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Archive for the ‘Lawyer Website Content’ Category
Tuesday, April 24th, 2012
Letting Go of the Words When Writing for the Web
One approach to web writing lies in thinking of your writing as you would a conversation with a friend. In other words, through your content you are essentially answering questions about a particular subject, giving information as clearly and concisely as possible. Although you won’t have a human subject to assess how your information is being received, try to anticipate the questions you might be asked and answer them as thoroughly as possible in the most succinct manner possible. In some instances you can use the questions you anticipate as subheadings then answer them in the short paragraph below.
While the goal is not to make each web page you write look like an FAQ page, keeping in mind potential questions and answering them as you write can make you a much more creative writer. Further, using the technique of conversation writing pushes you to consider what your reader really wants to know—why they came to the site in the first place. Web readers want quick, solid answers to life’s very real problems.
If you think of your article as a pyramid which answers the most important questions at the top and works down to the base with the questions of less importance, you will have a better chance at grabbing your reader’s attention and holding them to the very end. If you follow the model of web as conversation, remember that the web reader is an active participant in much of the web’s writings, meaning readers can post responses in many cases which can actually lead to a give and take conversation. Questions or comments posted by your readers can also send your writing in a new direction.
What Does Letting Go of the Words Mean?
If you are wondering about the title of this particular article—letting go of the words—really means, think of the average web reader with little to no time to find the answer to their question or concern. The successful web writer must be able to turn loose of extraneous words while keeping the essential message and information. Of course letting go of words is hardly a novel idea—it is one that is used widely in print content as well. Your goal is to cut unnecessary words, not the words which actually give your writing meaning. Read your article aloud to ensure there are no words which make your content sound vague rather than precise and ditch any of those which fail to enhance your ideas.
When Longer May Be Better
While being able to ruthlessly edit your work is essential, remember that some ideas simply take more words to express, and in the end you shouldn’t cut words to the point that the entire article makes little sense to the reader. Google’s relevancy algorithms happen to be seeking out more natural forms of writing, meaning that if your copy is great—despite the length—you will get as much traffic for the longer article as you will for the small, hyper-focused pages. In theory at least, the search engines are leaning toward richer content, meaning the more complete answers Google can provide, the higher its own value tends to be. In other words, it is to Google and other search engine’s advantage to push for more high-quality in-depth articles—which nevertheless have no extraneous words which don’t contribute to the overall effect.
Structure Your Words
Don’t forget that the structure of your web content is just as important as the words within. Structure the page so it is easily readable, breaking pages up into short logical chunks of copy. In other words, endless streams of copy—no matter how great the message—will not hold a web reader’s attention. Answer your reader’s questions in the most succinct yet creative and innovative manner possible, and you will have succeeded in your quest of great web writing.
Tags: law firm website marketing
Posted in Lawyer Website Content, Strategic Marketing | Comments Off on Creativity with Usability
Monday, April 23rd, 2012
A shockingly large portion of web content is being written by those with no writing experience or those with no time to ensure the final product is worthy of taking its place on the Internet. While most all web content has—or should have—a specific goal to accomplish, unfortunately there are millions of words floating around in cyberspace with no clear purpose. Developing your content requires serious planning and effort if you want to ensure you fully meet the interests and needs of your target audience.
Content Purpose and Goals
Ask yourself first what exactly you want your words to communicate to your web readers. Every single page of your text should seek to accomplish a very specific—and measurable—goal, and that goal should fit into your overall strategy. You may be trying to reach a specific demographic or your goal may be to rank for a particular keyword or phrase. When you have a clear goal in mind, your next step is to determine how you will write your content to most fully achieve that goal. Research is your next crucial step in writing great copy—research allows you to identify the angle or slant you plan to take with your words as well as decide on your targeted keywords. Aside from the obvious advantages to thorough research, such research can unexpectedly provide invaluable inspiration.
