Google Algorithm Change 2014 Year in Review

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Jesse Wojdylo

2014 by pixabay user bykst, licensed by Creative Commons

Year in Review

With 2014 coming to a close it is safe to say it was a wild and crazy ride for many legal websites. The year started slow but late May introduced us to Panda 4.0 which continued to push website owners to produce quality content. Any type of thin content that has been repeated across multiple domains and networks was neutralized and sometimes penalized. Creating quality content that is 100% original is imperative for any law firm looking to rank near the top of Google search; especially with each subsequent Panda update. Read more

Transforming Your Website Visitors into New Clients

Posted on July 20, 2014 by Larry Bodine

This article is based on my presentation at the PILMMA Summit in Chicago in July. You can get a copy of the slides I presented at the bottom of this article.

Let me share what I’ve learned since I started blogging 10 years ago. Using the tactics I am about to describe, my blog at Larrybodine.com has gotten 1.2 million visits. When I was editor in chief of Lawyers.com we built the traffic up to 4 million visits and 7 million page views per year.

It’s true that the more you blog, the more clients you will get. A law firm website should be updated 2-3 times per week with articles running 300-400 words long.

We all know that the #1 way that consumers search for a lawyer is on the Internet, and a Hinge survey proved that this was true. However lawyers focus at the wrong part of the sales process — trying to increase the number of leads and visitors they get with PPC and SEO techniques. Instead you would be smarter to pay attention to the prospects and visitors who already come to the site, and turn them into clients.

For starters, law firms must have five visitor conversion basics in place:

• A chat feature to talk to clients live.

• An online form to contact the form.

• A toll free number displayed at the top of the page.

• Videos about settlements and verdicts.

• Lawyer bios that discuss client service, that is, how well you explain legal options to clients. Read more

Google My Business: What It Means For Your Law Firm

Posted on July 1, 2014 by Kevin Maher

Have you Googled your Business recently?

One of the most exciting things about Google is they are always changing and evolving. This goes beyond the infamous updates to their search algorithm, and enters the realm of other offerings, including Google+, Google Local, and Google Maps. These constant “techie” announcements are enough to make your head spin. Staying at the forefront of these new products will often give you a distinct advantage when managing your law firm’s online presence, but there are only so many hours in the day. However, help is on the way! Google’s newest launch will solve a lot of problems and streamline the management process. Managing your online presence will be easier to fit in your busy schedule. It’s called Google My Business, and it’s essentially a brand new hub for you to access all of your firm’s Google applications. Read more

What Google Hummingbird Means for Your Legal Marketing

Posted on November 7, 2013 by admin

Google likes to keep their mechanics under wraps, but new information about their latest update has come to light. Google recently upgraded its search algorithm in order to provide higher quality search results to its end users. Rather than traditionally targeting keywords in searches, the new algorithm focuses on answering the searcher’s questions and better determining the intent behind their search. A focus on “conversational search” is what drove the recent major upgrade. However, it is up to the lawyer or law firm to create fresh website content that will tell Google to bring searchers to that specific page. Read more