Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for Law Blogs: LexBlog client webinar on December 14

Many bloggers are familiar with search engine optimization (SEO), but not everyone understands what it is or how it can help them. 

In short, SEO helps potential readers find your blog through Google and other search engines, and there is definitely a right way and a wrong way to do it -- you don't want to appeal to the machines at the expense of human readers. 

On Wednesday, December 14 at 12 p.m. EST (9 a.m. PST), LexBlog CEO Kevin O'Keefe, along with LexBlog's Client Services and Editorial teams, will host "SEO for Law Blogs," a free, hourlong webinar on this subject.

"SEO for Law Blogs" will touch upon:

  • The basics of SEO and what makes a high-ranking site.
  • Elements of effective SEO: what to do.
  • How overdoing SEO can be counterintuitive: what definitely not to do.

You can register for "SEO for Law Blogs" at LexBlog's Events Center. The password went out in an email to LexBlog clients earlier this week; email Helen Pitlick if you did not receive it. 

As always, we’ll be recording this webinar. So, if you can’t attend, feel free to visit the LexBlog Support Site or Real Lawyers Have Blogs and view at your convenience.

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SEO for Law Blogs: Webinar recording now available

Thanks to all who attended last week's webinar on SEO for blogs, let by LexBlog CEO Kevin O'Keefe and Client Services Director Lyda Hawes.

Kevin and Lyda discussed the importance of clear titles, linking, and developing a strong social network; why the most important search result is your name; and how to grab the low-hanging fruit.

If you missed it, you can view the recording at LexBlog's events center or at LexBlog Support. You can also download a PDF of the mindmap Kevin worked from during the session by clicking the image above.

More resources:

Tools for finding keywords:

January Client Webinar: Search Engine Optimization for Blogs

We all know the acronym SEO -- Search Engine Optimization -- but what does it really mean? How can having a better understanding of SEO improve your blog's traffic and readership?

On Thursday, January 20 at 12 p.m. EST / 9 a.m. PST, LexBlog CEO Kevin O'Keefe and Client Services Director Lyda Hawes will be hosting a webinar titled "Search Engine Optimization for Blogs."

This client-exclusive webinar will discuss topics such as:

  • What is SEO and why does it matter?
  • The elements of SEO: keywords, titles, tags and linking
  • Mistakes to avoid
  • What LexBlog does for you


You can register for "Search Engine Optimization for Blogs" at LexBlog's Events Center -- check your email for the invite containing the password or contact Client Services.

As always, we’ll be recording this webinar and posting it here and at the LexBlog Support Site. So, if you can’t attend, feel free to visit and view at your convenience.
 

Effective Blog Writing for Search Engine Optimization: Webinar recording

Last week's webinar on Effective Blog Writing for Search Engine Optimization drew over 150 attendees, many of whom stayed through despite some delay and technical difficulties.

We've been able to re-do the screencast and recording of this webinar for those who couldn't attend, or for those who wanted to revisit some of the topics discussed. Make sure you hit the little expand the screen button with the four arrows pointing out to get a full screen view.

Some of the points covered included:

  • How the Search Engines "See" Your Posts
  • Writing Effective Post Titles
  • Writing Search-Friendly Articles
  • Where to Get Article Ideas that Win
  • 5 ways to Screw up your posts

This webinar will also be posted along with our other recorded webinars on the LexBlog support site.

If you had any additional questions about writing for search, feel free to contact our Helpdesk at support@lexblog.com or at 1-800-913-0988. And stay tuned for more information about our next client webinar next month.

Effective Blog Writing for Search Engine Optimization: LexBlog Network Webinar

If you’re a part of the online conversation, you know it's hard to escape the term “SEO” – search engine optimization.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to appear high in searches for your topic. But how do you do it without sacrificing quality content and productive engagement? Keyword stuffing or trying to outwit the search engines will backfire and cause more harm than benefit.

In our next webinar, exclusively for members of the LexBlog Network, I’ll have a dialogue with LexBlog's Jake Ludington about Effective Blog Writing for SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

In addition to being our Director of Product Development and Technology, Jake built a blogging business on Search. His articles on digital media solutions consistently rank in the top 3 posts on Google for the topic. Part of Jake's success in this area is his ability to write to effectively rank for key search terms.

This webinar will be held Thursday, February 18, at 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET. We’ll cover:

  • How the Search Engines "See" Your Posts
  • Writing Effective Post Titles
  • Writing Search-Friendly Articles
  • Where to Get Article Ideas that Win
  • 5 ways to Screw up your posts

Please visit our Event Center to register for this webinar. If you need the password, email our HelpDesk or contact a member of our Author Services team at 1-800-913-0988.

