SEO for Law Firms-What Impact Will the MSN-Yahoo Deal Have?

The playing field for search engine optimization (SEO) is in the process of change thanks in part to the Microsoft/Yahoo deal…..

/lawyermarketing101.com/Kevin Quinlan/ 08/31/2009

Rene Perras law firm Internet marketing maven discusses the impact on search engine optimization for law firms because of the deal between  Yahoo and Microsoft which will have an affect on the algorithms and the focus on inbound links versus keywords.

 

The playing field for search engine optimization (SEO) is in the process of change thanks in part to the Microsoft/Yahoo deal and also to the new iteration of Google, currently referred to as Caffeine.  The integration of Bing as Yahoo's exclusive algorithm for search and paid search for Yahoo sites means that the new combined effort may garner 28% or more of search use, according to comScore.  That is based on total of their current share of search individually.  It will remain to be seen whether Bing can change the brand preference of Google searchers and acquire a larger share.  That said past SEO efforts for law firms  focused predominantly on Google, so if you were well optimized for Google your l;aw firm would be well optimized for all of the others. With a nearly 30% share of the search market that may no longer be enough.

 

While it could take a year or longer for the full implementation of the deal to take place, being prepared early and adjusting SEO efforts is probably a prudent plan. Although both Google and Bing react favorably to traditional strategic SEO efforts such as fresh keyword rich content, keywords in the title tag and domain, and the appropriate website architecture, there appear to be differences in the way they value the different criteria. Bing seems to place more weight on keywords whereas Google seems to place more weight on inbound links. Ensuring that you have both strategies covered can only help increase your law firm's website rankings now and in the future.

 

Microsoft is still in the process of tweaking its algorithm for Bing, so what seems to be true now, may be different as the evolution progresses.  Additionally, it is said that Google Caffeine has a greater focus on key words as well.  The best approach is to ensure a strong focus on the fundamentals of traditional, ethical, tactical SEO and keep abreast of the changes as they occur.  For now, it may require additional efforts to maintain a Google local listing and a Bing local listing but currently it does not seem necessary to have separate pages geared towards Bing or Google search engines.  Bing and Google currently deal with videos and images placement differently in the search results. Bing provides different placement for videos and images which may offer marketing opportunities for marketers that create both.

 

If your law firm has a relationship with an expert attorney web design firm/SEO professional for law firms that adheres to Google's design standards your firm should be on the right track now and in the future to make the necessary adjustments to your web marketing efforts.

 

For more information about law firm SEO, legal web site design for attorneys or other legal marketing strategies, contact Rene Perras.

 

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