The above image shows some recent data I pulled from Google Webmaster Tools (GWT). We don't rely on GWT data for reporting, but regularly refer to it internally to analyze trends. But I'm becoming skeptical about the reliability of the data even for that very limited purpose. You see, I know that there are clicks […]
The image below is a screenshot of a Google search engine result page for the query, "personal injury lawyer in philadelphia." It was performed in an incognito Chrome browser with location set to Philadelphia, PA on September 29, 2014. We have highlighted the organic results from the SERP below: We also labeled the listings based […]
By now, you've probably heard something about Google's recent Pigeon update. In short, Pigeon has rocked local search results. In many instances, it's rocked them for the worse. SEL has a great Pigeon expert round-up. Here are some of the Pigeon-impacts that the legal SEO community has witnessed. Here's a side-by-side comparison of pre and […]
Over at Inside AdWords, Google's Chief Economist, Hal Varian has posted some additional insights about Quality Score and the AdWords Auction. Google users want ads they see to be relevant. They don't want to be bothered by ads that aren't closely related to what they are searching for. - Hal Varian (Chief Economist, Google) Traditional […]
Here are just a few quick SEO bullets that attorneys should work through to improve their visibility in organic search results. Your Audience Do you understand who your target audience is (i.e. demographic and pyschographic information)? Do you understand how your target users search engines and the internet to find information relevant to your practice? […]
The process for rehabilitating your website from spammy SEO practices can be a long and arduous journey. In many instances, attorneys are better served to simply start over. In case you missed it, search engines are evolving. And while black hat and spam "still work" in many cases, there is no question that a lot […]
Still wondering how to optimize your pages? There's a ton of information out there about optimizing web pages. Fortunately, most of what you need to know can be found at Moz, especially here and here. While this is likely to confuse Google about what this page is about, I thought I'd mark up Rand's perfectly […]
One way you can tell whether what you are publishing online is resonating with your audience is whether or not they are linking to it. Lawyers often ask us how they can tell whether their SEO strategies "are working." Ultimately, it comes down to whether you are earning meaningful attention from organic search that is […]
What can lawyers learn about their potential clients' local search behavior from Google's latest study? You don't need to be a search scientist to know that people search for local businesses online. In fact, you probably know this from personal experience. In an effort to better understand consumer local search behavior, Google recently conducted, and […]
You should already know that: Rankings don’t necessarily translate to traffic, which doesn’t necessarily translate to inquiries, which don’t necessarily translate into new clients. Nonetheless, understanding how these metrics can work in concert is your best chance of answering the question: Is this working? Rankings Let me make this easy for you: Don't focus on […]
