Legal SEO Marketing

Off-Page SEO Tips for Lawyers

On-Page SEO for Lawyers Off-Page SEO Strategies for Lawyers We are going over the different off page things that you can do to help your legal website. Usually this means link building in different ways. The more high quality links you can obtain for the different pages within your lawyer website, the better your authority and SEO rankings will be. Off-Page SEO Techniques for Law Firms Link building strategies Guest blogging Business directories and local citations Social media promotion Creating shareable content Online reputation management Building relationships within the legal community Off-Page SEO Techniques for Law Firms Link-building strategies Guest blogging Guest blogging involves writing high-quality articles for other websites or blogs within your niche, in exchange for a backlink to your website. This not only helps you gain valuable backlinks from authoritative sites but also increases your exposure to a wider audience. To find guest blogging opportunities, search for reputable websites within the legal industry that accept guest posts and pitch your article ideas to them. Remember, quality over quantity is key when it comes to guest blogging, so focus on providing valuable insights and expertise. Business directories and local citations Submitting your law firm’s information to local business directories and legal-specific directories can improve your online visibility and help you gain valuable backlinks. Ensure that your business information (name, address, phone number, and website) is consistent across all directories to boost your local SEO efforts. Some popular directories to consider include Google My Business, Yelp, Avvo, and FindLaw. Social media promotion Actively promoting your content and services on social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter can help you gain backlinks, increase traffic to your website, and improve your overall online presence. Share your blog posts, case studies, and informative articles on social media to encourage users to share and link to your content. Just be sure not to overdo it with self-promotion; focus on providing value and engaging with your audience. Creating shareable content Creating high-quality, shareable content increases the likelihood that other websites and users will link back to your site. This can include infographics, case studies, informative articles, or even entertaining videos. By providing value and addressing the needs of your target audience, you’ll encourage others to share and link to your content, boosting your off-page SEO efforts. Online reputation management Your law firm’s online reputation plays a significant role in attracting new clients and gaining valuable backlinks. Monitor reviews and mentions of your law firm across various platforms and address any negative feedback promptly and professionally. By maintaining a positive online reputation, you’ll build trust with potential clients and improve your off-page SEO efforts. Building relationships within the legal community Cultivating relationships with other lawyers, legal professionals, and industry influencers can help you gain valuable backlinks and improve your off-page SEO efforts. Attend networking events, join legal forums, and engage with other professionals on social media platforms to build connections and establish your law firm as an authoritative source within the legal community. Collaboration is key, and a little bit of schmoozing can go a long way in the world of off-page SEO. SEO Marketing for Law Firms —>  FREE LAWYER SEO SITE ANALYSIS  LAW FIRM SEO Let the law firm SEO experts at Legal Search Marketing help you with your next organic SEO project for your law firm. Organic SEO for Lawyers Keyword Research for Attorneys On-page SEO for Attorneys Off-page SEO for Attorneys Link Building for Attorneys Free SEO Site Analysis for Lawyers

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On-Page SEO Tips for Lawyers

On-Page SEO for Lawyers On-Page SEO Strategies for Lawyers We will be discussing different onpage SEO tactics for lawyers including: Optimizing website content Title tags Meta descriptions Headers and subheaders Content structure URL structure and optimization Image optimization Internal linking best practices Mobile-friendliness and responsive design On-Page SEO Strategies for Lawyers in 2023 Optimizing website content Title tags Title tags are the headlines that appear in search engine results pages (SERPs) and browser tabs. They’re crucial for both SEO and user experience, as they help search engines understand the content of your webpages and entice users to click through to your site. To optimize your title tags, include your target keywords and keep them within 60 characters to ensure they display correctly in SERPs. Remember, a captivating title tag can make the difference between a click and a “meh, I’ll pass.” Meta descriptions Meta descriptions are the short snippets of text that appear below the title tags in SERPs. While they don’t directly influence your rankings, they can significantly impact your click-through rates. To optimize your meta descriptions, include your target keywords, keep them within 160 characters, and make them as enticing as possible. Think of your meta descriptions as your website’s elevator pitch; you’ve got a brief window to convince users that your law firm is worth their time. Headers and subheaders Headers and subheaders (H1, H2, H3, etc.) are essential for organizing your content and making it more readable for both search engines and users. They help search engines understand the structure of your content and the topics you’re covering. To optimize your headers and subheaders, use your target keywords and ensure that they accurately reflect the content of your paragraphs. Plus, a well-structured webpage is easier on the eyes, so your potential clients will appreciate it. Content structure The structure of your content plays a vital role in how search engines and users perceive your website. Break up your text into short, easy-to-read paragraphs, and use bulleted or numbered lists when appropriate. This not only makes your content more digestible for users but also helps search engines understand the key points you’re trying to convey. URL structure and optimization Optimizing your website’s URL structure can improve your search engine rankings and make your website more user-friendly. Keep your URLs short, descriptive, and easy to understand. Include your target keywords and avoid using unnecessary characters or jargon. A clean URL is like a well-organized file cabinet, making it easy for search engines and users to navigate your website. Image optimization Images can enhance the user experience on your website, but they can also slow down your page loading times if not optimized properly. To optimize your images, use descriptive file names and alt text (the text that appears when an image can’t be displayed) that include your target keywords.  Additionally, compress your images to reduce their file size without sacrificing quality. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words, but an optimized image is worth a thousand clicks. Internal linking best practices Internal linking refers to the practice of linking to other relevant pages within your website. This helps search engines understand the relationship between your webpages and can improve your website’s overall SEO performance.  To optimize your internal linking, use descriptive anchor text that includes your target keywords and link to high-quality, relevant content. By guiding users through your website, you’ll keep them engaged and increase the likelihood of them taking action. Mobile-friendliness and responsive design In today’s increasingly mobile world, having a website that works seamlessly on all devices is essential. Google prioritizes mobile-friendly websites in its search results, so it’s crucial to ensure that your website is responsive and adapts to different screen sizes. Test your website’s mobile-friendliness using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test and make any necessary adjustments to improve its performance on mobile devices. After all, you don’t want to lose potential clients because they couldn’t navigate your website on their smartphone SEO for Lawyer Services: Organic SEO Services for Law Firms Keyword Research for Attorneys On-page SEO for Lawyers Off-page SEO for Lawyers Link Building Solutions for Lawyers Guest Posting on Legal Blogs Content Creation for Lawyers AI & SEO For Lawyers FREE SEO Site Analysis Audit Form FREE 15 Minute Phone Call Site Review

