Legal Internet Marketing Blog

In the world of legal Internet marketing, law firms and attorneys are constantly seeking ways to improve their rankings and achieve a solid online authority to surpass their competition and stay on top. Link building for law firms often comes up as a way to do this. However, it is not the only way and it can be harmful to think of it in this regard. In Part 1 of our blog series, we discussed the first 5 myths about link building. Here, we wrap it up with the remaining top myths, 6-10, about building links:

Myth #6: It’s easy to see all the links that count towards rankings– A website can claim to have thousands of incoming links, but these links could be ones that Google has discounted. The links you see through various online tools are not always explicitly “Google approved” links. While you can check to see if a link displays itself in Google, you may only see some of the links that count. Although having an idea of the big picture can be beneficial in understanding your rankings and what next steps to take, you may not know what really counts towards your search engine results.

Myth #7: If you can’t see your links, they aren’t there - Just because you don’t see a directory link, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t really count towards your ranking. This could mean that Google chooses not to display the link or links it to the public. Disreputable marketing companies may use this as a tactic to scare someone into buying their services.

Myth #8: All link directories are bad - “Paid links” often get a bad reputation, and you can understand why with all the scams out there, but this can be an effective option – if you chose wisely. If a directory listing is relevant, it could be viable to pursue. It is actually possible to pay for quality links on legal directories or good directories with legal sections.

Myth #9: I don’t need to see what my competitors are doing - You should always be checking what your competitors are doing, but this doesn’t mean you need to follow their lead! Link directories can help you check out who your competition obtains links from so you can most efficiently spend your time and money getting quality links that will actually make a positive difference.

Myth #10: Link directories are the only way to get incoming links – Link directories are one way to get incoming links. Link directories can help, but only if they are from credible platforms and if the links are relevant to your area of practice. Incoming links are also achieved when other credible sources link back to your website, blog, or social networking sites, because they feel the material is informative and helpful.

Even though these myths are common, there are many others out there. If you still have any questions about link building or how to achieve high rankings for your website, contact the legal Internet marketing team at SLS Consulting for a free growth assessment. Call 1-323-254-1510 today.

What you see isn’t always what you get when it comes to links. We know you hear and read a lot about the importance of incoming links and how to get them. In our 2-part blog series, we will cover the top 10 myths about link building that every attorney should know. Here are the first 5 to get you started:

Myth #1: Link building is fast and cheap – This is the big red flag that says, “SCAM.” If a company promises you fast and cheap services to build links, run! Effective link building is not fast, cheap or easy. It doesn’t have to be costly, but it takes time and can be challenging.

Myth #2: Building links is easy - Link building isn’t rocket science, but to do it right, it takes planning and strategy. A lot of steps go into building quality links that will actually make a difference in your rankings. You can do more harm than good to your website and online reputation if you make mistakes in link building. Not all paid links are evil, but you need to know the rules.

Myth #3: All links are good - There are several factors that apply in the categorization and identification of “good” and “bad” links. You want to be very particular about your links if you decide to go through a directory. Building irrelevant links is a waste of time and effort.

Myth #4: Anyone can build links – This is actually true… anyone can build links, but not everyone can build “good” links. Link building requires experience because it involves aspects of Internet marketing as well as strategies used to develop online authority and establish high search engine rankings that last.

Myth #5: I need thousands of links to achieve good rankings – Having 20,000 irrelevant links purchased for ranking purposes alone will not help your Google rankings. If your links appear to be spammy and go against Google’s policies, they won’t make any impact, meaning you have wasted your time and money. So in reality, having tons of links does not equate good rankings. It is much better to focus on the best links, even if that means having 10 instead of 1,000.

There are a lot of underhanded link building companies out there who will make empty promises to reel you in with only their profits in mind. Be wary and do your research or call SLS for find out more about our link building packages!

To learn more about link building, visit our blog again for Part 2.

Linking with reputable sites can win you points with the search engines, which highly prize viable networking achievements. However, if you’re careless about which sites you link to, you could run into trouble.

The Internet is awash with so-called “link farms” – shady services that offer to artificially inflate a site’s network in the hopes of fooling the search engines into thinking that the site is popular. While using link farms can actually yield some short-term gain, this process puts you at risk for getting de-listed by the search engines and thus ruining your online legal marketing efforts.

A better approach is to develop with great on site resources, including original content, answers to questions about your niche of the law, and biographical info and data/awards about your firm. With this foundation in place, other valid, high-ranking sites will likely want to link to YOU. Your cachet as a “high-value” site makes you appealing as a link to other high-value sites, which also want to climb the ranks. So by refocusing your efforts to improve site quality, you can coincidentally improve your likelihood of making important new online friends.

You can build content and links simultaneously – and in fact most successful owners do “walk and chew gum at the same time” – but remember that these two processes are linked. It all starts with unique, well-branded, well-developed source material.