In the last 6 months we’ve seen more change in search engine marketing than we have in the last 6 years. How your website ranks going forward will depend on what I like to call social engagement optimization. Search engines are moving toward a non-static ranking system, which will be based on a user and their groups.
I’m not saying that on-page SEO and off-page SEO techniques are useless, and only social is in. But the social element has started playing its part in SEO. Here are 5 Tips for improving your website and rankings.
1. Google +
On the surface, the +1 button is just another button for you to embed on your site. However, it is one important button that you want to have on your site, since it can potentially impact your websites search ranking. If you have a relatively unknown blog and you have plenty of people +1′d a particular post, that post could potentially score well in Google search and bring you more traffic. The executives at markets Google + a way to make connecting on the web more like connecting in the real world. People can share thoughts, links and photos with the “circles” similar to Facebook’s “friends”. Use video chat for conversations with as many as nine people at once. To name a few features.
2. Twitter
An effective Twitter account does not just help in your SEO, but will build your online brand, and increase visibility of your law firm and brand, by building new connections. Twitter is an online social networking and micro blogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters known as “tweets”. Today over 300 million users generate over 300 million tweets. There are a few simple ways you can appeal to your followers.
Tweeting with excitement can reflect highly on your law firm and make you stand out from the competition. Make it a firm standard to allow your staff to tweet upcoming events you are sponsoring or attending, interesting legal news and congratulatory announcement. Be sure to actively engage with your followers in your tweets. Not only will you be giving your firm a voice, but you will show clients and potential clients that you value their opinion. Also, retweeting positive things people say about your firm not only adds credibility for your firm but also gives you yet another way to connect and engage with followers.
3. YouTube
With YouTube now being the 2nd largest search engine in the world it makes a lot of sense to start incorporating it into your SEO strategy. Create videos that offer your audience helpful information and watch your traffic skyrocket. Instead of “selling yourself” – create a video that can be helpful to people you are targeting (Example: Create a video that explains what to do if you’ve been in a car accident). You will find that with today’s technology you can create videos inexpensively and professionally right from your office. I would suggest purchasing a office camera and setting aside an area in your conference room as a studio so anytime you are ready to make a video the equipment is all there and set up. Once the video is made, file transfer and uploading to YouTube just takes minutes.
4. Facebook
Facebook Pages are increasingly becoming a “second home page” for businesses online. Facebook Pages, as explained by Facebook are for organizations, businesses, celebrities, and bands to broadcast great information in an official, public manner to people who choose to connect with them. Similar to profiles (timelines), Pages can be enhanced with applications that help the entity communicate and engage with their audiences, and capture new audiences virally through friend recommendations, News Feed stories, Facebook events, and beyond. You can create and manage a Facebook Page for your law firm from any personal account. Facebook has recently created many new opportunities for Pages to get more traffic through search engine optimization. If you don’t have a Facebook page for your law firm get one and start using it today.
5. Blog
Most top quality blogs are interactive, allowing visitors to leave comments and even message each other and it is this interactivity that distinguishes them from other static websites. Bloggers not only produce content to post on their blogs but also build social relations with their readers and other bloggers. Create unique, link-worthy and relevant content that web users will find useful and want to read and share. Writing unique content can get you huge amounts of traffic if you do it properly. Remember, your content has to avoid being a sales pitch and must offer value to the people reading it.
Remember, your law firm’s website ranks going forward will depend quite a bit on the effective use of Google +, Twitter, Facebook, blogs and YouTube. Incorporating some of the suggestions in this article as well as researching and incorporating other social media best practices will give your website rankings an instant boost.
