Do Something! Optimize Your Website

The April/May issue of Law Practice Magazine, published by the Law Practice Management Section of the ABA has a great article by Sharon Nelson and John Simek about optimizing your website, entitled, "Optimizing your webiste: The ABCs of SEO." I've condensed their ideas into this week's 'Do Something' action step on optimizing your website and added some of my own comments, but I'd recommend that everyone read the entire article.

Optimize for Google - although there are other search engines, Google is the biggest, and optimizing for Google is your best bet. The Google algorithm is unknown and changes frequently, however, there are some factors which are known to be important. These include:

• Page Title - Make sure each page of your site has a unique title that includes keywords your target audience is likely to use to search for a lawyer providing your services.
• Site Content - Your content should be broad and deep. General, vague descriptions or cursory lists of practice areas won't get you the traffic you're looking for. But don't "stuff" your site with keywords, either. Deliver useful content that your target audience will find valuable.
• Home Page Content -  The home page is factored into your ranking more heavily, but many lawyers squander this opportunity to increase their rankings by putting little or no content (let alone keywords) on their Home pages. Don't waste your home page on fancy flash or graphics with no relevant content. There is some evidence that hyperlinked content and page subtitles may carry even more weight on the home page than regular text, so make those elements count.
• Inbound Links - The number of quality links to your site is important to your ranking. Not all links are created equal. Obtain links from relevant sites that include keyword text rather than just your firm name if you can. On the flip side, if you're linking to others and can use a descriptive link rather than just a name (or the words 'click here'), you'll be helping them increase their ranking as well. The easiest way to get good inbound links is to provide valuable information (see 'site content' above) - essentially, create a site that can act as a resource for others to link to.
• Domain Name -  While your domain name is important and can certainly help if your domain name contains the keywords your targets use to search for your services, your domain name isn't the be-all and end-all of SEO.
• Recent Content - Your site must be updated regularly with new content to stay at the top of the rankings. It's a fast-paced technological world, and web content becomes stale quickly. This is even more true if your web content revolves around legal issues which are constantly changing or being updated as a result of new case-law, statutes, regulations, etc. Don't spend a lot of money and time creating a beautiful website and then let it get stale - keep it fresh and keep your ranking high.
• Age of the Site - According to Nelson and Simek, this is a relatively new factor being used by the search engines in part, "to sift out scammers who put up new sites with high-energy SEO initiatives, but who fold their tents and disappear when the law comes after them." If your site is new, be patient - the search engines may be waiting you out to see whether you're really legitimate.

Of course, you can hire an SEO company to do your optimization for you, but be careful to check references and be skeptical of firms that claim that they can get your site top ranking quickly. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Beware of companies that use link farms or hidden text to get artificial results. The search engines are aware of these tactics and penalize - or even ban - sites for using them.