The Role of Meta Descriptions in Your Business

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Meta descriptions often fly under the radar for both consumers and website builders. Google has crippled their authority by excluding them from the ranking process and often simply rewriting the descriptions webmasters created for their pages. Despite all this, meta descriptions can serve a vital role in your webpage’s click-through-rate. While a bland and boring meta description can disappear like hay in a haystack, an interesting description can make a link stand out during a search.

 

What Are Meta Descriptions

For those just joining us, meta descriptions are the small blurbs that appear below the website during a search. They give a brief description of the webpage and often highlight the keywords that appear in the consumer’s search.

Meta Description
The Meta Description for Mockingbird Marketing

 

Writing a Good Meta Description

Good meta descriptions can be the difference between you or your competitor getting a new client. The recommended length of a description falls between 135-160 characters, as longer descriptions get truncated to fit into the snippet provided. Google is also more likely to replace your pre-written description with an automatically generated one of their own, often composed of the first couple lines of the page. Sometimes this is unavoidable but doesn’t mean you should give up. 

A good description is brief and attention-grabbing. It describes the purpose of the page without being a summary. Think of a mixture of a blurb on the back of a book and the way coffee beans are described (it’s never just “dark roast with nutty flavors,” it’s always “an invigorating blend grown in the heart of South America with each bean individually roasted and infused with the spirits of warriors and hints of cocoa”).  Take advantage of the fact that the consumer probably isn’t sure what they want yet. Make them want to see what you have to offer.

 

Writing a Bad Meta Description

A meta description can be bad in more ways than it can be good. It can be boring, misleading, poorly written, and/or vague. This doesn’t guarantee that your page will fail, but it won’t help. Some common mistakes to avoid when writing meta descriptions include:

  • Stuffing in too many keywords
  • Not using any keywords
  • Describing the brand instead of the webpage
  • Copy and pasting similar descriptions for different pages
  • Neglecting rich result optimization
  • Simply not writing meta descriptions

When it comes to your firm’s search results it’s best not to leave things to chance or to Google’s algorithms. Mockingbird Marketing specializes in all areas of SEO for law firms, including designing meta descriptions. Contact us to learn more about how your site could be improved, from the bottom up.

Call-Only vs. Call Extensions: What’s Best for Your Firm

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PPC advertising has been advancing for the entire lifetime of digital marketing, with call options in ads being a prime example of such advancements. Google Ads currently have two calling options in ads: Call Only and Call Extensions. Both options are still relatively early in their development, evidenced by the fact that neither of them are optimized for Google’s Display Network, Google’s default campaign network. This doesn’t mean that your law firm should neglect your ads call settings, as they provide a valuable conversion method for potential clients. 

 

Call-Only Campaigns

What Are They

Call only campaigns are ads that only give the option to call the business. They are barebones, with only the website URL, metadata description, and a short message to provide context. These ads are straight to the point with a clear call to action. When the consumer clicks on the link, their phone calls the business. Call only campaigns are optimized for mobile phone convenience. They are good for businesses that provide services that could provide immediate assistance.

 

Pros

The benefits of call-only campaigns mainly relate to their convenience. They are direct to the point, every click counts as a conversion, and the firm can program them to only appear during your office’s business hours. Call-only campaigns let mobile customers utilize your service immediately after their search. If your firm provides service that can be utilized in a crisis (personal injury is a good example of this) then call-only campaigns are probably a good option.

 

Cons

As previously mentioned, call-only campaigns are not compatible with Google’s Display Network. Luckily, a good digital advertiser should be able to coordinate an ad campaign without using the Display Network. 

The other main con of call-only ads is that it is quite easy for consumers to accidentally call the business. Google has been working to redesign their ads to reduce the number of these occurrences, but it can still affect your conversion rate.

 

Call Extensions

What Are They

The firm can add call extensions to existing ads,  providing a phone number for the business. These can be buttons that direct the device the consumer is using to call the business. The ads are able to provide more information than call-only ad campaigns, which is better for firms with complicated practices. 

 

Pros

Call extensions can distinguish between devices. This means that they will prioritize mobile devices if asked but are also compatible with desktop formats. Google’s Display Network also features compatibility with call extensions. The Display Network makes them more accessible for those who might be less familiar with digital advertising. Unfortunately, their availability does include some limitations. 

Call extensions provide convenience in areas such as business hours and statistics. The ad manager can program the extension to show the business hours of the firm. They can link the extensions with call reporting software, making conversion statistics are available.

