Getting the most out of Google – promoting your firm.
Google has been around for a long time now…
but it would appear that solicitors are missing a trick when it comes to generating new business enquiries through the ubiquitous search engine.
So is your firm’s Google ranking of any importance to your business and should you be worried one way or the other? In the past you’d have been furious if your Yellow Pages ad was published with typos as it would be ignored by prospective clients. In the digital world, Google will do the ignoring part before your clients get to see your website. You should be worried…
So what can you do to raise your standard?
- Go to the experts. Avoid simple web designers and find yourself a web marketing professional who knows about SEO – Search Engine Optimisation and CRO – Conversion Rate Optimisation. Place these two above what your website looks like.
- Build your site specifically around the premise that its architecture must be designed for SEO.
- Build your site with quality content and, above all, content that can and will be regularly updated – Google “likes” that.
- Attempt to get links to your site from other reputable sites – Google values some sites more than others and this will affect your ranking.
- Make sure your keywords, the meta content of your site, reflect terms that your prospective clients will key in. Personal Injury Solicitors may sound professional but your client will probably type in accident at work or something similar.
- Ensure that the text content of your website is a reflection of the keywords. Google checks keywords against site content to ensure the relevancy of your site and this affects your ranking.
keep the website user engaged. That means ensure the site is simple and clean in its layout, the navigation system is straightforward and relevant information is readily available. Remember you are always one click away from being trashed. - Don’t forget mobile! Your site should work just as effectively in a mobile ‘phone browser as that’s where an increasing proportion of views are coming from. If it’s not mobile friendly, you’ve lost half of your audience.
- Keep on top of Google changes. Google frequently moves the goalposts when it comes to how its mysterious algorithms rank your page and you need the services of a specialist in SEO to assist with this – not a graphic design student who will build the site for £500.
- Above all, remember: if the person you are employing to build and promote your site doesn’t know his or her SEO from his or her CRO – you are definitely in the wrong company. Cheap fixes may do more harm than good to your online reputation, so make sure the specialists you employ are professional and are there with you for the long term.
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