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Here’s an interesting statistic: 68 percent of smartphone users use their phones to keep up with news. In fact, according to the Pew Research Center, 75 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds and 46 percent of 30- to 49-year-olds use smartphones to watch video online.

So what does video have to do with law firms?

A lot, actually.

What is Video Worth to Law Firms?

It’s not just about law firms, but it’s good to know that one minute of video is worth about 1.8 million words, according to Forrester Research.

Other stats suggest that it’s in your best interest to make videos, too:

• The majority of marketers are working on producing original videos, and you’ll need to keep up, according to Social Media Examiner.
• The use of video content for marketing increased from 8 percent to 58 percent in 2014, and it’s expected to go even higher this year.
• 70 percent of marketing pros say that video converts better than any other medium does.
• The average Internet user spends 88 percent more time on a website that has video than he or she does on a site without video.

One short video can be transcribed into a 1,000-word (or more) page on your website and can turn into a dozen (or more) blog posts.

Why Do Lawyers Need Video Marketing?

The best part about using video on your website and in all of your marketing efforts is that it injects a little life into your marketing. It shows potential clients that you’re a person, just like them, and that you’re an authority within your practice areas.

Besides, videos complement your other content. Sometimes it’s easy to sit and chat about how you helped a client for a few minutes (easier than writing about it, and more personal, too) – and that saves you time.

Finally, Google owns YouTube. They’ve been structuring their results to include videos for quite some time, and if you have a video that Google feels will help their searchers, you’re in great shape.

High-quality backlinks are essential if you want your website to show up in a good spot on the search engine results pages, or SERPs.

That’s great… but what are they?

What Are Backlinks?

Backlinks are links elsewhere on the Internet (on any site but your own) that point to your website.

When another website links to yours, it’s a bit of an endorsement. That website is telling its readers, “Hey, check this out – this website has great information that you’ll find useful.”

Google pays attention to backlinks, especially when they come from powerful, reputable websites. That’s because those sites are trustworthy, and if they think you’re good, you’re probably pretty good.

Some people also call backlinks inbound links. No matter what you call them, they’re good for your site’s rankings if they’re coming from reputable websites that Google trusts.

Backlinks from low-quality sites can actually drag your website down.

If Google Panda ever affected your law firm’s search rankings—or even if it didn’t—it’s important to know that the search giant is about to update its famous algorithm again.

What is Google Panda?

Google first rolled out the Panda algorithm update in February 2011. Panda’s purpose was to lower rankings on what they deemed “low-quality” sites, and it was a major overhaul to the search engine’s results. Sites with thin content (those that have very little that’s useful to searchers) took a huge hit, as did sites that had “shallow” content.

At the time, Google said, “We’re evaluating multiple changes that should help drive spam levels even lower, including one change that primarily affects sites that copy others’ content and sites with low levels of original content. We’ll continue to explore ways to reduce spam, including new ways for users to give more explicit feedback about spammy and low-quality sites.”

What this led to was a sharp increase in traffic for sites that had great content; sites with high-quality, informative landing pages, fresh content on their blogs and plenty of user-friendly information that actually gave searchers what they wanted.

Google is in the business of pleasing searchers, and this new Panda update is on the verge of rolling out and further improving search results.

What Does the Google Panda Update Mean for Law Firms?

If your site is suffering from thin content – content that leaves users wanting more – or your content is stuffed with keywords, you could suffer as a result of this quality update. If you haven’t updated your blog since sometime in 2011, that’s something you should probably start working on.

Panda hasn’t been updated in more than 7 months. This isn’t a change to the algorithm, but it is an update to the data it uses and the data by which it measures the quality of a website. That means sites that were penalized before might recover… but it also means that sites that escaped Panda’s grasp will suffer a dip in rankings as things get shuffled around.

The reason it’s so important for law firms to take Panda updates seriously is simple: you are competing with other firms in town that can (and will) take your cases. Your firm’s website is your biggest asset, but if people aren’t seeing it online, it’s not doing you any good. It becomes a waste of time, effort and money.

Google has trained its crawlers to follow certain algorithms so that they can deliver high-quality, targeted search results. They’re also building a huge database of knowledge filled with facts collected from all over the Internet – and they use what’s called the Knowledge Graph to share it.

What Does Google’s Knowledge Graph Have to Do with Lawyers?

When someone searches for your firm’s name, Google will deliver the knowledge graph to the right of the search results. It’s convenient, because it shows the firm’s address, photos associated with the firm and even your hours – and it gives searchers the option to read Google reviews, check out your social profiles and get directions to your office.

The Knowledge Graph is the first impression many people have of your brand – and it might be in your best interest to do what you can to make that the right impression.

What’s the Downside of the Knowledge Graph?