 

Cons

The types of phone numbers call extensions are compatible with is limited, as they do not work with fax numbers or vanity numbers. As previously mentioned, they have limited compatibility with Google’s Display Network: extensions on display network ads only work with high-end mobile phones, don’t work with call reporting software, or ad campaigns with alternative objectives.

If you need help setting up your law firm’s ad campaigns, contact us to arrange a site audit and plan a campaign optimized for your business.

Getting to Know Your Audience

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Google has announced an ongoing update for its ad partners and it promises to be a comprehensive one. Google’s new Affinity Audiences and In-Market Audiences allow ad managers to target groups of people more specifically than before, giving the option to exclude keyword search, connect with audience life events, and advertising based on previous URL visits. 

 

How Will Audiences Help My Firm?

Your law firm can now advertise to the exact type of clients you want. If you want healthy clients who have recently been in a car accident, you can narrow your audience to people who are looking for personal injury lawyers and were previously looking at fitness brand websites. Family lawyers can target audiences who recently got married but still search for hot singles in their area. The possibilities are endless.

 

How Many Audience Factors Are There?

Google’s “About Audiences’ page features 8 customizable factors for advertisers to work with:

  1. Demographics

Advertisers will be able to select as many demographic groups as they feel are relevant to their audience, with the option to go into further details of each demographic group.

  1. Affinity Audiences

Affinity audiences have shown a passion in a given topic, allowing advertisers to use a more “holistic” approach to curating their ad viewers

  1. Custom Affinity Audiences

Google creates custom affinity audiences by looking at their keyword phrases, interests based on URLs visited, apps the audience might be interested in.

  1. Life Events

Advertisers can select audiences based on recent life events or searches based on life events. This might be particularly relevant to law firms, as many practices relate specifically to large life events.

  1. In-Market Audiences

Advertisers can narrow down their audiences by selecting in-market audiences. This narrows the search to just people who are known to be in the market for their product. 

  1. Custom Intent Audiences

Custom intent categories are only available for Google Display and Youtube campaigns and show ads customized to keywords searched by your ideal audience.

  1. Remarketing

Remarketing allows advertisers to re-engage with consumers they already know are already aware of the brand. It connects with audiences who have already provided visited their page or otherwise interacted with their media.

 

So Which One Should I Use?

Let us figure that out! Mockingbird Marketing understands the differences in audiences for each law practice and how to coordinate general and local advertising campaigns. Contact us to learn more about our services and how we can help you build your business.

It’s Time To Start Making Video Content

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I know, it’s an investment. Making high-quality video content requires expensive gear and loads of time both in front of the camera and editing. You need scripts and producers and lighting and a boom guy. Your lawyers are lawyers, not actors.

Here’s the thing, you don’t need all of that. Sure, you need a camera and a microphone, and someone who knows how to edit videos, but there has never been a better time to be producing video content.

 

Improved Data

With Google’s recent announcement that videos will appear in searches and webmasters will be provided comprehensive data on the performance of the video, producing tailored content is simple, or at least as simple as any other form of digital marketing. With improved access to data, adapting your campaigns will be a sharp learning curve.

 

Video Reach Campaigns

While you definitely shouldn’t have third-party embedded videos on your website (it can significantly slow down site speeds by full seconds), you should consider video advertising or posting regular informational blogs on a company Youtube channel. With Youtube’s updated video reach campaigns managing multiple campaigns is easy and cost-effective. If you don’t want to manage video ads, a video channel will help build your online presence.  

 

Editing

Simple videos don’t need complicated edits. As a law firm, you probably don’t want to be producing complicated videos in-house, but simple informative videos are easy to learn to edit. There are multiple free video editing programs that should cover everything you need to do.

 

What Kind of Content 

You’re a law firm, right? You know the law. Explain your practice to your viewers. If you have a legal blog some of your blog posts can be repurposed into more in-depth videos. FAQs can be answered with an actual voice, not just in text. Be creative! 

 

If you don’t feel comfortable expanding into creating video content, you don’t have to. Just know that marketers are prioritizing video advertising just below keyword searches and audience targeting. 

If you would like help to understand or designing a video marketing campaign, contact us and we can discuss your options.

Understanding Conversions (SEO 101)

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Website management programs record every type of action a consumer makes on a website. The digital marketing world designates each action with its own acronym and relevance. There’s the click-through-rate (CTR), which describes how many people clicked on your link; the bounce rate, or how many people left the page immediately after clicking on your link; and the conversion rate, how many consumers become clients.

