradual process for me. I toyed with the idea as an undergrad … after graduation, I dangled my foot in the water by working as a litigation paralegal for a quintessentially big, downtown defense firm…a couple of years of that work and I was persuaded and convinced that I wanted to become a lawyer…and the rest, as they say, is history.

CAG: I’ve always been a planner – always. It looks a bit different now than it did when I was a child but…as a kid, if there was a plan, I set goals, milestones, deadlines, and I stuck to the plan no matter what. As I’ve aged I’ve managed to learn to shift with the tides and welcome fate as it comes, but I’m grateful for my “stick-to-it-iveness” as a child, when I got an idea in my head that I wanted to speak up, help, and WIN…and what better way to do that than to be a lawyer?

Women account for almost half the workforce, but that percentage declines steeply between associate and managing partners – Any idea as to why that may be? What advice or tips did you receive that you attribute to your success? What advice or tips would you give the female associates out there now?

JL: I think my own personal experience speaks directly to why this happens. After my first child was born, circumstances allowed me to stay home for awhile. That hiatus turned into nearly “seven years of maternity leave,” as I jokingly refer to the period from my first child’s birth to my second child’s starting kindergarten. While I wouldn’t trade that time with my kids for anything, it did put me behind professionally. More women struggle with how to successfully juggle both (i.e. the demands of family and home with the competing demands and responsibilities that come with ascending the legal ladder) while also dealing with the background of implicit societal biases about the roles of men and women. Thankfully, conditions are evolving and with it a shrinking of the gap. In the meantime, female associates should collaboratively partner in life and at work with those with compatible outlooks…….

CAG: I think this has a lot to do with growing families. Aside from the obvious physical pregnancy, women tend to bear the brunt of the parenting role. As the dynamic of relationships change, I think we will start to see a shift in this. Me, for example – I PLANNED to be pregnant early – I passed the bar exam, the very next day I was in court at my first hearing at 8.5 months pregnant (a MISERABLE experience at the time but one I am so grateful for now), and 2 weeks later I was giving birth. I planned this so that I would have my son near the end of the year, take the rest off, then start the new year, and my new career, RUNNING. I made this choice because I know who I am. I knew being a stay-at-home mom wasn’t for me, I’ve always had bigger goals and I wanted to be mom extraordinaire. So I made it happen.

What are some circumstances or challenges you did not expect about being a female in this space?

JL: While I understand that the very qualities that are prized in men are often handicaps for women, it nevertheless still surprises me that some people – both in the general public and in the legal arena, have such visceral reactions to us.

CAG: Can’t say I’ve been surprised by anything, truthfully. But I also don’t use it as a reason for bitterness – I use it as a spring board to propel myself, my firm, my career, forward. It is a skill not to care what people think…and I’m proud that in this predominantly male-led field, my law partner and I have made names for ourselves…by being nothing but the honest and ethical women we are.

What do you love most about being a female in the industry?

JL: I’ve been in practice for a long time now and so part of what’s so great is watching the continued evolution and progress we’ve made.

CAG: I love being part of the change. I love being underestimated. I love being able to use misconceptions against my opponents. An encounter with me will leave a male counterpart rethinking his preconceived notions about what a female attorney is.

How did you persevere through the tougher times?

JL: I’m a firm believer in together we’re better and made it through some of the tougher times thanks to the help and support of friends, colleagues and co-workers.

CAG: My faith is strong…always. And I never isolate myself – indeed, together we’re better.

How important is a mentor? Did you have one? Does everyone need one?

JL: Mentors are invaluable and I’ve been fortunate to work with/for/alongside some really good ones. As for whether everyone needs one, see above (and be wary of anyone who thinks they don’t).

CAG: SO VITALLY IMPORTANT! I have many mentors to this day. I don’t pretend to know it all – it would be supremely irresponsible of me to do so. How better to learn than to surround yourself with those more learned??

What is the best approach to negotiating salary?

JL: Be prepared – do your homework and put your advocacy skills to good end.

CAG: Know your worth. End of story. If you don’t value yourself, you cannot expect others to value you. Notice I said KNOW your worth – not FAKE your worth. Be secure in your work ethic, drive, and vision, and KNOW what you bring to the table. This allows you to stay in a position of faith and power. There is no room for needy in a negotiation.

What do you want to achieve next?

JL: Continue to strategically grow our firm while ensuring that we don’t compromise our values and the kind of service we pride ourselves on providing that distinguishes us from others. While we enjoy that we stand apart for being a woman-owned firm, I look forward to the day when that’s not actually a noteworthy distinction!

