You’ve probably seen it yourself: lawyers have doubled down on posting content related to COVID-19. Here’s how to stand out in a marketplace that’s been flooded by the same type of content: by writing directly to a very small audience.
Writing to reach the largest possible audience will only further saturate the landscape. However, writing to a very small audience creates a channel for your unique thought leadership to be heard by those who seek exactly what you have...
Read More
Most people know that false information runs free on the internet. However, revelations about the sheer volume of misinformation, and the cultural influence of fake news specifically, have shocked and outraged many in the months since the U.S. presidential election in November.
What distinguishes fake news from the plethora of speculation and conspiracy theory discussions online is that it sells itself as professional journalism. Fake news tries to make itself look real, as do fake ad hosting sites, when...
Read More
Google is rolling out a new mobile-first index over the coming months. The official announcement came at the beginning of November on Google's Webmaster Central Blog, although industry insiders have been speculating about the change for over a year. Google says that it is testing the mobile-first index, with the goal of switching to an index that uses the mobile version of a page’s content to serve all results. The process is still in an experimental phase,...
Read More
Marketing is a constantly changing practice. What may work one year or even one month may not work the next. What may help one law firm may harm another. For firms of any size, finding the right marketing mix, one that contributes to growth while consuming a manageable number of resources, is an ongoing balancing act.
All industries face marketing challenges, but lawyers face the additional burdens of state bar rules and ethics decisions, which are continually evolving. And...
Read More
The pressure to constantly produce fresh content is turning many businesses into would-be publishers. Apparel retailers offer tips on clothing fit and accessories. Outdoor outfitters provide resources about backpacking must-haves and publish articles about how to train for specific adventures. Pistachios and Tic Tacs are on Twitter. Online, silence is not an option.
Having a daily article quota may work for journalists, and even big brands, but it is unrealistic for attorneys. Attorneys should play the content marketing game,...
Read More
Google revealed today that it has rolled out Penguin 4.0, the first confirmed Penguin update in nearly two years.
Google's announcement of the long-awaited release confirms what many in the SEO industry have long suspected (and hoped for). Penguin is now running in real-time. Additionally, Penguin is running at a more “granular” level, meaning it is looking at individual pages, rather than holding a single url's link spam against a whole site.
The current MozCast forecast,...
Read More
While the quality of the content and writing itself is essential in the creation of a great blog, your efforts may go unnoticed if it lacks an effective title.
Because the internet is wrought with the noise of so many other articles and posts vying for attention, readers have been taught to filter through search results and ignore those that simply fade into the background because they fail to catch their eye. Unfortunately, those users will likely...
Read More
Google released its 2015 Webspam Report this week, which details actions the company took over the last year to try to clean up the internet, reduce spam and increase page quality. When Google chooses to release actual data, webmasters and website owners (and yes, lawyers) should take note. The reports often provide insight into the types of practices Google punishes and rewards, which you can use to help prevent mistakes and build better pages. This report is...
Read More
Two metrics that are often used to determine a website's performance are time on site and bounce rate. Bounce rate is the percentage of times a user clicks on a page and leaves without visiting any other page; in other words, the percentage of single-page visits. A high bounce rate can indicate that your landing pages are not providing visitors with the information they need. However, a high bounce rate paired with high conversions can indicate that people are...
Read More
After Google released the first version of its Penguin algorithm update in 2012, sites that had been practicing successful — but spammy — link-building tactics saw drastic ranking declines.
The depth and breadth of the post-Penguin fallout caused many to shy away from link building. Even though links were still being used to help determine search placement, the cost of being punished for an error was perceived as too high. And Google was hinting strongly that it was trying...
Read More