A recent client was surprised to find out that getting a website launched did not come with number one listing on search engines. Unless specifically spelled out in a contract, search engine listing is typically not included in website design for two reasons:
To think that your website will be number one just by having the website ignores the fact that other people also have that same desire-they want to be number one and may be willing to do more than you to get there. As in any free market system, someone willing to pay $1 more than the next person will get more attention and better results from the market.
1. The Internet is enormous, bigger than you might realize.
8.1 Billion pages as of December 2004. Why is your site any better than any other of these? But don't be disheartened: There are strategies you can use to get your clients to find your site in the huge clutter of the internet.
2. Your customers might not be searching for you the way you think.
Most websites are designs with the law firms in mind and not the potential clients. Do you know what free tools you can use to see what people are looking for on the internet?
3. You can’t be everything to everyone.
The broader you focus your website the lower the chance you will be found by a potential client looking for a specific type of law. If your firm practices many forms of law this will create some challenges in trying to get clients who are looking for specific types of practices. Do you know the maximum recommended keywords you should use for your website?
4. There is no such thing as a free lunch.
Search engines are parts of or complete businesses that try to make money. They operate in certain respects like a free market. As in a free market, money and focused efforts will usually compete favorably over your desires to get ranked for free.
Whether you purchase search engine ads (sometimes referred to as CPC or Cost Per Click), hire a consultant to fine tune your website or hire your paralegal’s cousin who is a smart high school student, you may need to pay someone. The phrase “you get what you pay for” typically applies here. We can help determine what approach is right for you.
5. You website might not be easy to find
Sure, you may know what a keyword or meta tag is, but do you know that there are more than a dozen hidden items that search engines look at in trying to rank your website? Do you have all of them? Do you know which ones are important? Fine tuning a website with these meta tags might not be included in the services a web designer provides. Even if they are, the designer might not understand everything necessary to maximize this effort.
Certain types of websites, such as those built entirely with Flash or dynamic, database driven websites have issues with search engines that need to be specificially addressed in order to show up on search engines.
6. You might have been de-listed from search engines.
If you do the wrong thing with your website, trying to trick search engines, you could be de-listed from various search engines. There are a log of very smart people who have probably seen more tricks (and have programmed against them) than you could possibly dream up. So if you try one and get caught you won't ever show up on these search engines again. Do you know what techniques will get you permanently banned from search engine listings?
7. You may have wasted time using "we know the secrets of search engines" get rich quick techniques.
You many have used a service that claims to understand all the "secrets" of search engines and feel that is enough. Search engines are proprietary. If everyone knew all the secrets to how the various search engines work then their value would be lost and their shareholders would not be very happy. Practically speaking, if this information was public then every web designer would ensure their website was number one and there would be one giant traffic jam as all 8.1 billion pages tried to get to the number one slot. Remember, there is no free lunch.
8. You may have wasted time using "guaranteed" services.
I have used a service that gets me guaranteed top listing for ($19.95, $29.95, $49.95, $299.95) isn't that enough? Consider this: Google typically displays 10 websites per page, so page one will have 10 websites. Ask this company what happens when 11 people sign up for their program. I think you probably already know the answer: no free lunch.
9. Your website might not have any PageRank.
If you don’t even know what PageRank is we can help. If you know what PageRank is and want to find your website's PageRrank, we can help.
10. You may be misusing links into and out of your website.
There are two reasons NOT to link outside of your website and two reasons TO link outside of your website. Do you know what they are and the impact your decision will have on the results of your website?
Summary:
Search engine strategies should simply be one part of an overall business strategy. Even companies that exist entirely on the web, WebMD and eBay for example, use alternative avenues such as television advertisement and magazine print advertisement to promote their businesses. So if these companies with dozens and dozens of computer programmers working full time on these issues realize that search engines aren't the only avenue to get business, you should take a hint from them.
If you would still like to enhance your web presence through search engines, we can most likely assist with that effort. Contact us for more information.
