, I was talking with an attorney recently who wanted to get her blog found by more potential clients in the area where she has her practice. She had the basic static pages of her site created – Home, About, Services and Contact. So she asked me if I had any tips on what else to publish for a more local influence.

I gave her the same advice that I offer everyone who asks me about this, but of course I tailored the specifics to her industry, which was law. I told her that the BEST and QUICKEST way to be found was to write a list of questions that searchers would have, then answer them. In her case, she handled Will and Testament details in Connecticut. So a sample of things people might want to know more about would be:

• Power of attorney
• Living Will vs Power of Attorney
• Estate Planning
• When to start planning your will
• Do I need an attorney to write my will?
• What are the major types of wills?
• How to make your will valid?
• Why get an attorney to draw up a will?
• Problems that can occur if you write your own will

In order to do this, one would sit down with these questions and answer them in a short but somewhat detailed article that addresses specific laws for the particular state (in this case, CT), where the lawyer was based.

They would then take EACH question, and type that into the TITLE of a new blog post. It’s also a good idea to add a specific region right into the title.

So if the article discussed estate planning in Connecticut, then that local keyword would be included in the title as well, and mentioned throughout the article text. After all, it would be fairly useless if an attorney in CT had done all of that hard work coming up with answers to pre-qualify her clients, but the clients were outside of her target regional area.

Another GREAT tip (which the attorney whom I was speaking with had already done) is to include the state or region right in the domain name. So if the lawyer handles Will and Testaments in California, then the domain could actually include those words.

Even if you’ve already purchased a domain name and begun to brand your website using these words, it’s never too late to change directions with your web publishing strategy. Domain names are extremely affordable, and you can contact your existing web host for assistance with changing the domain name of a website that you have already published which is live on the web.

Some people conduct business strictly online, rather than working for a local business that caters to regional clients. For example, maybe you sell wellness products such as essential oils that are shipped across country. In that case, you might opt to target long-tail key phrases that the searcher would be typing in, rather than targeting the area where you live. One such phrase could be "Essential Oils for Cold and Flu." In fact, you may actually be limiting yourself if you emphasize a local region in the domain name and keywords of your blog. Why? Because this might not be a topic of interest to the demographic hailing from that region. It might mean that potential customers from a nationwide or global search may never see your website.

A third goal to get more people to become your customer: offer an opt-in GIFT that answers their questions. This does NOT have to be a different set of tips than the one you just wrote. So if you’re the attorney, you might tell your clients, “Download your information packet for free now” – will arrive via email. Or if you’re the essential oils rep, you might offer them a free report on how essential oils can help them ward of cold and flu germs this winter so their family stays healthy. 

For people who are web searching on the go, an information download is definitely an appealing option. The very same articles you published one at a time as blog posts can be repurposed as a Word file that you add some images and branding, finesse the fonts a bit, add a Table of Contents, then make into a PDF. 

Upload the PDF to your server so that when new people find you on the web, they can simply sign up for your list and receive the document as an email download. You can do this using a list manager such as Aweber.com. It’s a really great way to start collecting new signups so you can begin to send helpful tips that may result in new clients and new referrals for you.

These are just a few tips for getting your website found the old fashioned way – by publishing lots of relevant content without resorting to paid advertising.

Is your website being seen by the right people, the ones who already want what you have? If you know your traffic could use a boost and you could stand to get more subscribers ,then do exactly what this attorney plans to with her website. Make a list of common questions or problems that your target readers would have – then answer and publish them!

Thanks for reading, I hope your weekend is extra nice!

Dina at Wordfeeder PLR