creating the perfect page

Creating the Perfect Page

How to create webpages that show up in search results, attract attention and enhance your professional reputation.

Gyi Tsakalakis gt@attorneysync.com @gyitsakalakis

Larry Page, Google co-founder and CEO, once described the “perfect search engine” as something that “understands exactly what you mean and gives you back exactly what you want.”

So, to appear in Google search results, you have to understand exactly what your audience wants and give them pages that supply that demand.

Give visitors the information they're looking for Provide high-quality content on your pages, especially your homepage. This is the single most important thing to do. If your pages contain useful information, their content will attract many visitors and entice webmasters to link to your site. In creating a helpful, information-rich site, write pages that clearly and accurately describe your topic. Think about the words users would type to find your pages and include those words on your site. - Google Webmaster Tools Help

https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/40349?hl=en&ref_topic=2370419

“Whenever I advise marketers on crafting pages, I ask them to put themselves in the minds of their potential visitors, and imagine a page that provides something so different and functional that it rises above everything else in its field.” - Rand Fishkin, Moz

http://moz.com/blog/visual-guide-to-keyword-targeting-onpage-optimization

http://moz.com/rand/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/elements-optimized-lrg.gif

What pages can I create that would have real value to my visitors?

What can I publish that would stand apart from other pages on the subject?

How can I use imagery, video

and other media types to provide value to visitors?

What do most people say about the “stuff” I

create online?

Do people specifically seek out my pages to see what I have to

say on a subject?

Would I read and recommend my site to others as an excellent source of information?

Are my pages recognized among the most authoritative on my

subject on the web?

Do my pages supply a demand for information that is not otherwise

available online?

http://atticusmarketing.com/lawyeredge-websites-underperforming/

Google has identified 58 other pages with the exact same

content as this law firm’s page for pedestrian knock down

accidents.

http://lawyerist.com/great-legal-marketing-advice-thomas-goldstein/

As Goldstein discusses in the podcast, back in 2002, SCOTUSblog was originally intended to serve as a marketing tool. As is true with most law firm blogs, SCOTUSblog content was geared around his practice, cases he was working, etc. But it didn’t work. As he puts it, “People weren’t moved by that.” In fact, they decided to completely give up on the blog as a tool to promote the law firm.

http://www.willenslaw.com/report-your-accident/

Pages don’t have to be solely text.

Content is earning links.

http://niftymarketing.com/optimal-local-landing-page-infographic/

Do your local landing pages contain the information that

your visitors want?

Unique, static and semantic URLs.

No meta robots tag or robots.txt blocking, crawling issues.

Page is accessible within a handful of clicks from homepage.

Page is properly indexed in search engines.

Page content is unique to its URL (or otherwise redirected)

https://www.google.com/intl/en/webmasters/

http://www.bing.com/toolbox/webmaster

It’s easy to navigate the site.

Page loads almost instantaneously.

Design enhances content and adds to experience.

You regularly receive positive feedback about your site’s design.

http://iphone4simulator.com/ Cross-Browser Testing Tools Live, Web-Based Browser Testing

http://www.google.com/insights/consumersurveys/publishers

http://winners.webbyawards.com/2013/web/general-website/law

http://lawyerist.com/best-law-firm-websites-of-2013/

Page encourages and motivates sharing.

How to share is easy and obvious.

Sharing options match social networks of audience.

Page contains Open Graph, Twitter Cards, etc.

WordPress Tag: social sharing

10 WordPress Sharing Plugins

1 target phrase per page.

Keywords are used naturally and eloquently.

Keywords used in Title.

Keywords used in body.

Keyword usage doesn’t detract from substance.

Related terms are used for variety.

Keywords are used in headlines.

1 h1 tag per page.

Moz On-Page Grader

Renders properly in most used browsers, devices and operating systems.

Uses same URLs regardless of device.

40+ Free Responsive WordPress Themes

WordPress Tag: flexible-width

Google recommends webmasters follow the industry best practice of using responsive web design, namely serving the same HTML for all devices and using only CSS media queries to decide the rendering on each device.

Employs appropriate markup for rich snippets.

Page employs authorship/publisher markup.

Schema.org

Video snippets.

Review snippets.

Attorney Schema

Local business markup.

Meta description motivates clicks.

Event snippets.

http://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/richsnippets

http://www.lawyerseomarketing.org/local-seo/seeing-review-stars-do-they-attract-clicks

How do rich snippets

impact click share?

http://yoast.com/wordpress/

Schema Markup for Attorneys – Avvo’s Lawyernomics Blog

About rich snippets and structured data

• Marshaling Evidence of Your Reputation • Communicating Value of Services to Prospective Clients • Lawyer Author Publisher Marketer • Schema Markup for Attorneys • Make Your Mobile Website Freaky Fast • Facebook for Law Firms? Yes, Really. • Prioritizing Internet Time

Questions?

Thanks. Gyi Tsakalakis gt@attorneysync.com @gyitsakalakis

Feel free to email me with questions or to request slides.