Matt Cutts recently released a video that recapped his 2009 State of the Union recap speach that he gave at Pubcon in Las Vegas back in November. Here is the video:

And a few things that you can take from this as an attorney/law firm with a website/blog:

1. Matt Cutts can’t sing. Just kidding (maybe)…
2. We haven’t had much experience with Google Squared or how it can help anyone in the legal field. It can be good for finding some niche websites that someone has created a Square for, but we don’t see much that Google Squared can do for you. Feel free to create a square though, it probably can’t hurt.
3. Google Social Search is a great tool that you should be utilizing. A lot of recent searches have displayed Twitter and Facebook posts, and this is a good way for you to capitalize. Simply fill out a Google Profile if you haven’t already done so (and be sure to include some of your keywords in the description and throughout the profile), add your Facebook and Twitter URL, and opt-in for Google Social’s experimental search. This is a great way for your Facebook and Twitter profile (if you update them, which you should) updates to capture some searches in your area.
4. Most of us are aware of the new abilities of Google Blog Search and Google News Search, and if you aren’t: basically you can see posts within the past day, week, etc, and also break down the results based on a specific date range.
5. Similar to Google Squared, we haven’t found a way to effectively utilize Google Wonder Wheel, and not sure it’s necessary for you to become familiar with this feature. If any attorneys or law firms are utilizing Google Wonder Wheel please let us know by commenting on this post.
6. Google doesn’t use page loading speed as an organic ranking factor. I’m not sure that this is accurate/truthful this is, but be sure to be aware of your site loading speed in 2010. (and of course, Foster Web Marketing clients do have access to site loading time in DSS under “site performance”).
7. Make sure you’re familiar with Google’s February 2009 update, rel=canonical to avoid any possible duplicate content issues. Your webmaster should be handling this for you, but it’s always worth checking up on.
8. Matt continues to claim to not hate SEO. I don’t think that he hates us, but he definitely doesn’t love us .
9. Google not using keyword meta tags to display results is “verified”. Do they use the keyword tags? Probably not. Do they see them at all when crawling your web pages? I think so, they just don’t put much weight on them (and rightfully so) when determining rankings.
10. Google Caffeine, Google’s new search engine algorithm, is recapped. Again, faster indexing and more up-to-date content.

It’s always good to see Google communicating with webmasters and SEO professionals. Cutts promised to keep this promise to communication in 2010 and we all hope that they do so.

In the most recent Tweet incentive, Squarespace is giving away 30 iPhones in 30 days for anyone that tweets something about #squarespace, a free DIY web design platform.

People are willing to Tweet about promotions like these because 1) it’s easy, thanks to the user friendliness of Twitter, and 2) most people using Twitter on a regular basis have so many followers (including a large majority of people they’ve never met) that the message probably only reaches 1/3 of their audience, meaning they’re more willing to take a risk of seeming a little bit promotional.

The question is, what kind of incentive could you offer as an attorney?

A free case review? No, that’s pretty standard these days

A free Blackberry? Not very original, plus that can be a bit costly.

Well, we’re going to celebrate our new blog renovation (how do you like the new design?) by offering our own incentive.

Anyone in the legal community (lawyer, paralegal, law student, legal marketer, etc.) who Retweets this blog post will receive a free link back to their blog or website with the anchor text of their choice (this blog has a PR of 4/10 so it can really help out with you SEO efforts). Just click on the “retweet” button on the top left, it’s that simple.

In addition, we’re also collecting ideas for a “Retweet incentive for attorneys”. The most creative idea will be announced in a separate blog post on Friday morning, June 12th, and will include another link to your website, blog, Twitter profile, and a short bio of the winning submitter.

If you have an idea you’d like to submit please follow us on Twitter and direct message us with your idea. The deadline for submissions is 5pm EST on Thursday, June 11th.

UPDATE here are the Tweeers in the legal community who Retweeted this post. It’s not too late to be listed here, just Retweet this blog post and we’ll get you listed later in the week. And be sure to RT @tomfosterweb otherwise we won’t be able to track the responses. You’ll also have to have your website listed on your Twitter profile.

