Stephen Swift - Colorado Springs Bankruptcy Attorney

Congratulations to Stephen Swift (http://www.swiftlaw.net/). His new Bankruptcy website is online now and in less than one month his site is now on Page One of Google for most Bankrutpcy searches.

Stephen Swift Bankruptcy Website

Congratulations to Stephen Swift for his newly published website at http://www.swiftlaw.net/. After less than one month online his site is already showing up on page one of Google searches int he Bankruptcy

Compete Against the Attorneys Who Spend More

There are always going to be lawyers and law firms that will spend more money on advertising than everyone else. They will also typically get a lot of business as a result of that kind of advertising spend.

So what can an attorney that does not have the budget or the desire to spend their money in the same fashion do to compete with the big spenders? FOCUS! Instead of trying to compete with them, simply focus your marketing and advertising on specific areas.

For example, if you are a Personal Injury attorney, maybe focus your website on Motorcycle Accidents. Optimize (make visible to search engines) your site for that specific topic.

Now that does not mean you neglect all the other practice areas within your law practice. No. You should write about those areas as well BUT focus on one topic so that you maximize your optimization on that area. You would be surprised at the results you will be able to achieve.

As your website brings you more and more business and you can now afford to spend more money to achieve greater results and then compete against those that are putting bigger dollars into their marketing budgets.

If you have questions please don't hesitate to call me at 303-947-1737.

How Long Will it Take My Website to Start Showing Up in Searches?

If there is one question I get asked most often it's "When will my website start working?" Unfortunately there is no standard answer. There are many different factors to when a site shows up. Search engines use mathematical formulas called algorithms to determine rank or where your website will show up, whether it's on the first page of Google (http://www.google.com/) or the 100th page. Here is what Google has to say about ranking:

"When your site is ready:

1. Have other relevant sites link to yours.
2. Submit it to Google at http://www.google.com/addurl.html.
3. Submit a Sitemap as part of our Google Webmaster Tools. Google uses your Sitemap to learn about the structure of your site and to increase our coverage of your webpages.
4. Make sure all the sites that should know about your pages are aware your site is online.
5. Submit your site to relevant directories such as the Open Directory Project and Yahoo!, as well as to other industry-specific expert sites.
6. Design and content guidelines
7. Make a site with a clear hierarchy and text links. Every page should be reachable from at least one static text link.
8. Offer a site map to your users with links that point to the important parts of your site. If the site map is larger than 100 or so links, you may want to break the site map into separate pages.
9. Create a useful, information-rich site, and write pages that clearly and accurately describe your content.
10. Think about the words users would type to find your pages, and make sure that your site actually includes those words within it.
11. Try to use text instead of images to display important names, content, or links. The Google crawler doesn't recognize text contained in images.
12. Make sure that your TITLE tags and ALT attributes are descriptive and accurate.
    Check for broken links and correct HTML.
13. If you decide to use dynamic pages (i.e., the URL contains a "?" character), be aware that not every search engine spider crawls dynamic pages as well as static pages. It helps to keep the parameters short and the number of them few.
14. Keep the links on a given page to a reasonable number (fewer than 100). "
    

FindLaw (http://www.findlaw.com/) follows these guidelines. To expand upon a few of the more important points

• Inbound Linking - The more relevant the inbound link, meaning sites relevant to your area of practice, the more "respect" you will get from the search engines.
• Content - The more content you have that is relevant to your area of practice the better the site will do.
• Design is also critical because if you have a site that is not easy to navigate or is not appealing to the eye, the more people will click on the back button. There are hundreds of components that search engines use to rank but these are a few.

Another important area to consider is length of time your site has been online. Once a site gets published online is when the search engines start to index them or start the ranking process. With over 25 BILLION websites in the world and more added every day this can take time. It's not unusual for a site to take upwards of 9 months to start to be effective. There are no magic wands and anyone offering one should be viewed very carefully.

Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Web Presence

10. Is your FindLaw firm and attorney profile up to date and informative? Your profile is an excellent opportunity for you to inform potential clients of who you are and what you can do. We highly recommend that you include narrative text and a picture of yourself. The narrative text can include your background, mission/vision, experience, and things that differentiate you from your competitors. An informative FindLaw profile can also have a strong presence in Search Engine results. Check out your profile today by going to www.FindLaw.com or click here for more information.

9. When was the last time you reviewed and updated the content on your FirmSite? Search Engines constantly crawl the internet for fresh information. Consider updating your Publications or add a Testimonials page. This is a great opportunity to establish your firm as a legal expert and improve search engine results. Other options include an In the Community page, Representative Client’s page or a Case Summaries page.

8. Have you submitted your FirmSite to any online directories or purchased online advertisements? Be sure to submit your FirmSite to various reputable online directories like Google Local, Yahoo Local, and more to build in-bound links to your FirmSite. Click here for more information. If you have purchased online advertisements, be sure they link to the appropriate pages on your FirmSite. For example, if you have a Personal Injury TopSpot on FindLaw.com, link it to the Personal Injury page on your FirmSite. This guides prospects directly to the information they seek and improves the presence of this page within the Search Engine results.

7. Do you have a page on your FirmSite without any content? Maybe you have a Spanish page without Spanish content or a Testimonial page without testimonials because you have not had time to update. It is critical to incorporate keyword rich content with about 250 words per page on your FirmSite. Search Engines can penalize your FirmSite for having empty pages, please consider removing them. You can always add them back once you have some relevant, keyword rich content.

6. Does your FirmSite have a Site Map? A Site Map can make it easier for Search Engines to crawl and index your FirmSite in an effort to improve your Search Engine results.

5. Did you know that there are FREE methods for promoting your FirmSite? Be sure to add your web address to your letterhead, business cards, email signature, as well as mention your FirmSite on your business’ voicemail.

4. Who? What? Where? With the amount of information available online, you only have a few seconds to grab the attention of a potential client. It is imperative that your FirmSite clearly states your firm’s name, phone number, office location, and your services in a visible area.

3. Do you have any pictures of your staff, office or practice area specific pictures on your FirmSite? Statistics show that a potential client is more likely to contact the firm that includes pictures of the attorneys and staff than the firm that doesn’t. Pictures are a great way to add a personal touch as well as visually convey what you do and who you are to potential clients.

2. Your firm is located in Denver, CO. How does a potential client located in Englewood, CO find you online? Be sure to include a geography block at the bottom of each page of your FirmSite. A geography block consists of cities and counties that you would like to attract clients from.

1. When was the last time you discussed your web presence with your FindLaw Account Manageror local FindLaw Sales Consultant? Today is a great day to contact us and find out what we can do to enhance your web presence in the areas of visibility, content, and design. Call 303-947-1737