Google Algorithm Change 2014 Year in Review

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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

Penguin vs. Panda Explained: What Lawyers Need to Know

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.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

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

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.

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