@GerryOginski is a Video for attorneys guru, New York Medical Malpractice and New York Accident Lawyer

@mkastrab is a Cleveland attorney concentrating in criminal defense, child custody, bankruptcy/budget planning & litigation.

@pbfriedman is a law professor with his own art and law blog

@BillTilley is a Pioneer of Legal Finance Industry – Improving the Business of Law, President Amicus Capital Services, an attorney loans solution

@WayneOBryan is a Richmond Car and Truck Accident injury lawyer

@paulpartridge is a Direct response copywriter, conversion specialist, online course developer and certified college funding advisor

@jeffcanhelp is a Consumer Advocate/Attorney trying to put a stop to debt collection harassment

@sean1372 is a Virtual marketing director for law firms and medical offices

@SanDiegoInjury is a San Diego personal injury and litigation attorney. Accident lawyer for the Jurewitz Law Group.

@JohnGWatts is an Alabama consumer protection attorney

@robmckinney is a Nashville, Tennessee trial lawyer who loves to represent the underdogs.

@jonpayne is the webmaster for law firm directory website

@Michael_Sherman is Christian, Husband and Father of 4, Alabama family lawyer, Homeschooler, Triathlete

You’re probably hearing more and more about Twitter as the days go by, either on television when they announce the newest celebrity who is “tweeting”, or from your friends and colleagues who already seem to be up on the Twitter lingo.

Well, just because you’re left scratching your head whenever they bring up words like “tweet” and start talking about their “followers” (I thought it was some sort of e-cult or something at first) doesn’t mean that it’s too late for you to join the Twitter revolution.

Tom Foster and George Murphy of Foster Web Marketing just wrote a new free report, “Twitter for Attorneys”, which you can download here.

The report covers a number of topics ranging from how to sign up for an account, what your profile should and shouldn’t include, basic Twitter etiquette, and how you can use this social media powerhouse to improve both your online networking efforts which can lead to referrals, and your lead generation efforts through creative Twitter marketing.

Just because you are new to Twitter or don’t know anything about it yet doesn’t mean that you have to be scared or hesitant to sign up. This report will help you understand what you need to do to catch up with all of the other attorneys already Tweeting and gaining more and more followers as the days go by, so take a few seconds to download it and let us know what you think!

After I realized that the answer is yes, I finally had a breakthrough: my life would not be complete without Twitter (or Facebook). This is pretty weird because this time last year I said what 95% (my guesstimate) of the country says right now: “Twitter? What the….?”

Here are my top five warning signs that you’re addicted to Twitter:

5) You respond to emails using “@” instead of “re:”, and not just in the subject.

4) Any time you type something that is approaching 140 characters you get the “uh oh here come the red numbers… I know they’re coming…. here they come” jitters.

3) You texted your best friend yesterday asking if he was coming to #happy hour.

2) Who needs Google? search.twitter.com is where it’s at!

1) The thought of your life minus Twitterberry or Twitterfon just doesn’t seem right.

By the way, is it just me or is Facebook trying to look like Twitter all of a sudden?

 

-George

This is a perfect case of viral marketing meets social media marketing meets, well, probably a stupid decision.

George Murphy, Foster Web Marketing’s SEO and social media marketing manager, was interviewed last week in an article by the Baltimore Sun on the power of social media marketing.

The article also featured a young Baltimore native who was brave enough to get a Twitter whale tattooed on his body (which is making pretty big headlines). I wonder what his return on investment will be.

Some great quotes from the article:

“With Twitter and Facebook, the power of it is just amazing. I’m constantly blown away by this world,”…. “How quickly you can get people to respond, to react, to become aware of something. … It underscores how no business can ignore this.”

“Be personal, share personal stuff on there so that people can relate to you, and they’ll actually pay attention to what you’re saying,” he says. “Nobody pays attention to you if you’re self-promoting most of the time.”

“Why not? It doesn’t cost us anything.”