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Mastering Keyword Research for Lawyers Guide

Short-Tail Vs.Long-TailKeyword Guide In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the various strategies and tactics that law firms can implement to enhance their search engine marketing (SEM) performance, attract more clients, and outshine their competitors in the digital space. Mastering search engine marketing for lawyers requires a multi-faceted approach, incorporating keyword research, on-page SEO, content marketing, link building, and local SEO strategies. By implementing these tactics and regularly measuring your success, you can improve your website’s visibility, attract more clients, and outperform your competitors in the digital space. Table of Contents Add a header to begin generating the table of contents Mastering Short-Tail and Long-Tail Keywords A Comprehensive Guide to Keyword Research and Strategy As a leading digital marketing agency, we strive to provide our readers with the most comprehensive and actionable insights into the world of search engine optimization. In this article, we will delve into the two primary types of keywords: short-tail and long-tail keywords. We will explore their distinct characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages, as well as best practices for implementing them in your SEO strategy. Additionally, we will include a mermaid diagram to visually showcase the relationship between these keyword types. Understanding Short-Tail Keywords Short-tail keywords are search queries that consist of one to three words. They are typically broad and generic, covering a wide range of topics. Because of their broad nature, they often have high search volume and competition. Businesses seeking to rank for short-tail keywords must invest significant time and resources into their SEO efforts. Examples of short-tail keywords include: Running shoes Digital marketing Smartphone Exploring Long-Tail Keywords Long-tail keywords are search queries that consist of three or more words. These keywords are more specific and targeted, catering to a niche audience. As a result, they have lower search volume but also lower competition, making them easier to rank for compared to short-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are ideal for businesses looking to target specific consumer segments and capture high-converting organic traffic. Examples of long-tail keywords include: Best running shoes for flat feet B2B digital marketing strategies Android smartphone with best battery life Building a Balanced Keyword Strategy A successful keyword strategy involves a balanced approach that incorporates both short-tail and long-tail keywords. Here are some best practices to achieve this balance: Identify your target audience: Understand who your ideal customers are, their needs, and preferences. This will help you create relevant content that targets the right keywords. Perform keyword research: Utilize keyword research tools, such as Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, or SEMrush, to identify high-potential short-tail and long-tail keywords related to your niche. Analyze the competition: Investigate your competitors’ keyword strategies and identify gaps that you can exploit. This may include long-tail keywords with low competition or short-tail keywords that your competitors have not yet targeted effectively. Create high-quality, engaging content: Produce content that is informative, well-structured, and engaging. This will increase your chances of ranking higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) and attracting organic traffic. Optimize on-page SEO elements: Ensure your content is properly optimized for both short-tail and long-tail keywords by including them in your title tags, meta descriptions, headers, and within the body of your content. Additionally, improve your site’s user experience and loading speed. Monitor and adjust: Regularly track your keyword performance and adjust your strategy as needed. This may involve targeting new keywords, refining your content, or optimizing other on-page elements. Keyword Research Tools and Techniques To create a winning keyword strategy, you must leverage a variety of keyword research tools and techniques. Some popular tools and techniques include: Google Keyword Planner: A free tool by Google that provides keyword ideas, search volume, and competition data to help you make informed decisions. Ahrefs: A comprehensive SEO tool that offers keyword research, competitor analysis, and content research features. SEMrush: A popular SEO and digital marketing platform that provides keyword research, competitor analysis, and other SEO tools. Google Search Console: A free tool that allows you to monitor your website’s performance and identify keywords that are driving organic traffic. Keyword Gap Analysis: Analyze the keywords your competitors are ranking for and identify potential opportunities to target. Long-tail keyword research: Utilize tools like AnswerThePublic, KeywordTool.io, or Ubersuggest to find long-tail keyword ideas. Mastering Keywords for Law Firms In summary, mastering short-tail and long-tail keywords is crucial for a successful SEO strategy. By understanding their differences, benefits, and best practices, you can build a balanced keyword strategy that targets the right audience, captures high-converting organic traffic, and ultimately boosts your online visibility. By leveraging the right keyword research tools and techniques, you will stay ahead of your competitors and thrive in the ever-evolving digital landscape. SEO for Lawyer Services: Organic SEO Services for Law Firms Search Engine Optimization for Attorneys Keyword Research for Attorneys On-page SEO for Lawyers Off-page SEO for Lawyers Link Building Solutions for Lawyers Content Creation for Lawyers AI & SEO For Lawyers FREE SEO Site Analysis Audit Form FREE 15 Minute Phone Call Site Review

