In part 1 of this series, we laid the groundwork for figuring out if you actually need search engine optimization (SEO). In this installment, we’ll review the first of the three ways to make SEO work for you: becoming an authority on a topic.
Search engines rank popular, influential, authoritative websites. To show search engines that your website should be associated with a topic, you need to regularly produce content on that topic. Static websites stand little chance of gaining long-term organic ranking success without a content growth strategy.
Elements of Website Pages
Your content needs to be unique, compelling, and well-structured. Every page/post on your website must have the following elements:
- Page title. This is what shows at the top of the browser window and as the link to your website in search results. Thoughtfully placing keywords related to the subject of the page will help it rank higher. You’re limited to 70 characters, and words toward the beginning of the title are more important.
- Meta description. This is what appears as descriptive text in search results. It does not impact your rankings but should be well written and relevant to the page to encourage users to click on your site.
- Headings. Search engines give bold headings more weight than plain text on the page, so here is another opportunity to work in keywords.
- Links. You may want to link to other pages on your site or the Web. Each link can contain a description and a title. The link description gives context to the link for search engines and is a good place for keywords.
- Content. The content of your page should provide quality information. Look for opportunities to work in keywords and links. For example, if you write an article about child custody that suggests readers speak with an attorney, don’t just say “attorney,” say “child custody attorney.” These slight modifications will help search engines associate your website with your target topics. But don’t overdo it; that’s called “keyword stuffing” and will result in a penalty.
Elaboration and Quantity
Try to produce as much or more content than your competitors on your particular topics. You are not going to rank organically for anything that you don’t say on your website. If you’re a business lawyer with a specialty in fitness studio liability waivers but never mention yoga studios, you’re not going to organically rank for “yoga studio liability waiver.” Search engines can’t make the leap from “fitness studio expertise” to “yoga,” “cross fit,” “Pilates,” or “boxing studio expertise” the way the human mind can.
The quantity of content you need depends on your local market. If you’re in a rural area with little competition, you might get good rankings with just a few pages. If you’re in a major metro area or have statewide or multi-practice area ambitions, you’ll probably need dozens or even hundreds of pages. Ranking in the “free” organic search results can require a significant investment of your time or payment for writing services.
“Popularity” Through Links
Search engines analyze the links to your site from other sites to determine how popular and influential your website is; essentially the more links to your site from others, the better your rank. One of the best things you can do is to be thinking of every legitimate opportunity to create links to your website. These include profile pages on bar association or membership websites, mentions in the news, social media profiles such as Avvo and LinkedIn, other businesses in town, and organizations you support. If your name is going somewhere online, try to get a link to your website with it.
Avoid schemes that promise to create a lot of links for you. You may get contacted by companies looking to “exchange” links with you or have you buy a listing on their website. This will lead to trouble. Recently, all search engines, especially Google, have cracked down on these schemes, and they may get you removed from search indexes. However, you may want to be included on websites such as FindLaw, SuperLawyers, and Avvo. What you’re paying for on these sites is advertising for your firm because potential clients visit these sites. You are not paying for a link to your website to increase your own search popularity. Often these sites will instruct search engines to ignore links to your website. Using these sites neither penalizes you nor gives you a search ranking boost.
The best way to get links is to actually do cool and noteworthy things so that others in the community mention your firm. Sponsor events, give presentations, and be involved in the legal community. Do things that make others want to mention you on their websites. For example, ICLE contributors have an opportunity to link to their sites within their contributor biographies, located on the public part of the ICLE website. Make sure you take advantage of every opportunity to get those links. I am interviewed a few times a year by legal news outlets and politely ask if they can include a link to my site along with my business name. Ninety-nine percent of the time they say, “Sure thing!”
In Summary
- Write a lot of helpful content for your website, and keep at it—forever.
- Be an active business owner and community participant. Make sure you’re thinking of ways to build links in your everyday business life.
- Be cautious if someone promises to grow your rankings with no writing or through some automated process. It probably won’t help and may even hurt you.
Up Next
Our next installment will explore the second method to getting a page-one ranking: becoming the “go-to” local business for a service.