When you’re using Adwords, you will begin by setting up your account. Google Adwords asks if you have a web page, and if you don’t usually, there are instructions on helping you to create one. The Starter Edition begins by asking you this like so:

•  I have a web page.

• I don’t have a web page, help me create one.

It will then ask you some questions about your business, such as where you are located, how many and what kinds of payments you take, a short description of the business itself, what your hours are, and a number of other things to help better flesh out your needs. Then, it will go into a menu of basic layouts where you can upload your company photo, or your logos. If you want to, at this point, your location is then displayed on Google Maps, and this is included in the page itself. A rather quick, very simple process, this is usually straight forward and user friendly.

You will then go on to your next section which is where you create your ad, the text parts of it, anyway, put in your keywords, and you’ll be asked about your monthly budget. This is where it can be a little bit tricky because the keyword tool is a little hard to find- however, it does suggest keywords based on a list they have, or you can put a specified URL in to have a list made for you. If you know a bit about keywords, and about ad creation, you can at this point also search out your competition to see what kind of keywords they are using. Google usually offers useful suggestions of keywords and it is all very simple- so, basically you click, and add- either one at a time, or a few at once. The entire process has become incredibly easy to understand and with the new set up, removed the bidding process.
Once you’ve done your budget, you create your account by providing your credit card information, and this also validates it- that’s it, you’re finished.

There are a few tips to using The Starter Edition that are helpful:

•This edition offers tutorials. Use them, if you aren’t familiar with PPC ad campaigns. They are very clear, easy to understand and can help a great deal. Once you have a better handle on things, you can then upgrade, and if you’ve gone through all of these tutorials, have a better understanding for what you need to do.

•If you’re feeling at a loss for keywords, you can either use the synonym tool, or, if you already have a web site with a bit of content on it, you can key in your URL to find the keywords you need. I recommend after you’ve done this, though, to go ahead and use the synonym tool, anyway.

•Using the keyword tool, you can also finely tune your target audience using negative keywords- you can either make it a very broad thing, so that anyone searching out anything remotely related to your keywords finds you, or you can exclude those negative keywords for a sharper focus.

Deciding to have an online presence is part and parcel to running a successful business these days- more so for attorneys than most may think. Being able to work with SEO, building an effective website that grabs attention and hits is definitely something you just cannot afford to not know how to do. First, let’s talk a little about just what SEO is- this stands for Search Engine Optimization. Basically this is getting your name at the top of a search engine list via the keywords that are pertaining to your particular services.

Having gone through that, how do you make a website that makes it up in the rankings?

First off, do a little research. Check out the competition, as chances are good there are a great number of other attorneys in your particular legal services that are already utilizing SEO in order to enhance their own online marketing. Pay careful attention to those on the front search page and in the ad sponsored listings and jot down things you like about the way their site is presented.

Know Your Clients- you already have a good handle on the sorts of cases that you deal with and you know how to manage your customers once they’re in your office, but consider before. Consider the sort of people who are looking for your services, and what questions, concerns and issues they may be facing. Make your website attractive to that client base. There’s really no reason to make it attractive to others- just the client base you are looking for. Streamlining things makes it easier for those who are looking for your services to find you.

Now we are going to get right into the meat of SEO: Keywords. This is one area where you cannot afford to fall short. After you know your competition and you know your client base, and with those ideas in mind- begin to think about words you might search, were you looking for your own services. Your location, your services, phrases and questions that someone may ask you, your law firm’s name, attorney names in the firm- all of those things make great key words. Think on it like you would, were you making a search. If you were searching for say, Basset Hounds- you’d type in “Basset Hounds”. If you wanted to know why your basset hound is always scratching at his nose, you might type “Itchy Basset Hound”, “Basset Hound Nasal Issues”, “Basset Hound Flea Treatments” and so on, and so forth. You can really build up a great many keywords this way.

A tool you may want to check out is the Google Adwords Keywords tool, which will give you a full list of keywords based on the keywords you have already been working with, and other synonyms and helpful ideas. Being able to use SEO in your own website for online marketing needn’t be as confusing as you may think it is- and it can be a big boon to your overall marketing plan.