Additionally, if you have any specific questions you'd like us to address in the webinar, please post them in the comment section below or email them to our Editorial Manager, Lisa Kennelly. And if you'd like your blog to be one of the ones we use as an example during the webinar, feel free to volunteer as well.

Social media more powerful than SEO for drawing traffic to law blog?

I'm coming to believe that social media performance is more important in drawing traffic to your law blog than any search engine optimization (SEO) you may do. Traffic drawn via social media is also better traffic for you.

Two reasons. One, you draw more traffic to your law blog through the effective use of social media than SEO. Two, traffic drawn to your blog through social media is more preferrable.

I've been blogging less than the mad 2 or 3 posts I've done in the past. However, traffic to my blog for this month is the highest ever.

Why? Because of social media. By social media I mean people passing on to others what I say via a blog post or something I say on Twitter. Plus I've been more active on Twitter.

When I tweet about a blog post of mine, I share word of the post on Twitter. People following me on Twitter, retweet word of my blog post. Through this network I wouldn't be surprised if within an hour of my tweeting about a blog post 25,000 or 30,000 people receive word of my post through Twitter. That's a powerful network.

Without even linking to a blog post of mine, my using Twitter in general draws traffic to my blog. I'm a notorious sharer of news via Twitter. I'll share links to news and blog posts offering my brief commentary. I'll retweet what someone I'm following may have tweeted - so long as it's of interest to my followers. I'll also offer brief commentary without a link or a retweet on various subjects of interest to my followers.

In each case, whether it be a follower of mine on Twitter or a follower of someone who has retweeted what I've said, people look at my Twitter profile. That profile includes a link to my blog. And a lot of people click on that link to find out more about me.

Traffic to a law blog drawn via social media brings higher quality traffic than SEO. Good lawyers get their best work via word of mouth and people doing research on the lawyer. Doesn't matter whether the word of mouth is generated or the research is done offline or online.

Social media traffic drawn to your blog comes because someone else, more likely than not a thought leader in your field, blogged about what you've blogged about or retweeted about something you said or shared on Twitter.

Someone else sharing what you've said is a tacit endorsement of you as an authority. Why else would someone share what you've said with their friends and followers unless they thought enough about you or what you said? People are drawn to look up more about you when you have received a tacit endorsement. Those people end up at your blog.

Take it a step further and realize that these people who see your content via social media and then look you up are more apt to have a keen interest in what you're saying, what you do or about you personally. They're also a tad more advanced than someone, who previously went to the yellow pages, who goes to the Internet and keys in New York City bankruptcy lawyer. You want that kind of traffic to your blog.

Speaking in Toronto yesterday to law firm management professionals with medium and large law firms, I felt very comfortable telling them that social media through blogging was more important than any sort of search engine optimization of their law firms' websites or blogs.

Sure, you want your blog and website optimized by having the right title tags. You also want to have incoming links to your blog and website from other relevant sites. Social media and blogging will get you all the links you need.

But at the end of the day, I just wonder if social media, which includes effective blogging, is not a more powerful way to draw traffic to your blog than search engine optimization?

Lawyer SEO junkies like crack cocaine addicts

LexBlog's VP of Client Development, Kevin McKeown, asked me this morning how I bring lawyers down from their SEO fixation. Thought I'd share with you what I shot to McKeown.

Lawyers addicted to SEO are like crack cocaine addicts who need to get their fix. Don't care how, from whom, or at what price. Just give my fix. As a result they get hooked up with crack cocaine dealers dressed up as SEO consultants - not a good crowd.

Effective blogging on a legal niche propels a lawyer to the top of the Google search results. And not just on what they do and their location, ie, Palm Springs Estate Planning Lawyer, but also for terms on which thousands of people search, ie, living will, estate tax etc. No question, effective blogging gets you found on Google.

But at the end of the day, the search engines are one big yellow pages directory. If you advertised heavily in the yellow pages and your good clients came primarily from the yellow pages, by all means, pour all your marketing and business development time and money into search results. Getting to the top of Google results is like having the first 2 full page spread in the yellow pages.

But if your best clients came by word of mouth, as opposed to the yellow pages, Google is not the be all and end all. You need an effective online presence so that your prospective clients and those who influence them see you as a reliable and trusted authority in your niche. A link from the top of the search results to a web page proclaiming your accolades is not going to do it.

