SEO Tip #6: Get a Blog
This tip is important enough to warrant its own posting, and I’m not just saying that to suck up to my friends at LexBlog. There are many reasons that a blog is a good idea including:
- Search engines love blogs and therefore rank them higher because the content is timely, relevant and updated often.
- Anyone (with a username/pw) can update the blog any time from any computer with Internet access making it easy for attorneys to post entries themselves whenever news breaks in their practice area.
- Blogs are informal and conversational in tone taking some of the pressure off of creating a literary masterpiece. If you see a typo after it’s been posted, no biggie, go back and fix it.
- People can sign up to receive updates either via an RSS feed or by email.
- Blogs are cost-effective.
- Blogs target-driven.
- Blogs establish your attorneys as experts in their field. Once your blog gets rolling, you can expect to hear from reporters asking for quotes.
Who should have a blog?
That’s not to say a blog is for everyone because it’s not. Legal blogs take a commitment by the attorneys to keep the content fresh. It depends on the subject of the blog but a general rule of thumb is there should be 1-2 updates each week and that can seem like a daunting task. However, if you can spread it out a bit and have multiple contributors, it becomes quite doable.
The three steps to creating a blog
If you’re considering a blog, your first step should be to do some research. See what other blogs are already out there. Google has a special search tool just for blogs that will show you a listing of blogs in your area of interest. Don’t get discouraged if there are already blogs out there. There’s plenty of opportunity to carve your own niche but it pays to know what is already out there in order to do so.
Your second step should be to reserve a domain name. I use GoDaddy.com because I’ve found them to be very easy to work with and inexpensive but there are many different companies you can use.
Your third step should be to contact LexBlog. Or contact me and I’ll call them on your behalf. In fact, if you don’t want to do Steps 1 and 2 above make this your first and only step. Yes, there are free blog services out there but you get what you pay for. Your blog should enhance your image and branding efforts. LexBlog will do this for you plus they optimize your blog for search engines and by becoming a client you are added to their blog roll giving you links to your blog from hundreds of other highly respected legal blogs.
Trust me on this. If you’re going to have a blog, do it right, go with LexBlog.
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