• If possible, make sure to do a 301 redirect from the “www” version of your website to non “www” version or vise-versa.
• Use a tool like Google analytics to track visitors to your Corporate Blog.
• It is very important that the posts you write target industry related news with industry keywords. Also every post must have unique and quality content. Search engine bots are very sensitive to duplicate content and if you copy something, you will face difficulty in indexing.
• It is important to do as many posts as you can. Please make at least 4 posts each month.
• Please use keywords in the title of each Blog post.
• Please try to make keyword-rich posts on your Blog. Ideal keyword density is 2-7%.
• Ensure that each post has industry related tags.
• Please categorize your post according to service or product category name. It will be great if you can use keywords in Category name.
• Please add “industry news” & “industry trends” and regularly post unique industry news.
• Add “recent posts” and “top posts” on your Blog Navigation. It will help your visitors to find other post on your Blog and increase index rate of search engines.
• Arrange the older entries into monthly archives for easy access.
• Please add a “Tag cloud” on the blog navigation.
• Provide RSS feed subscription option for visitors.
• Allow visitors to subscribe to your blog through eMail.
• Comments are a good option to interaction with Blog visitors with your company. It’s also help to build relationship with other Blogger and proposed clients.
• Write a press release announcing corporate blog and post over free press release directories.
• Request feedback or reviews of your blog in relevant forums, discussion threads. If you have a resourceful post that will help others, point to it.
• Add the main website service page link on your Blog. This way your blog visitors can get to your main website and learn about your services.
• Please add Social Bookmarking links on the bottom of each Post, so that visitors can bookmark your post on there personal profiles.
• Please add a link to each post on your social media profile including FaceBook, Twitter & LinkedIn.
• Highlight your Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn profile with an image on the Blog so that visitors can follow you on these social profiles.
• Make sure there is an HTML sitemap on your Blog.
• Submit RSS feed and Blog URL to prominent RSS and Blog directories / search engines.
• Monitor inbound links, traffic, comments and mentions of your corporate blog – Google Alerts, Technorati, Blogpulse, Yahoo News, Ask Blogs and Feeds.

We think any ecommerce store can track Google Product Search Traffic using two different methods. The first method is URL tagging. Google also recommends URL tagging for tracking Google Product Search Traffic. Erica Ronchetti explains about UTM URL tagging in details on another post in our Blog. The second option is using Google Analytics Filters to segment the Product search traffic.

UTM Tagging:

Google provides a URL Builder for tagging UTM tags. However, if you have a huge list of products and you already provide a feed to Google Base, you can ask your developer to add the following code on the ends of your URLs:

“?utm_source=google&utm_medium=Product_Search&utm_campaign=google_base” at the end of the URL if you already did not use “?”
For example:

http://www.boomtownig.com/sample-products.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=Product_Search&utm_campaign=google_base

If you already use a “?” in your URLs, please do not use “?” again just add the tags with “&“. For example, if you have URL like:

http://www.boomtownig.com/product.html?q=sample-product

Then Use the code like this:

http://www.boomtownig.com/product.html?q=sample-product&utm_source=google&utm_medium=Product_Search&utm_campaign=google_base

After the tagging is complete, please wait for one day, Google Analytics will begin showing the traffic from Google Product Search under Traffic Source> All Traffic Source as Google / Product_Search.

If you want to add the tags on a short list of URL’s and you upload a feed to Google Base Using MS-Excel, you can do UTM tagging by following these steps:

Download your Products feed and open it with MS- Excel.
Next insert one column next to your Product URL on the worksheet.
Write the following tracking code on the top cell of on the newly inserted cell:
“?utm_source=google&utm_medium=Product_Search&utm_campaign=google_base”. Please note there should not be any space in the start or end of the cell.

• Drag the cell up-to the last row of the product URL.
• Insert another column next to the URL tag column.
• Now use CONCATENATE (i.e. CONCATENATE(E2,F2)) formula of the MS-Excel to merge your URL with the URM tag.
• Copy the result of Merge cell into Notepad.
• Delete both the newly inserted columns.
• Again copy the data from notepad to the URL column.
• Save the file and upload again on Google Base.

