Search Engine Optimization is usually focused on trying to figure what the Search Engines are looking for and how to catch up and get the better of the competitor’s websites.

It is equally important however to keep in mind that it is the visitors to the website who are the ultimate decision makers for the site’s popularity and are hence the single most important aspect of a website.

Visitors are those people that you attempt to attract to your site and they are the ones that will essentially make your website and hence your business successful. Hence , it is very important that the site be "user-friendly" and have the ability to attract a visitor to contact the Business or to make that Purchase.

Today Search engines too are changing the way they rank sites and are not only promoting natural web pages, with good content and natural links but are also looking into tracking a user's browsing pattern in order to rank search results . A site that is bookmarked and visited frequently will almost always rank higher.

Ultimately, the focus comes back to emphasizing visitor optimization and content optimization, creating a unique experience for the visitor and holding their attention by providing information in a simple, attractive and fun way.

Debby D'silva

Recently, an issue has been surfacing about the inherent nature of Blogs posted by attorneys.  The question is (1) whether they should be considered journalistic in nature, providing consumers important useful information about specific legal issues or cases, or (2) are they blatant advertisements.  This is not simply a philosophical issue, but one that affects who and how they should be regulated.

 Recently, ethics monitors in Kentucky determined that attorney-written blogs are no different than an attorney's website and should be considered advertising.  Thus, blogs need to be regulated and scrutinized as such.  Initially, that required firms to submit all ads to the commission for approval, including every blog entry.  The $50 cost for submission, however, would make blogging cost prohibitive. After negotiations between the commission and the blogging firm, the decision was modified where the lawyer is not required to submit each blog entry to the commission for review (and incur a $50 fee each time), as long as the Commission determines the blog and its entries to be a legitimate exercise in journalism.

 As the impact of the Internet medium and the information it provides continues to influence the mainstream American consumer market at an unparalleled rate, monitoring and regulating the activities of law firms will likely be an increasing issue.  Keep your eyes open.

Bill Fukui

Page 1 Solutions 

With the holidays in full swing, I've recently had a little time off from the world of search engines, website optimization, and web marketing. During this time of supposed R&R, part of what I've done is catch up on some good ole’ brain-draining daytime television. One thing I've noticed is there are a ton of law firm commercials played during the day.  And all of them, more or less, say the same thing - "If you've been injured, call us today for a free consultation", or "Our interest is in protecting the people, we've been fighting insurance companies for years", and so on.

Now, while there is nothing wrong with promoting any given law firm in such a way, the one thing I was always trying to find with these commercials (besides the fact that none of them offered a website) was any individual law firm's Unique Selling Proposition (USP). In other words, what was it that one personal injury law firm had over the next one in my town that would get me to pick up my phone?

You see, the problem I deal with the most in everyday website marking is not so much how to get any particular law firm into the top of Google's results, but rather, how to keep them there. And the one thing I've noticed is the law firm that offers some sort of unique proposition will typically have an easier time of not only creating better results in Google, Yahoo, MSN and others, but maintaining those results will be less work due to the fact that their website doesn't appear to be an average, run-of-the-mill law website.

There are many reasons for promoting your USP. First of all, unique propositions create unique content that, with the help of a skilled copywriter, can be transformed into highly relevant and highly informative information - just the information the top search engines are looking to rank. Second, unique propositions peek the interest of potential clients, especially those who are doing research for who they think really is the 'best lawyer in town'.  Also, USPs give people something to remember – something to hold on to. It's something they can easily translate to their friends and family, something that's useful.

So how do you find your USP?

I think most lawyers can come up with this on their own time. But here are a few ideas. Start with facts and figures. Lets say you just won a huge personal injury case against a popular drug manufacturer, or public company, and you recovered a large sum of money for your client. This is just the sort of information you wanna splash all over your website. Or, say a very popular magazine just voted you "One of the Top Law Firms in the State". Again, make it well known. Another way of finding a great USP is to simply offer a benefit that the general public is unaware of. Free consultations, and No recovery, no fee, are fine propositions, but highly overused, and quite frankly, the effect is not the same as say a lawyer who announces that he will travel across the state for free to consult with someone who is injured.

In other words, help your potential client see the benefit of hiring you.

 Nathan Joynt

Long-term search engine optimization basically means that your website will receive ongoing optimization on a regular basis. This is something that Page 1 Solutions strives to do.

We are constantly researching new keywords that generate results for our clients and will incorporate those keywords into our client’s websites through updated content. In order to succeed, your website needs to be graphically up to date and most importantly, have frequently updated content. This helps the search engines to see that your website is always being updated and kept fresh, which encourages the Search Engines to come back to the site more frequently. This helps the website to obtain higher rankings.

Long term SEO also includes monthly site submissions, link building and doing ongoing analysis and maintenance of the website.

We provide reporting of our analysis to our clients so that they are always kept in the loop. We also provide continuous link building efforts. Our link building strategies include constant research into finding the most qualified and relevant links for your particular site, which can help to raise your ranking with all of the search engines.

With constant research of your website along with the competitors, we are able to find the best ways for your site to reach the top and remain there.

Alex Juel
SEO Specialist
Page 1 Solutions