Today we’d like to introduce you to Doug Bradley.
Hi Doug, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Just out of college, I started my advertising career selling phone book ads for Verizon. I didn’t grow up with a lot of money, so seeing businesses spend thousands of dollars a month for an advertisement really grabbed my attention and I was hooked. Right as I was getting really good at this role, the great recession hit and business advertising dollars started shrinking drastically. During this time I was recruited to a large legal advertising firm that sold online ads, as well as website design and SEO services. While it was a great experience, the company rarely fulfilled on the SEO deliverables they had the reps selling. The relationships with law firms I was making were in danger because the company wouldn’t perform and sales I had made were being charged back. Eventually, for self preservation, I started to learn everything I could about SEO for law firms. I started implementing the tactics I was learning into my clients’ websites and their success really started to take off. While I was working there I also created a local website of my own and started testing SEO tactics that helped me to learn what worked well and what failed. This turned out to be one of the most important decisions I made during this time because I gained hands on tactical skills that I our agency still uses today. I thought I would be working at that agency for a long time, but only a few years into the role the company was sold and myself and about 200 other sales reps were laid off. That moment skewed my memory and I promised myself that I would never keep all my financial eggs in the corporate basket. This event was the springboard that helped me to eventually launch Everest Legal Marketing. Today we work exclusively with law firms throughout the country for website design, content, SEO and AI optimization services.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
One of the biggest hurdles I continue to struggle with is practitioner vs owner responsibilities. I know that one of the biggest values to our business is that clients get direct, line-of-sight access to me, my guidance and recommendations. I personally work on all of our client campaigns and there is rarely a meeting that I am not personally involved in. This has helped our business and client relationships in many ways, but from a scaling perspective it remains difficult to manage this level of involvement while continuing to grow.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Everest Legal Marketing?
Everest Legal Marketing is a David vs Goliath law firm SEO agency. I say that because we’re small and nimble, and our capabilities against competing firms 10X our size is highly effective. We only work with law firms so we really understand the industry, and most of our clients are 1-10 attorney firms. As our firm has grown, we have listened intensely to what our clients want and continually try to perfect that in real time: Quick to respond, quick to fix easy stuff, offer value first / sell second, good ROI, don’t lock clients in to long term commitments.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
From a personal perspective the trust we have with our clients is paramount. They have to trust that we’re doing the right things for their firm and not participating in strategies that may backfire. Many lawyers don’t fully understand SEO, website content or AI visibility… they’re busy doing lawyer things. They have to put their trust in our team and it has to show up on the P&L.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.everestlegalmarketing.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everestlegalmarketing/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/everest-legal-marketing/
- Twitter: https://x.com/EverestLawMktg
