Webpage marketing is an important component of most law firms today. This is particularly true for law firms that have a webpage and rely on getting leads from the webpage itself. No matter the area of law, many when they are looking for an attorney put in relevant search terms in a search engine such as Google, including the area of law, the geographic location, and perhaps other relative terms. When a law firm ranks high in a specific area of law in a particular region, that can lead to that law firm getting lots of leads from potential clients. But, Google’s algorithms can both positively and negatively impact your law firm’s search engine ranking.
Ranking high in the search engines is akin to being on the front of the phone book back in the day. Law firms that rank high often have more bites from potential clients than law firms that do not.
What can be frustrating for many law firms is that the search engines can shuffle where a law firm ranks. One day a law firm can be ranking in one particular spot. But several weeks later, a law firm might notice that their law firm webpage has either gone up or down in the rankings.
Sometimes, these variations in where a law firm ranks can be minor. But during major algorithm updates, law firms might see significant movement. This significant movement can either result in joy if the webpage is moving up in the rankings. At the same time, if a law firm moves down in the rankings, this can cause a law firm to worry. It can also impact the law firm financially in a serious way.
Law firms that succeed stay on top of algorithm updates on the part of Google and other search engines. They try to track when search engine rankings are steady or unsteady and try to stay up-to-date on updates. They also tweak their search engine optimization strategy based on what is known about these updates.
On the other hand, law firms that do not follow updates are shocked when the rankings shuffle — and have no idea how it could have happened. They think it’s a random and completely uncontrollable event. They also do not change or adjust their strategy to keep their law firm webpage ranking high.
One great tool for checking whether or not Google is implementing algorithm updates is through Accuranker’s Google Grump Rating. Like tracking the stock market’s ebbs and flows in terms of handling your money, you can actually view what is going on with Google at any given time.
The Google Grump Rating track’s whether Google is chilled, cautious, grumpy, or furious. When Google is chilled, it means that no new algorithm updates appear to be in play. But when Google is furious, these are periods where a law firm needs to monitor the situation closely and perhaps consult with whoever assists them in the search engine optimization of their webpage. Of course, when Google is cautious or grumpy, it means that Google is in an intermediary period in terms of updates.
Through the Google Grump rating, you can also see how Google has behaved over time. In looking at their calendar, you can see the periods of time where Google has shifted from chilled to furious to try to predict from a timing perspective when new updates might come in the future. You can also better understand how Google ranks webpages by doing additional research about what is going on with algorithm updates when Google is furious. You can then see how your firm’s search engine ranking was affected by the changes in Google and adjust as necessary.
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