Fresno California lawyers - attorneys legal directory
Google Search Engine Optimization Tips
By Bob Schwartz, CRS, GRI ©2007 Promotions Unlimited all rights reserved.
This material is subject to copyright and any unauthorized use, copying or
mirroring is prohibited.
Having your firm's Web site rank well in Google takes hard work and a little
luck. Due to Google’s huge traffic, a top rating here will definitely pay off in
obtaining new legal clients. These tips will work, but unless you or someone you
hire follows through, your web site will never be using the full potential high
search engine placement affords. Note: most web site designers do well at
designing, graphics/colors etc., but do not know much about optimization and
look over all or most of these vital steps.
Below are ten tips to get you started on improving your legal web site:
1. Start out slowly. If possible, begin with a new site that has never been
submitted to the search engines or directories. Choose an appropriate domain
name, and begin by optimizing just the home page. *Note – It is very important
that you OWN your domain (http://www.sacramento-ca-lawyers-attorneys-directory.com).
There are a number of web site design companies that create sites and register
domain names for their clients, but actually retain ownership of the domain.
Also, many free/low-cost sites are really sub-domains of the sponsoring company.
One should never use such a sub-domain site . . . even for free! Sub-domains
usually look like: www.sandiegolawyerforyou.com/yourfirmname.htm
Most intelligent web surfers know sub-domains are free or low cost. You can
create a negative impression right at the beginning. Also, you’ll be printing
your web site’s address on your business card, letterhead, advertising etc. What
happens if the company who owns the top level domain goes broke, or decides to
double your cost of the sub-domain? You are not in control under a sub-domain,
and in essence are promoting another’s domain. For domain registration and name
availability, visit www.websitetrafficbuilders.com. Also, to research domain
names, check out our free download of Domain Name Analyzer.
Even though you can register a domain for one year at a time, I would recommend
you register for at least three to five years. Keep in mind, if you forget to
renew your registration, you will automatically lose your domain name. Someone
could re-register it for their own use and benefit from the traffic and standing
you built.
2. Learn basic HTML. Many search engine optimization techniques involve editing
the behind the scenes HTML code. Your high rankings can rely on knowing which
codes are necessary and which aren't.
3. Choose keywords wisely. The keywords you think might be perfect for your site
might not be what people actually use to search for your service. Choose two or
three highly targeted phrases for each page of your site. Never aim for general
keywords such as "law" or "legal."
4. Write at least 200 - 250 words of visible text copy based on your chosen
keywords. This is a crucial component to high rankings and a successful Web
site. The search engines need to "read" keyword dense copy on your pages so they
can successfully classify your site. Use each keyword phrase various times
within your copy for best results.
5. Create a good Title tag. HTML title tags are critical because they're given a
lot of weight with all of the search engines. You must put your keywords into
this tag and not waste space with extra words. Do not use the Title tag to
display your company name or to say "Home Page." Think of it more as a "Title
Keyword Tag" and create it accordingly. Add your company name to the end of this
tag, if you must use it.
6. Create Meaty Meta tags. Meta tags can be useful, but they are not a magic
bullet. Create a Meta Description tag that uses your keywords and also describes
your site. The information in this tag often appears under your Title in the
search engine results pages.
The Meta Keyword tag isn't quite as important as the Meta Description tag.
Contrary to popular belief, what you place in the keyword tag will have very
little bearing under which keywords your site is actually found, and it's not
given any thought whatsoever by Google. Use this tag, but do not obsess over it.
7. Use extra "goodies" to boost rankings. Things like headlines, image alt tags,
header tags <H1><H2>, etc.), links from other pages, keywords in file names, and
keywords in hyperlinks can together boost search engine rankings. Use any or all
of these where they make sense for your site.
8. Use caution when submitting to directories such as Yahoo and the Open
Directory Project (DMOZ). Having directory listings are a focal component to
getting your site spidered and listed by Google. Making mistakes in the
submission process could cost you dearly as directory listings are not easy to
change later in the game. Therefore, it's important to read Yahoo's How to
Suggest Your Site and How to add a site to the Open Directory before submitting.
9. Don't expect speedy results. Getting high rankings takes time; there's no
getting around that fact. Once your site is added to a search engine or
directory, its ranking may start out low and then slowly work its way up the
ladder. Some search engines measure "click-through popularity," i.e., the more
people that click on a particular site, the higher its ranking will go. Be
patient and give your site time to mature.
10. Don't constantly "tweak" your site for better results. It's best not to make
modifications to your optimization for at least three-to-six months after
submission. It usually takes the engines at least that long to add your
optimized pages to their databases. Submit it, and then forget about it for a
while!
If you've utilized these tips and still can't find your legal web site in the
engines, the first place to change would be your page copy. If you included less
than 250 words of visible text on your pages, this is probably your culprit.
Also, double check your keyword density, and make sure that you only targeted
two or three phrases per page. Soon, you'll see the fruits of your labor with
many top ten rankings in Google and the rest of the search engines!
If all the above sounds too complicated, you can benefit from a free trail
download of Internet Business Promoter (IBP). IBP is a multi-award winning web
site promotion software tool and offers everything you need to successfully
promote your law firm's web site. IBP is a suite of 10 professional web
promotion tools that can help you with all types of web site promotion and
search engine optimization.
* Our legal directories have so many page one search engine standings, to save
computer time, we only run our search engine reports for our page one standings.
Not counting the paid 'sponsored listings,' because it is estimated over 60% of
web surfers look over these paid listings, we are always gratified when our key
word phrases reach the first position.
The table below will show just a small sampling of our PAGE ONE, POSITION ONE
standings on Google, Yahoo & MSN.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bob Schwartz, is the founder of Promotions Unlimited (search engine
optimization) an Internet legal directory (CA, TX & Las Vegas) publisher and
search engine placement technology analyst. You can contact Bob via e-mail at
seo711@gmail.com or visit his
San Diego legal directory at:
www.sandiegolawyerforyou.com
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