In the old days firms sent out a press release to the local or national newspapers with announcements such as new additions to the firm, cases won and other statements the press might pick up and give some favorable mention in their publications. They would also to PR damage control and announce press conferences. What they wanted the most was exposure.

That was then. This is now. These days press releases are more and more used simply to gain links to the website.

Most potential law clients will use the web to find an appropriate lawyer in their area. One that they could be reasonable confident in. After all, seeking a lawyer means you have some sort of legal issue.

Lawyer websites are very competitive. The stakes are high. One client can mean tens of thousands dollars in fees. That's one reason using Google's AdWords to advertise is very expensive for lawyers. They pay and where from 4-40 dollars per click.

What any web marketer knows it is the natural searches that counts. If you search for a lawyer in Chicago you will get millions of results. 90% or more clicks will come from the top 10 firms. Unless you are on the first page in Google - your web site is just there gathering cyberdust.

So how does one get on the first page? It is not easy. There are several factors such ad keywords in the domain name, a clean and effective website and good content. In order to get great rankings in search engines - aside from the above - there is only one method that has stood the test of time:

One way - properly formatted links from related websites or content pages. There are several methods to get these links, you can ask your competitors, (good luck) you can buy them at prices ranging from $5-50/month or you can write articles and submit them to article directories. This is one of the best ways.

However, press releases is an underused method amongst attorney firms. There are some steps to the process:

1. Write the release. In a language that is geared towards editors looking for "news" or a new angle to an old subject.

2. Submit it to free and paid press release services such as prweb. The release will not only be posted on their website, but also syndicated to other sites via RSS. So your link will, over time give a high rank of importance to your site. Especially since most sites will be focused on law issues.

The purpose now is not really to have press or others read the release and write about your firm - and when they do it's a bonus. The purpose has become much more simple: Get Links.

I have done this on several occasions, and links to my sites do increase over time. It is not a quick fix to get links and rankings, but it sure helps. I would suggest aiming for at least one release a month, maybe more. And have a strategy in place to distribute.

Couple that with some genuine article writing and submission - your site will grow in rankings - and I have seen an accelerated growth in rankings as ling as the pressrelease/article feeds are maintained.

Bottom line: Do anything for inbound links.