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Mastering Search Engine Marketing for Lawyers

Lawyer SEO UltimateGuide In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the various strategies and tactics that law firms can implement to enhance their search engine marketing (SEM) performance, attract more clients, and outshine their competitors in the digital space. Mastering search engine marketing for lawyers requires a multi-faceted approach, incorporating keyword research, on-page SEO, content marketing, link building, and local SEO strategies. By implementing these tactics and regularly measuring your success, you can improve your website’s visibility, attract more clients, and outperform your competitors in the digital space. Table of Contents Add a header to begin generating the table of contents Search Engine Optimization for Attorneys: The Ultimate Guide Understanding the Legal Landscape The legal industry is highly competitive, with numerous law firms vying for the same clients. In this landscape, a strong online presence is crucial to stand out and attract potential clients. By leveraging the power of search engine marketing, law firms can drive targeted traffic to their websites, resulting in more leads and higher conversion rates. Keyword Research for Law Firms Keyword research is the foundation of any successful SEM campaign. It involves identifying the most relevant and valuable keywords that potential clients are using to search for legal services. Identifying High-Value Keywords To start, create a list of general keywords related to your practice area, such as “personal injury lawyer” or “estate planning attorney.” Then, use keyword research tools like Google Ads Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs to find more specific, long-tail keywords. These are typically less competitive and can drive highly targeted traffic to your website. Analyzing Competition and Search Volume Analyze the competition and search volume for each keyword to determine which ones have the most potential to drive traffic and conversions. Focus on keywords with a high search volume and low to moderate competition. On-Page SEO Tactics On-page SEO is critical for improving your website’s visibility in search engine results. Here are some key tactics to implement: Title Tags and Meta Descriptions Optimize your title tags and meta descriptions by incorporating your target keywords. Ensure they are unique, compelling, and accurately reflect the content of each page. Header Tags Use header tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to structure your content and include your target keywords to signal their importance to search engines. URL Structure Create clean, descriptive URLs that include your target keywords. Avoid using generic or overly complex URLs, as they can negatively impact your search rankings. Image Optimization Optimize your images by compressing them, using descriptive file names and alt tags, and ensuring they are relevant to the content. Internal Linking Implement an internal linking strategy to help search engines navigate your website and distribute link equity. Use keyword-rich anchor text and link to related content on your site. Content Marketing Strategies Content marketing is essential for attracting, engaging, and converting potential clients. Here are some strategies to create high-quality, relevant content: Blogging Publish informative, engaging blog posts that address common legal questions and concerns. Target long-tail keywords and incorporate them naturally throughout your content. Ebooks and Whitepapers Create in-depth ebooks and whitepapers that provide valuable insights on complex legal topics. Offer them as gated content to capture leads and build your email list. Infographics and Visual Content Develop visually appealing infographics and other visual content that simplify complex legal concepts, making them accessible to a wider audience. Video Marketing Leverage video marketing to showcase your expertise, share client testimonials, and provide educational content. Videos can significantly increase user engagement and improve your website’s overall performance. Webinars and Podcasts Host webinars and create podcasts to share your knowledge on legal topics, discuss industry trends, and interview industry experts. These formats can help establish your authority and attract a loyal audience. Link Building for Legal Websites Link building is a crucial aspect of SEO, as it helps to establish your website’s authority and credibility in the eyes of search engines. Here are some effective link building strategies for law firms: Guest Posting Identify authoritative websites in the legal industry or related niches and offer to contribute high-quality, unique content. Include a link back to your website in your author bio to gain valuable backlinks. Legal Directories Submit your law firm’s information to reputable legal directories, such as Avvo, Justia, and FindLaw. These directories can drive targeted traffic to your website and improve your online visibility. Outreach and Networking Connect with influencers, industry experts, and legal bloggers to build relationships and explore opportunities for collaboration, such as interviews, guest posts, or co-authored articles. Social Media Share your content on social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to increase exposure and attract natural backlinks. Engage with your audience by responding to comments and participating in relevant discussions. Local SEO for Lawyers Local SEO is crucial for law firms, as most clients search for legal services within their geographic area. Here are some strategies to optimize your local SEO: Google My Business Claim and optimize your Google My Business listing by providing accurate and consistent information about your law firm, including its name, address, phone number, and website. Reviews and Ratings Encourage clients to leave reviews and ratings on platforms like Google My Business, Yelp, and Avvo. Positive reviews can improve your local search rankings and enhance your online reputation. Local Citations Build local citations by submitting your law firm’s information to local business directories, chamber of commerce websites, and other relevant platforms. Localized Content Create localized content that targets specific cities, neighborhoods, or regions where you provide legal services. Include local keywords and geographic-specific information in your content. Measuring Success and ROI To evaluate the success of your SEM efforts, track key performance indicators (KPIs) and analyze your return on investment (ROI). Some important KPIs include: Organic traffic growth Keyword rankings Conversion rate Bounce rate Time on site Backlinks Utilize tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and SEMrush to monitor your KPIs and adjust your strategies as needed.  

