Traditionally, search engine optimization (SEO) and public relations (PR) had little in common; each had distinct goals and required distinct approaches and skill sets. That is no longer the case. Thanks to changes in search algorithms and in how the public consumes content, PR and SEO are now inextricably intertwined. As Moz recently reported, a good PR strategy should draw on SEO, and can boost...
Oct 3
How to increase traffic by producing goal-oriented content
Google provides a substantial number of resources on its Webmaster Central Blog about what its algorithm is and is not looking for when returning search results. While Google's overall goal — providing results users find most helpful — has not changed, the process for finding these results is constantly being tweaked.
Your firm could try to keep up with every algorithm change in an ongoing struggle to be most relevant. But the effort is likely futile and...
Read MoreSep 26
What your law firm needs to know to get your emails noticed
Consumption of email on mobile devices is increasing rapidly. The rise of mobile email viewing is not surprising given the large shifts in internet browsing habits that have occurred over the past five years. According to a global Mobile Media Consumption report conducted by Decision Fuel and OnDevice Research on behalf of ad network InMobi, only 11 percent of internet users say they use a desktop machine most often to go online. The majority of respondents said...
Read MoreSep 19
How to build good links: seek out quality links that make sense
Links have always been an important factor in Google's algorithm. One of Google's original innovations, which distinguished it from other search engines in the 1990s, was associating the text of a link with both the page the link is on and the page to which it links. The relationship between the two pages was unique at the time; most search engines only associated the text of the link with the page it was on.
An original abstract...
Read MoreSep 12
Court rules Yelp can manipulate ratings based on ad purchases
The online review site Yelp can change the ratings of businesses on its site as it sees fit according to a decision by a federal appeals court. Yelp was accused of lowering the ratings of companies that did not purchase advertising on its site, and in a unanimous decision the court upheld its right to do so.
The owners of Cats and Dogs Animal Hospital in Santa Barbara, California alleged that Yelp was manipulating the reviews on the...
Read MoreSep 5
Google drops authorship from search results: what should your firm do?
Google's Authorship project has officially ended. Last week webmaster trends analyst John Mueller announced in a Google+ post that Google will no longer show authorship information in search results. After three years of use, Google has stopped supporting authorship markup and removed all authorship capabilities from webmaster tools.
A read of the post's comments eliminates any doubt about the decision. Mueller repeatedly stated that Google is not processing any authorship data — this is not “just a...
Read MoreAug 20
Be useful: How to design a website experience that solves real clients’ problems
Attorney websites have progressed significantly over the past three to five years, with blogs, regularly updated content and rich media replacing static brochure-style pages. Improvements in design and interactivity help attorneys communicate with visitors and help potential clients better understand what they can expect when working with the firms they are reviewing.
Moving away from pointless, search-engine driven content is just the first step. Too may attorney websites still fail to place enough of an emphasis on the user. Website...
Read MoreAug 11
Google Author Removes Your Picture, Retains Author Credit
Those photos of you and your staff that once displayed next to your search engine listings has been removed. Google has removed everyone’s pictures with the author still retaining credit for their work, although some author photos may still appear on Google+ based on relevancy and level of interaction with others.
This move caught many lawyers by surprise as no one foresaw Google completely removing pictures from their Google Authorship program....
Read MoreJun 18
What your law firm needs to do to feed Panda 4.0
Google began rolling out the latest iteration of its Panda algorithm on May 20th. As is the case with all major updates, results are mixed. Some sites have seen rankings and traffic drop, while others have seen improvement — and many sites have seen little to no movement at all. The big news surrounding the release of Panda 4.0 is the significant hit several large, well-known sites appear to have taken. Analysis performed since the update reveals some common...
Read MoreMay 21
How to incorporate conversion-centered design into your website
A website is only as effective as its ability to deliver leads. An aesthetically beautiful site is not functional if users do not immediately understand what you do, why they should contact you and how to do so. Successful sites employ a mix of attractive design, intuitive navigation and thoughtful calls to action. Here are some ways to build a website that is designed with conversion as a top priority.
1. Simplify. You are immersed in the culture...
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