I'm speaking from experience. I was a plaintiff's trial lawyer for 17 years. We spent heavily on advertising. TV, radio, yellow pages. You name it, we did it. But at the end of the year, the largest fees were generated on cases we received by word of mouth.

When I started answering injury law related questions on AOL's message boards in 1996, there were no search engines. But injury victims and their family members saw what I was doing and spread the word across the Internet. Thousands of people, including many from my state of Wisconsin, came to my website where I archived the questions and answers. Work and notoriety as a trusted authority followed - in spades.

Don't get me wrong. Google matters. And good blogging gets you to the top. But Google results is not the leading way the best lawyers get their best clients.

  • The best lawyers get their best work by word of mouth. Period.
  • Word of mouth is generated by being recognized as a reliable and trusted authority in one's practice area. Offline that takes a decade or more for a good lawyer. With effective blogging, a good lawyer can do it in a year or two.
  • Forgo this and you're acknowledging that you'll be on the never ending rat race chasing the top results on search engines, which is like chasing the largest ad in the yellow pages.
  • Better clients come from being an authority and by word of mouth, not from search engines. Good clients are evaluating a lawyers skill, acumen, and passion as well as who is citing that lawyer on line (other bloggers & reporters).
  • An effective Internet presence through effective blogging and the innovative use of social media is achieved by very few lawyers. 99% of lawyers don't know how to do it or are too lazy to learn how. That's far less competition for you. Chasing SEO is something everyone of your competitors is doing.

Better clients. Less competition. Less Cost. Long lasting. What's not to like?

Back to weaning lawyers off their fix. ;)

FindLaw selling links update : Dow Jones reporting FindLaw misconduct and lawyers questioning what FindLaw sold them

FindLaw selling links SEOIn comments on this blog and throughout the blogosphere FindLaw cronies have been denying misconduct in the FindLaw selling links debacle. When the cronies realize they're on the short end of the argument, they just fall back on 'you're just bloggers, you spread rumors, this is why few bloggers are trusted, there's no proof...'

Well the mud just got a little deeper for FindLaw today. Dow Jones' Nat Worden reported this afternoon that FindLaw has been slapped by Google for shady SEO tactics and that lawyers are now questioning the SEO marketing product FindLaw sold them.

Worden explained that FindLaw came up with a 'SEM Advantage' product which cost some lawyers $2,000 per month.

Billed as a "high-octane" way to double or even triple traffic on his site, Newell [FindLaw lawyer customer] and others like him understood FindLaw's SEM Advantage product to be a package of well-placed links designed to lift a Web site's standing in a Google search. But now they're wondering if they're still getting their money's worth.

Worden reports FindLaw may have pulled the wool out from under these lawyers.

Late last month, FindLaw quietly made changes to a link on one of its Web sites leading to Newell's site, which he had received as part of SEM Advantage. It also changed at least 99 other links to the Web sites of law-firm clients after it ran afoul of Google Inc. (GOOG) in the search giant's ongoing efforts to crack down on a practice known as selling "link juice," or Web links designed to boost a Web site's page rankings in a search engine. With the link juice trade springing up as a cottage industry across the entire spectrum of online marketing, Google views it as threatening the quality of its search engine, an asset that has made Google a dominant force in media.

Read on in Worden's article and you'll see that FindLaw made the changes adversely effecting lawyers like Newell because FindLaw had been caught by Google for selling links in violation of Google's guidelines. Something in my opinion, FindLaw knew or should have known it was going to get caught doing.

Worden concludes with what is most alarming, and perhaps why FindLaw is not owning up to its misconduct.

The controversy comes at a difficult time for FindLaw's parent company, Thomson-Reuters, which publishes a news service that competes directly with Dow Jones Newswires and is delivered on the same terminals. Its stock price is down about 20% over the last year amid concerns that the U.S. financial crisis will quash growth in its financial markets division. Investors are counting on its professional division to pick up the slack, and its legal services business, for which Findlaw is a small but important growth engine, made up 66% of that division's revenue in the first half.

Imagine if FindLaw confessed to duping lawyers for millions of dollars (not saying they did, just looks to me like they did). Imagine having to refund millions of dollars. Imagine having to refund these monies after paying millions of dollars in sales commissions on the sale of this 'high-octane SEM Advantage Product.' Imagine how investors would view Thomson Reuter's stock then.

Scary stuff for FindLaw and their parent Thomson Reuters. Scary stuff for lawyers relying on FindLaw going forward.

