May 22, 2012
SEO is an art, not a science. The search engines’ number one goal is to return the most relevant search results. Google dominates the search market. Roughly 70% of all internet users search using Google’s platform.
With Google’s 400+ search algorithm variables, the landscape is ever changing. With the latest “penguin update,” everyone is talking about backlinks. While historically, backlinks have helped search engine results, their value is decreasing. Backlinks are also known as inbound links or external links, i.e., where other websites link to yours.
So why is the value of backlinks decreasing? Because for the most part, no one can control them. Spam websites, non-relevant websites, link farms, and dubious SEO marketers have always tried to game the search engines, like Google, by building thousands of backlinks quickly.
Quality is and always will be the key to getting ranked. If you have quality content with proper use of permalinks/url structure, keywords, title tag and headers, your site will rise to the top.
A good legal content writer can propel a site to pole position, all without a single backlink.
Whether we’re talking about updates like “panda,” “penguin” or what I project the next update will be called, “porpoise,” search engines like Google have a bottom line: fresh, relevant content. For lawyers who want to reach the top position, it takes learning proper SEO techniques, developing a content strategy, and having the discipline to write enough content to get there.