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Personal Injury Lawyer Links & SEO Marketing

Personal Injury Lawyer SEO Personal Injury Back Links for Attorneys One thing that still holds true is that LINKS are important and a key part of the overall Lawyer Internet and SEO Marketing strategy. It doesn’t matter what kind of lawyer you are, personal injury, DUI, criminal defense, or bankruptcy, everyone needs solid backlinks to their lawyer websites in order to have the best possible Google SEO organic rankings.     Links are only part of the formula but as always an important one. So links come in many different shapes and the bottom line is if you can somehow get a backlink to your lawyers website from a bar association, law school, other lawyers websites or blog, or a local area business, do it! TYPE OF LINKS FOR PERSONAL INJURY LAWYERS If you are a personal injury lawyer, you want to first focus on getting branded links to your site.  These are links that are using your brand name in the anchor text and going to your homepage. Then after you build your branded links and make sure most of your links are using your firms name.  You then should get links to your other power pages and posts that you want to rank higher in Google.  With these links, they will be either partial keyword matches or blended brand and keyword anchor text.    You want to stay away from exact match anchor texts usually.   This means if you are a Chicago personal injury lawyer, you do not want your anchor text of your links to read that exact term, instead you want either your firm name, or a combo. Something like “Personal injury lawyers at Johnson & Jones” or “Contact the car accident lawyers for a free consultation”. Getting Backlinks to Your Lawyer Site Top Links are not easy to get usually, but in some cases all you have to do is make sure you have an account setup and you can claim your lawyer listing at some online legal and business directories.  Then you can optimize the listing and usually include a link to your website. Now a lot of times these links may not be DO Follow and not as valuable as a DO Follow link, but you want to get as many relevant links as you can.  This includes no-follow links because you want to get branded links and citations for your legal site. So if you can get a link from a legal directory that is in your legal niche, that will be helpful towards your overall SEO strategy.   You want to build your brand and get as many branded links using your firms name in the anchor text and having it goto your homepage. Also for local SEO, citations are very important.  Citations are the listings of your law firms NAP, Name, address and phone #.  Again even if its no follow link, its still a citation usually from a relevant site.  The thing here is that most all of these links are FREE, most have a paid option, but the key here is just getting as many relevant links as you can. These are the obvious links that most lawyers will have, but you should have these also to have a better chance of ranking high at Google. Then the trick is to then make sure you have more links than your competitors, and not just any links, high-quality relevant links from authority sites. Its a multiple phase process and you want to start with getting some links and getting the low hanging fruit links.   Yet if you do not set these up manually or hire someone to do it, you will not get the link.  The more work you put into building your backlinks, the better your search engine rankings will be at Google. Below are some personal injury links to start with. Once you get this first phase of links, then you want to start writing a lot of quality content and getting links from guest posts on other legal websites. Good Personal Injury Links: Here are some starter links for all personal injury and car accident lawyers to have to their lawyer website.  The key here is making sure that you claim these lawyer listings and then update them and include a link to your website.   In some cases you will have to pay a premium fee to get a link to your website.   In some cases it will be worth it and thats the trick here, knowing which listings to pay for.   Yet in almost all cases, you can get a free link if you verify the account. Good Legal Directory Links http://braininjurylawyerdir.com/listing.html http://injuryattorneydir.com/listing.html http://lawyermap.net/account/register http://medicalmalpracticelawyerdir.com/listing.html http://thelawofficedirectory.com/NewListing.php http://truckaccidentlawyerdir.com/listing.html http://www.dogbitelawyerdir.com/listing.html http://www.findmealawyer.com/submit/ http://www.hg.org/addlf.html  http://www.injurylawyerdir.com/listing.html http://www.lawfirmoffices.com/add_listing.php http://www.lawyersbusinessdirectory.com/submit http://www.morelaw.com/add/attorney/ Social Links: Google+ Scoop.it Pinterest YouTube Storify LinkedIn Medium Personal Injury SEO Marketing Personal Injury Legal News  Workplace Accidents and You. Are you Eligible? Personal Injury Settlement Calculators – How much is your Case worth? Well Known Actors Who Have Had Motorcycle Accidents 5 Steps to Help Your Car Accident Claim Personal Injury vs. Workers Compensation