Shaking Up the Creative Process
When you have your strategy, keywords, research and a healthy dose of inspiration it’s time to engage in an idea free flow, also known as brainstorming. Try mixing up the brainstorming method you generally use to encourage creativity. Freewriting is one technique writers used when suffering writer’s block which simply means you set a quantitative goal of 300 words, a page or ten minutes then write without worrying about editing as you write. You may be pleasantly surprised at what you end up with when you use this technique. Using a technique known as listing can also be valuable when writing web content. Simply jot down a list of phrases, single words, sentences, facts, questions, goals, arguments, etc. Your list will include all the elements you want your finished words to possess. This is not an outline, per se, rather more like making a “to do” list.
Drafting Your Final Piece
Once you have done your research, chosen your keywords and engaged in brainstorming or listing it’s time to put your words on your computer screen or paper. Web content must be both informative and engaging while clearly getting your message across. Adhere to best practices for web writing including chunking your content in short, concise paragraphs of around a hundred words. Introduce your key points through the use of highly descriptive headers and subheads. Use bulleted lists to make your text easier to read and to slow your reader down a bit. Use links in the body of your text sparingly as they can be a distraction to your reader. Put your most important facts right up front with less important details following. Remember your target audience at all times while writing, and although web content is generally 50% shorter than print content, don’t get too caught up in word length until it’s time to edit.
Editing Your Content
Once your draft is complete, it’s time for a thorough edit to ensure your piece is as crisp and informative as possible. Never depend 100% on your computer program’s spell check—words can be spelled correctly while making absolutely no sense within your context. After you’ve run spell check, engage in a human check meaning reading your words preferably from a printed page to see how the words actually flow. Web content can become immortal on the web—both the great and the extraordinarily bad—you want your content to reflect the degree of skill and care you’ve put into it.
Tags: Lawyer Website Content
Posted in Lawyer Website Content | Comments Off on Why Your Web Content Must Work for a Living
Thursday, April 19th, 2012
Though most web writers are well aware of the need to keep their copy short and succinct, it can sometimes be difficult to determine just how much information is enough, how much is too much, and how much is just right. Depending on your intended audience, combining brief overviews with comprehensive coverage is often the best strategy. The brief overviews come in the form of eye-catching headlines and sub-heads. The meat of the story must remain—but with fewer words than the same story in print.
Cutting Word Count without Cutting Value
While some writers may struggle to meet a designated word count many more find themselves consistently over the recommended word count. So how do you say everything you want to say while keeping your web content brief, crisp and informative? Write what you want to say then check the word count to determine how much editing is necessary. First take a critical look at your adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, pronouns and other descriptors to see what can be eliminated without sacrificing your content. Of course descriptors add color and depth to your writing, but in many cases some of them can be eliminated.
Next take a look at your copy for any redundancies such as using the phrase “past history.” Obviously history is in the past, so getting rid of the word “past” does not detract from the meaning. Also, it can be helpful to read your piece on a printed page rather than on your computer monitor. Many times seeing your words in print will help you see areas where you may have repeated yourself. Read each sentence with an eye toward ensuring it relates directly to your main theme or idea—you may be surprised at how many sentences are superfluous or do not relate.
When You Might Want a Longer Article
There is merit in the idea that in some cases, even on the Internet, a long article is the better choice. Think about who you are writing for when determining the perfect length. If you are writing for those who need a serious solution to a serious issue, then comprehensive coverage may be the better choice. On the other hand, if your goal is only to reach the largest amount of web readers possible, the better choice may be to focus on short content that is optimized for quick scanning. While it’s true that most web readers are in a hurry, many times they are looking for thorough research on a subject, and many times it’s impossible to be thorough and comprehensive in a short article.
Using Hypertext as a Solution to the Longer Article
The web offers you the ability to offer a short and long treatment for the same subject by offering short, simplified overviews with links to more in-depth pages. This approach allows you to give the hurried reader and the in-depth reader exactly what they need, while allowing the hurried reader to return when there is more time to find out more about your subject. Your ultimate goal is to offer your reader a value-filled experience and a solution to their problem or issue. Don’t simply assume that the only way to accomplish this task is through a very short article. Many times a longer article is exactly what your reader needs, or better still, combine the best of both worlds through the use of hypertext. Uppermost in your mind should be your reader’s needs. When you are able to thoroughly meet those needs, whether your article is short or long will be much less of a burning question and merely one piece of the overall formula for reaching web readers.
