Google Security Update: The Big Switch to https
It’s all over the Internet: Google is making a big change that affects every single website it browses. By October 2017, all sites with input fields, including contact forms and search fields, must have a security certificate—or risk dropping dramatically in Google’s estimation. Though Google has been set on enforcing “certificate transparency” for quite some time, this marks a tangible change in the company’s approach to insecure websites.
And isn’t Google the only search engine that matters?
So let’s talk about why you need to switch to https by October. Read the rest »
Michael Guisti Website Named Best of 2017
The legal marketing blog Inbound Law has once again included one of our designs in their yearly 50 Best Law Firm Websites list! Attorney Michael S. Guisti’s new site was ranked 13th out of 50 for 2017. This marks the second year in a row that Inbound has included us in their rankings, with another client redesign making the top 50 in 2016.
As before, we are incredibly grateful for the recognition and proud to be included in such a strong group of designs. Our design department takes great care in providing our clients with not only the most effective site architecture – including a full complement of targeted SEO strategies – but also the most up to date design elements for a clean and modern look.
SLS Consulting Is Headed to Music City with PILMMA!
What better way to end out the summer than with a trip? From September 13th–16th, the team at SLS Consulting, Inc. will be in Nashville, TN, for PILMMA’s 2017 Legal Marketing and Management Super Summit. If that isn’t exciting enough, our team, headed up by our founder Susan Ziegler, will be offering FREE website audits at our booth. So, not only are we going to be there to answer any questions you may have regarding your legal marketing campaigns, but we’re also offering to review your website so that you’re aware of the exact steps you need to take to take your search rankings to the next level.
This is the first time SLS will be exhibiting at a PILMMA event, and we’re thrilled to be able to offer our insight into some of the most common problems found with today’s online marketing…
Solicitations from Marketing Companies: Sour Grapes!
It’s no secret that SLS Consulting is all about white hat marketing tactics. When we take on a new client, we review the previous marketing techniques applied to their site, and “clean the site up” accordingly. Sometimes our clients come to us relatively unscathed by black hat marketing techniques, while other times we definitely have our work cut out for us.
Let’s set the record straight right now. When we talk to potential clients about how we can help their marketing campaigns, we talk about our past successes, and even recommend that they speak to our current or past clients to get a better feel of what it’s like to work with us. Past clients regularly refer new business to us, and our current clients always speak highly of our services when they’re talking to a potential SLS client.
Fast, Cheap or Good – You Can Only Have Two When It Comes to Digital Marketing
As an Internet marketing company that’s been around since the early days of the Internet (1999, to be exact), we have helped A LOT of attorneys over the years establish a stronger digital web presence. Some of our clients have come to us without a lot of experience in marketing themselves while others have varying degrees of online marketing expertise. Regardless of their online savvy, almost every prospective client ends up asking the seemingly unavoidable (and practically unanswerable) question:
How quickly is my website going to rank on page one?
Trust us when we tell you that ANY marketing firm that gives you a specific answer to this question isn’t being truthful with you…
Solicitations from Marketing Companies- Spam Slam Volume One
If you watched our most recent “Spam Slam” video, you heard us talking about a recent solicitation one of our clients received regarding reciprocal links. If you didn’t see the video and stumbled upon this article anyway, you can watch it below:
Before we go any further, let us clarify that reciprocal links aren’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, if two websites have overlapping interests, and linking back to each other makes for a better overall user experience, that’s perfectly fine. Google is all about user experience these days, so providing this type of beneficial, on-page experience makes complete sense. However, that wasn’t necessarily the intent alluded to in the email.
Google’s Quality Guidelines regarding Link Schemes reads as follows:
Solicitations from Marketing Companies: Don’t Believe Everything You Read!
At SLS, we let our portfolio do all the talking. We don’t send out solicitation emails, and we don’t make broad general statements to scare potential clients into signing with us. We let them take a look at the work we’ve done for clients, and even encourage them to reach out to those clients to ask their own questions.
That’s right. We encourage potential clients to reach out to our current clients…ANY of our current clients…because we’re that confident in the work we put out and the finished product we give to our clients. But that’s just how WE acquire new business. Overall, it’s safe to say that there are a ton of marketing tactics out there used to attract and obtain new business, with some of the tactics being a little more questionable than the others.
Recently, one of our clients forwarded us an email he received in regard to the penalties his site had recently been hit with due to Google’s algorithm changes. The only problem was that our client’s site hadn’t been hit with any penalties, and his rankings were just as strong as ever. See the body of the email below. We’ve removed names and anything else to identify our client and the marketing company:
Ask SLS: How Should Lawyers Use LinkedIn?
In this new blog segment from SLS, our staff members have scoured their email archives to find informative explanations for some of the more commonly asked questions we receive from our clients. We’re calling this new feature “Ask SLS” so be sure to check back monthly for answers to some of the more frequently asked questions we get from current clients, lawyers just looking for some quick advice, and former clients who still reach out to us for help from time to time.
In today’s article, we discuss one possible way lawyers can approach using their LinkedIn profile to positively impact their marketing efforts. Remember though, the advice we offer here isn’t the only way of handling a particular situation, especially when it’s related to marketing. Over the years, we’ve weighed risk and reward when it comes to certain tactics and strategies, so we’re providing insight on approaches that we have experience with. So, without further ado, let’s check out today’s question… Read the rest »
Solicitations from Marketing Companies: Beware of SEO Scare Tactics
In the world of legal Internet marketing solicitations, remember to take everything with a grain of salt. Offers that sound too good to be true often are, and companies that make incredible claims typically aren’t the most trustworthy firms to work with. There are some obvious red flags to keep an eye out for…
If an SEO company guarantees page one placement for your website – page one placement that would definitely require a significant investment of time and overhauling your site – ask yourself how THIS particular company is able to guarantee it for such a low cost. If a reputation management company claims to be able to remove negative reviews for you – reviews that can only be removed by the person who actually wrote the review and the review site itself – take a second to ask how THAT particular company is able to do what other marketing companies cannot. Read the rest »
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