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New FREE Link Analysis Tool for Lawyers

Link Building for Lawyers Free Tool Saint Neil Patel has put out another free SEO Link tool that seems to rival the big boys at AHREFs and SEMRUSH. Ive just started to use it, but it seems pretty solid! It allows you to simply put in your site or your competitors URL and see how many links the site has, how many referring domains and what your overall link score is.   It also shows you how many do follow and no follow links you have, as well as a few other things You can find new links easily that you do not have BUT your competition does.  Its not easy believe me to get new links, but this tool will help you.   This can be the #1 factor in your law firm site climbing the Google rankings.  You need link love from other sites to show Google you are a legit law firm and to get to #1 for your keywords. Links for Lawyers Do you have more links than your law firm competition or does your competition have more links than you? This Backlink tool shows you the number of links pointing to any domain or URL. From total link count, to .edu and .gov links to even the exact number of unique referring domains. Link tools for lawyers and law firms can help you find your competitor backlinks. You can get those same links and help improve your sites SEO rankings. You can test it out by visiting the link analysis tool page here – https://neilpatel.com/backlinks/  Lawyer Competitive Analysis Imagine being able to find new legal link building opportunities in a matter of seconds. All you have to do is put in your competitors’ URL. This tool shows you everyone who is linking to your competition and isn’t linking to you. You can easily find new opportunities that will help you boost your lawyer SEO rankings. Is Your Legal Competition Ranking Higher in Google? Link Relevancy Matters You want to get as many links as possible to your website, BUT just getting 50,000 generic links pointing to your site will never work. In fact, a site that has only 12 links might easily rank higher then the site with 50,000 low quality links from sites that are not related. If you are a lawyer and have a legal website, you need to get links from other LEGAL sites.  Even better if your a personal injury lawyer, you need to get links from legal sites and personal injury related sites if possible. This tool can help you find relevant links that your competitors have but you do not.  This tool will simply show all the links, listed by authority score, and so in some cases it might be pretty easy to just follow the link and get a link for your law firm. Yet thats only if its a free legal directory or social media account that allows you to include a link.  Usually those links are NO FOLLOW and will not pass link juice to your site. YET that doesnt mean its bad thing and you want to get some no follow links because that makes up a more natural link profile in Googles eyes. Yet you want to focus on getting links that are DO Follow and do pass link juice because this will help build your attorneys website authority. Earning Links via Guest Posting Guest Posting is all the rage these days and its probably the top way that you can actually get some backlinks for your site, that matter. You can read my article on Guest Posting for Lawyers here.   Guest posting is simply doing a post on someone else website with unique content that you create and then you will have a backlink to your website within the content of this post. If your law firm wants more information on our guest posting for attorneys service, call us at 312-620-6190 or fill out the online contact form. 

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Difference between PPC and Organic SEO listings (2005 vs. 2019)

What is the Difference between Google Paid Listings & Organic Search Listings? *** This post was done originally in 2005! How much has changed in 14 years? Not much and a ton at the same time.   Google Paid Ads vs. Google Organic SEO Some lawyers are confused by the difference between the pay per click (PPC) sponsored listings and the free organic listings at Google, Yahoo, and other top search engines. The free or “organic” search listings at Google are listed on the left side of the page and the sponsored PPC listings are located on the right side of the page under “sponsored links” and sometimes at the very top of the page, right above the organic listings. —> 2019 Update….. The organic listings are still in the same place, but the paid ads are also on the left side of the page, usually above the organic listings and the map local listings.   Organic listings take time and effort to achieve and are usually a result of a legal web site that has a lot of good content, is listed in the Yahoo and Open directories and has a lot of links pointing to it from other sites. *** 2019 update — This is still true and actually organic rankings take a LOT of time and way more then they used to take. It’s much harder to achieve organic rankings at Google.        Yet the having good content, being listed in top business directories and having a lot of relevant and authority links is still the key to ranking higher in the Google organic listings.  The pay per click or sponsored listings are a result of web sites that bid a certain amount per click on a keyword. The higher the bid, the higher the ranking. Even though at Google its a little bit of a different bidding process then at Overture. At Overture, its simply a matter of whoever bids higher, gets the higher listing, where at Google, its a combination of different criteria including amount bid. GOOGLE SEO FOR LAWYERS **** 2019 update —- Who the F is Overture?!?!  They used to be the main player in town as far as pay per click went, way back when!  Then Yahoo bought them a while back.  Now the main players in pay per click are Google ads and Bing/Yahoo ads, as well as Facebook ads, Pinterest ads and Instagram ads.   Obviously you want to be listed in the organic listings because its like the gift that keeps on giving and you don’t have to pay every time someone clicks on your site.  Yet it takes time to get the free listings and sometimes you have no choice but to pay extra to visitors to your legal web site. Some lawyers do both, get great organic listings but then also pay for the sponsored links to cover all bases. **** 2019 update —-  Organic listings and traffic from Google is still the gift that keeps on giving.  Getting top rankings is more important than ever.   Also, it’s the same thing where sometimes you must do paid ads if you want any traffic because you dont have good enough organic listings.    Also you might have top rankings for most of your keywords, but you still might want to do some paid advertising if you really want to be aggressive and get more brand recognition. SEO for Lawyers in 2019 Conclusion The key in 2019 for Lawyers who want to do Attorney SEO Marketing, which by the way should be literally 100% of all lawyers.  The key is that you first want to make sure that Google trusts your Brand. Your brand name is your firm name, SO you want to get your brand out there in a number of ways. With link building, you want to make sure that the anchor text of the links pointing to your site are your brand name and going to your home page. Then once you build up your authority and trust with Google, then you can create some Power Pages and then get more links that point to these pages.  Then you will want to some partial and exact match anchor text but not that many and not until you first establish your brand and home page links. This can take 6-12 months or more and is a never-ending process.    One thing you want to focus on with your main pages is to create a lot of visuals like images, videos and infographics.   If you are a personal injury attorney, you want to create visuals to explain how the personal injury process works.

