New Google Ranking Factors: 10 of the Latest Quality Guidelines You Must Heed

By Yvette Valencia

Google’s recently leaked Quality Rating Guidelines Version 5.0 may be one of the most important 160-page documents you'll ever read. Of course, not every website manager has the time to digest all of the rating parameters that have come and gone, so we've broken it down into this                                                                                              handy list of the latest Google ranking factors.

E-A-T: Expertise-Authority-Trust - Google wants your content to establish that your website is an experienced source of information on your topic; your writers are an authority on the subject they write about; and your website can be trusted to provide the information or service that it advertises or supports.
Establish authority early - You don't need a Ph.D. to be an expert on something. Google takes people with firsthand knowledge of something like living with Crohn's disease as a type of expertise. Just make sure you have a clear "about the author" section to explain why the writer is an expert on the topic.
Watch your use of on-page ads - Google gives lower-quality ratings to pages that have too many ads, place ads in the middle of the main content, or use ad services with malware or deceptive banners.
Use a clean design - Don't design your site to maximize ad space; design your site with user enjoyment and convenience in mind.
Be transparent - Google wants to know who's running the site and how users can contact you if they have any questions or concerns. Make sure that you have a clear way for customers to contact you for support or concerns.
Don't associate with sites that have a bad reputation - Google looks at the company you keep, and if you have outbound links that go to dead sites, known dangerous sites, or any form of malware or spam, your site's quality rating will suffer.
Add supplementary content when appropriate - Including high-quality supplementary content to support your text, such as instructional videos and pictures is another factor that Google uses to determine your authority and trust.
Fraudulent behavior and bad reputation are automatic poor ratings - Google's rating team has been instructed to give an automatic poor quality rating to any sites that engage in fraudulent behavior or have a bad reputation among users.
Do not auto-generate pages - There are programs out there that can auto-generate blog posts based on search trends and other data. These posts are almost always gibberish, and Google's rating team has been instructed to rate these pages with the lowest rating.
Include an "About Us" and "Contact Info" page - Older versions of the quality guidelines have only required these pages for sites dedicated to health, finance, or well-being, but now they are a requirement for all pages to obtain a favorable quality rating.

Google's Quality Rating Guidelines are a Lot to Digest – We Can Help

Those are a lot of guidelines and factors to take into consideration, and if you're feeling overwhelmed, don't worry. We Do Web Content, Inc. is here to help your business impress Google's quality rating team with total compliance with their guidelines.

Give us a call or fill out our contact form to speak with our content team and learn how our company can help yours exceed expectations when it comes to website quality. Call us at 888-521-3880.

References:

http://www.thesempost.com/google-rewrites-quality-rating-guide-seos-need-know/

http://www.mboresourcecenter.com/googles-new-quality-rating-guide-revealed/

by Gerry Oginski, Esq.

(1) “Objection! I Direct You NOT to Answer That Question.”

That’s the title of one of my videos. Why would I create a video with such a pointed question?

Here’s another video title...

(2) “Surveillance video backfired. New York medical malpractice attorney explains.”

Who is that video title for?

Here's another laser focused video title...

(3) “Why would I discontinue a case against two gynecologists in a failure to diagnose breast cancer case?”

Again, why would I create such pointed and specific titles for videos? Would you like to learn the answer? Come join me as I share with you this great information.

If you are going to take the time, energy and resources to create great educational video, you must have a clear and concise video marketing strategy before ever pressing the record button.

Do not think for a moment that you can take your iPhone, android device, or iPad or video camera and start shooting a quick and dirty video and expect that viewers will flock to watch your video.

PLANNING AND STRATEGIZING IS CRITICAL

The most important part of creating great video involves the planning phase. During your planning you need to map out a clear video marketing strategy.

If you fail to have a clear and concise video marketing strategy your ideal clients will never find you online and here’s SEVEN REASONS why:

1. Your videos will not be found by Google or YouTube. YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world directly behind Google. (Who owns YouTube? Google).
2. Even if your video somehow comes up in a search results page, your ideal client will likely overlook the title of your video and move elsewhere.
3. A viewer who presses the play button on your video will quickly recognize that you do not have great information for him and he will leave quickly.
4. Simply providing rambling content will force your viewer to watch someone else’s video.
5. Most attorney videos lack a strategy to get viewers to pick up the phone and call.
6. You may think you have great content to offer your ideal clients, but if you don’t really know what content your viewers want, you are spinning your wheels and missing great opportunities.
7. If your strategy is to be all professional and use big legal words, your ideal consumers who are searching for you online will eagerly look elsewhere for someone they can relate to.