Wow! You did add UTM tags on your entire URL and now you must a allow minimum of two days for Google analytics to begin tracking the data.  It will show the traffic from Google Product Search under Traffic Source> All Traffic Source as Google / Product_Search.

Google Analytic Filters:

A Google Analytic filter is a useful tool to track traffic from a particular directory on your website or traffic from a particular source. Because of this, Google Analytic Filter are also another good option that can be used to track traffic form Google Product search. Before starting to use this filter, you need to understand “what you are going to track” first.

If you search on Google with “Ceramic Orange Travel Coffee Mug”, the resulting Google Search will show the following URL:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1B3GGLL_enIN368IN368&q=Ceramic+Orange+Travel+Coffee+Mug

However, if you search specifically on Google Product search (Google Shopping) with “Ceramic Orange Travel Coffee Mug”, you will see the search result URL is:

http://www.google.com/products?q=Ceramic+Orange+Travel+Coffee+Mug&aq=f

Therefore, if you want to use Google Analytic Filters to track all organic traffic which comes from http://www.google.com/products? You can follow these steps: (Please note you are going to track only organic traffic and not the sponsored links on Google Product Search.)

• Login to Google analytic.
• Click on the Account Name on which you would like to track the traffic.
• Click on “Filter Manager” then “Add Filter”
• Name the filter on the given text box.
• Choose Custom filter > Advance Filter.
• Now select & add the following values:
• Field A -> Extract A Referral  google\.com/products
• Filed B – > Extract B Campaign Medium organic
• Campaign Source Product_Search

Filed A Required: choose yes
Filed B Required: choose yes
Override Output Field: Choose Yes
Case Sensitive: Choose No or yes as per server support.

• Now select and add the profile on which you would like to add the Filter and save the filter.

You have setup the filter. Now let try to understand why we choose above value so you can do use them as per your requirement.

• Field A will look for a referrer URL as google.com/products.
• Field B will limit the data from organic search. Remember Google Also show Adwords ads on product search result. This field is only mean to limit your traffic from organic result of Google Product Search.
• The Output to Constructor will help you show the data as “Google Product Search” on your Analytics referral results.

Again allow Google analytic two days to track your traffic. It will be shown the traffic from Google Product Search under Traffic Source> All Traffic Source as Product_Search / organic.

Do you know the current position of your company in the SERPS?  Do you know the position of your competitors?  How can you determine whether or not your competitors are using SEO or implementing SEO strategies on their website?  To find out if your competitor is doing SEO for their website, you can check the following:

• Current Ranking: Use Spy Foo, to find out if your competitor is ranked well on search engines with industry leading keywords in organic or paid advertisements.  If they are ranked with industry related keywords, they might be using SEO.
• Web Traffic Tracking System: If your competitors employ SEO, they will definitely use some measures to track web traffic. Try to view their HTML source code and identify if the website uses any effective web traffic tracking systems. Most reliable tracking systems add a tracking code just before the </body> tags. For example, your will find Google Analytics tracking code on the bottom of that page, just before the </body> tag.
• Page Title: Have a look on the HTML title of your competitor’s website. Try to determine whether or not they composed this text using industry related keywords. Are all the HTML titles unique throughout their website? If the answer is yes, then they might be doing SEO for their business.
• Meta Description & keywords: Most SEO practice includes effective Meta Description & keywords tag optimization. Are the Meta descriptions & keywords tags properly composed using industry related keywords?  Are the Meta descriptions & keywords tags unique through over the website?
• Robots Information: Try to find the robots.txt file on the root of the server. The ideal location of this file is www.example.com/robots.txt. The Meta tag syntax for the same is:
  <meta name=”robots” content=”robots-terms”>
  robots.txt.  “Robots” Meta tags are used to inform search engines which pages they should access and which should not. Good SEO practice includes effective robots optimization.
• 404 Error Page: Write “/qwerasdf.html” after the domain name in your browser address box and hit enter. If you see any Error pages then they might use a SEO service. Most SEO services include “404 error page” optimization.
• Internal Linking: Try to find out if the website has maximized internal linking using keywords. Do they use keywords for linked internal page? If so, then your competitor might use SEO.
• Back-Links: Looking at back-links will not help you to identify whether or not your competitor is doing SEO directly, but it’ll provide an idea as to how many back-links your competitors have. More links are better for SEO. To get an idea of numbers of Back-links, you might want to use Yahoo! Site Explorer.