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Welcome (back) to the Legal Search Marketing Blog (2019)

Re-Launch of Legal Search Marketing Blog Welcome to the relaunch of the Legal Search Engine Marketing Blog. We will bring you the latest news on the search engine industry with a specific focus on the legal community.   We will help your law firm be able to rank in the Google search results and improve your law firms Organic SEO, Local SEO, and even video SEO results! Holy Shit this Blog has been going since 2005! Thats frigging almost 15 years now.    So Im going to update this post with today’s date of February 5, 2019, and make this the relaunch of the Legal Search Marketing blog.  This blog in the past was just put up in order to link to my lawyer clients sites and to just blog about the latest search engine related news, mainly Google SEO for lawyer news. SEO FOR LAWYERS Yet over the past year, I’ve made this into an SEO marketing blog for Lawyers, posting not only the latest Google news and other search engine marketing related news but also SEO tips for lawyers.    I am going to be posting as many valuable tips as possible for the legal community. We will focus on everything related to search engine optimization for attorneys including Keyword Research for lawyers, organic seo marketing, latest Google my business tips and everything else related to getting the best possible results for your law firm. SEO CHANGES OVER THE YEARS SEO is always changing and evolving each and every year it seems.  Yet some things remain the same as they were in 2005. Back then it was very easy to get ranked and you just had to optimize your TITLE and meta tags, and get a few links with exact match anchor text, and you would probably easily be in the top 3 at Google for most of your keywords. Yet Google has made it MUCH harder to get ranked and to get quality traffic to your legal site.  YET if your a lawyer who writes a lot of content and has a good brand, then your probably going to be in good shape and don’t even need to do that much. There are so many new things though that you must do in 2019, over 2005.  Social media accounts for one, earning backlinks from a lot of different sites, creating videos and the list goes on. LAWYER SEO IN 2019 Today it comes down to a few different things as far as “how do you get your lawyer website ranked #1 at Google”.   First off there are a few different places to be #1.   The Local SEO Map results is one place, the organic listings is another, and then Google has all kinds of other ways they show content in the search engine listings. You must create high-quality content that is 2000 words plus and is relevant to your legal practice.   You must get listed in the right legal directories and make sure your Name, Address, and Phone # (NAP) are all exactly the same.  You must have social media accounts set up and get social signals to your content. This means people are sharing your content and engaging in it by making comments.   Your site must be mobile friendly and fast in order to rank higher these days.    Then getting links from other sites is usually what the secret sauce is going to be, but the right sites.  You need links from high authority relevant sites and they should be using your law firms brand name in the anchor text. Updating Your Lawyer Blog Posts from Past One of the many SEO techniques that you need to do in 2019, is to go back through your older blog posts and check for a few different things including: Duplicate Content – (You can use the tool of siteliner.com to check your site for duplicate content) Thin Content – This means content like this blog post that was maybe 100 words total.  I now am updating it to add another 600-1000 words of content, this way its not so thin.  I am also updating the date to let Google know this is new fresh content! Non Relevant Content – Sometimes over the years your content might not be as relevant or might be a post that you just would like removed.   So what you need to do is 301 redirect these older posts to a new post or page that makes sense for user to find.   This way any link juice that these posts have, will be carried over to the new post or page. Then also you might have blogged about the same thing 10 times over the years, so it might make sense to combine those posts into one main post. You can also do a 301 redirect of older duplicative posts where you are talking about the same subject as in a new post. Nathan Gotch of Gotch SEO talks about the importance of not cannibalizing your keywords.  So I am going back through all of my older posts and making a number of updates and probably going to redirect like 150 posts or more.  Then maybe 50 of the posts will be deleted and 50 of them will be updated for 2019 lawyer Search Marketing. I am in the process of doing project for a few different personal injury lawyers, as well as updating my Chicago SEO website. If you need any assistance with improving your law firms SEO results, contact us for a free SEO audit of your legal website.