Tags: Lawyer Website Content
Posted in Lawyer Website Content | Comments Off on Content Strategy—Long vs. Short Articles
Wednesday, April 18th, 2012
Studies show that while approximately 75% of web readers will read the headline copy, only about 20% will continue reading the entire article. While these statistics can dismay hard-working web writers, there is good news for writers who have mastered the art of the headline. Compelling headlines are important in both print content and web content however their importance in web content perhaps edges out that of the printed page. Web content must be shorter than print content, concise and must be able to be easily and quickly scanned. Web headlines must also be short—although must clearly summarize the ensuing article.
The most important keywords must be front-loaded in web headlines and in the short amount of words allowed the headline must be rich with information. Remember that your headline is the first—and possibly only—impression you will make on a prospective reader.Further, this short, snappy headline which is chock-full of information must also be understandable when taken out of context. While this is not an issue in print content, web headlines often appear in search results without the accompanying article. Finally, a web headline allows the web reader to decide whether they even want to read the accompanying article so it must grab the reader by the collar and refuse to let go. If this sounds like a pretty tall order—it is!
Why Every Word Must Work Hard for Its Living
As you can see, headlines convey the essence of the story without requiring a click. We web readers are stingy with our clicks, and don’t want to waste them on anything which has no benefit to our specific situation. A great headline tells you with a fairly high level of certainty whether you will be interested in the rest of the story. The average headline is a mere five to eight words, so imagine the wealth of meaning which must be squeezed into such a tiny space.
Tips for Writing Persuasive Headlines
Many web writers only think of SEO keywords in terms of improving their story’s rating on Google. It’s important to remember that those same keywords can grab your web reader’s attention, causing them to click on the site. Asking questions in your headline can be a great tactic for stirring up curiosity and generating interest and discussion. Don’t be afraid to be a bit provocative, or even a tad shocking in your headline. Yes, you run the risk of offending a small percentage of your readers, but you may also pique the interest of hundreds or thousands more who will click on the link and read the story simply because of the tantalizing headline.
Should You Go for the Clever Turn of Phrase?
Because today’s web reader leads an incredibly busy life, remember they simply don’t have the time to study your page to determine whether it’s relevant to them or to their specific issue. The web reader relies on you—the writer—to tell them in a succinct manner whether the copy is worth their while to read, and you do this through your headlines. While a catchy or clever headline which gives the reader a good feel for the remainder of the article is great, a clever headline which is not followed by a great article can leave the web reader feeling cheated.
Specific Headlines Which Work
The “how-to” headline is one of the best ways to grab the attention of your reader, letting them know exactly what will follow. While how-to titles are extremely relevant they must nonetheless be used judiciously, and you absolutely must follow through with the answer to the how-to question or your reader will feel cheated. Try combining relevance with results in your headline and remember that above all else your readers are looking for the beneficial outcome even above a product or service.
Tags: law firm website marketing
Posted in Advertising Rules, Lawyer Website Content | Comments Off on Why Eye-Catching Headlines are Essential
Monday, April 16th, 2012
Readers of the Web skim while print readers read. In a nutshell, this is without a doubt the most important fact which those who write for the web must remember. Even avid readers who read a wide variety of print materials on a regular basis will still read differently when they are reading on their computer, iPad or other electronic device. Not only do web writers skim content, they flat out ignore details in order to read faster and may even forego traditional left-right viewing habits in order to read more quickly. Skimming habits dictate that readers focus on the headlines, summaries and captions while quickly skimming the copy. Very little in-depth reading will take place other than for the shortest paragraphs. Should you nab a reader who does read the entire web page from start to finish, they will still have likely only absorbed some 75% of the entire content.
Why the Different Reading Styles?
Reading web content from a computer monitor not only vastly increases eye strain and fatigue it is at least 25% slower for most people than reading from the printed page. Rather than the traditional left to right reading pattern, most web users will scan center, then left, then right. Generally speaking the only time a web user will read in the left to right pattern is when they are reading text with a clear intention of both reading the entire text and fully understanding the content. Even in the case where the reader has the intent of reading the entire page, the eyes will still tend to skip from word to word, making small backward movements.
