At Moore Legal Technology, we pride ourselves on being one step ahead in the digital marketing world. While it won’t be necessary to alter your entire online marketing strategy this year, it is clear that SEO techniques should become more forward-thinking, slick and more in-line with user experience/intent. In this blog we have outlined a few of the main predictions for law firm search engine optimisation in 2017.
Topical Research for Epic Content
The phrase ‘Content is King’ is still going strong and it shows no signs of dwindling. As Google becomes more sophisticated, it is focusing on delivering search results in terms of user intent instead of focusing solely on keywords. Due to its ability to understand a topic through an article as a whole, content should become less about just solely including relevant keywords and more about the article’s language as a whole. For 2017 and beyond, topical research has overtaken keyword research. This suits our content team perfectly – all of our writers come from a legal background and therefore understand the type of language required for epic legal content. Read more on our ultimate guide to content strategy for law firms.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI has already become part of everyday life for many of us. From the watches we can wear to monitor heart rate, to Netflix’s ability to recommend which shows best suit us to binge watch. Artificial Intelligence is also gaining power in the SEO world. Google now uses a tool called RankBrain to shape search results based on user experience and whether the website will be of value to users. Key algorithm updates alongside RankBrain will allow Google to interpret a website’s keyword and location signals much more sophisticatedly. Taking time to really understand your firm’s key audience will prove to be a useful SEO technique in 2017.
Mobile & Voice Search
Carrying on the Artificial Intelligence theme, we can expect to see a rise in the use of the already popular voice search. Following on from the “Mobilegeddon” update in April 2015, we should expect the use of tablets and mobiles for search to become the primary platforms. Google search on mobile is now built around a microphone icon and Siri has been a familiar feature on our iPhones for several years. You can now ask your phones a question in same conversational fashion you’d use with a friend. As a result, when writing content, it will pay to be mindful of the popularity of voice search and adopting a more natural writing technique. A great tip for capitalising on the upsurge of voice search is writing FAQ style articles and including questions in the text. Read more on law firm search engine optimisation through voice search.
Video Content
Having video content on your website this year will continue to be important for law firm search engine optimisation. It has been predicted that by end 2017, 69% of consumer traffic will be through video.*(1) The rise in popularity of visual content has been recognised by huge organisations such as The American National Football League (NFL), which recently signed a partnership deal with Snapchat to create unique footage exclusively for the platform. Further, YouTube stars who create their own videos are now considered the new influencers on today’s youth*(2). Google has not ignored this trend and as a result favours video content over written content. The expectation from consumers to find visual content is growing and your law firm could reap the rewards from having such content on its website – as a great SEO tool and for better user experience.
Contact us for Law Firm Search Engine Optimisation Expertise
If you’re unsure about where to start with improving your law firm’s search engine optimisation, we have the legal and digital marketing expertise to guide you in the right direction. Feel free to contact us for a no obligation discussion on how we can help you generate more business online: call 0141 413 4922 and ask for Chris.
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(1) https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2014/jan/14/video-content-marketing-media-online
(2) http://www.marketingmag.ca/sponsored/youtubers-are-the-new-influencer-for-todays-youth-161175