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2018 New Google SEO Ranking Factors for Lawyers – Part 2

Google SEO For Lawyers Ranking Factors – #21 – 40 As many lawyers know, Google has recently once again updated how they rank sites and its now more important then ever to have authority on your site and demonstrate that you are an expert in your legal field.   That combined with links, content and other things will get your site ranked higher in Google these days. Google recently released a document which shows that there are at least 200 Ranking Factors, 200!   Some obviously are more important then others, and some have almost no influence.   So its key to know what works in 2018 to get your lawyer website ranked higher, so you can start getting more leads from clients looking for your legal services I am going to cover the next 20 ranking factors today and then make this a 10 part series that covers all 200 ranking factors. Previous Post ====> RANKING FACTORS 1-20  21. Page Covers Topic In-Depth: There’s a known correlation between depth of topic coverage and Google rankings. Therefore, pages that cover every angle likely have an edge vs. pages that only cover a topic partially. 22. Page Loading Speed via HTML: Both Google and Bing use page loading speed as a ranking factor. Search engine spiders can estimate your site speed fairly accurately based on your page’s HTML code. 23. Page Loading Speed via Chrome: Google may also use Chrome user data to get a better handle on a page’s loading time. That way, they can measure how quickly a page actually loads to users. 24. Use of AMP: While not a direct Google ranking factor, AMP may be a requirement to rank in the mobile version of the Google News Carousel. 25. Entity Match: Does a page’s content match the “entity” that a user is searching for? If so, that page may get a rankings boost for that keyword. 26. Google Hummingbird: This “algorithm change” helped Google go beyond keywords. Thanks to Hummingbird, Google can now better understand the topic of a webpage. 27. Duplicate Content: Identical content on the same site (even slightly modified) can negatively influence a site’s search engine visibility. 28. Rel=Canonical: When used properly, use of this tag may prevent Google from penalizing your site for duplicate content. 29. Image Optimization: Images send search engines important relevancy signals through their file name, alt text, title, description and caption. *** This is something not many other people do, so this can help not only get some traffic via Google images, but more important help establish RELEVANCY 30. Content Recency: Google Caffeine update favors recently published or updated content, especially for time-sensitive searches. Highlighting this factor’s importance, Google shows the date of a page’s last update for certain pages: 31. Magnitude of Content Updates: The significance of edits and changes also serves as a freshness factor. Adding or removing entire sections is more significant than switching around the order of a few words or fixing a typo. 32. Historical Page Updates: How often has the page been updated over time? Daily, weekly, every 5 years? Frequency of page updates also play a role in freshness. 33. Keyword Prominence: Having a keyword appear in the first 100 words of a page’s content is correlated to first page Google rankings. 34. Keyword in H2, H3 Tags: Having your keyword appear as a subheading in H2 or H3 format may be another weak relevancy signal. In fact, Googler John Mueller states: “These heading tags in HTML help us to understand the structure of the page.” 35. Outbound Link Quality: Many SEOs think that linking out to authority sites helps send trust signals to Google. And this is backed up by a recent industry study. *** This is no doubt IMPORTANT Lawyers, add links out to other authority sites within your blog posts. 36. Outbound Link Theme: According to The Hillop Algorithm, Google may use the content of the pages you link to as a relevancy signal. For example, if you have a page about cars that links to movie-related pages, this may tell Google that your page is about the movie Cars, not the automobile. 37. Grammar and Spelling: Proper grammar and spelling is a quality signal, although Cutts gave mixed messages a few years back on whether or not this was important. 38. Syndicated Content: Is the content on the page original? If it’s scraped or copied from an indexed page it won’t rank as well… or may not get indexed at all. ** You must create new fresh content on a constant basis.  You can borrow stuff and reword it, but the content must be fresh in order to rank better 39. Mobile-Friendly Update: Often referred to as “Mobilegeddon“, this update rewarded pages that were properly optimized for mobile devices. 40. Mobile Usability: Websites that mobile users can easily use may have an edge in Google’s “Mobile-first Index”. Be mobile friendly for lawyers is an obvious one these days.  More people then ever will visit your site from a mobile device. It used to be 10-20%, now its like 60% or more. So think mobile first. The next 20 Google ranking factors coming soon. The bottom line with all these factors, it comes down to new fresh content, establishing your an authority and expert and getting solid backlinks to your website. We help solo lawyers and small law firms with Internet Marketing services including: Create a new wordpress lawyer site, Social Media Management, organic SEO for lawyers, PPC Marketing for attorneys, MOBILE For Lawyers, Content Creation, Logos, Chatbot Marketing and Facebook Messenger Marketing. —> Read our 2018 Google My Business TIPS for Lawyers —> 2018 Social Media Marketing for Law Firms —> 2018 Social Media Management for Lawyers