Keeping it Short and Simple
Should the reader be scanning quickly to garner information—as most web reading is done—the eyes will skip randomly from sentence to sentence or paragraph to paragraph in order to find the critical information in the quickest way possible. For most of us who are seeking specific information, when a quick scan doesn’t reveal that information we will click away from the website onto another one without a second thought. Remember too that when web readers click onto a page with a huge amount of text, they are much less likely to even give the page a cursory scan.
Print Content Controls the Reader
Unlike web content, most print content is written with a clear introduction, a series of carefully crafted arguments and a final conclusion. Information is presented in a logical sequence with outside clues peppering the pages. In short, print content is linear while web content is not, and print content is author-driven while web content is more likely to be reader-driven. Most people who read specific types of books have read the same type of book in the past and will likely read more of them in the future, therefore each genre has a particular type of written “formula” to follow in order to keep a firm hold on their readers.
The printed word has a kind of control of its reader that web content simply does not which is the primary reason web content must grab the reader’s attention—and hold it—using short paragraphs and sentences as well as eye-catching headlines and informative paragraph headings. While print content tells a story, the only goal of web content—at least most of the time—is a single-minded pursuit of actionable content.
Web Readers are Skeptics
Web readers are much less likely to believe hype and to require that claims be firmly backed up with facts. Even considering that humans are skeptical by nature the Internet can turn even the most trusting of us into a pure cynic. After all, the web is filled to the brim with a fair amount of poorly constructed content, claims bordering on the outrageous and graphics practically jumping off the pages vying for our attention.
If you remember nothing else when writing for the web, remember to cut your copy by at least 50%, write in short, concise paragraphs with engaging headlines and never forget that most web users have a specific goal in mind and will ruthlessly reject most anything the site is attempting to push. Further, if you are a former print writer, remember that a print reader fully expects to follow the author’s lead while web readers are intent on constructing their own experience by piecing together information from many different sources. Following these web writing rules will ensure your web content is read—um, skimmed—by many!
Tags: Lawyer Website Design
Posted in Lawyer Website Content | Comments Off on How Writing Styles Must Differ for Print vs. Web
Friday, April 13th, 2012
Headlines have always been an important component in writing—particularly journalistic writing—but with the rise of social media they are probably even more important than ever before. When content is shared through Facebook or re-tweeted on Twitter, the headline will either grab the reader’s attention or it will not. Our increasingly busy lives dictate that we no longer read when perusing a web page, rather we skim quickly, jumping here and there until a word or a phrase stops us and makes us take notice.
Scanning is the norm in web reading, with readers spending less than five seconds on a headline to determine whether they will continue to read. If you’ve offered a confusing or lackluster headline, you have just ensured your article will not be read therefore your headline is possibly the very most important part of your article. So, your headlines must grab the reader’s attention, snapping them out of their digital media daze. Next, it should spark their interest by relating to a particular problem or issue they are having in their life. A great headline should not, however, attempt to tell the whole story rather should intrigue the reader while staying snappy and to the point.
Sparking Your Reader’s Curiosity
If your headline fails to engage your reader’s curiosity, then it is unlikely they will continue to read. To stimulate curiosity, writers must use word such as “revealed,” or “at last,” to generate interest. Your ultimate goal in your headline is to speak directly to the emotions or needs of the individual reader, making them feel as though you are speaking directly to them. Keep in mind the five basic human needs or motivators when writing your headline.
Of course first there are the physiological needs such as hunger, shelter and clothing, and the safety needs including the physical, emotional and financial. Next comes social needs which include the need for acceptance, companionship and love. Self-esteem needs include the need for attention, respect and recognition, and finally comes the self-actualization needs which speak to a person’s need to reach their potential in life. These motivators should be incorporated into your web content headlines whenever possible.
Other Ways to Write Killer Headlines
You can use the “call out” method when writing your headline which specifically calls out to your target audience. If you write a one-word headline which simply says “Migraines?” you have effectively hooked every reader who has ever suffered from migraine headaches with one little word. Another method involves simply stating the benefit right up front in your article’s headline. Say you are writing an article about how to make vanilla extract at home.
