On March 5th, Google introduced a significant core update aimed at enhancing the quality of search results by prioritizing content that genuinely serves users over content that seems primarily designed to attract clicks. This goal is nothing new for Google. In 2022 they went on the offense against low-quality content with their Summer 2022 Unhelpful Content update. Accompanying this update, Google also unveiled new spam policies targeting practices that negatively impact the quality of search results. For law firms and legal websites, understanding and adapting to these changes is not optiona ..read more

We just launched our new YouTube video titled "Video Schema for Lawyers," and it's a must-watch for any law firm that is using videos on its website. Right now, much of your video's search traffic is probably getting routed to YouTube... but you could be getting that traffic directly on your law firm's website. Video schema can help. Video schema markup is a powerful tool that can significantly improve your videos' visibility in Google searches, especially in the Google Video tab. By adding video schema code to your law firm website's video pages (it's easy, I show you how in the video), you ..read more

We just launched our latest video on How to Add Person Schema to Your Attorney Bio on YouTube. What is Person Schema? Think of Person Schema as a way to tell search engines more about your individual lawyers while also making it more likely that your lawyers image and bio will be featured in search. By adding structured data markup to your bios, you're essentially providing a detailed resume that Google can easily understand and use to display your attorneys more prominently in search results. In the example above, we see Google using personal injury lawyer, Jason M. Hatfield's person schema ..read more

Your law firm is located in one city. But your law firm's website is hosted in a data center somewhere else. And possibly co-hosted on content-delivery-networks all over the world. So how can we tell Google that a page that is physically located in a data center is connected to your local law firm? LocalBusiness Schema. What is LocalBusiness Schema? Local Business Schema is a structured data markup code that tells Google exactly what information to display about your firm, including your law firm's name, address, phone number, operating hours, and areas of practice. By implementing Local Busi ..read more

Google’s search algorithm gets updated regularly but sometimes they roll out a “core update” which was formerly referred to as “broad core updates.” Basically, a core update is just any update that affects Google’s entire search algorithm. In 2022, Google rolled out 10 core updates addressing everything from spam to helpful content to product reviews. Core updates reported by Google for 2022 This year, Google has been attacking spam. AI content (which is no longer prohibited in search) has forced the search engine to raise the bar on what it sees as “quality” content. Let’s take a look at wha ..read more

Google is on a mission to simplify the search results page after spending several years cramming it with a bunch of rich snippets like FAQs, Videos, and How-Tos. But now, they’re consolidating search results into their Generative AI box at the top of the page, which is making some (but not all) Schema markups obsolete. What did FAQ Schema do? The type of FAQ rich snippets that Google has now dropped on both mobile and desktop results are the dropdowns that would appear under your law firm's website. As law firm SEO specialists, we loved this feature because it expanded our clients' footprint ..read more

You might think of entertainment when you hear “event,” but the reality is that a lot of lawyers get many of their clients by hosting seminars and webinars. If you’re one of them, you should know about Event Schema markups. If you’ve been conducting seminars or webinars, you're well aware of their value. Why not amplify their reach with Google’s help? With Event Schema markup, you can do just that. As part of our ongoing series on Schema Markups for lawyers, we just released our Event Schema Markup video, which will help you boost your event attendance with a helping hand from Google. How Eve ..read more

I am excited to lead a workshop for Marketing for Justice this week, where I'll be talking about how to spy on your visitors... but not in a creepy way. I want you to build a better user experience for your visitors which ultimately sends more leads to your law firm. Every time a user accesses your law firm's website, they are clicking, they're scrolling, they're searching, and they're generating a ton of UX data for you. Capture it and use it to get more leads... that's what I'll be talking about at this week's workshop. I'd like to invite you to join me on August 23, 2023 at Noon EST for “B ..read more

On Custom Legal Marketing's YouTube channel, we're working on a series about schema markups for law firms. Schemas help you communicate to Google what your content is about and what you want them to do with it. They're really powerful! Some schemas are a little less exciting but no less important. In the latest video, I'm talking about breadcrumb schema. The Fairytale Becomes Reality: What is Breadcrumb Schema? Remember the enchanting fairytale of Hansel and Gretel, where Hansel leaves breadcrumbs to find his way home through the dark and mysterious woods? Today, that magical concept has evol ..read more

Many law firm marketers are stepping into a trap by leaning too heavily on AI tools for content. I recently talked about this in an article on Forbes. Just because Google is allowing AI generated content doesn’t mean they’re not taking action against low-quality content. In fact, they’re stepping up enforcement and their SpamBrain algorithm will ignore or remove content that it believes isn’t helpful. Crafting Content for Humanity Instead of relying solely on AI, law firms need to recognize the value of the human connection in content creation. AI can support the process, but your unique voic ..read more