When I use the terms “Panda” and “Penguin,” try to block out all of
the cute and cuddly images that come to mind. We aren’t talkin’ the
adorable, cutesy kind here. We’re talkin’ the Google kind. The tough
kind. Although, I suppose you could say that both kinds can be a little
fuzzy. Let me break it down: “Panda” and “Penguin” are recent algorithm
updates created by Google to target websites that may be over doing it
on their SEO.
This is bad news for attorney SEO, right? Not quite.
In the past, attorneys’ websites have benefitted from paid links,
multiple anchor texts (linking to your site excessively and without
cause) and poor quality content. Before these updates, the websites that
“over-optimized” in those ways would be more likely to come up first
via an organic search. I know what you’re thinking: But I thought SEO
was a good thing? It is—it’s just not as “black and white” as you might
have thought (see what I did there?). This could very well be good news
for some. See, Google is not the bad guy here—they are simply trying to
eliminate those websites with content that viewers have no use for and
give their top ranking spots to those deserving and trustworthy websites
that are useful and pertinent to those who are searching for them.
Still, you may have to throw your old attorney SEO strategy out the
window. “Bear” with me as I take you through these simple strategies:
Focus on quality over quantity.
It is not at all realistic to tell people not to optimize, as it is
not yet clear the exact implications of those wild algorithms. Just make
sure that you aren’t optimizing merely for the sake of optimizing— make
your content count by making it both valuable and relevant. If you
provide links, make sure they will be useful to the reader. Make sure
that there is a variety of content. These updates are constantly working
to weed out those boring, repetitive sites that continually scored
those high rankings in the past (tricky, right?
Visitor interactions are crucial.
Google can now rank your site according to how valuable the content
is to its users. If your content and other on-site elements grab your
viewers’ interest, they will be more inclined to stick around for a
while and click on a couple of those CTA’s. Of course, using analytics
will certainly help you out when differentiating between which parts of
your site are grabbing viewers' attention and which parts they may be
glossing over.
Identify!
Make sure that your business information is the same everywhere on
the web. Don’t have more than one website and, even if you don’t plan on
using them (although you most definitely should), go ahead and claim
your name on those Twitter and Facebook profiles. Having incorrect
information on multiple websites could make it difficult for searches to
distinguish your business from, say, one with a similar name in Last
Chance, Idaho. Not helpful, for one, and two, it creates mistrust (and
yes, Last Chance is a real place). Listing the exact same information on
every page out there helps make your business easier to find in organic
searches.
Still worried about your attorney SEO?
Does your website already consist of high-quality content that
involves and engages your visitors? How about superior and applicable
links? Is your information up to date? Is your social presence
established? If so, you should be fine. Still worried? Don't be! Partner
with an
inbound marketing agency
to help you implement these new changes and make your website the best
it can be. Visitors will be flocking in soon enough. That said, I hope
my puns didn’t ruffle any feathers, I'm sure they were just unbearable!
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