As I mention above, SEO is complicated and includes more than 100 techniques, but these are some of the techniques used to identify whether or not a competitor is doing SEO for their website. To learn more, contact Boomtown Internet Group for a detailed competitor analysis.  For further details, you may contact Sue McCrossin at 888.454.3330 or by email at Sue.McCrossin@boomtownig.com.

What is Google Caffeine?
Google caffeine is Google’s new web indexing system, providing 50% fresher web results then the previous index, as well as the largest amount of web content ever offered to searchers.  You’ll now be able to find news stories, blogs, forums, tweets, videos, and relevant content with recent results given greater prominence.  You may find that web pages and other web media will appear much sooner after published.

Why Did Google Develop Caffeine?
Web content is no longer limited to web page form, it’s evolved to include videos, images, news, real-time updates, and other forms of media that all need to be taken into account, especially as web pages are displaying these features as well.  As web content blossoms both in diversity and volume, searchers expectations have changed.  They want fresh, relevant results and they want their recently published content to be found instantly.

How Does Caffeine Work?
Google’s old index was made up of several layers, some refreshed more frequently and quickly then others.  The main layer of index was updated every few weeks or so—creating a delay of when content was published and when it’d become available for searchers.  Caffeine updates Google’s search index globally and continually so information is fresher.  Caffeine tackles the growth of online information and presents it to searchers with greater comprehensive abilities, speed, and relevance.

What Does This Mean For Your Website?
Caffeine won’t have a direct impact on your rankings but you’ll certainly see changes.  To keep up with the ever evolving and growing web, your content and web pages will be searchable moments after being crawled.  This doesn’t necessarily mean that pages will get crawled on a more frequent schedule, it means that they’ll be displayed in search results more quickly.  Yes, competition for web rankings is going to get tough.  Why?  Because there’s a lot more content that’s going to be competing for top rankings, specifically older content facing fresh and recent content given priority by Caffeine.  Content is also going to be more frequently added to the index.

Philadelphia SEO Strategies:  Success With Google Caffeine.  Is Google Caffeine an opportunity or a possible threat for your web visibility?  While you’ll be facing more competition, Philadelphia Internet Marketing companies provide you with the opportunity to compete with websites that you were once unable to.

Philadelphia SEO  Strategies for Ranking Well With Google Caffeine:

• Philadelphia SEO expands and continually updates site content for better keyword targeting and relevance.
• Consult with a Philadelphia Internet Marketing specialist to effectively use Social Media to your advantage, as you’ll find these results integrated with Google’s regular display.
• It’s crucial that your Philadelphia SEO company monitor your competitors more closely, as their efforts will be taken into account by Google too.
• Long tail keywords are of greater importance.  Philadelphia SEO can re-evaluate current keywords and capture new keyword phrases for you.
• Of course, your web site should have a clean layout, structure, and optimized code.

If you’re worried about your Google rank, Philadelphia SEO companies and Philadelphia SEO specialists deliver value to online customers, and caffeine will do a better job of measuring and delivering that value.

Philadelphia SEO and Philadelphia Internet Marketing makes it possible for you to rank well with Google Caffeine, with strategies that produce content frequently and make good use of Social Media. While Caffeine won’t destroy your current rankings, you’ll find that everything will become a lot more competitive because of the greater amount of information fed into the index.  Philadelphia SEO and Philadelphia Internet Marketing know that while you face more competition, so do your competitors.  Targeted content and good use of social media outlets are more important then ever.  SEO requires regular site maintenance, fresh content, and link building strategies that are ongoing.  Find out more about what an Internet Marketing company in Philadelphia can do for your website rankings.  Contact a SEO expert for further details on Google Caffeine and what it means for your site.

Erica Ronchetti works for Boomtown Internet Group, a Philadelphia SEO company. Boomtown Internet Group is a Philadelphia Internet Marketing company whose services include Web Development & Internet Marketing.

