WebsLaw

Have you ever thought about how SEO came to life? I mean, literally, how all of this began? In 1997, the domain, Google.com was registered and September 4, 1998, Google was incorporated. Initially, the search engine was used and serviced on Stanford’s website, google.standford.edu. As of now, Google is between the ages of 10 and 11 but with the controversy on the exact age of Google’s search engine, it is difficult to determine.

Interesting fact:

The owners of Google never thought that they would have human technical users, now known as SEO individuals, tampering with their algorithms.

How many of you remember websites with EVERY single city keyword on the bottom of each website? Do you remember how well they did? This was the start of the SEO industry. In fact, the first Google algorithm was named “PR” or Page Rank. Well, PageRank it was. Human users (SEO) took notice of the new and innovative platform and took full advantage of the public benefits available to them. Speaking of, “Page Rank” was named after one of Google’s founders, Larry Page.

In 2000, Google realized that they have created an industry within an industry and the world of SEO was officially defined as a war against the industry. It’s what we like to call, the start of the “Google Dance”. As SEO individuals found more and more ways to tamper with search engine results, Google would release hidden and last minute algorithm updates.

Now, there is year after year named updates Google created. No different than naming hurricanes but the list is extensive and we can focus on that in a different post.

Fast forward to the present:

As the years went by, the algorithms became more complex for technical human users to keep up. SEO companies nationwide shut their doors due to lack of performance. Don’t get me wrong, the owners did make a pretty penny during the boom of SEO but the law firm clients they serviced were the onesto produce the pretty penny.

Keeping up with the SEO industry is not something everyone can do. It takes creative thought, logic and a keen notion of detail. Most of all, it requires the understanding of ethics, guidelines, and protocol. Slapping a page of undefined, irrelevant and stuffed content definitely has its consequences these days. Connecting that page to other irrelevant sources raises even more red flags.

How does a law firm hurt from irrelevant SEO?

• First and foremost, the BAR is monitoring your marketing actions. Losing your license over a cheap go-to guy is not the approach you want to take.
• If you’ve been in the legal industry for at least a decade and you own a domain that is branded around your firm, you don’t want Google flagging that domain over bad SEO practices.
• You’ve built a brand and your associates constantly monitor your online presence. The last thing you want is for another law firm to point out mistakes you’ve made with your marketing.
• If you notice that someone is more active in the search engines then your own firm is, it does not mean they are following proper ethics. Don’t fall into the same trap. You might not see them for long.

The SEO industry is a rough business. Make sure to speak to the right people. Working with companies like WebsLaw that have experience and tangible results is a much more logical solution.

Why is SEO expensive?

Going back to the algorithms Google created shows an order of search engine organization. There are areas that Google encourages and other areas they cannot stand because it interferes with the process of their platform.

If you’ve had a John Doe come in and promise the world all on his own, end the meeting as quickly as possible or send a text message to your assistant prompting the end of the meeting.

Why? No-one can do it alone, especially when it comes to law firm marketing. Whereas links were once available for sale for the performance of a website, today they must be earned. Earning links requires a tremendous amount of work and a tremendous amount of work, requires that you have a sufficient team working on those details.

Ever heard of the term, ‘Content Spinning”? This was a big practice used in the law firm marketing industry for SEO individuals in the past. Today, this almost instantly flags your website as a source of spam, disables your website domain and drops any search engine rankings you’ve worked so hard for. Each page and area of content must be unique, relevant and MUST make sense to the search engines. With Google’s artificial intelligence bots, they understand the difference. Meaning, they can tell what works for users searching for keywords like ‘Personal Injury Attorney” and what does not. Their job is to provide traffic users with the most relevant results. Is your content the most relevant?

Templates, templates, templates! Can’t stand them! Branding a law firm requires a unique design. Not a design that everyone else has but a design unique to the law firm. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen website designs almost 80% identical to the design next to it. You see this mostly with larger SEO companies that only focus on quantity and not quality. Design is extremely important these days. Did you know that Googles bots can analyze the size of an image? Every box and shape is indexed and read by Google so why would you have the same shape and size box as your next door law firm? Great, unique and innovative design separates you from the competition and gives you a plus with the search engines. Now, not everyone can put together the right design. We’re designing for law firms, not for nightclubs. Thought and strategy must be placed into every design. A law firm design must still be professional and the prestige must be visible.

SEO is expensive for law firms because it requires an extensive amount of work. It requires a team of educated, knowledgeable and experienced leaders. It requires content that is based on law changing details state by state. A special amount of attention is required when marketing for law firms. Accidents and mistakes are something you cannot afford when a company is working on your SEO and marketing concept. Content writers with journalism, bachelors and masters degrees should be working on your concept and not outsourced to random writers either in the state or out of the country unless those writers just happen to work remotely.

Lastly, SEO is a luxury only for those that do not have patience. WebsLaw is constantly in the mix of demographic research, user interaction, and engagement. As your potential audience adjusts, we adjust to that audience. WebsLaw is the luxury engine that pushes your law firm to endless opportunities. If you’re looking for the right amount of traffic, the right amount of traffic conversion, potential client conversions and finally a potential client that turns to your services, you need patience. Quality of a lead comes from patience and proper care to your law firm marketing concept. Time provides you with the opportunity to pick and choose the clients you want to help and service.

Once we understand the goals and vision of the law firm, we can provide a strategic time frame on what your law firm should expect.