BONUS

IF YOU DON’T HAVE VIDEO YET, YOU ARE INTENTIONALLY IGNORING THE SECOND LARGEST SEARCH ENGINE IN THE WORLD.

HOW DO YOU GET SOMEONE TO TRUST YOU IN 3 MINUTES?

Remember, as attorneys we have a very large hurdle to overcome when we market ourselves both online and offline. Our ideal clients who do not know us are searching for an attorney to help solve their legal problem. The obstacle is that new clients who don’t know us typically do not trust us.

That’s a fact.

So how is it possible I am able to generate trust and expertise without ever talking about my credentials or selling myself in this video?

The answer is with a clear and concise video marketing strategy.

In the first headline, who is that video for?

In the second headline, who is that content for?

Importantly, what do you think I’m discussing in each of those videos directed to those specific potential viewers?

Want to see what I’m talking about?

Take a look at this video... the embed code is: <iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/n-7E2nKRmqs?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The url for the video is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-7E2nKRmqs.

A FINAL THOUGHT

You must have a clear and concise video marketing strategy when using video to market your law firm. Failure to do that will result in you scratching your head wondering why no one is watching your videos.

By James Mitchell Brown

CEO at Attorney Consultant, Inc.

Is your marketing giving you the results it should? The answer is probably a resounding NO!

No matter what the initial purpose of the consultation, I usually find when I consult for firms that they are not maximizing the results of their marketing. Most are not as egregious as that of a client that I recently helped, who was concerned that he was not getting enough clients from his new television ads in spite of some kick-ass commercials. (I can complement the commercials since I wrote them.)

I listened to the recordings of the intake calls and was amazed at how bad they were. It was shocking they signed up anyone.

• Problem one: Firm policy when prospects called—
  • Screen to see if they were good prospect.
  • Schedule a time for the “intake specialist” to call them back.
  • Naturally, 25% of the prospects were not there when called back.
• Problem two: Receptionist sounded as if the people were lucky to have someone to talk to.
  • She acted too busy to spend much time talking with them.
• Problem three: Anywhere from 40% to 70% of the calls went to voice mail.
  • 80% of them hung up rather than leaving a message.
  • When the hang-ups were called back they were not interested in talking to anyone from the firm.

The next issue is firm owners who trust non-attorneys or associates to determine who the firm can represent. The owner of the firm has to occasionally call some of the people who were rejected to determine if the correct decision was made, find out if they were spoken to with respect and were satisfied with the reasons given for not being represented. If intake calls are recorded it is incumbent upon the firm owner to listen to some by each of the people doing intake. Determine the quality of work being done by the people making the first impression on prospective clients. You have three seconds to make a first impression. The person you may not take as a client who become a valuable source of referrals if treated properly.

The major area where firms are losing money is failing to screen for mass torts. I recently taught an estate planning firm to look for drug cases and they have gotten one women into the Lipitor class, one in the mesh class and two men into the testosterone class.

Every person who calls about any case in any area of law should be screened for mass tort potential. If you don’t it is money you can receive that you are just letting slip away.. When new class actions are filed you can send a letter or email to every current and former client to see if they or anyone they know has ever used that product. .

A client of mine with a social security practice found 861 children who used Risperdal. He didn’t have the staff to call them all but, at my suggestion, hired two college students to do the screening. Sixteen of his former clients got into the class action lawsuit. That will be a huge co-counsel fee for him someday.

Intake is huge. All but one firm I have consulted for, for various reasons, has let good clients slip away. Look at your procedures carefully to make sure your firm signs up the clients you want.

By Yvette Valencia

Who says lawyers can't be social? A healthy social marketing plan is a key component of successful law firms across the country, but it takes more than just a Facebook profile and a Twitter handle to conquer the social media marketing world.

Before you put your law firm out on the social channels, read our list of dos and don’ts of social media for lawyers.

