Search Engine Optimization

Search engines are a major source of traffic for most websites. Therefore, a law firm seeking to maximize traffic to its website should follow “best practices” when it comes to search engine optimization, or SEO.

We offers the following SEO services:

I. SEO Audit (Back to top)

A critical first step towards improving the search engine visibility of an existing website is an SEO audit. The purpose of the audit is to determine the site’s “status quo” in the SEO performance categories listed below, and to assess compliance with SEO “best practices." Once a site’s status quo is determined, we can implement appropriate strategies to address any weaknesses and improve search engine visibility.

i. SEO Performance Categories:

Referral Traffic

  • Identifying links from other websites and blogs (a/k/a “referral sources”) back to your site
  • Determining what “anchor” text these referral sources are using to link back to your site
  • Measuring the volume of traffic being driven by various “referral sources”

Search Engine Traffic

  • Determining the keywords for which your site is ranking highly in search engine results
  • Measuring the volume of traffic driven by particular search engine queries
  • Determining which of your site pages are included in Google’s index
  • Identify any pages on your site that Google has had trouble crawling

ii. “Best Practices”

  • Confirming compliance with “best practices” in terms of composition of title, meta description, ALT and other tags, and visible site content
  • Confirming compliance with “best practices” in terms of internal linking structure
  • Measuring ability to update site frequently with fresh content

II. Pre-Launch SEO Consulting (Back to top)

The purpose of pre-launch SEO consulting is to ensure that a new website is designed and coded in accordance with SEO "best practices," and that a law firm will have the tools to monitor, maintain and maximize search engine visibility after launch. Indeed, given how critical search engine optimization can be to the ROI on a new website, it is important to grade potential website developers on their SEO capabilities before a developer is selected.

Pre-launch SEO consulting services include:

  • Using the KEI (Keyword Efficiency Index) metric to research optimal keywords with which to seed visible site content, and title, description and other tags
  • Composing title and description meta tags
  • Reviewing proposed homepage and secondary page design, link structure and content
  • Reviewing content sharing strategies
  • Reviewing vendor content management system capabilities (ideally, prior to vendor selection)
  • Submission of site (and any blogs) to quality online directories

III. Post-Launch SEO Consulting (Back to top)

Once the status quo of a law firm's website is determined as a result of an SEO audit, or after a new website launches, we offer ongoing services designed to monitor, maintain and maximize a site's search engine visibility. The primary strategy here is to aggressively seek quality inbound links to the website (and any law firm blogs) from topically related third party websites and blogs with high Google “PageRank” (i.e., the metric by which Google measures the importance of a website or blog). In seeking inbound links, a key emphasis is striving, as much as possible, to ensure that the links from the third party websites and blogs are “anchored” with keywords relevant to the company's produce and/or service mix.

The range of monthly post-launch SEO consulting services include:

  • Analysis of competing websites and blogs that rank highly for keywords that the firm is targeting
  • Directing ongoing content creation strategies
  • Sourcing accomplished writers to deliver high quality written content (note: copywriting is extra)
  • Seeking reciprocal links with third party websites and blogs with related content and high PageRank (including high ranked sites owned by eLawMarketing and partners)
  • Publicizing specialized content on the firm’s website and any blogs using online PR services such as PR Web
  • Facilitating sharing of the firm’s content via social media sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
  • Ongoing monitoring of Google Analytics and Diagnostics to check progress towards goal of increased inbound links and search engine and referral traffic

IV. Online Reputation Management (Back to top)

Today, businesses are operating in an increasingly connected and conversational web environment. Sources of information about a law firm and its individual attorneys are no longer limited to the firm’s website or press releases. Instead, casual dialogue or references on social networks, blogs, directories, job boards and other websites all contribute to the reputation of a firm in the marketplace. In just a few hours, a single negative reference about a firm on a well-trafficked blog can easily mushroom into hostility or ridicule across the Internet!

A major force behind the changed online environment is Google, which as Andy Beal and Dr. Judy Strauss explain in their book, Radically Transparent, is no longer just a search engine; it’s a reputation engine that stores links to every single reference - positive or negative - about a company anywhere on the Web, and displays them to anyone who inquires.

So are you helplessly at the mercy of Google? Not at all. Through a program of regular and ongoing publication of positive online content – e.g., articles, blog posts, press releases, seminar announcements – on your own and third party websites, your firm can maximize the likelihood that positive references will dominate references to your company on Google, and push down negative references, if any, to later pages.

To help law firms monitor and manage their online reputations, we offer the following services:

  • Advise on mechanisms to monitor relevant industry blogs, traditional media websites, and miscellaneous “feedback” sites
  • Advise on content creation strategies designed to build positive search engine references
  • Compose and distribute online press releases optimized for search engine visibility
  • Design and launch companion blogs designed to maximize search engine visibility for particular target keyphrases
  • Advise on marketing using Twitter and other social media sites

V. Search-Engine Optimized Press Releases (Back to top)

A survey of 1,900 business technology marketers by MarketingSherpa rated the search-engine optimized press release as one of the most effective emerging market tools. Search-engine optimized online press releases provide value by driving new traffic to your website.

We offer a suite of services to help law firms write, distribute and track search-engine optimized online press releases, including:

  • Identifying newsworthy announcements
  • Identifying appropriate keywords to incorporate into a release
  • Writing optimized press releases incorporating your most important keywords
  • Designing high-conversion “landing pages” to which to link from the release (e.g., a landing page offering a special discount)
  • Submitting the press release for distribution through PR Web