MozCast Google Algorithm Review – January 2018
“What IS MozCast?” you might be asking yourself. Well, it’s a handy metric put together by our friends over at Moz. Every 24 hours, a set of hand-picked keywords are tracked and notated to determine how volatile Google search results are from one day to the next. Moz then assigns a “temperature” to reflect how much fluctuation is taking place within Google search results.
How “hot” was it in January 2018, according to MozCast?
January was a scorcher! Even hotter than last month’s average of 88.32° (which is considered sweltering), January’s average temperature was 93.89° and showed clear evidence of a heat wave! For the first week of the month, the MozCast range pretty much stayed in the 80s, but had a severe spike of 93° on the 8th, and a jump all the way to 106° and “stormy” on the 11th. The entire rest of January endured “stormy” weather after the 11th, and stayed in the 90s or above. There was even another intense spike of 108° on 25th, ensuring a volatile end to the month. MozCast definitely picked up on some major algorithm changes and updates that went into effect during that time. Since Google isn’t airing out its laundry anymore, it’s important to stay up-to-date in 2018. Read the rest »
Our Writing Team Says “Yes!” to the Oxford Comma
We at SLS Consulting take a strong line when it comes to punctuation—specifically, when it comes to the serial or “Oxford” comma. We like it; we use it in all our writing; and we encourage all our clients to use it as well.
What is the Oxford comma? It’s the last comma used in a list of three or more items, right before a conjunction like “and” or “or.” Some examples would be:
- Daniel is bringing a green salad, paper plates, and his winning smile to the law firm’s Christmas party.
- Pamela’s attention to detail, talent for thinking like the opposition, and former experience as a judge’s clerk make her the most popular paralegal to draft complaints.
- Jorge and his wife are wavering between taking a vacation in Fiji, the Cayman Islands, or her home country of Kazakhstan.
We believe that the Oxford comma leaves no room for mistakes or misinterpretations—and in legal internet marketing, you really can’t afford those! Read the rest »
MozCast Google Algorithm Review – December 2017
“What IS MozCast?” you might be asking yourself. Well, it’s a handy metric put together by our friends over at Moz. Every 24 hours, a set of hand-picked keywords are tracked and notated to determine how volatile Google search results are from one day to the next. Moz then assigns a “temperature” to reflect how much fluctuation is taking place within Google search results.
These temperatures and conditions give us a gauge for tracking Google’s algorithm turbulence, and model the common sense of real weather patterns. A high in the 70s (and sunny) means any variations are pretty tame in the search world, and there are no major algorithm changes to be aware of or panic about. However, a temperature of 101° accompanied by stormy conditions indicates change. In other words, the hotter and stormier your MozCast, the more has changed in Google’s rankings. Read the rest »
The Five Scariest Marketing Companies to Run Away from This Halloween
It’s that time of year again! Doorbells will be rung, doors will be knocked on, and your home will be visited by ghosts, ghouls, and other spooky characters. Adults will attend parties dressed up in make-believe, all in honor of a holiday that’s about tricks and treats. But while trick-or-treaters only knock on your door one night per year, scary spammers in reputable marketing company costumes flood you with offers 365 days per year. If you aren’t careful, you could find yourself tricked into some scary SEO strategies, and that is certainly no treat. This Halloween and beyond, be sure to be on the lookout for the Top 5 Scariest Types of Marketing Solicitations and Scams.
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:
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