5 Common SEO Mistakes to Avoid

You’ve spent thousands of dollars creating a new website and it’s not bringing you any new business. You’re probably frustrated and ready to give up on the whole “building your online presence” thing. But before you do, call us for a free website consultation or review these tips for SEO mistakes to avoid (or do both!). These days, a practicing attorney just can’t get away without having a strong online presence.

Here are 5 common SEO mistakes to avoid.

1. Duplicate Content

Duplicate content in the context of search engine optimization (SEO) means the same content on more than one webpage (URL) within same or different domain (web site). Search engines can’t decide which content to index, eventually not showing either page in search results. Where do many attorneys get in trouble with this issue? Practice Areas. This can be avoided with properly-drafted content written by attorneys.

2. No Content Marketing

We know we sound like a broken record, but content is king in terms of search results and SERP (search engine placement). Do not expect that your SEO team will make rapidly increase your website traffic with just onsite optimization and without a strategic, comprehensive content marketing campaign in place.

Trust us — the days that SEO companies build hundreds of backlinks on directories, social book marketing sites, blog comments, and forum comments pointing your website are long gone.

3. Poor Website Structure

Did your web developer integrate SEO best practices into the website’s structure? Most web developers are not SEO specialists, meaning that you / your law firm need to work with a comprehensive legal marketing team that can assist with all facets of website development and design.

Generally, your website’s home page will have the most authority because it has the most incoming links and the best quality of inbound links.

4. Not Mobile Friendly

As we have discussed, Google has begun taking into consideration the mobile-friendliness of your law firm’s website when determining page placement in search results. Here are some other facts to keep in mind about the importance of a mobile site

61% of customers who visit a mobile unfriendly site are likely to jump to a competitor’s website
Not having a mobile-friendly website is the equivalent of closing your firm one extra day each week
1.2 billion people access the web from smartphones

With it’s goal of providing the ultimate user-experience in mind, Google has made it very clear that no mobile experience = no love from the search engine giant!

5. Unreasonable Expectations

Building a strong web presence isn’t easy, fast, or cheap. If you’re SEO or web marketing firm is telling you otherwise, take a serious look at the services they are offering. As we have written about time and time again, gone are the days of low-cost, easy tactics that exploited loopholes in the search engine algorithms. If you want an effective web marketing campaign, understand that it will take time, patience, and consistency (don’t look for major results after a few weeks or even a few months!).

These are just a few of the main mistakes we’ve seen when consulting on and reviewing law firm websites. For more information on how to create an ethical, effective web marketing campaign, or for a free website consultation, contact the experienced digital media marketing team at WebPresence, Esq. today.