You could simply title your article “Making Vanilla at Home,” or you could grab your reader with this headline: “Saving $$$ by Making Vanilla Extract at Home.” The second headline has told your reader right up front that they can save considerable amounts of money by making their own vanilla extract, while the first, while it gets the point across, is somewhat lackluster. Writing a “how-to” headline is also an attention-getter—after all, how many women will bypass an article that states “How to Lose 15 Pounds by Summer.”
Dealing With Conflicting Advice
New writers particularly can be confused by conflicting advice from professionals. Some state that information must always be front-loaded into the headline with a goal of conveying as much useful information about the content of the article as possible. Unfortunately, headlines of this type can often end up so dull they are regularly bypassed. Other seasoned web writers advise using the headline simply to lure your visitor in, ignoring whether there is any front-loaded information involved. What you should remember is that your headline will quite often be read out of context, meaning it could come up as an Internet search result, a newsletter subject line in an email, or re-tweeted on Twitter. This means that your headline must have significance outside the context of a website. In the end, it is definitely worthwhile for any writer of web content to focus considerable time and attention on their headlines.
Tags: Lawyer Website Content
Posted in Lawyer Website Content, Lawyer Website Design | Comments Off on How Headlines Can Make or Break Your Web Writing
Thursday, April 12th, 2012
The web content writer must be fully aware of their reader’s needs and expectations. In general, readers expect that new information will be presented in the context of what is familiar to them. Familiar information encompasses something that has already been mentioned fairly recently in the surrounding text, or information which readers already know. The importance of this statement lies in the fact that good writers know to place what they can at least assume is familiar information prior to any new information. This particular placement of familiar information provides the reader with an orientation before unknown material is introduced.
Given-New
This sequencing is known as “given-before-new” and allows readers to more clearly see how each new piece of information fits into what they already know. Just as students would not take an advanced calculus class before they took a variety of other more basic math classes, the given-new principle works in the same manner. When new elements of information are introduced at the beginning of a paragraph, readers may not be able to comprehend what the article is really about, thus the necessity of the given-new principle.
Achieving Cohesion When Writing Articles
Assuming you are properly implementing the given-new principle, your articles should flow naturally due to the sequencing of information. Familiar information starts the sentences however this familiar information also incorporates your main idea or theme. New information follows with a goal of giving the reader the impression you are actually discussing something rather than simply introducing an unconnected series of ideas. Cohesion can be thought of as a veritable river of ideas which flows from one idea to the next in a very smooth, easy fashion.
Given-New vs. Topic-Content
The given-new principle is closely connected to the topic-content principle with the topic being the idea being discussed in the forthcoming text. Just like given information, the topic comes at the beginning of a sentence and encompasses an idea which is both familiar and anticipated by the reader. The topic in a sentence may be a repetition or paraphrase of something which was mentioned earlier, and gives the reader focus and clarity. The comment portion of the article comes toward the end of the paragraph, providing the reader with added information which is closely related to the main topic. Because of the manner in which most web users read, it’s important to keep the reader focused in order to ensure they make it to the end of the article. Web readers are busy people whose primary goal is to discover the answer to a question or problem in the most expeditious manner possible.
Article Progression
Beyond keeping the topic of discussion clearly focused in order to create an article which flows in a smooth and logical manner, writers must be cognizant of the thorough development of topics throughout the text. Topical progression is a term which essentially means to create bridges from one part of the content to the next. Each sentence leads naturally into the next, and each paragraph shows a logical progression of the topic or the theme. Readers are led naturally from one sentence to the next, and are not required to stop reading to try and figure out what they just read and how on earth it relates to the overall topic. Web readers need answers quickly and commonly skim articles in order to get that information. Writers who properly set up their articles, using the given-new principle and following good rules of article progression are more likely to hook their readers early and keep them until the end. Effective web writers are those who take note of the “rules” while still keeping their own particular brand of creativity and style in the game.
Tags: Lawyer Website Design
Posted in Lawyer Website Content | Comments Off on Exploring the “Given-New” Principle
Wednesday, April 11th, 2012
Meeting the expectations of your web reader can be challenging, to say the least. Today’s web readers are savvy, yet exceptionally busy and demand genuine, high-quality content. This is a choosy group, therefore your goal should be to target your readers and speak directly to them. Words are powerful tools and while there is a great deal of substandard writing on the web, the trend is thankfully shifting toward content full of significant information, value and importance. In short, any content published online should contain a level of relevance which raises the rank of the pages.