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2018 New Google SEO Ranking Factors for Lawyers – Part 1

Lawyer Google SEO Marketing in 2018 – Top Ranking Factors (1-20) As many lawyers know, Google has recently once again updated how they rank sites and its now more important then ever to have authority on your site and demonstrate that you are an expert in your legal field.   That combined with links, content and other things will get your site ranked higher in Google these days. Google recently released a document which shows that there are at least 200 Ranking Factors, 200!   Some obviously are more important then others, and some have almost no influence.   So its key to know what works in 2018 to get your lawyer website ranked higher, so you can start getting more leads from clients looking for your legal services I am going to cover the first 20 ranking factors today and then make this a 10 part series that covers all 200 ranking factors. RANKING FACTORS 1-20 ;  1. Domain Age: In this video, Google’s Matt Cutts states that: “The difference between a domain that’s six months old versus one year old is really not that big at all.” In other words, they do use domain age…but it’s not very important.  SO maybe its time to get some new domains? 2. Keyword Appears in Top Level Domain: This doesn’t give the boost that it used to. But having a keyword in your domain still acts as a relevancy signal. *** So this means that if you are a Las Vegas Accident Lawyer, there is some benefit of having a domain name of Las Vegas Accident Lawyer.com vs. Smithlaw.com. 3. Keyword As First Word in Domain: A domain that starts with their target keyword has an edge over sites that either don’t have that keyword in their domain (or have the keyword in the middle or end of their domain). 4. Domain registration length: A Google patent states: “Valuable (legitimate) domains are often paid for several years in advance, while doorway (illegitimate) domains rarely are used for more than a year. Therefore, the date when a domain expires in the future can be used as a factor in predicting the legitimacy of a domain.” ** SO This is one of those factors where its a NOBrainer and make sure you register your name for at least 5 years, if not 10.   Its a small thing, but they will add up. 5. Keyword in Subdomain: Moz’s expert panel agrees that a keyword appearing in the subdomain can boost rankings. 6. Domain History: A site with volatile ownership or several drops may tell Google to “reset” the site’s history, negating links pointing to the domain. Or, in certain cases, a penalized domain may carry the penalty over to the new owner. 7. Exact Match Domain: Exact Match Domains may still give you slight edge. But if your EMD happens to be a low-quality site, it’s vulnerable to the EMD update. 8. Public vs. Private WhoIs: Private WhoIs information may be a sign of “something to hide”. Googler Matt Cutts is quoted as stating: “…When I checked the whois on them, they all had “whois privacy protection service” on them. That’s relatively unusual. …Having whois privacy turned on isn’t automatically bad, but once you get several of these factors all together, you’re often talking about a very different type of webmaster than the fellow who just has a single site or so.” **** SO This means do NOT use privacy on your domain name 9. Penalized WhoIs Owner: If Google identifies a particular person as a spammer it makes sense that they would scrutinize other sites owned by that person. 10. Country TLD extension: Having a Country Code Top Level Domain (.cn, .pt, .ca) can help the site rank for that particular country… but it can limit the site’s ability to rank globally. PAGE LEVEL FACTORS 11. Keyword in Title Tag: Although not as critical as it once was, your title tag remains an important on-page SEO signal. *** This is super key to make sure you have unique TITLE tags for each page and try and utilize these to get higher rankings for a wide variety of keywords. Use YOAST SEO to accomplish this 12. Title Tag Starts with Keyword: According to Moz , title tags that starts with a keyword tend to perform better than title tags with the keyword towards the end of the tag.  —> So this means 13. Keyword in Description Tag: Google doesn’t use the meta description tag as a direct ranking signal. However, your description tag can impact click-through-rate, which is a key ranking factor.   Also Google will point out if you have duplicate descriptions tag, so it makes sense to optimize these all. 14. Keyword Appears in H1 Tag: H1 tags are a “second title tag”. Along with your title tag, Google uses your H1 tag as a secondary relevancy signal, according to results from this correlation study: **** You should only have ONE h1 tag per page. 15. TF-IDF: A fancy way of saying: “How often does a certain word appear in a document?”. The more often that word appears on a page, the more likely it is that the page is about that word. Google likely uses a sophisticated version of TF-IDF. 16. Content Length: Content with more words can cover a wider breadth and are likely preferable in the algorithm compared to shorter, superficial articles. Indeed, one recent ranking factors industry study found that content length correlated with SERP position. 17. Table of Contents: Using a linked table of contents can help Google better understand your page’s content. It can also result in sitelinks: 18. Keyword Density: Although not as important as it once was, Google may use it to determine the topic of a webpage. But going overboard can hurt you. 19. Latent Semantic Indexing Keywords in Content (LSI): LSI keywords help search engines extract meaning from words that have more than one meaning (for example: Apple the computer company vs. Apple the fruit). The presence/absence of LSI probably also acts as a content quality signal. 20. LSI Keywords in Title and Description Tags: As with webpage content, LSI keywords in page meta tags probably help Google discern between words with multiple potential meanings. May also

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