“Words have meaning and names have power.” Anonymous
By custom and practice, law firms have
been named for the principals in the practice. Sometimes more names are
added as more partners are created, however, most stick to the original
name. Why? Simply because, over time, the firm name came to have
recognition and meaning; it stood for a special service.
In the past, the firm’s name was only
displayed locally, through business cards, stationery, billboards,
telephone book ads, and local papers. In today’s world of the Internet,
the selection of a name for your profile in a directory, website, blog,
twitter, and Facebook account is important.
You want a name that will last for all
the years of your practice and will help potential clients find you
after meeting you at a networking event. A memorable name makes it
easier for search engines such as Google to discover you and for
referral sources to recommend you when they meet someone looking for the
services you provide.
Over time, as your practice grows, your
firm name will mean more than a mere identification of you, it will
have an identity of its own reflecting your practice and reputation.
Your State Bar of Michigan Member Directory recognizes the importance of
your name and has added a new service to your profile selection.
It’s called a personalized vanity URL
(Uniform Resource Locator or Web address) that uses the lawyer’s name
rather than a string of numbers. There are several advantages to a
vanity URL.
- It enhances the lawyer’s professional branding within the directory
- Using your name creates better SEO (Search Engine Optimization) in searches
- The address can be printed on your business card
- You can place a link to your profile on your social media sites
Setting up your personalized vanity URL is easy. After logging in
to the Zeekbeek website, click on your name in the upper right-hand
corner. From the drop-down menu select “Edit profile.” Up will pop the
General Information box. Scroll down and look at the Vanity URL
section. You will see a string that looks like this:
www.zeekbeek.com/u/ your name. This is the system’s suggestion for your
profile page. You may accept this suggestion or change it by deleting
the suggestion and adding the name you want. Select the orange update
button to save the selection. Your SBM profile directory page name is
now changed.
Two caveats to remember:
Caveat I: The URL can only be changed one time, so select wisely.
Caveat II: Zeekbeek
plans to build a vanity URL for a future law firm package, so if you use
your law firm name as your personal vanity URL and later purchase the
law firm package, you cannot use the same URL twice.
Roberta Gubbins has served as the editor of the Ingham County Legal News.
Since leaving the paper, she provides services as a ghostwriter editing
articles, blogs, and e-blasts for lawyers and law firms. She is the
editor of Briefs, the Ingham County Bar Association e-newsletter, and The Mentor, SBM Master Lawyers Section newsletter.
Expanded Profile Resources
How to Edit Your Profile
Import LinkedIn Data into Profile
Summary of ZeekBeek Review Policy
What if I Receive a Negative Review?
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