CAG: Growth – I want to provide more services for our clients, I want to employ more people, provide for more families. I’d like to finally start allowing myself to play hard – I work hard so finding that balance is becoming more and more necessary!

About Mockingbird Marketing

Mockingbird is a full-service marketing agency focused solely on the legal industry. We combine our high-level expertise with personalized and responsive service that’s impossible to find anywhere else.

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Using data-driven solutions, we create, measure and refine all aspects of digital marketing for law firms of any size, any practice area, any location.

Webinar: Field Guide to Law Firm CRM

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Join Mockingbird founder and president, Conrad Saam in a discussion with Mockingbird’s VP of Marketing Technology about law firm CRM. Webinar recorded on February 9th, 2022 at 10:00 am PT.

 

Criminal Defense Firm on Pace to Exceed Annual Revenue Goal by 15+%

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Investments
$1,699/month    Marketing Infrastructure
$2,250/month    SEO Services
$1,850/month    Paid Advertising (Google)

Client
A well-established, mid-sized criminal defense firm located in Kentucky.

Challenge
Client had seen a decrease in overall website traffic and conversions. Specifically, their local visibility was limited and they were unable to gain consistent and prominent placement in the Local 3-Pack. In addition, the firm wasn’t able to identify which marketing channels were driving the best results given the proper reporting and tracking infrastructure wasn’t in place.

Goals
1. Increase visibility in target market
2. Implement proper reporting and tracking infrastructure
3. Exceed previous year’s annual revenue

Strategy
Mockingbird was tasked with configuring and enhancing the firm’s lead intake management system and processes, improving local visibility, optimizing their marketing content, developing and executing a link building strategy, as well as launching paid advertising campaigns. Tactics included, but weren’t limited to –

  • GMB Profile Optimization, 3-months Local Spam Fighting
  • Business/Legal Directory Audit and Updates ensuring NAP consistency
  • Implementation of Lead Intake Management System & CRM HubSpot
    • Prospective form-fill response automation
    • Frequently used form templates (i.e., fee agreements)
    • Auto-assignment of opportunities to attorney staff
    • Calendar integration
    • Sales funnel tracking (MQL, IQL, AQL)
    • Integration with Clio Manage
    • Replaced incumbent chat provider with HubSpot chat
  •  Deployed GMB Posts across all locations
  • Monthly Local Falcon scans to monitor Local/GMB visibility improvements
  • Internal linking audit and optimization
  • Title tag, header and meta description audit and optimization
  • Core Web Vitals optimization
  • Competitive backlink audit, analysis and execution

 

YTD Results
Revenue

  • As of June 2021, the firm is on pace to exceed its annual revenue goal by 15.33%

Visibility

  • 908.83% increase in organic sessions
  • 658.91% increase in direct sessions

Conversions

  • 1,515% increase in overall goal completions (calls, form fills, chat, text)

Local Visibility

  • GMB Ranking Improvements

8 Questions to Ask While Looking for a New Marketing Agency

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Whether you’re looking to jump ship from your current marketing agency or starting from the ground up needing an entire online presence, there are certain stereotypes and truths people lean on:

  • Nobody likes their marketing agency and it’s a constant battle to get anything done.
  • Somebody loves their marketing agency and won’t tell you who they’re working with.

Shopping for a new agency can feel similar to shopping for a new home — there are parts that are exciting with possibilities of a great future while other parts can feel long and tedious. This is especially more daunting as a small or medium sized business owner who may or may not have a dedicated in-house marketing person who understands what to look for. There are so many fancy, technical buzzwords flying around and the promise of Shiny Tech Object (SHITO?), it can be overwhelming. There are many company types ranging from the established smaller team to the big and corporate. Which is the right fit? Am I choosing the right agency? What if I made a mistake?

I’ll break it down to 8 questions:

  • 4 questions to ask yourself before you start shopping
  • 4 questions to ask your potential new agency

4 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Start Shopping

What are you looking to achieve with your marketing agency? It’s important to identify some high-level goals to help give you a better sense of direction in the agencies you research. Are you looking to build an entirely brand new site? Are you looking to get a social media presence going? Do you want to update your logo and brand? Defining these high-level goals will help you refine your agency search.

