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Recent Blog Posts
Google Introduces Local Services Ads in Search Results
In the age of the internet, the success or failure of a business can depend on its ability to be found by customers in online searches. While search engine optimization (SEO) can help a business show up in searches, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising can provide a much-needed boost that will help a business show up at the top of search results and increase the chances that a person will contact them. In addition to its standard PPC ads, Google has recently introduced Local Services Ads, a new type of ad listing that can be very beneficial to local businesses, including law firms and other types of professional services.
What Are Local Services Ads?
Local Services Ads, or LSAs, are highly targeted ads that include a business’s name and phone number, a link to its website, and other helpful information, such as ratings and reviews, hours of operation, and number of years in business. These ads show up at the very top of a search results page, above other PPC ads and organic search results.
How Can I Have a Negative Google Review Removed?
In the online world, reputation is everything, and the reviews and ratings that a law firm has received are some of the key factors that can affect its reputation. Reviews can offer helpful information to prospective clients about whether an attorney can provide the services they need, and a high average rating can improve search engine optimization (SEO) by boosting a firm's position in search rankings.
However, just as positive reviews can provide benefits, negative reviews can harm a firm’s search rankings and overall reputation. Fortunately, it may be possible to have negative reviews removed, and other reputation management techniques can help a firm improve its average ratings and ensure that it maintains a positive reputation.
Flagging Reviews That Violate Google’s Guidelines
Do Attorney Websites Need to Meet Accessibility Requirements?
In the 21st century, we spend much of our lives online. However, while browsing websites, performing online searches or using mobile apps is a simple and easy process for most people, those who have disabilities often struggle to navigate the internet. Because of this, advocates for the disabled have worked to ensure that websites can be used by everyone, and in fact, some companies have even faced lawsuits for failing to provide accessible websites. By following accessibility guidelines during the website design process, law firms can avoid these issues and ensure that they can connect with potential clients with disabilities.
What Are Accessibility Guidelines?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is the law that is most often used in cases related to website accessibility. Under the ADA, people with disabilities cannot be discriminated against in places of “public accommodation.” This is the basis for many of the lawsuits regarding website accessibility, since courts have found that websites fall into the category of places of public accommodation.
Why You Need an Attorney Blog on Your Law Firm’s Website
Most law firms understand that they should have a high-quality website that provides information about their services, their attorneys, and the benefits they can provide to clients. However, building and launching a website is only one part of a comprehensive digital marketing strategy. A law firm can increase their website traffic and improve search rankings by regularly publishing blogs that provide value for potential clients. Some of the benefits of blogging include:
Build Trust and Credibility
With a regularly updated blog, you can discuss the legal issues that you address every day when working with your clients. By answering the questions that you are regularly asked and explaining how the law applies in the situations you commonly encounter, you can demonstrate that you have the knowledge and understanding that your clients need. Publishing blogs on a regular basis will allow you to continually expand the helpful information on your site and provide people with knowledge of the legal issues that may affect them while showing that you can help them solve their problems.
How Natural Language Processing in Google Search May Affect Your Site
The vast majority of people use Google search to find the information they are looking for online, and Google is constantly looking to improve its algorithms to make sure its users get the best possible search results. Because showing up in Google search results is so important, any website owner will want to stay up to date on the latest trends in search engine optimization (SEO). One of the latest developments that may affect a firm’s marketing strategy is the implementation of natural language processing (NLP) in Google’s algorithms.
Google’s BERT Algorithm
Google recently announced that it has updated its search algorithms to use a technique called BERT, which stands for Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers. This update to the algorithm uses artificial intelligence and neural networks for natural language processing. That may sound like a lot of jargon, but basically, it means that Google wants to be able to understand how people use language when performing searches and how the context of different words affects what they are looking for.
Will Your Website Be Affected By Google’s Mobile-First Indexing?
Google is one of the companies that shape how people experience the internet, and every move that the company makes is closely scrutinized by everyone from major brands to owners of small websites. Keeping abreast of changes made by Google is essential for ensuring that your business can be found in online searches. One recent announcement by Google that will affect many websites is the announcement that mobile-first indexing will be used for new sites, and this may affect the search engine optimization (SEO) strategies used by a wide variety of businesses.
What Is Mobile-First Indexing?
When people perform a Google search, what is actually being searched is an “index” of all websites on the internet created on Google’s systems. This index includes a variety of information about a site and its relevance to people performing searches, including ranking factors that affect where it will show up in search results. Since so many people now use mobile devices to perform searches and view websites, Google now uses the mobile version of a website’s content in its index in many cases.
Why Is Reputation Management So Important?
Today, nearly every business has an online presence of some sort. This can range from a Google My Business listing that contains basic information about a company to a digital strategy that includes a website, social media, and pay-per-click advertising. Regardless of the extent of your firm’s digital footprint, you will want to make sure that you make a positive impression on those who find you online. This is why reputation management is crucial.
What Is Reputation Management?
Online searches are the primary way most people find information, whether they are looking for answers on a computer at home or at work or are searching for a local business on their smartphone. When a firm shows up in search results, their listing is often accompanied by reviews and star ratings that people have submitted. These ratings often play a key role in a potential customer’s decision to click through to a company’s website or contact them via phone or email.
Why a Website Is a Key Part of Any Business’s Online Marketing Strategy
For many people, Google has largely morphed into “the new homepage for local business,” and some believe that the information provided within Google search results has replaced the need for a separate website. However, there is no overstating the value of a quality website. Even if it appears that websites are less important in today’s world, this notion is far from reality.
Changes to Google Search
Not long ago, a search for a local business on Google would bring up a search engine results page (SERP) with 10 local businesses and links to their websites. As the format of Google’s search results changed to make paid ads more prominent, the number of listed businesses has shrunk. Instead of sending searchers to company websites, Google now tries to keep users engaged on its own platforms. A SERP offers information in a Knowledge Panel that includes a business’s address, phone number, hours of operation, photos, and more, and for many users, this provides them with the simple information they need without searching further.
How HTTPS Affects Search Rankings and SEO
You probably see the letters HTTPS hundreds of times a day as you scroll through your favorite websites, check your email, and interact with people on social media. You may not know their meaning; however, this letter combination holds a lot of power over the websites you visit and how they rank in Google search results.
HTTP vs. HTTPS
HTTP is an acronym for HyperText Transfer Protocol, which enables communication between different computer systems on the internet. This protocol allows data to be transferred from a web server to a browser, allowing you to view the hundreds of sites you look at each day.
The difference between HTTP and HTTPS extends past the single letter. Websites labeled with HTTP lack data encryption, resulting in third parties potentially being able to intercept private information. The “S” in HTTPS denotes the security of a website, which is created through the use of a SSL Certificate, which encrypts the information that is shared between the web server and a user’s web browser. Though HTTPS was initially used for sites which captured sensitive information, such as credit card payment pages, Google and other major search engines have been pushing for online security across the board.
Types of Negative Reviews Google Will Possibly Remove
If you own a business, you may have received a less-than-ideal review on your Google My Business page. There are many cases where Google will not remove a negative review, as it may not fall under any of the categories in their Prohibited and Restricted Content guidelines. However, OVC Lawyer Marketing has found there to be a number of instances where Google will be more likely to intervene and remove a review:
Spam and Fake Content
Reviews that refer to incorrect details about a business may be considered fake content. For example, a user may leave the same one-star review for multiple office locations of your law firm. Because it is unlikely that a client received the same experience at more than one of your offices, Google may remove the review from all but one of the locations.
