Oro Valley, Ariz. – February  11, 2010 – Esquire Interactive (http://www.EsquireInteractive.com), a leading Internet law firm marketing company, today announced the introduction of WordPrESQ™, an all-in-one website/blog solution designed exclusively for solo and small law firms.  WordPrESQ™ can be seen at http://www.WordPrESQ.com. 

Based on the world’s leading blog platform, WordPrESQ™ contains a content management system (CMS) that is managed through a web-based admin console customized for law firms.  Through the admin console, law firms can 

• Easily create new web pages and navigation links,
• Edit pages, add pictures, articles, and firm news,
• Change or add attorney profiles,
• Add slide-shows, video, and other media content,
• Use the complete blog capabilities to connect with current and prospective clients, and
• Customize their website with free widgets and social networking applications such as Facebook and Twitter applications.

Because no website coding knowledge is required to manage the CMS, law firms can easily save thousands of dollars on unneeded developer expenses.  

Existing law firm websites can be converted to WordPrESQ™ or a law firm can have a new, customized website built on WordPrESQ™.   WordPrESQ™ website packages are customized based upon each client’s requirements, and do not require ongoing license payments.

“As prospective clients are increasingly turning to the Internet to find attorneys, law firm profitability is becoming dependent upon the development of a website that will resonate with prospective clients and serve as a call to action for contacting the firm,” said Jeff Lantz, Chief Executive Officer of Esquire Interactive and author of The Essential Attorney Handbook for Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, and Website Development Management.   “Law firms can use WordPrESQ for their website and save thousands of dollars over other website solutions and unneeded developer costs, and have a website platform that better resonates with prospective clients.”

About Esquire Interactive

Esquire Interactive is a leading provider of website development, branding, Internet and law firm marketing services for attorneys.  Esquire Interactive serves its clients through brand creation, website development, search engine optimization programs, search engine marketing programs, newsletter campaign creation, and press releases.  Esquire Interactive also offers domain registration services, and is available for direct consultation and speaking engagements. For more information on these solutions, visit the company online at www.EsquireInteractive.com or call 800-915-2564.

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However, it is not just the quantity of incoming links, but also the quality of the link that is important. For search engine purposes, “quality” can be thought of as having two components – (1) the “relevancy” of the linking site (Website A) to the linked site (Website B), and (2) the “authority” that the search engine gives to the linking site.  The more relevant the search engines believe Website A is to Website B, the more weight will be given to the link.  Also, the more Website A is perceived by the search engines to be an authority, the more weight will be given to the link.

For example, if a local hardware store has a link on its website to the website for a corporate lawyer, that link will have less weight than a link from a website that discusses the legal implications of starting  a new business.  If the link instead came from a website such as FindLaw.com, that link would carry even more weight, as FindLaw.com is considered both contextually relevant and also an authority.

Anchor text is also important. Anchor text is the words that are highlight as the link. An example of anchor text is click here. It is better for the anchor text to describe what the link is about. An example of good anchor text would be: Learn more about California real estate law. Search engines give more weight to links that describe what the site is about. Having anchor text that describes what the site is about is beneficial.

A site with a few “high quality” links can rank higher than a site that has a lot of “low quality” links.

How Content helps Establish Your Expertise in an Area of Law
By providing an explanation about a particular area of law, you can quickly convey your expertise to potential client. The more detailed the information, the better, so long as explanations are clearly written and avoid legalese to the extent possible.  Ideally the content should be presented in a clear and concise manner so that potential clients feel like you can communicate with them in a way that they can understand.  Remember – clients can easily feel intimidated by an attorney. By communicating with clients in a clear and simple manner, they will feel less intimidated. Additionally, it will show them why you are the best choice to represent them.

How Content Helps Educate Potential Clients
Often a client will have had no previous involvement in legal matters and may therefore feel anxious about her issue.  If, however, you can provide even general information about her issue, hopefully she’ll feel less anxious.  Additionally, by providing information about potential issues and problems that she may be facing, she will be better able to ask questions concerning her matter, and will be in a position to better assist you in representing her.  She will also have a better understanding as to why you (the lawyer) are recommending a particular course of action.

How Content Helps Search Engine Rankings
Along with link building, one of the primary factors search engines consider when determining search result rankings is webpage content. Ideally, to achieve high search engine results for a particular subject, search engines want detailed content about a subject.  They then want other websites to validate the content by linking to the webpage with the content.  The more important the website that the link is from, the greater the perceived validation will be.

While it’s not always possible to get the links from other websites, it is possible to achieve the first aspect – writing quality content.  As a general principal, content should be at least 400 words in length, and the text should not be in flash or pictures (which the search engines can’t read).

Over time, search engines will pick up on quality content, especially if incoming links are generated.  Until then, you can help the process at a minimum by discussing your area of practice. For instance, instead of simply listing that you practice in bankruptcy, provide an explanation of the types of clients you represent, whether you represent debtors or creditors, and talk about specific topics that would be interest to your potential clients.

If you are going to incorporate flash into your website there are a few things to keep in mind. First, users’ internet speeds vary. You need to make sure to keep the flash file small so it will load quickly even for those users’ with a slow internet connection. A page that loads slowly will decrease a user’s experience. Since the point of using flash is to increase a user’s experience, a slow loading page which decreases a user’s experience will take away any benefit of using flash.

Second, even if the file is small and loads quickly, you need to be conscious of where you incorporate the flash in your website. You need to be careful when using flash on your home page/welcome page. When a user visits your website, they go there you see and read what is on your site. If a user is forced to wait for the flash intro to finish, the user may leave instead of waiting for the intro to finish. If you are going to have a flash intro (which I don’t recommend) you need to make sure to include a “skip intro” link so the user can get to your site without having to wait for the flash intro to end.

Lastly, when using flash, you need to make sure it accomplishes its goal. Before you use flash, you need to ask yourself why you are using flash. If you are using flash just to use flash, it is probably a bad idea. However, if you are using flash to get a point across, you need to make sure the use of flash is getting the point across. If it is not getting the point across you should get rid of it because now all the flash is doing is increasing the load time of the page which decreases a user’s experience.

While using flash correctly can increase a user’s experience, it can also produce certain disadvantages. These disadvantages are from an SEO prospective. The spiders that search engines send out to crawl and index pages can’t read flash. If your entire site is in flash, the spiders won’t be able to index any part of your site since they are not able to read it. Similarly, if your welcome page is in flash, the spider won’t be able to get past the home page and won’t be able to index any part of your site. Including a skip intro link will take care of this problem. The spiders will be able to read the text link and therefore will be able to follow it to the rest of your site. Once inside the site, the spider will be able to crawl and index the rest of your website (so long as it’s not flash).

Including slides shows and animation can certainly increase the user’s experience. However, one needs to make sure not to include too much. Over use of flash will make the pages load slowly and will decrease the user’s experience. Additionally, excessive use of flash will harm your site from an SEO point of view.

When designing a website, you can incorporate flash. Just make sure to use it appropriately.

Because search engines (such as Google), favor websites that add fresh content in their ranking algorithm, blogging can also help lead to higher search engine rankings for your website.   However, before starting a blog, you should commit to a schedule for adding entries.  We recommend adding at least 2 entries a month (one every other week).  Adhering to a schedule will ensure active communication with clients; while sporadic postings could be viewed negatively (raising questions as to why the blog was abandoned).  By following an active blogging schedule, you can turn your blog into an effective marketing tool.