What type of personality or team do you work well with? One of the many keys to a meaningful and successful relationship with your agency is finding a personality you work well with. For example, if you’re constantly busy and are prone to missing deadlines for internal projects, you may work better with someone who sends you regular reminders and hops on weekly check-in calls. If you want to take more of a hands-on approach with editing your website or crafting content, you may work better with someone who is also great at coaching and guidance. You and your agency are a team. Being a successful team means everyone working collaboratively together.

What is your marketing budget? This number doesn’t need to be categorized. It’s more of a “how much am I willing to spend on specialized services?” This varies greatly depending on the size of your practice, your cash flow,  practice area, and geographic region. For example, if you’re a personal injury attorney located in Dallas proper in Texas, you’ll very likely need a higher budget than a steady family law attorney in smaller towns around Lubbock (smaller city in Texas). A good rule of thumb is to think about marketing services in a retainer or hourly rate similar to how you bill/charge your clients.

What is important to you in a marketing agency? Create a simple list of the qualities and services that are important to you. These can be high level things. For example, do you prefer to have one point of contact or access to the entire team? Is having an after-hours phone number mission critical for you? Do you prefer an agency who’s in the same time zone as you? Having this list handy ahead of time will help you vet different agencies to your needs.

4 Questions to Ask Your Potential New Agency

What metrics do you track to gauge the performance of my website / SEO efforts / advertising campaign? Any agency worth their weight will have a reporting system in place to present the data (industry term: KPIs or “key performance indicators”) in an easily digestible way. Depending on the goals you’ve established with your agency, the tracked metrics may vary. The report should come with a call from your digital strategist to discuss the numbers together. Your agency should also be ready and open to sharing the not-so-good and bad news. Not every month is going to be absolutely amazing from the get-go. It’s a fact of life that there will be some months where the performance has slowed, remained flat, or declined — this is normal and to be expected. If you get a sense of “toxic positivity” from your potential new agency, that’s a cue to keep looking. If an agency heavily promotes or promises gleaming results without setting expectations of the bumps along the way and the financial investment needed, that’s a big cautionary flag.

Could I talk to my potential account manager? During the sales process, your main point of contact is the salesperson who is operating in a very different capacity than your day-to-day account manager. Ask your salesperson if they can schedule a call with your account manager. This will provide a great opportunity to get to know another person on your marketing team. If you get the feeling you and your future account manager are going to be a good fit, then that may be what seals the deal for you. If you get a vibe that the account manager may not be a good fit, that’s alright too. You can ask if there is someone else available or keep searching.

What is the process for transitioning between sales to your account management team? Depending on the agency’s infrastructure, sales and your day-to-day team may work in a vacuum independent from each other with different environments which could potentially create an unpleasant experience for you. Ask your salesperson what the transition process entails. It could range from internal workflows that are out-of-sight, a call or two to introduce you to your team, or a mix of the two. How long will it be for your account manager to reach out to you? Are there any other forms or small items needed from you in the meantime? Having these expectations ahead of time will help make things easier for you.

What if I’m having an emergency problem with my website? This goes into the “life happens” bucket — servers may go down, you forgot to renew your domain name, or the new IT guy mixed up some changes between the website and your company email. It’s important to ask who to contact if you have an emergency. Does the agency have an after-hours help email or phone number? Do you contact your account manager? In the rare case a website emergency happens, you have a path and plan to make sure it’s resolved ASAP.

Bonus Item!

After you have talked to and narrowed down your agency choices, be sure to read through the details of their contract (most agencies will send this ahead of time to help close the sale). Most contracts include the normal details such as explaining terms and vocabulary, and provide a breakdown of what is included with the services and/or packages you are going to purchase.

The key items to look for are specific to the termination of the contract. Life happens and you may need to leave the agency at some point. It’s imperative to check for any funky cancellation terms and what you’ll be receiving when you leave. Some agencies sneak in fixed terms in tiny font such as being locked in for several months and/or having to pay a pricey cancellation fee if you terminate early. Be sure the contract states you will receive your content and website files in the case you decide to leave. With contracts being sent via email, it’s easy to open the contract and make the font bigger on your computer screen. Take the time to read through the terms. If anything looks odd, be sure to ask your salesperson for clarification. It’s best to get ahead of those questions rather than getting into a series of calls and emails about it later.

In Conclusion…

Taking the time to ask yourself and your potential agency these questions will help save your time, money, and sanity in the long run. Hopping from agency to agency can be costly and a big headache. I recommend investing the time up front to do your research, review the proposals and contracts you receive, and choose a team who aligns with your business goals while also providing a roadmap for steady growth.