Related posts:

FindLaw SEO misconduct : Suggested course of conduct

FindLaw SEOThere's little question in my mind that FindLaw's selling links to law firms in violation of Google's webmaster guidelines was a big mistake.

Not only may FindLaw be liable to law firms for the millions of dollars paid by law firms to FindLaw for these spam links, but FindLaw and its parent company, Thomson Reuters, has damaged its reputation and brand in the eyes of lawyers and the search community, including Google, for years to come.

Dad always said there's a right way and a wrong way to handle everything. FindLaw needs to do the right thing and to do it now.

Here's the right thing to do:

  1. Acknowledge immediately to your lawyer customers who bought the spam links and the legal community as a whole that 'FindLaw, a Thomson Reuters business,' acted wrongly and in violation of Google's webmaster rules.
  2. Apologize immediately to the law firms and the legal community for FindLaw's course of conduct.
  3. Announce immediately that FindLaw will refund within 30 days all the money paid by the law firms for these links.
  4. Perform an immediate accounting of all monies paid for the links by the respective law firms. (Appears to be in the hundreds, possibly thousands of law firms and for all I know could be $3 to $5 million).
  5. Report the results of the accounting publicly.
  6. Hold the FindLaw people who authorized the sale of links, who had to know it was improper, personally responsible. That includes senior management who very likely knew.
  7. Establish an in-house ethics review committee and ethical standards protocol to prevent future improper conduct.

Tuesday will be the 7th day since the news of FindLaw's selling links was reported on the net as well as 7 days from when Google's Matt Cutts became aware of the violation. And at least the 4th day since FindLaw was penalized by having its website PageRank dropped from a 7 to a 5.

FindLaw has chosen not to respond - to the public, to its customers, or to bloggers. This is rather surprising in these days of corporate damage control and where word spreads like wildfire on the net.

I worked as a VP of Business Development for LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell - lawyers.com, FindLaw's largest competitor, following the acquisition of my prior company. I may never have agreed with everything Martindale did, and God knows I am a vocal critic of Martindale here, but Martindale always looked at itself as having a reputation to uphold because of its history and its role in the legal community as a whole.

I can't believe Martindale senior management would have ever allowed this sort of thing, no matter the pressure for incremental revenue. But if Martindale did get itself in trouble, I have to believe it would have held itself accountable to its lawyer customers and the legal profession.

FindLaw needs to act accordingly if it wants to seriously compete with Martindale and lawyers.com, reduce the damage to the Thomson Reuters FindLaw name, and to attempt to reestablish itself as a respected member of our legal community.

The legal community looks forward to FindLaw's response in the next day or two.

Update: Based on an inquiry from a sales rep I want to make myself clear. In no way did I mean to imply that Martindale ever sold spam links - Martindale, to my knowledge, has not ever sold links like FindLaw did. My point was that the Martindale senior management I knew while serving as a VP of Martindale would never have even thought of doing something like FindLaw did.

Related posts:

Google adds search tool to measure searches on particular phrases

Google InsightsAlways happy to share the fruits of their inside work, Google has launched a real helpful tool for focusing your SEO and Web copy efforts. It's called Google Insights for Search.

Per Google, here's how it works.

Google Insights for Search analyzes a portion of worldwide Google web searches from all Google domains to compute how many searches have been done for the terms you've entered, relative to the total number of searches done on Google over time. We then show you a graph with the results, indicating interest over time, plotted on a scale from 0 to 100; the totals are indicated next to bars by the search terms.
.....
On the results page, you'll also see a list of the top searches, top rising searches, and a world heat map graphically displaying the search volume index with regions, subregions, and cities.

Google goes on to explain how Insights will be helpful.

Whether you're an advertising agency, a small business owner, a multinational corporation, or an academic researcher, Insights for Search can help you gauge interest in pertinent search terms.
.....
Insights can help you determine which messages resonate best. For example, an automobile manufacturer may be unsure of whether it should highlight fuel efficiency, safety, or engine performance to market a new car model.

I ran a search on blogs to measure the increased interest over the last 4 years and here's what I got.

blogs
And a search on 'law blogs' gave me the regional interest in law blogs (LexBlog ought to open branch client development offices in DC and New York)
law blogs

as well as search terms and rising searches related to 'law blogs.'

law blogs search

It's not going to work for every keyword or phrase term as some search terms may not receive enough traffic for Insights to generate a report. But on my first look, and based on the comments from bloggers at Google Blog Search, Insights looks to be pretty cool.

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