The Knowledge Graph can also show your competitors. There’s a group of panels that says “People also search for,” and unfortunately, sometimes that includes the firm (or firms) you’re trying to beat in the search engine results.

What Can Lawyers Do About the Knowledge Graph?

Google pulls information about your firm from several places around the web – and that includes your own website, your Facebook and Twitter accounts, and your Wikipedia page (if you’re “notable” enough to have one).

Staying active on social media, as well as keeping a freshly stocked blog, can help influence the information that Google shows on the Knowledge Graph that comes up for your firm. So can ensuring that your Google My Business listing is complete and accurate.

Of course, you need to make sure that when people do visit your website they’re rewarded with quality content that answers their questions. If you’re not sure that your marketing efforts (including your Internet presence) are up to par, claim your free website audit video from us. We’ll be happy to use our expertise to show you where improvements could make a huge difference for your firm.

Most law firms view content marketing all wrong.

Yes, content is an expense – but it’s not the same type of expense as, for example, AdWords. It’s not the same type of expense as a billboard or a television commercial, either.

Those are all investments, as is website content, but you only get a return on your investment for a fixed period of time.

Your AdWords campaign will expire in 60 days. Your billboard will be up for a month. Your commercial will run for two weeks.

But content is another story.

How Should Law Firms View Content Marketing?

Content marketing is an asset that doesn’t go away. Like AdWords, billboards and television commercials, it can result in client relationships… but it doesn’t have a shelf life like other marketing mediums.

The content on your website is a constant, permanent way for you to connect with potential clients. You have the opportunity to engage people during the day, in the middle of the night, when they’re on their mobile devices and when they’re surfing the web for information on nearly any topic that ties in with your practice.

That’s different from any other medium because it has a larger – and longer – potential reach.

When you spend $1,000 on AdWords, you stop seeing the resulting website traffic as soon as the campaign ends. When you spend $2,500 on a commercial, you stop getting calls when the commercial goes off the air.

You get the picture.

The point is that you don’t stop seeing returns on your website’s content, provided that it’s good, useful content. That’s true even if you stop publishing new content. Your old content can continue to generate traffic, engage potential clients, and turn into real, tangible results when people call you to retain your services.

Could You Improve Your Content Strategy?

Google’s latest algorithm updates ensure that quality content rises to the top in the search engine results pages, and you need to start providing it before your competitors do. If you don’t, they’ll push you out of the running for the coveted top spot – and the top spot is the one that gets the vast majority of clicks.

You don’t have to do it all yourself, though. You could find an expert lawyer marketing firm to shoulder the burden so you’re free to do what matters most: grow your practice.

As many as 77 percent of law firms generate new business leads online, according to recent research, and because your website is up and working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, that’s something you can’t afford to ignore.

Naturally, you’ll need to dodge Google penalties and stay up-to-date on the latest legal marketing techniques, so you can take advantage of your website’s built-in benefits.

What Law Firm Websites are Most Successful?

Law firm websites that have between 401 and 1,000 pages get six times more leads than websites with between 51 and 100 pages.

It’s not enough to have lots of content, though. It has to be really, really good content.

According to QuickSprout, the average content length for any page that ranks in the top 10 spots on Google has at least 2,000 words – and posts that are longer than 1,500 words get an average of 68.1 percent more tweets and 22.6 percent more Facebook “Likes.”

Law firm websites that are truly successful do three things:

1. Attract potential clients.Even if you have the most sleek, streamlined website on the Internet, you’ve wasted your time (and your marketing dollars) if you don’t let people know it’s there. You have to take the appropriate steps to ensure that the search engines notice, crawl and index your site so new people can find it online.
2. Engage visitors.Whether visitors come in through search engines or they follow your website address from your business card, your billboard or your other advertising efforts, you have to keep them interested while they’re there. That means providing them with useful content, real solutions and valuable advice as soon as they arrive.
3. Turn visitors into clients. You can – and should – use your law firm’s website as a trust-building tool. It’s the best place to share your knowledge and show visitors that you’re a subject-matter expert when it comes to your practice areas. It takes a careful balance of the right text, video and other content to do this in a way that people actually enjoy, and the most successful law firms get it right.

How Can Law Firms Get the Most from Their Websites?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer for every firm. Making the most out of your existing website (or, in some cases, starting from scratch with an entirely new site) isn’t a quickfix. Most firms choose to work with law firm marketing pros who can turn things around and improve the firm’s online presence, reputation and brand by monitoring metrics, making adjustments and following the latest best practices.

Because there are so many variables, and because every firm has different competition, it can be a big project. Want to learn more? Claim your free website audit video from ApricotLaw – it’s the first step in making your website and your firm more profitable.