Differences Between Web and Print
There are significant differences in web content writing and print writing, most particularly the necessity of including keywords in your writing. Writers must first understand the importance of keywords then use them judiciously. Writing should be concise and relevant and should provide the specific information your reader is seeking. Web content must also be significantly shorter than print—the average web reader spends less than four seconds deciding whether they want to read an article on the web or not. If all they see is a vast expanse of copy, they will likely look elsewhere for their information. Headlines are critical when writing for the web as are short, simple sentences, short paragraphs and the use of bulleted and numbered lists.
Capturing the Interest of Your Readers
As stated, web readers are busy and are usually looking for specific information about a particular subject. They want to know how to do something, want to purchase a specific item, or need information about a particular subject. They want this information quickly and they want it to be easily scannable. The reader’s interest should be hooked immediately with your gripping headlines then held onto tightly with captivating sub-headlines, an engaging intro and copy that follows through on your promise. Your reader’s expectation is they are about to find the answer to a burning question, problem or issue, relevant information which will improve their life or possibly a compelling, informative article which holds their attention to the very end.
How Important are Headlines?
The headlines of an article could very well be what keeps your reader engaged until the very end. Your headlines should be so catchy and interesting that your reader is compelled to continue reading. If you can convince your reader through your headlines that they will be missing something vitally important to their life should they neglect to continue reading, then you have done your job well. Your headlines are essentially a promise to your reader and should provoke some type of emotion, inspiring them to take action. Dress up your headlines with descriptive adjectives and give your reader’s a hint of what’s to come—then deliver on your promise in your copy.
The Importance of the Introduction
Once you’ve written catchy, compelling headlines, concentrate on your introductory paragraph as it is the second most powerful element of your writing. Your intro should entice your reader to continue reading, and ideally will begin with a statistic, question or fact which your readers will find surprising, interesting or even shocking. Your intro should leave your reader wanting more, so spend the necessary time to make it great.
Your goal is to ensure you have fully met the expectations of your targeted audience by providing them the information they need while providing high-quality writing. End your articles with some sort of inspiring thought, call to action or even a metaphor which will enable them to remember what they just read, and you have met your goal.
Tags: law firm website marketing
Posted in Lawyer Website Content, Lawyer Website Design | Comments Off on Expectations of Your Web Reader
Tuesday, February 14th, 2012
You’ve probably heard about how users read on the web—they skim, they scan, they notice headlines, etc. In truth, what users do on the web cannot really even be considered reading, since only 16 percent of web users actually read content word-for-word. The vast majority of web readers pick out individual words and sentences, rarely reading even an entire paragraph.
What is “Scannable Text?”
This is why “scannable text” has become one of the latest buzzwords surrounding search engine optimization and rules about the best way to write compelling, readable copy. This type of text is basically comprised of highlighted keywords, attention-grabbing headlines, sub-headlines which are rich in meaning, bulleted or numbered lists, one idea per paragraph, and at least half the word count of conventional writing.
How Much Do Readers Read?
The average web page reader reads a maximum of 28% of the actual words on your page, probably even less. The possible flaw in this equation comes from the fact that in order to come up with this particular statistic, the users in the studies tended to all possess above-average intelligence, and some might say that the typical reader of above-average intelligence might tend to scan most of what they read, whether it’s online or a book in their hands. Interestingly, the studies which found how much people scan on the web also determined that the “back” button is the third most-used feature on the web, and that most users consider it a lifeline which rescues them from content that turns out to be neither helpful nor interesting to them.
Nearly 20% of all page views last less than 4 seconds, meaning the user bounced out almost immediately after a quick scan of the page. Users tended to spend more time on pages with more information, meaning the website owner must not only grab the reader’s attention almost immediately, but must also provide the highest quality, most interesting information around in order to hold the reader’s attention.
Keep Your Intro Short and Sweet
Because much of the introductory text on web pages tends to be extremely long, users simply skip it. If you want your readers to actually read your intro, keep it short, informative, and make sure it increases the overall usability of your site by telling your reader about the purpose of the rest of your content. Many users will simply skip the introductory paragraph, jumping immediately to any actionable content on the page. This type of content could consist of the specific features of your products, bulleted lists, a short explanation of your business services, or hypertext links. Forget rolling out the welcome mat, and simply get to the heart of the matter, and you will stand a better chance of hanging on to your reader.
