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SEO: Now What Does Google Want?!
The document discusses the importance of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for small law firms, emphasizing the need for quality content and effective web design to improve Google rankings. It outlines key strategies such as keyword research, social media engagement, and proper backlinking techniques to enhance online visibility and attract potential clients. Additionally, it provides practical resources and tools for managing SEO efforts and highlights the importance of ongoing content updates and ethical considerations in marketing practices.
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SEO: Now What Does Google Want?!
- 1. SEO Today: NowWhat Does Google Want?!
- 2. About MyCase Built asa complete platform, MyCase offers features that seamlessly cover all the daily functions that a modern, small law firm requires in one place at an affordable price. MyCase Web-BasedLegalPracticeManagementSoftware Just$39/monthperattorney $29/monthperparalegalorstaff
- 3. About MyCase •Modern andprofessional design built for your firm •Social media and blog integration •Complete integration with MyCase practice management software MyCase Websites
- 4. About Our Presenter •Attorney, Educator and Online Marketing Consultant • www.jlellis.net • Jennifer works at Lowenthal & Abrams • www.lowenthalabrams.com • In January 2014, she published the book “Word Press in One Hour for Lawyers” • Perfect 10 on Avvo JenniferEllis
- 5. Today’s Webinar • Whatis SEO? • Google/Search Engines –Main Focus • Social Media • Advertising • Hiring an SEO Firm?
- 6. Poll: Do YouSEO? 1. Yes 2. No 3. Kind of 4. What’s SEO?
- 7. What is SEO? SearchEngineOptimization Howeasily can people find you on the web? Google ranking is crucial • Where do you show up for key phrases? Provide many ways for people to find you • Go where your potential clients are oFacebook oLinkedIn oOther sites Ads • Google • Facebook • Relevant sites
- 8. How Has SEOChanged? Used to be Easy • Poorly written content • Keyword stuffing • Repeated use of the same keywords in the content • Poor quality links, easily obtained • Unrelated directories • Links from poor quality blogs and other sites • Frequently purchased (violated Google’s terms of service)
- 9. How Has SEOChanged Googlechangeditsalgorithm • Wants high quality, relevant results • Penalizes bad links • Punishes sites that engaged in black hat techniques • Penalizes keyword stuffing Nothingismoreimportantthanqualitycontentwithrelevantphrases Termsyoumighthear • Penguin - Links • Panda - Content • Hummingbird – Phrases instead of simple keywords (Content)
- 10. A Word aboutWeb Design WelldesignedforGoogle • Proper coding • Proper organization • Submit sitemap(s) in Webmaster tools • Easytoread • Easytonavigate • Searchablebyusers • Fastloading • Mobilefriendly • Usecall(s)toaction • Havecontactform/chatbox • RecommendWordPressforeasyupdatingandSEO
- 11. Why Google Matters •11.944billionsearchespermonth • 1.17billion uniqueuserspermonth • 67.5%oftheUSsearchmarket • April,2014DigitalMarketingRamblings • http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/by-the- numbers-a-gigantic-list-of-google-stats-and- facts/#.U4ScwCggF40 Year Annual Searches Daily Searches 2013 2,161,530,000,000 5,922,000,000 2012 1,873,910,000,000 5,134,000,000 2011 1,722,071,000,000 4,717,000,000 2010 1,324,670,000,000 3,627,000,000 2009 953,700,000,000 2,610,000,000 2008 637,200,000,000 1,745,000,000 2007 438,000,000,000 60,000,000 • January, 2014 Statistic Brain • http://www.statisticbrain.com/google-searches/
- 12. Where Do YouRank? How high up do you show for relevant phrases on • Google • Yelp • Bing Term you might hear • SERP (search engine results page)
- 13. Results Will Vary Rankwill be different depending on physical location • Search in San Diego, will receive one set of results • Search in San Francisco, will receive a different set of results Rank willbe different based on how the person searches • Order of words • Local search (use of city name) • Use of quotation marks
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- 16. Identifying Key Words/Phrases Think– How will people find you • What phrases do people use • Research what people are searching • Free tool in Google AdWords • http://ads.google.com
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- 20. Where to Lookfor Help From Google Google’s Suggestions • http://static.googleusercontent.com/media/www.google.com/en/u s/webmasters/docs/search-engine-optimization-starter-guide.pdf • https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/35769#1 Matt Cutts • In charge of web spam at Google • Frequently releases videos/blog posts • http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/
- 21. Back Links Links fromother websites to your site • Quality more important than quantity • Challenging to obtain good links • Google shut the door on many old techniques oTrading links oGuest posts (starting to be an issue) oArticles » Ezine » Patch (AOL)
- 22. Getting Back Links •Highquality,uniquecontent • Sharingcontentthroughoutthewebtogetattention • Interestinginfographics • Lookwherehighrankingsitesareobtaininglinks • Writingfornewspapers • Usingrelevanthighqualitydirectories • Askpeopleforlinks • Harder now since trading links can be a problem
- 23. Tools for CheckingLinks Ahrefs • https://ahrefs.com/ Moz • www.Moz.com Link Detox • http://www.linkdetox.com/plans-pricing/
- 24. Follow v. NoFollow • Follow links are links that impact your rank with Google • No Follow links do not impact your rank • However, no follow links can impact your traffic oDon’t dismiss them out of hand
- 25. Dealing with BadLinks • Ask sites to remove bad links • Disavow with Google Instructions - http://www.jlellis.net/blog/disvow-links-seo/
- 26. Poll: Where doyou get Ideas for Content? • Clients • Reading • Day-to-day life • What content?