“And as unpredictable as Twitter is as a Web traffic generator, its route to the bank is even less direct. But based on what Malis has seen so far, he thinks tweets just might pack profit potential.”

Proving a return on investment when it comes to social media marketing is always an obstacle, but considering that the only investment that you’re making is the time that it takes to setup and manage a Twitter or Facebook profile (spend maybe an hour a day), I’d certainly say it’s worth it.

Here are a few tips to keep your blog active:
1.    Set aside a specific time dedicated to writing blog posts and stick to it. Decide if you want to blog everyday, twice a week or maybe just new posts on Wednesdays. Once you decide, stay consistent and live up to the expectations you set.
2.    Provide interesting content that visitors and subscribers will find to be valuable. Start a list of potential blog topics and add to it as you come across information online and/or questions that will be relevant to your visitors. Check out current events, popular blogs or news articles and add your perspective if you are stuck for an idea. If you keep a list, this will cut down your brainstorming time when you realize you need to post.
3.    Invite guest bloggers. If you are stuck for content or want to provide other points of view, ask an industry leader, friend or client to submit a topic for a blog post and feature their writing. This will add variety to your posts and peak interest.
4.    Be careful with self-promotion. Although your blog is a way to self-promote, visitors want more than just a business plug or a reiteration of something else on your site. It is acceptable to mention contact details in a post, but be aware of adding a pitch and call to action unless it flows and fits with the content.
5.   If you find that you want to feature a blog, but tried to maintain and hit a few roadblocks, you can always ask someone to help or hire someone to alleviate some of the responsibilities.

Blogging is a great way to provide information and open your platform to feedback so you should not pass on using the outlet because you need help, seek the answers and get writing.

Twitter is one of the most effective tools for instant information sharing with your “Twitter associates” (the term used as opposed to followers and coined with credit to @jimconolly) and the entire Twitterverse. It is a tool that, when used effectively, should be updated frequently and provides a sense of “there is someone behind that name,” which is appreciated and valued by those occupying the social space.

The Twitter trend is simple and logical, but can be confusing to the unknowing. The most common question I hear is, “How do I use Twitter for marketing and what is the importance?”

First, let’s tackle the question of using Twitter for marketing. Let’s assume you followed our previous steps and created an account and found some Twitter followers and are building your community. The next step is to be sure your Tweets are 140 characters of either informal and more personal information, or useful information…and an equal combination of both.

As mentioned in our Twitter Webcast, informal information and more personal tweets can be about anything from what you are doing right this minute to a funny joke or thought that your followers might find interesting or entertaining.

Useful information can be a breaking news story or an industry-related blog or site that adds value and credibility to your account and appeals to your followers. For instance, if you come across a blog about green building laws and want to share with others, use a tiny url (to reduce the number of characters) and add a descriptor such as “Oregon New Green Law Regulation: http://tinyurl.com/3rx8c7“ and post. The more information you offer, the more likely someone will retweet your post and you can gain exposure to new followers and expand your network. When a new person shows up in a Twitter feed, Twitter users often check out the unknown person’s Twitter site to read updates, check the amount of followers, click on the posted link, and will decide to follow or not follow. The exposure of your name and site and boost in credibility are your returns on a valuable post.

What is the importance? The very simple answer to this is building brand visibility and awareness through social networking and connecting with your target audience through a different and unique medium. Twitter allows for two-way communication with individuals and/or companies through micro messaging…something no other medium encourages. Because of its simplicity and ability to have a targeted “following”, it is something all companies can find benefit in using.

To optimize Twitter use, there are plenty of tools that can be found on the Internet. They include applications that put Twitter directly on your desktop, separate tweets by categories, feed your blog posts to your twitter account, and more…I will compile a comprehensive list of these tools and include in an upcoming blog post! Stay tuned!

Here is a three-part video on how to use Twitter as an attorney:

Twitter For Attorneys Part 1:

  

Twitter For Attorneys Part 2

 

Twitter for Attorneys Part 3: