Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a key component of content marketing. However, it can be easy for promoting lawyers to fall in the trap that it’s all keywords.

SEO is something that anyone with a basic knowledge of content marketing will be able to understand. It is crucial that content be optimized to make it easy to find on search engines.

Research has shown that very few people who search on Google or other search engines go beyond the first page. Therefore, it is important to get a high ranking. The joke is that you can hide a body from search engines by placing it on the second page.

Why Keywords aren’t Enough

Keywords alone are not enough to make SEO a success. Here are some searches that people might use to find legal services. These phrases could include “divorce lawyer” and “compensation claims”, but longer-tail keywords can be used to focus on more specific issues.

Problem is, with many service providers offering legal content marketing in Los Angeles that uses the same keywords, there will be many matching results. It would be lucky if the content that made it to page one was not ranked higher without other criteria.

Of course, this was not always true. Keywords were all that mattered in the early days of SEO. In order to increase a site’s ranking, it was possible to stuff articles with more keywords. However, unscrupulous content producers might include popular search terms (such as the name or celebrity) that have little to no connection to the topic to boost traffic and rank.

What has changed in search engine algorithms

Search engines responded to this around a decade back by updating their algorithms. Since then, they have added additional elements to determine a ranking.

• Reliability and quality
• Length
• Site security
• Mobile-friendliness
• User experience and technical SEO
• Age, domain, and authority of URL
• Backlinks are a great way to get backlinks.
• Images

These are only a few of the factors that are considered. Google claims to have around 200 factors, but it is not clear what they are. However, keywords can be combined with the elements above to determine a ranking.

Writers must match the use of keywords with the production of content with authority and best links. These will help to rank higher if they come from high-authority sources.

A backlink will make a difference to a site that has only a few views, but a website with thousands of visitors or millions of visitors will make a big impact. It is important to avoid toxic domains and broken links. However, updating backlinks to existing content can be a productive task. This will ensure that existing links are in good condition and allow you to add new links when possible.

Why the rule 7 should be remembered

Quality writing is essential to any enterprise. The rule of seven, which states that consumers must be exposed to marketing messages an average seven times before they are willing to buy, applies to content marketing just as well as other marketing. It is one thing to be found online; it is another to produce the type of editorial content that people want to continue reading.

Search engines consider length to be an important aspect of quality content. A longer article will rank higher because search engines consider it to be a sign that the writer is more knowledgeable and provides more information.

What pictures can make all the difference

Images play a major role in content ranking. Keep these factors in mind:

• They must be high quality
• They must be relevant
• While still photos are great, video is superior.

Although it is true that images can break down text and make content more appealing, it’s not the only reason. If they are well matched, they can add authority and meaning.

Video is one step beyond because it gives you additional information that makes it more likely that the content will be of value. Video is a powerful tool because people prefer to watch videos than read them.

Cisco predicts that it will account for as much as 82% of all IP traffic by 2021. If you embed a video within an article, it will help increase your rank, especially if the video has a high authority and is getting a lot of views.

It is not an easy task to build domain authority. It will take some time for organic SEO to rise to the top of the ranks. As the URL’s age and authority increases, more content is produced.

It is a fact that the older URL, the better chance it has to rank high. You can only do what you can if your website is brand new. Be consistent and produce quality content to build your ranking.

Why SEO still applies for paid search

A paid search campaign or pay per click advertising is a quick way to establish their presence.

However, there may be competition for space, so similar bids might be received. Search engine algorithms will still reward SEO that is good and penalize those that are not.

How technical SEO can ruin your best efforts

Even the best legal content writer can fail to support their technical skills.

Slow load-ups are a classic sign of poor technical SEO. Although there may be many reasons for this, if these aren’t addressed quickly, it can lead to a high bounce rate and frustration among site visitors.

The search engine algorithm will then punish this. Last year, Google released an algorithm update which would penalize slow load-ups.

This is just one of many user experience issues you need to consider. Mobile-friendly websites are crucial because nearly half of all searches are conducted on smartphones, and this number has been growing rapidly in recent years.

Secure connections are essential. A website that uses HTTPS to connect is safer than HTTP, which is good for SEO. It is vital that you have a secure connection in this age of cyber-security.

Apart from all this, a site must be accessible for the search engine crawlers to reach it and evaluate its pages in order to give a ranking.

Failure to address the technical aspects of SEO would result in content writers being let down, much like a motor racing driver receiving a car with a malfunctioning engine or wheels that could fall off.

There are certain elements of technical SEO that a writer must be aware of. These are page titles that include keywords and meta descriptions. They help to show the user what page they are looking for.