- 27. Nothing is MoreImportant than Well Written Content What is Well Written? • On point • Appropriate use of key words/phrases • 300-600 words • 1-3 external links • Appropriate internal links • Proper grammar and spelling • Engaging Terms • Short tail – Philadelphia Divorce Lawyer • Long tail – How do I find a good Philadelphia divorce lawyer
- 28. Writing Tips • Writeclearly and simply • Proofread • Edit • Use pictures • Identify your target market • Normally 8th grade level • Mix up phrases • Divorce lawyer in Philadelphia • Philadelphia divorce lawyer • Keep each page/post to one concept
- 29. Writing Tips Use keyword/phrase in • Title • Link • Meta description • H1 (First line, large size) • First paragraph
- 30. Writing Tips Use properdesign and HTML • H2 &H/3headingsbreakupcontent • Lists with numbers or bullet points • Alt tags for pictures •Use key word/phrase Alt Tag
- 31. Writing Tips Do Not •Write like a lawyer • Write a legal brief • Get lost in the details • Be too complex • Provide too many cites • Repeat key word/phrase too many times • Balance the number against the length of the content
- 32. Judging Content Useful tools •Plugins for WordPress • Yoast • Scribe (keyword analysis) • External sites • Moz oProvides on page grade and recommendations
- 37. Poll: How oftendo you Write Content? • Once a day • Once a week • Once a month • Once in a blue moon
- 38. Google Values FreshContent • The more you write content, the better your site will do • Try to write at least several times per week • At a minimum, write at least once a week • Update your old content • Research how various key words/phrases are performing • Adjust accordingly • Don’t be afraid to test
- 39. Researching Success Google WebmasterTools http://webmaster.google.com GoogleAnalytics http://analytics.google.com Free tools you must “claim” to work with your site
- 40. Webmaster Tools • Providesdetails about • Crawl errors • Warnings/notices from Google • Manual penalties • Provides ability toadd sitemap • Instructs Google how to crawl your site
- 41. Analytics Detailedinformationabouthowyoursiteisperforming • Bounce rate oHowlong people stay on your site oHow many pages people read on your site • Sources of traffic oOrganic search oSocial media oPaid results oDirect links Resultsfromspecificsearches Note Google is hiding a lot of searches due to “privacy” concerns
- 42. LearnAnalytics Google training • http://www.google.com/analytics/learn/index.html?gclid=CL P91LW-zL4CFSJqOgodBSIAiA AdvancedWeb Metrics with GoogleAnalytics • Brian Clifton WebAnalytics –An Hour a Day • Avinash Kaushik Make sure resource is up-to-date • Google has made many changes recently
- 43. Poll: Do YouUse Social Media? • Yes, and I engage with both clients and family • Yes, but only with close friends and family • No, but I’d like to. • No, it’s a waste of time. I don’t care what you ate for lunch
- 44. 1.23 billion 1 billion 4 billion Viewsper day 300 million 150 million 16 billion photos 70 million243 million 152 million 277 million 45 million 1.3 million businesses
- 45. People Use SocialMedia Use Social Media to • Expand the reach of your content • Network with potential referral sources • Educate clients • Thinkofsocialmediaasifitisacupofcoffeewithapotentialclient • Don’tthinkofitasmarketinginthetraditionalsense • Sharewhatevermakesyoufeelcomfortable • Donottrytohaveaseparatesocialmediapresenceforprivateand public
- 46. Blogs Blog • Articles • Updateson the law • Interesting information • Encourage comments Betimely • Example, same sex marriage in Pennsylvania • Wait a few days? No one will care. • Write within a day or two. A lot of traffic. Rememberacalltoaction • Call us • Write us • Use contact form • Etc.
