PRACTICE MARKETING blog

In addition to the blogs I typically read, I use Google.com/ALERTS to keep me apprised whenever any blog or article uses a phrase I’d be interested in (e.g., “practice marketing”): Often these two lists overlap. Case in point, this morning I read a great post by Kevin O’Keefe who writes the “Real Lawyers Have Blogs” (which conveniently, properly, and ethically promotes the LexBlog ‘bLAWg’ platform). His latest post berated an attorney who did what I refer to “on-line ambulance chasing”:

The latest comes from Dallas Attorney Shezad Malik who posts ‘Ambulance And Car Accident in Leonard, North of Dallas.’Of course the longest paragraph in the post:

If you or a family member has been injured because of the fault of someone else; by negligence, personal injury, slip and fall, car accident, medical malpractice, trucking accident, drunk driving, bad product, toxic injury etc then please contact the Dallas Texas Personal Injury Attorney Dr. Shezad Malik. For a no obligation, free case analysis, please call 817-255-4001 or Contact Me Online.

Blogs like this are being used to game Google and for no other reason at all. The lawyer is regularly updating his blog with keywords related to his locale and injury matters hoping that his blog will rise to the top of the search engines for related terms. And of course throw in a few links in target text like ‘personal injury’ linking to your website for added SEO effect.

To the majority of bloggers, the media, and sane people, the lawyer looks like an idiot at best. To me, he’s an embarrassment to our profession.

To which I commented (and felt it was worthy enough for re-print as a post here): Well, there are 4 issues going on here: 1) codes of ethics 2) personal ethics 3) value of blawg and other educational marketing 4) SEO.

1) The above example (and the many, many others) are the on-line version of “ambulance chasing,” which has given the PI atty a bad brand to begin with. Hence, there are codes of ethics on how to use the web — and they will be improved (that is, more specific - not just more words, hopefully) as years go on.

2) Of course, like other regulations and laws (like speeding), there is only so much policing to be done. It’s comes down to personal responsibility, values, ethics, and pride. Thus, the PI/trial world been able to overcome much public derision (and good jokes).

3) As blawgging, podcasting, video, e-book marketing grows more mainstream (in the legal community), more attorneys (and para staff) will realize that the real value isn’t just mere “display advertising,” but rather credibility and remark-ability as they share insight, thought, perspective (though not advice).

4) SEO: keyword-dropping, like name-dropping, will be a perennial if not pretentious issue. SEO algorithms have grown more sophisticated and we should always blog with it in mind. It isn’t WRONG; heck, as an intelligent form of marketing, blawging should be SEO conscious: Though our SEO-friendly posts & comments should be checked with the above 3 principles.