Google today announced the completion of its new index algorithm called Caffeine. According to Google “Caffeine provides 50 percent fresher results for web searches than our last index, and it’s the largest collection of web content we’ve offered. Whether it’s a news story, a blog or a forum post, you can now find links to relevant content much sooner after it is published than was possible ever before.”  Read more about this here: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/our-new-search-index-caffeine.html

Many speculate that Google created this new algorithm to compete with Twitter’s growing search share. Twitter delivers real time results for very current news, raising searcher’s expectations about the timeliness of results. Google also said they created the new algorithm in response to the growth of Internet content and different media like video, images, news and real-time updates. With this new media, the average webpage is much more complex. One Google blogger said, “Searchers want to find the latest relevant content and publishers expect to be found the instant they publish.”

Prior to Caffeine, Google indexed web pages every couple of weeks, analyzing the entire web before refreshing the index. The new Caffeine will analyze continuously update the index in small portions globally. As pages are found they will be immediately added to the index, no matter where it was published.

What this means to your website is that there may be a period of change in your rankings as Google results adjust to the new algorithm and also that the results you see when you search may not be the same as the results another person searching the same phrase will see at any given time. In addition, fresher content will probably be indexed above legacy pages in some cases, like when news is searched. Continue to make updates in blogs and social media, continue to add video and podcasts to your pages and video repositories on the web. You will be rewarded with better search rankings for your fresh content.

The following three easy steps will take an hour or two to complete, but will bring significant return on investment by raising your Google Map listing ranking.

Step 1 – Claim Your Listing: The first step in optimization is to claim your local business listing by going to https://www.google.com/local/add, and claiming or adding your listing. Next you’ll need to verify the listing either by having Google automatically call you at the phone number on the listing, or send you a postcard in the mail, so that you can enter the PIN code they provide for you either way. This is how Google verifies your location. When customizing your listing, try to provide as much information as possible, including pictures (perhaps of your location so customers can easily find you), videos, and coupons. It’s a good idea to add any appropriate certifications next to your name as well. Make sure you put your listing in five related categories, then click on the “add a category link” and add up to five more categories for your listing. If possible, you can also add your main product or service listing in the title and description fields of your map listing.

Step 2 – Sign Up for a Virtual Office in the Closest Major City: It is much easier to get listed for the city where your actual company has a mailing address, so if you want to be listed on the map listing for a big city closest to your actual company location, you may consider setting up a virtual office and phone number within the heart of that city to boost your relevance in the local map listings for that city. Make sure to add this city’s address (as well as all your other addresses) to the other search directories on this list:
• Yahoo Local, http://listings.local.yahoo.com/
• Bing Local, https://ssl.bing.com/listings/ListingCenter.aspx
• Superpages.com, http://www.superpages.com/about/new_chg_listing.html
• Yellowpages.com, http://listings.yellowpages.com/
• Best of the Web Local, http://local.botw.org/helpcenter/jumpstartproduct.aspx
• DexKnows, http://www.dexknows.com/info/faqSiteUser.asp (instructions are on this page)
• GetFave.com, http://www.markosweb.com/www/getfave.com/
• Citysquares, https://my.citysquares.com/search
• GenieKnows.com, http://www.genieknows.com/business/promote
• YellowBot, https://www.yellowbot.com/signin?yp_r=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yellowbot.com%2Fsubmit%2Fnewbusiness
• Kudzu, http://bizsuccess.kudzu.com/?p=384 (instructions are on this page),
Praized, http://praized.com/sessions/new
• InfoUSA, http://leads.infousa.com/Landing/UpdateListing.aspx?bas_session=S55920174527381&bas_vendor=83552
• Localeze, http://webapp.localeze.com/extranet/login.aspx
• UniversalBusinessListing.org, https://www.ubl.org/Signup.aspx
Wcities.com, http://corporate.wcities.com/contactus.html

Step 3 – Ask your Clients to Post a Review: Allowing customers to post a review is beneficial in that the number of reviews on Google maps is becoming more important to local rankings. In addition, people finding you on map listings are more likely to read your reviews before deciding to call you, so having a lot of positive reviews can help with your conversion of visitors to clients too. Ask all your clients to write you a review. You may even consider sending an email to past clients asking for the review. They will most likely be happy to do this for you.
Following these three relatively easy steps will result in greater visibility on Google Maps. It’s worth the time to get listed—Google will immediately provide your site with authority because you’ve established yourself as a real business, and appropriately rank you higher. Potential customers will find you—and you’ll benefit from the ROI because it’s absolutely free.

