Scaling a contingency fee-based firm requires a well-orchestrated blend of resources, strategic moves, and growth tactics. At times, it can feel like a leap of faith, but it doesn’t have to be a blind leap. In this guide, I will share my thoughts on how to leverage case referrals blended with strategic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to expand your firm across office locations, staff, and even practice areas. Let’s get to it! (more…)
Published on November 21, 2018, by GAVL
SEO
Shortly after Google announced its dropping of Google+, they announced a new piece of functionality hitting Google Maps. They’ve unveiled the ability to “Follow” businesses directly in Google Maps. Once you’ve followed a business, you’ll begin receiving news and updates from them when the business makes posts or updates to their Google My Business. (more…)
If you’re like most other lawyers, you or someone you know set up Google My Business (GMB) for your firm and probably forgot about it. Considering the recent changes below, now is the perfect time to finally log in and make some updates. This post is short, sweet, and to the point. Take some action. Business Description Back in August of 2016, Google removed the ability to edit a business description inside of GMB. Not cool, Google. On March 28th, 2018, Google announced on Twitter that it’s back! [...]
Google has announced a new ranking algorithm that will affect mobile search queries. Google is calling it the “Speed Update”. Starting in July 2018, page speed will officially be a ranking factor for mobile searches. Google has been using speed as a ranking signal in desktop searches since 2010. With them shifting to a mobile-first index, this update only makes sense. This update will only affect a small amount of search queries that deliver the slowest experience to users (everything revolves around the user experience, as it should). [...]
Published on October 23, 2017, by GAVL
SEO
Let's talk about link building. A backlink is any hyperlink on a website that links to your website. Link building is the means of acquiring the backlinks/links. If you want your law firm to rank high in Google, you need links from other websites pointing to your firm's website. Think of backlinks as a way for Google and other search engines to gauge the credibility and influence of your website and its content. Simple, right? Years ago it was, but not anymore. It didn't matter where your links [...]
This month, Google is releasing version 62 of its web browser, Google Chrome. After the release, Chrome will mark any HTTP page as “Not secure” when users enter data into a form. Currently, the “Not secure” warning only displays when a user enters a password or credit card information. The update will make it so the warning displays when any text is entered into a form. Why Is it a Big Deal? Ok, ok. So, the term “HTTPSgeddon” may be a little over the top. I needed to [...]
Published on April 25, 2017, by GAVL
SEO
Do you know the difference between HTTPS and HTTP protocol? First, let’s take a step back and explain both terms. The HTTP/HTTPS protocol is that weird beginning part of your law firm’s website URL. It’s parked in front of your site’s domain name, and it essentially governs how data is transferred between your website and the browser making a request to view your website. HTTPS stands for “Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure” and is the secure version of HTTP. HTTPS protocol means that all the communications between a [...]
A great looking law firm website that runs smoothly, helps visitors locate the information they need, and is easily and organically found on search engines is the #1 way to gain new clients online. By now you may already know this, especially if you’ve read our spiel. What you may not know is how to turn a decent website into one clients won’t gloss over. Or, perhaps more imperatively, how do you turn a not-so-decent site into one that’s more than decent? You do this by utilizing proven [...]
Google’s dubbed “Penguin” algorithm has been a vital part of how legal clients locate law firms every day since its implementation in 2012. Essentially, the algorithm targets web spam, decreasing rankings for sites that violate Google’s existing quality guidelines by using excessive links, keyword stuffing, or other “black hat” SEO strategies to attempt to force a site to rank without featuring quality, engaging content. The Penguin update was great for businesses that wanted to rank well by doing all the best SEO practices that are regularly encouraged by [...]
If you’re a lawyer with a website, there’s a good chance you’re familiar with those pop-up live chats that are extremely popular on many law firm websites. If not, take a few moments and browse the sites of your competitors. You’ll find what we’re talking about. You’ll be on a firm’s site one minute, happily looking around, then all of the sudden—bam—a smaller window pops up in front of your screen, asking if you’d like to speak to a live representative. At best, these pop-up windows are rather [...]