 

How To Measure Conversions

Due to the complexities of both the internet and human behaviors, measure the exact numbers of conversions can be difficult. This means your conversion rate will change depending on the parameters you set for recording conversions, but you can decide which actions count as conversions. According to a Moz.com article on Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), there are two types of converting actions: macro-conversions and micro-conversions:

From Moz.com

 

Things to Keep In Mind

Every time a unique visit results in a conversion, the conversion rate goes up. This often doesn’t account for the few unique visits before a consumer makes before they convert into a client. They might not register as the same consumer If they clear their cookies or visit your site from a different device and account. Conversion rates are never 100% accurate, but if you optimize your ads and webpages with conversion actions they should give a good sense of how long it takes for consumers to become clients after visiting your page.

 

Increasing Conversions

So the consumer is on your webpage, now it’s up to your product and your content to make them into a customer. SEO and advertising can only go so far as to get them to your page, once they’re there, you have to convince them. This can be done with pleasing web design, easy access to converting actions (commenting on blogs, filling out surveys, signing up for newsletters, etc.), and providing quality content and products.

If you would like help in setting up any aspect of what is discussed here, contact Mockingbird Marketing. We set you up with everything your law firm needs for a website and a marketing campaign.

Why Law Stories are Perfect for Content

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Shareable content is the currency of the internet, and creating a viral video, story, or article is the visibility lottery few companies are able to win. Law firms tend to only win in comedic, slapstick way (think of the over-the-top local ads you may have seen on tv). This method may lead to a memorable name for consumers but doesn’t do much for credibility. As any advertiser knows to get people to see and remember the ad is one thing, getting them to purchase the product is another. That’s where it’s important to know your brand.

 

As explained by Greg Jarboe of Search Engine Journal, humor is an easy way to elicit an emotional response from a consumer. The other way to get attention is through drama and sincerity. 

 

The Type of Story You Should Tell

As a law firm, you fight to get people what they deserve every day. If you’re a personal injury lawyer you help people get back on their feet. If you’re an immigration firm you get people working and reconnected with their families. There are few things that get internet users as teary-eyed as family reunions, especially if there was a struggle involved. DUI lawyers can focus on rehabilitation after a mistake. You get it: you stand up for the little man, let the little man help you stand taller. 

 

How to Tell Your Story

Let the focus stay on your client. They are the star, and they’re who you focused on during their case. Have the story be strongly based on a true story, if not fully true. People respond to honest stories and honest struggle.

 

The Story doesn’t Have to be Universally Relatable

A very small percentage of America’s population are dogs with owners who are serving in the military. That doesn’t stop large numbers of people from crying when they watch videos of dogs reacting when their owners return from service. People connect with the feeling of reunion and relief. You, as a law firm, provide at least one of those things every time you win a case.

 

Keep It Simple

Your story has one goal: get people to know what you do and that you care about your clients’ stories. This means that it should follow a basic narrative arc, wrap up nicely, and leave the viewer knowing that your firm resolved the conflict. No need for b-plots or side characters. 

 

Designing a compelling story is the oldest art known to man, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Emotions can be complicated and, occasionally, controversial. Ask clients for their thoughts on if they would like to be featured in one of your stories. You help people every day and it’s time you showed the world the effects of your work.

If you feel like your brand needs help with advertising or digital marketing, contact us and we can discuss your options.

Chrome is Updating and Leaving Mixed Pages Behind

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In an announcement on October 3rd, it was revealed that Google Chrome will be phasing out access to pages with mixed content, citing user security. 

 

What Does This Mean?

If your website has secure https:// connections, but includes media without secure linking, Chrome will flag the page as insecure. Beginning in December 2019, Chrome 79 will allow users to toggle their security settings. They will be able to allow the browser to access insecure scripts and otherwise blocked content. Google will release Chromes 80 and 81 in early 2020 and promise to upgrade media with http:// security to https:// automatically. The update will allow mixed images to load, but with a “Not Secure” warning appearing in the Omnibox. 

 

How Does Mixed Content Affect User Security?

Mixed content provides malicious website builders an opportunity to tamper with content to influence visitors to the page. They can do this by adding cookie trackers to hidden scripts or messing with media links. Due to the prevalence of https:// security, and the relative lack of upsides to having mixed content, Chrome has decided that it’s more efficient to block all mixed content and upgrade the passive content of images, audio, and video.

 

Is My Website At Risk of Being Blocked?

Always make sure to check that your website is up and running and complying with all search engine and browser guidelines, but chances are that the largest risks to your site will get upgraded by Chrome with Chrome 80 and 81. If you would like some easy and/or free ways to quickly check your website for potentially blocked pages, check out Search Engine Journal’s article on the update. A number of good resources appear at the bottom of the page.