The Dos of Social Media for Lawyers

Do brag about your achievements. Potential clients want to see that you’re an attorney who gets results. Pictures of yourself along with satisfied clients and a brief note about their successful case can help instill confidence in your legal skills and puts a human face on your legal services.

Do engage in discussions with your followers. When someone comments on a social post from your firm, make sure you respond appropriately. Even if it’s just a compliment, thank the commenter for taking the time to write on your page. You also should look at engagement as an opportunity to ask satisfied clients for testimonials on AVVO, Yelp, Google+ and other rating/review sites.

Do post entertaining and informative content. The most shared content on social media is content that entertains and content that informs. It might include videos, photos, infographics or just helpful content. If you want your social networks to be heavily trafficked and really give you the full benefit of social marketing, you need to share content that your followers will find useful and/or amusing.

The Don’ts of Social Media for Lawyers

Don’t be arrogant. While you should share your successful cases, you also need to be tactful about doing so. Avoid gloating, demeaning or deceptive language in posts about recently resolved cases. Your goal in posting case successes is to show humbly how honored you are that your clients chose your firm for their case and how happy you are to be able to help them achieve justice for their cases.

Don’t ignore comments. The point of social media is to be social, and ignoring comments -- even negative ones -- defeats the purpose of having a social channel. You should respond to all interaction with your social profiles in a professional and prompt manner. If a discussion gets too heated, you may wish to ask politely that it ends or move the discussion to private communication.

Don’t post confidential content or content that could violate your local bar rules. Details of your recent case victories should be kept as general as possible to avoid breaching the attorney-client privilege. You also need to keep in mind that your state bar may have restrictions about social media conduct for attorneys, and you may not be allowed to post case results or may have to include a disclaimer on your profiles.

Don’t Make a Social Blunder – We Do Web Content Handles Social Marketing for Lawyers

We Do Web Content, Inc. handles social media for lawyers. We help attorneys and law firms across the nation keep their social presence up and lively. To get started, give us a call or fill out our contact form to speak with our sales manager about all of the services we offer to help grow your law firm through Internet and SEO marketing. 888-521-3880.

By Justin Holderness

We have all been there; we click on one simple, harmless YouTube video only to lead us down the black hole of hysterical kids, cute cats and obscure how to videos. I myself have been subject to this ridiculous madness. I lay in bed asking myself “Why am I watching some lady attempt to eat cinnamon?” only to follow up with “Just one more!”

The expansion of social media sites and technology has created an interesting culture, positioning the general population as journalist and content creators. Essentially the human race has evolved into mini media companies. Unfortunately, most law firms and local businesses with substantial marketing resources have not adapted to the age of video marketing. Here is why I personally believe most local businesses, including law firms will never succeed at video marketing.

PERSPECTIVE: Most companies are used to hearing large and ridiculous numbers when it comes to their traditional media buy and its results. If you spend X $ you will get X thousand impressions. It’s no surprise that when they look at their YouTube video view count, they are extremely disappointed to see that it only has a few dozen views. The reality is that you can spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a single TV spot that doesn’t hit a single person that can use your services. This immediately becomes a sunk cost with zero return on investment. When you post a video on YouTube you are creating content for Google to serve directly to individuals looking for your expertise (when done right). Here is something else to think about, that video lives forever. As long as YouTube and your company exist, people will have access to that content.

CONSISTENCY: To be effective when it comes to video marketing, consistency is the key. The more real-estate you own on the web with valuable content, the better chance you have at building credibility and trust with your target audience. It is like a never ending game of Monopoly. Your goal is to own as much valuable real-estate online as possible.

INVESTMENT: I absolutely believe in developing a process to create content consistently and in real-time. How valuable would it have been to be able to create a video as soon as you first heard about the BP oil spill? In order to do this efficiently, it is necessary to have an in-house studio. Shooting, editing and distributing these videos takes resources and money; that being said, the advancement of technology has resulted in a cost effective solution to developing an in-house studio.

Change is a scary thing for most people. It is perceived as a risk, but in most cases it is a greater risk not to adapt and change. When it comes to changes in the law you are forced to adapt in order to give your clients the best representation possible. Why wouldn’t you take the same approach when it comes to marketing your practice? I sincerely believe that the early adopters will dominate their market by embracing video marketing. Are you adapting accordingly?