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

Evolution of Online Search

Posted on November 4, 2014 by Kevin Maher

Garnisonen i Sør-Varanger binoculars by Wikipedia user Soldatnytt, licensed by Creative Commons.

What once was lost now is found

With the popularity of the Internet, more and more consumers are searching online for products, businesses, and lawyers. As such, a key skill in legal marketing success is understanding how to find new clients on the web. Today, search engines (such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo) dominate online marketing.

Let’s take a look at 4 main elements that have shaped the evolution of online search: Types of keywords, the paid search marketplace, location-based results, and new conversational search. 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

Google AdWords 101 by Lawyer.com

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Kevin Maher

shopping Cart Dollar Sign by Flickr user One Way Stock, licensed by Creative Commons

Shop for New Clients!

Lawyer.com is committed to help our clients enhance their overall online presence. A great way to extend your reach is by using Google AdWords, which is the only way to guarantee being listed on the first page of search results (depending on your budget!). AdWords is often referred to as “leads on demand”. When starting this type of search engine marketing, you want to make sure you are directing the person who clicks your ad to a sensible location; a good idea would be right to an optimized website. Here’s a rundown of how AdWords works and how you can get started right away! Read more

Penguin vs. Panda Explained: What Lawyers Need to Know

Posted on April 22, 2013 by admin

One thing is clear, potential clients are using Google to search for lawyers. Maintaining a strong online presence that follows Google’s best practices is the only agreed upon way to at least have a chance at ranking organically in the search engine results page, or SERP.

How well someone’s website shows up in Google depends on how well they follow Google’s search algorithm. This algorithm is always changing. Google has consistently unveiled updates every couple months. Two extremely important updates that all lawyers should be familiar with are the Panda and Penguin updates.

What Is Panda?

The Panda update, first released in 2011, deals with the content on one’s website. Any duplicate or thin content is penalized. Google recognized that sites lacking rich, original content are ‘low-quality’ and do not deserve high organic rankings.

What is Penguin?

The Penguin update deals with another set of issues; links. A website may be penalized if they have a backlink profile with numerous links from low-quality sights. Google sees that as an example a of black-hat SEO and may issue a penalty.

Penguin also deals with keywords. Incorporating targeted keywords into one’s online content is perfectly acceptable. However, it must be natural. For example, if you include Basking Ridge Divorce Lawyer every time you write ‘lawyer’, Google may penalize your practice’s website.

Google constantly makes changes to its search algorithm. There are minor updates every few months. In order to combat this new reality, there is one maxim to live by; only publish thought provoking, original content. These are the signs of high-quality sites, according to Google.

Producing original content can take time and effort. Writing a blog and then posting it all over the web can sometimes hurt your law practice’s website. When publishing your content, it’s important to broadcast it across channels that can provide you with additional reach. At blog.lawyer.com, we provide our Lawyers with the opportunity to become contributors. These blogs are distributed across our social media channels and include valuable outbound links.

If you are interested on blogging or learning more about Google’s algorithm updates, feel free to contact Lawyer.com at support@corp.lawyer.com

Google+ To Include “Serving Customers In” on Local Listings

Posted on March 20, 2013 by admin

Google is the #1 search engine with 67% of all searches. Over the years, updates to Google’s search algorithm have placed a priority on local results. This gives local businesses, including law practices, an expedited way to appear in the top search results organically.