Michael Jackson - overall internet traffic & Lawyer websites

The news of Michael Jackon's death spread across the internet in a massive wave, fist being reports on the website TMZ.com. Right away, Twitter messaging increased two-fold, and the mass of search engine traffic even caused Google to take action (there was a few-minute shut-down for results of some search terms). Over the last few days, Internet radio stations saw a large increases in Michael Jackson songs being streamed, and YouTube videos of his performances and even fan tributes became top viewed. Even sales of his albums spiked- the top downloads from iTunes contained several works by Michael Jackson and/or the Jackson5. Much of the above info came from www.dailymail.co.uk.

Given that Michael Jackons has had an array of legal issues over the year: including family law, business law and criminal law matters - I decided to examine the search engine traffic flow to a few attorney websites - and yes -there has been an increase over the three days. This increase is due complexity of the search terms people are doing - because they are interested in the law as it may apply to Michael Jackson's estate, children, and even business dealings. Searches about custody and surrogacy, or insurance coverage, even about medical negligence are all relevant to Michael Jackson's death - but importantly, they are relevant when people who have legal issues directly affecting them are searching for information and legal help.

So the fact the we see this increase in attorney websites - may not mean any cases will come as a result for this short-term blast of traffic, but it does mean that properly developed lawyer websites do attract relevant keyword traffic. Thus, in the long run - qualified clients to come to law firms via the internet. Marketing with the internet- you can't "Beat It".

California Trade Secret Legal Content Added to Los Angeles Law Firm's WebSite

Fisher & Tawlar, a Los Angeles Law firm, have added a very comprehensive section to their website regarding California Trade Secret Law. The added page describes trade secret dispute issues and recent information from the courts.

This content was written by attorneys at the firm and covers issues in detail; including information about non-compete agreements and customer lists. California is a very special state and several complications can arise that would require attorney intervention.

Check out the site and see how all the content works together to paint a compelling overall description of the firm's practice area.

Attorney Website Makeovers -Three Southern CA Firms

As a recurring blog article theme I will be doing will highlight newer web sites that were built over existing sites - upgrades and makeovers. In some cases it may be the upgrade from a FindLaw template site to a custom design, or in other it will be the transition to a FindLaw site from an existing site.

The first group shown here fall into the latter category. One thing to note is that these are all sites that belong to established attorneys, well known in their practice areas. For these law firms, search engine traffic was strong from the start, as branded search existed (referrals for example) and domain trust was established.

Starting from the top left, the first site is www.mehtamann.com - Steve Mehta & Michele Mann's web site for Valencia Wills, Trusts, & Estate Plans. There are few design elements in common with the previous site, but almost all the content was rewritten (carrying over the testimonials and recent results).

The middle images show the before and after for Owen, Patterson, & Owen - www.opolaw.com - California lawyers for serious injuries. The web site is has amazing flash design elements and over 50 pages of content. Branded search is huge for this firm for this main personal injury site, but several other websites for the firm generate almost all content driven traffic.

Rounding up this set is the site for Joseph Lovretovich at www.jmllaw.com. The Los Angeles employee rights Attorney has earned quite a reputation - including obtaining a landmark decision in a disability case. I really like the direct imagery of the new site - it appeals to a wide audience.

In the near future I"ll showcase some FindLaw upgrades - I've already got three Law Firms in mind!

Bing Search Engine for Finding Attorney Web Sites

On May 28th, Microsoft launched Bing - from the ashes of MSN Search. You probably have seen the TV advertisements, as there has been a big "push" to let everyone know. I decided to investigate the results so far - by analyzing the referring domains since June 1st to six websites that I consider to have very good visibility in search engines.

What I found - in 50% of the sites there was a two fold factor is visits from Bing.com vs. MSN from the previous period. However, this doubling amounted to no more than 3% of Search traffic.

So I will do another round of data compiling next month to see if Bing gains any more traction, or perhaps it will fall off as the TV advertising slows - by the way...did you know that a larger number of people use the internet while watching TV? I'm doing it right now, but if you want some stats on what percentage- feel free to use Bing.com, or Google, or Yahoo, or Dogpile, or.......

Bankruptcy Information - Where do you get yours?

I stumbled upon a very funny image regarding bankruptcy. From Graphjam.com.
see more Funny Graphs

It instantly made me think about the very informative web site of Jeff Hagen, Southern California Bankruptcy Attorney. The site has 62 pages of content, all about bankruptcy and debt relief. There is an FAQ, detailed forms, driving directions to various courthouses, and of course - the spinning globe!

Spanish Content added to San Fernando Valley Website

Congratulations to The Law Office of Robert L. Starr (Woodland Hills) on the addition of 3 pages of Spanish content. Robert has several staff members who are fluent Spanish speakers. Of course Robert's office can help with a variety of issues, but the three pages focus on personal injury (Lesiones personales), employment law (ley de empleo), and vehicle fraud (fraude de vehiculos).

The placement of the practice pages menu is near the Lemon Law information center, and stand out above the "fold". Importantly, every page of the website does mention that the firm speaks Spanish.