Use the Same Technique with Your Content
Your content must take note of the same issues as your intro. Once you’ve written your content, go back and slash mercilessly, leaving only the very most pertinent, interesting, exciting information behind. As noted, web articles should be approximately half as long as a comparable hard copy if you want your readers to read to the end, so learn to edit. Pepper your article with lots of subheads, which break up blocks of copy and allow those who are scanning to get the idea simply by looking at the subheads. Bullets and numbered lists immediately draw your reader’s attention, especially those who like reading lists. Use your white space judiciously rather than trying to fill every single space on your page with text. White space gives the eyes a break, making the overall article much more scannable. Complex sentences are not web-friendly, neither are long paragraphs. Finally, if you want to make your most important words stand out, use different colored text, bold or italics–but use them judiciously. Use photographs to show your reader exactly what you are talking about, and make sure you use an easy-on-the-eyes font. It’s important to understand how your web readers operate in order to reach them and keep them reading.
Tags: website law firm design
Posted in Lawyer Website Content, Reviews | Comments Off on How Users Really Read Your Site
Tuesday, February 7th, 2012
Link popularity has evolved into a major ranking factor with Google’s latest algorithm, meaning your site is assessed both for the quantity and quality of links which point to your site. In fact, when Google’s PageRank came into being it actually determined the relative “importance” of your site simply by checking the other sites which linked to your own. Google still gives considerable weight to PageRank and links, but also considers some 200 other signals as well.
Links are beneficial to your website because they increase your Google PageRank and bring more visitors to your site. If your link building campaign is well thought out, well executed, and above all, legitimate, then you are well on your way to a site which climbs up the rankings quickly and stays solid. On the flip side, a poorly-executed linking campaign will not only waste your valuable time, but can also get you a slap-down from Google.
High Quality First, Unique Second
While unique content is certainly good for your readers, it’s possibly not quite as good as you might think. If your content is actually 100% unique, then you may have to copyscape-proof the site before unscrupulous site scrapers beat you to the draw, leaving the search engines believing they are the originator of your content. Other than this, however, unique is good, certainly head and shoulders above copying other’s content.
What is great content? Well, great content is definitely non-spun, and is highly readable copy which educates your readers and gives them something of value. If you have a site which is full of great content, your click-through rates—as well as the average time spent on your site—will go up accordingly. It is also likely you that you will begin betting more and more new visitors (and fans) to your site, leading to increased social sharing. High quality content is written from the heart without the sole focus of keywords—in other words it is written for humans, not search engine spiders even though ultimately the spiders will reward you.
Best Practices for Content Links
The best way to avoid raising a red flag with search engines is to build the links in your content slowly and naturally—too fast and your site may look suspicious. Always remember that quality links are miles above quantity in the overall SEO scheme. The best links come from websites with high PageRank, are respected, trusted and high quality, and have content related to your own. It’s much better to have a single great link than twenty, thirty or forty inconsequential ones. While difficult to obtain, links from .gov and .edu sites are highly coveted, as they are generally considered authoritative. Strive to have your target keywords in your anchor text, but avoid repetition in keywords.
Jump on the Blog Bandwagon
Blogs are an excellent way to acquire links to your website, as well as offering short, informative posts which readers find interesting. Remember, search engines love fresh content, and newly published content is miraculously indexed almost constantly, sending a link right back to your site. Blogging is rich in relevant keywords about your overall subject or topic, again, linking back to your website. There really is no downside to blogging, other than the time you will invest, however the rewards you reap may well make that time more than worthwhile.
Give Your Content an Assessment
Look at your content with a critical eye and ask yourself whether it is good for the user, credible, authoritative and high quality. If you can answer yes to all these questions, then incorporate responsible link building strategies within your great content, and you have a recipe for success.
Tags: website design for lawyers
Posted in Law Firm SEO, Lawyer Website Content | Comments Off on How Great Content Serves as an SEO Link Building Strategy
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