If you would like help building or maintaining your law firm’s website, contact us here at Mockingbird Marketing. The services we offer include web design and SEO for your business, as well as web-traffic monitoring and PPC.

Don’t Neglect Your Firm’s Social Media

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We live in a social world, and if you fail to participate you are failing your business. While many aspects of social media are fast-moving and trendy, near impossible for a hard-working firm to keep up with, simply having a presence will help build organic traffic to your website. Luckily, social media pages are easy to set up.

 

The Basics

To set up a basic social media presence, stick to the main 3 platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. To be honest, you probably don’t even really need Instagram unless one of your attorneys has a passion for taking artsy photos of just out of focus legal briefs. As for Facebook, you can set up a business page with all of your information, which you should do. A Facebook business page gives you a platform to keep all your information. Even if you have a Google My Business profile, the more places you have your information the better.

The basic information you want to have on Facebook and Twitter is about the same as your Google My Business profile: address, hours, contact information, link to your website. Social media will also allow you to present your business to a wider audience. Make sure photos of your firm and your lawyers are easily accessible on your page(s). This adds credibility to your business and gives your internet presence a more personal feeling.

 

Adding More

Once the basics of your page have been set up, you can further increase traffic by uploading regularly. You can do this simply by connecting your legal blog to your social media firm. This will help your social media feed to remain active and increase the readership of your blog. If you don’t have a blog, consider starting one. If you don’t want to start one, try just sharing relevant articles. Active social media feeds let clients know that your business is still running with lawyers that keep up to date with current events. Post business updates: new hires, successful cases, attendance at conferences. Every detail about your firm will be a deciding factor for your potential clients, so give them as many good and honest details as you can.

 

If you already have a social media page make sure to check on it regularly. If you change offices update the address. Check and see if the page has photos. Think of your business as a person: if you (not your business) got contacted by someone you didn’t know and when you looked them up all you could find was a Facebook page with no photos or posts, that was made in 2007. You wouldn’t trust that person. The same goes for your firm. Make sure your firm is more trustworthy than the twelve-year-old empty profile of a stranger.

For advice on building a social media page or resources on improving your website’s traffic, contact us. We love lawyers!

You Need to Improve Your Firm’s Brand Story

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So you have a good business, you treat your clients well, your firm works hard, and yet your presence is barely felt online. You’ve worked on SEO, PPC, and every other acronym your digital marketing team has thrown at you. Maybe you need to improve your brand story, for both you and your clients.

 

The Client’s Story

Unless they’ve been referred by a friend, it’s unlikely that your client will show up at your website without first doing research into their case and other lawyers. This is that client’s story you need to work on. They need to go from not knowing you, recognizing your brand, to trusting you, to converting. 

This process begins with the client researching their problem, which is when you can come in with information. This is why having an informative and accessible blog is essential. If you’re a personal injury firm, maybe your client will find a blog about settlements from trampoline-related injuries when they’re researching how common the injuries they sustained on their friend’s trampoline are. 

Once they decide to take action, they will hopefully have your brand in the back of their heads as they research local law firms. Once the name is familiar, they are more likely to look into your firm. As they’re comparing firms, you need to make sure your personal brand story stands out.

 

Your Brand Story

Remember the three arts of rhetoric: Pathos, Ethos, and Logos. That’s right, we’re going back to High School English. Consider what makes your firm different, what gives it the upper-hand. 

What brought everyone into the firm and why do you do what you do? Pull those pathos strings; get them emotionally involved.  

What makes your lawyers so good? Was it their schooling? Their years of experience? Maybe they clerked for superior court judges in their youth. Show your potential client that you have the knowledge and authority to win the case. You must wow them with your ethos.

Finally, explain why your firm is the practical option. If you’re a personal injury lawyer who only charges a contingency fee, you’re probably more practical for someone trying to repair their life that a lawyer who costs $1,200/hour. If you’re a local business you are easily accessible to anyone nearby and know all the local regulations. You are the logical option, and you need to prove it with logos.

 

What If My Story Isn’t Interesting?

Any story can be interesting if it’s told correctly. Focus on emotions where the details get dry, focus on details when there aren’t many emotions to talk about and talk about your hopes for your brand’s future when there’s not much to say about emotions or details. Every person has some motivation for being where they are, and yours and your clients’ need to align when they find your website. Whatever you do, don’t make up your story. Fabricated details and emotions are easy to sense and can push potential clients away, even if they aren’t quite sure why. People respond to honesty. 

If you need help building your brand story or increasing your brand awareness, contact us and we will help you plan a comprehensive marketing strategy.