Google’s “Universal Search” doesn’t just display text and webpage content anymore, but now includes all relevant results for images, video, news, local results, and audio content as well.  Take advantage of this by creating and then optimizing these mediums—a high ranking video on YouTube will show up in results and drive traffic to your site.

If you do decide to explore Youtube, creating personable and informative videos is a great way to get in touch with clients, demonstrate your knowledge, and “connect” with your viewer.  It’s a fantastic way to guide viewers to your website and encourage them to pick up the phone and give you a call.

YouTube is a very effective promotional system and can build trust and connection between clientele and lawyers.  In 2008, approximately 770 million YouTube users searched for lawyer related queries. YouTube viewers and internet users prefer watching concise video clips as opposed to reading technical articles.  Creating simple and clear videos are a very useful marketing tool for lawyers and create a “bond” between individuals and clientele.  When creating online videos, be both professional in demeanor and warm.  A well crafted video can increase the conversion rate for your website and allow clients to make a positive final decision regarding the services you offer.  Your YouTube video can be placed both on your website and on YouTube, Google Video, and other free video host websites.

Creating packages, books, CD’s, multimedia (such as an eBook) for your clients. Writing, promoting, and providing free E-books, reports, consumer guides, and other useful information for your potential clients is a terrific promotion technique.  It may be time consuming, but an informative and personable monthly e-newsletter is generally highly appreciated by clients.  You can take the opportunity to provide industry updates, your reaction to current events, new services you offer, tips, and anything else you imagine would be beneficial.  Your customers and prospects will trust you and your law firm.

Create information packages you can physically send to your clients. Whether this includes free books, reports, consumer guides, CDs, DVDs, and so on, giving your potential clients this free information lets your content do your marketing for you.  And the best part is it’ll save you valuable time if you mail information packages instead of conducting time-consuming consultations and phone calls.

Is your website SEO friendly?  Here’s our Checklist for Making Lawyer Websites Popular With Search Engines.
Read the next blog post on Lawyer SEO/Internet Marketing Strategies…

First, register with the search engine you’re submitting to:

Google:  www.google.com/Accounts

Yahoo:  www.yahoo.com and set up a “My Yahoo” account

MSN/Live:  www.webmaster.live.com

You’ll be prompted to fill in information fields and then you’ll have the option to create local listings:

Google:  www.google.com/local/add

Yahoo:  listings.local.yahoo.com/account

MSN/Live:  llc.local.live.com

You’ll then have a local account that friends and clients can review.  The more positive reviews you have, the better your rankings will be.

You can also receive local traffic if you optimize your web pages.  Include the name of your city and nearby locations in the meta tags, descriptions, and headings, and search engines will crawl this content.

People are searching for law firms and services on the internet, and you need to make sure they’re able to find you.  You can do this by including your street address, zip code, phone number on every page of your website.  A physical address within an <address> tag on your contact page, home page, and as many other pages of your site as possible creates trust and better website rank.

Local Directories:

www.Yelp.com

www.citysquares.com

www.insiderpages.com

Local Yellow Pages:

www.yellowpages.com

www.infospace.com

www.superpages.com

You can also set your location in Webmaster Tools, a Google application:  www.google.com/webmasters/tools

Local optimization is a great way to introduce local customers to your business.  If they cant find you in local listings, they may never discover your law firm.

Is your website SEO friendly?  Here’s our Checklist for Making Lawyer Websites Popular With Search Engines.
Read the next blog post on Lawyer SEO/Internet Marketing Strategies…

We recommend choosing a few social media outlets and fully taking advantage of them.  Popular media marketing options include:  Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Youtube, etc… You don’t have to establish your presence on every social networking site available.  It’s more effective to channel your efforts into a few, preferably those you feel most comfortable working with.  Don’t go with Youtube if you’re unfamiliar and uncomfortable in front of a video camera—it’ll come across to your viewers.  If you don’t understand Twitter, don’t use it.  You don’t want to appear as if you’re struggling with new online media.  If you choose a few media marketing campaigns and then utilize, monitor, and establish a solid presence there, you’ll have a better chance of success.