- 47. Facebook • Share blogposts • Talkaboutyourlife(whateveriscomfortable) • I talk about my dog • People respond
- 48. Set up aFacebook Page • Accountsareforindividuals • Pagesareforfirms • Usethecorrectone • Makeyourpagedetailedwithalotofinformation
- 49. Twitter • Share blogand website content • Retweet other people’s content • When you share for other people, they share for you • Talk about whatever makes you comfortable • Only 140 characters
- 50. LinkedIn • 100% ofFortune 500 Companies Represented • Excellent place to seek referrals • High end clients • Business clients • Set up a business page as well as a personal account
- 51. Google+ • Notparticularlysuccessfulforsocialmedia • Googleintegratesthesearchresults •GooglePagesarecrucialforlocalsearch • Local search is crucial for being found • CompleteaGoogle+Pageforeachlocation • Seekreviewsfromclients
- 52. Pinterest • 80% female •Harder to use picture sites • Can link blog posts with pictures toPinterest • Share activities by firm • Charity work • Pictures in court house • Share personal interests are comfortable and appropriate • Recipes • Garden • Follow others and share posts
- 53. YouTube • Videosareanexcellentwaytoattractattention • Allowspotentialclientstogettoknowyouinamorepersonalway •Provide • Bios • Short pieces about the law • Embed • Website/blog posts • Facebook • Other social media sites
- 54. Share Content Everywhere •Use the language of the site • Get to know Twitter’s unique language • @jle_jd • #SEO • RT • Use tools such as HootSuite to make life easier • Share content in many places at once • Remember to engage • Adjust content for medium
- 55. Reviews • Peoplejudgelawyers(andallbusinesses)basedonreviews • Askyourclientstowritereviewsforyou •Becertainyoudonotofferanythinginexchange • Some review technology providers will tell you this is ok » It is not • Google+ • Avvo • Yelp • Facebook
- 56. Ads Pay per click Google Facebook Yahoo! Othersites Banners Numerous options
- 57. GoogleAdWords Payperclick Basedonkeywords FollowGoogle’sbestpractices http://www.searchenginepeople.com/blog/adwords-best-practices-2014.html Usekeywordresearchtoidentifybestoptions Properlywrittenandtargetedadsarecheaper • Match keywordswith landing page Adjustadsfrequently • Success goes down as time passes Testdifferentads • Lawyer • Attorney • Advocate
- 58. Facebook Pay per click •Demographics • Age • Gender • Interest Sponsored posts • Demographics • Choose a specific post • Identify how much to spend • How long to run the ad • Where it goes
- 59. Behavioral Marketing Followspeoplearoundthewebbasedonwhattheysearched • Detailsstored in cookies SearchedforSEOonGoogle • Facebook shows ads for SEO Remarketing • People see ads for your site over and over
- 60. Hiring an SEO •ManySEOindividualsandcompanies • Watchforpromises • “We can get you to page one” • Watchforkeywords • Are they really useful? • Do a cost/benefit analysis oDifficulty of keyword oChance of success
- 61. Hiring an SEO •Exactly what will the firm do for you? • How much will it cost • Many companies charge between $1,000 and $5,000 per month • Difficulty of the market impacts charge • Amount of work impacts charge • How long do they think it will take • Are they focused only on traffic? • What about actual leads? • What about actual clients? • Ask for references • Research the company online • Review the contract closely
- 62. Ask to SeeContent • Watch for bad spelling/grammar • Keyword stuffing • Automated content • Ask who writes the content • Ask about ethics knowledge • Check links
- 63. Watch for BlackHat • Purchasing links • Link farms • Pages that exist just for linking to or from • Requiring a link from you to SEO’s website • Violating Google’s terms of service • Harming your competitors with bad links
- 64. A Note aboutEthics Don’tforgetabouttheethicalrules • Rules vary from state-to-state • Check your own jurisdiction(s) • Include disclaimers where you can • Be careful not to provide legal advice • Be careful about unauthorized practice of law in other jurisdictions • Watch language • Specialist • Expert • Numerousethicsopinionsinvolvingsocialmediaandtheweb • Still developing • Rules off line apply on line • See 7.x and 8.x
- 65. Contact Us JenniferEllis,JD Lowenthal&Abrams,PC www.lowenthalabrams.com www.jlellis.net 717-256-1638 MyCase.com MyCase.com/blog support@mycase.com (800) 571-8062 30-DayFREE Trial MyCase Web-BasedLegal PracticeManagementSoftware Get 10% Off Your First 6 Months With MyCase Using Promo Code: SEO14
Editor's Notes
- #45 http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/resource-how-many-people-use-the-top-social-media/