Law Firm & Attorney SEO FAQ
Search engine optimization (SEO), often confused with the broader discipline of search engine marketing (SEM), is the process of producing a web document that has the greatest potential to achieve positive result from exposure on search engines. There is an important distinction, search engine optimization is a component of search engine marketing, albeit an important one. SEO is concerned with how a website is constructed (its content, underlying code, etc.) as well as other external factors (e.g. how many websites that link back to it). Most important, ethical search engine optimization never uses actions or schemes intended to trick the search engines.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is search engine optimization (SEO)?
- Why is SEO important? Why should I care?
- What do I need to do to my website to achieve a better position in the natural search results?
- I've heard the phrase "Page Rank" used in SEO … what is it?
- What's involved in MarketWorks' search engine optimization services?
1. What is search engine optimization (SEO)?
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. Usually, the earlier a site is presented in the search results, or the higher it "ranks", the more searchers will visit that site. SEO can also target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, and industry-specific vertical search engines.” (source)
2. Why is SEO important? Why should I care?
According to the most recent Pew Internet & American Life Project Tracking Survey … 71% of all adults surveyed stated they use the Internet. Of the 71% who use the Internet, the vast majority (91%) "use a search engine to find information." Furthermore, according to Nielsen//NetRatings, an estimated 3.9 billion search queries were conducted at Google Search in June 2007, representing 53 percent of all search queries conducted during the given time period. The fact is … if your website is not represented on the first few Google SERPs (results pages) –either in the natural (organic) search results or in the paid results, it’s as though your website does not exist. This is why search engine optimization is important.
3. What do I need to do to my website to achieve a better position in the natural search results?
That depends on a number of factors both within and external to your organization. The only way this question can be answered authoritatively or with any degree of confidence, is to undertake an extensive website audit and situation analysis in order to determine where you (and your competitors) are today. It is important to note, search engine optimization does not occur in a vacuum nor is it a one-time effort. Search engine optimization is an ongoing process. It’s as much an art as science. Search engines frequently change their search algorithms, which in turn effect the position of websites in the natural search results. Given this constant state of flux and the time required for the search engine bots to fully index a website, an effective SEO effort usually requires months to quantify results. Search engine optimization projects require patience, reasonable expectations and a collaborative effort. Effective SEO requires painstaking attention to detail and a passionate understanding of search engine’s algorithms and webmaster guidelines … that’s where we come in. MarketWorks is an Internet marketing consulting firm specializing in advanced search engine optimization (SEO) services. We develop, implement and manage effective Internet strategies and online marketing programs that deliver measurable results.
4. I've heard the phrase "Page Rank" used in SEO … what is it?
PageRank is a link analysis algorithm that assigns a numerical weighting to each element of a hyperlinked set of documents, such as the World Wide Web, with the purpose of "measuring" its relative importance within the set. The algorithm may be applied to any collection of entities with reciprocal quotations and references. The numerical weight that it assigns to any given element E is also called the PageRank of E and denoted by PR(E).
PageRank was developed at Stanford University by Larry Page (hence the name Page-Rank) and later Sergey Brin as part of a research project about a new kind of search engine. The project started in 1995 and led to a functional prototype, named Google, in 1998. Shortly after, Page and Brin founded Google Inc., the company behind the Google search engine. While just one of many factors which determine the ranking of Google search results, PageRank continues to provide the basis for all of Google's web search tools." (source)
5. What's involved in MarketWorks' search engine optimization services?
The exact process is proprietary to MarketWorks. That said, our approach to search engine optimization involves a complex process used to ensure a website is both user-friendly for people and easily accessible to the search engines. An optimized website must be constructed so people can easily navigate the website to quickly find the content they seek (often referred to as "usability"). The website must also be constructed so the search engine bots (aka robots, spiders and web crawlers) can quickly and easily crawl and index the entire website. The ultimate goal of our search engine optimization services is to increase both the quality and quantity of visitor traffic from search engines in the natural (organic) search results. MarketWorks unique, customized search engine optimization services deliver consistent, targeted, unique-visitor traffic with measurable results.
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