In addition to Social Media, you may wish to participate in Social Bookmarking communities to share news, websites, articles, and other information you find interesting. www.stumbleupon.com, www.delicious.com, www.google.com/bookmarks, and www.digg.com are all great resources.  When you set up a profile on a social bookmarking site, place a link in your profile leading people to your website.  If people then bookmark, link to you, or mention you, your website will receive improved page rank and increased traffic.  It’s important to remember not to “spam” or constantly promote your business, but rather make genuine contributions.

Lawyer Directories. Submitting your website link to a directory is great for rankings.  Directories are not the same as search engines, but rather lists of sites that are sorted by category and subcategory.  Both www.dmoz.com and dir.yahoo.com are important directories, and although it may take a while to get listed on these websites, their authority makes it worth the wait.  Submitting your website to lawyer directories directs traffic to your website and also adds credibility to your law firm.  We recommend submitting to the many free lawyer directories available online.

Lawyer directory: www.avvo.com Avvo allows visitors to search for the best lawyer in the “worlds largest legal directory” by region.  Have your clients rate you!

Another excellent legal directory: www.superlawyers.com “Super Lawyers magazine names attorneys in each state who received the highest point totals, as chosen by their peers and through the independent research. Rising Stars names the state’s top up-and-coming attorneys.”

Is your website SEO friendly?  Here’s our Checklist for Making Lawyer Websites Popular With Search Engines.

Read the next blog post on Lawyer SEO/Internet Marketing Strategies…

It’s absolutely crucial to have a blog for fresh content. Google also recognizes and ranks websites that have blogs higher then those without.  You’ll be reaching out to your audience and connecting with potential clients, and you’ll be driving traffic to your website. If visitors find your content compelling, they’ll link to it and increase your site’s PageRank.

Here are a few helpful tips for Law Blogs.  When blogging, remember to:

-Use relevant SEO keywords.

-Write frequently.

-Educate your readers, not “sell” them or promote your services.

A blog will help you reach the kind of clients you want and drive the web traffic your law practice needs.  Fresh and relevant content demonstrates to your clients that you’re a valuable resource.  If you’re consistent in your posting and you connect with readers, you’ll have a popular blog.

Here Are a Few Other Great Tips:

Host a blog on your own domain—WordPress for example is free, and easily customizable. If you frequently publish valuable content, people will link to you, increasing the page rank of your website.   Write content about the legal issues you care about as well as those which deal with the type of cases you want to work on.  You’ll attract the customers you want.

Keep your blog posts simple and discuss areas that are relevant to your practice. Whenever possible, inject as much personality into each blog post as you can to make individuals want to read what you’re writing.  You’ll not only connect with your readers, but your information won’t seem stale.

Establish which keywords you’d like to use—relevant keywords let search engines know how to index your entries and lead new clients to your website. Find out your targeted audience—the demographic you’d like to reach and write about issues targeting them.

When writing articles/blog posts for the web, keep them short and to the point. Blog posts should typically be around 300-500 words—your readers will appreciate this, and the search engines will have an easier time indexing your posts.  Excellent topics include “How To” guides and helpful information that’ll educate and guide your readers, as well as engage your clients.  Encourage them to contact you personally for more information.

Open your blog up to comments and questions, and follow up with people.  If you’re interacting with your readers, they’ll perceive you as a valuable resource and “real” and knowledgeable person.

Of course, the very best way to blog is to do it yourself, since you are the one who knows your business best.  Before starting a blog, consult with an experienced SEO professional and let them inform you how to write specialized content.  With work, family time, and everything else that needs to get done, you may not have the time to create pages and pages of fresh content.  In these cases, you can hire a “Ghost Writer” to create content for you.  Provided with resources and your guidance, they can develop articles and blog posts that you’ll be happy with.

Is your website SEO friendly?  Here’s our Checklist for Making Lawyer Websites Popular With Search Engines.
Read the next blog post on Lawyer SEO/Internet Marketing Strategies…