{"id":11632,"date":"2019-07-28T15:40:22","date_gmt":"2019-07-28T15:40:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.blueoceanglobaltech.com\/blog\/?p=11632"},"modified":"2025-01-23T12:16:28","modified_gmt":"2025-01-23T12:16:28","slug":"reverse-seo-for-law-firms-how-to-protect-yourself-and-your-clients-against-negative-content","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blueoceanglobaltech.com\/blog\/reverse-seo-for-law-firms-how-to-protect-yourself-and-your-clients-against-negative-content\/","title":{"rendered":"Reverse SEO for Law Firms: How to Protect Yourself and Your Clients against Negative Content"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content” css=”.vc_custom_1663921548666{padding-right: 10% !important;}” el_id=”blogmain”][vc_column css_animation=”slideInLeft” width=”1\/3″ el_id=”leftsection”][vc_column_text]Search Engine Ranking Factors<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]On-Page Factors<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Off-Page Factors<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Managed, Partially Managed, and Unmanaged Content<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Reverse SEO: How to Build a Defense against Negative Content<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]How Do You Build an Effective Defense?<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″ css=”.vc_custom_1616742558303{padding-right: 3% !important;padding-left: 3% !important;}” el_id=”rightsection”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text css=””]Did you know that about 83 percent of all client prospects searching for an attorney online check out reviews on<\/span> Yelp<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> Avvo<\/span><\/a>, and similar platforms as a first step?<\/span><\/p>\n

\"search\"<\/p>\n

In addition, more than two-thirds of clients are willing to travel farther to reach an attorney that has a solid online<\/span> brand reputation<\/span><\/a> with excellent reviews and ratings, instead of visiting a lawyer closer to their home and more convenient to reach, but who has a poor online <\/span>personal reputation.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Considering these two facts, it is obvious why a firm\u2019s digital presence can work for, or against the growth of a law practice. An excellent, or even decent, overall rating is what draws prospective clients to your law firm, and a poor digital presence is a <\/span>reputation risk<\/span><\/a> that drives clients away.<\/span><\/p>\n

The average person makes decisions based solely on what populates the top positions of the search engine results pages (SERPs), and most often never continues beyond the first 5 results. If a tax attorney\u2019s profile shows up in Google\u2019s \u201clocal map pack\u201d or Google Maps when a user searches for \u201ctax attorney near me\u201d and they\u2019ve received dozens of positive Google reviews, chances are that they\u2019ve just won a new client.What happens, if your business cannot be found anywhere online, or even worse, if your profile or profiles have accumulated too many negative reviews over the years? In addition, when a prospective client searches online for an attorney\u2019s name, the results appear on the first page are the first, and perhaps only, impression that prospect has of the quality, responsiveness, and reputation of that attorney. And as we know, first impressions matter most.\u00a0 <\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner el_id=”one”][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

Search Engine Ranking Factors<\/span><\/h4>\n

Search rankings are not the result of mere coincidence. Search engine optimization (SEO) can make or break a good online reputation. Google calculates all search results based on highly complicated and undisclosed algorithms with hundreds of different factors.<\/span><\/p>\n

We can classify these factors into two groups: On-page and off-page. On-page factors include everything that has to do with a web page itself. Off-page factors refer to determinants outside the reach of a webmaster.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both of these factors are important, and you will definitely achieve the best results with your optimization efforts if you focus on both equally.<\/span><\/p>\n

Included below are the most important on-page and off-page factors.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”middle”][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=”cta-1-left” width=”2\/3″ css=”.vc_custom_1654853436250{margin-left: 0px !important;padding-top: 20px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 40px !important;background-image: url(https:\/\/www.blueoceanglobaltech.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/background-cta.png?id=13450) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;border-radius: 20px !important;}”][vc_text_separator title=”Related” title_align=”separator_align_left” align=”align_left” color=”custom” border_width=”2″ el_width=”10″ accent_color=”#03315d”][vc_custom_heading text=”On-Site SEO: A Comprehensive Guide for Website Ranking” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%2303315d” google_fonts=”font_family:Lato%3A100%2C100italic%2C300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic%2C900%2C900italic|font_style:900%20bold%20regular%3A900%3Anormal”][vc_btn title=”Read More” style=”custom” custom_background=”#ffffff” custom_text=”#03315d” shape=”square” align=”left” el_class=”border-btm-btn” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blueoceanglobaltech.com%2Fblog%2Fon-site-seo-guide-for-website-ranking%2F”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=”cta-1-right” width=”1\/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1654853237778{padding-top: 22px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 40px !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;border-radius: 20px !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”14635″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” css=”.vc_custom_1661929926590{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;padding-top: 15px !important;padding-right: 38px !important;padding-bottom: 15px !important;padding-left: 38px !important;}”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner el_id=”two”][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

On-Page Factors<\/span><\/h4>\n

Metadata<\/b><\/p>\n

This includes the meta title tag and the meta description for each page that is part of a website. The title tag tells users and search engines about the topic of a page. The meta description provides a brief explanation (approx. 300 characters) about the content.<\/span><\/p>\n

Content<\/b><\/p>\n

In order to rank high in Google, engaging and informative content has become increasingly more important. An example of quality content would be an article that provides real value to your audience, in digestible language, with appealing images and possibly video. An enticing main headline, multiple sections with subheadings, short paragraphs, and bullet lists should be included. Links pointing to other internal and external pages can lend additional value.<\/span><\/p>\n

Site Speed and Mobile User Experience<\/b><\/p>\n

In 2018, 52.2 percent of all web pages will be served to mobile phones (statista.com). Fast-loading speed is key to engaging your site visitors to provide a positive mobile experience with your firm.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner el_id=”three”][vc_column_text css=”” el_id=”three”]<\/p>\n

Off-Page Factors<\/span><\/h4>\n

Backlinks<\/b><\/p>\n

Backlinks are the most important off-page ranking factor. But the counter-intuitive rule is: Less is more. Contextual links on other websites over to your website must be placed in relevant content published on authoritative sites that are trusted by Google. In order to secure quality backlinks, they must be genuine, avoiding obvious low-quality backlink patterns and over-optimized anchor text which can do more harm than good.<\/span><\/p>\n

Consistent Business Citations<\/b><\/p>\n

A citation is a listing of your business with a name, address, and a phone number (NAP) that can be found anywhere online\u2014on Yelp, for example, or in another business directory.<\/span><\/p>\n

With business citations, it\u2019s important that they are consistent, so each one of them contains the same information and in the same format. If that\u2019s not the case, chances are that search engines can work against you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Social Media<\/b><\/p>\n

A strong social presence that maintains thousands of organic followers who like and share your content is an indirect ranking factor. Effective social media engagement provides a firm with online credibility.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner el_id=”four”][vc_column_text css=”” el_id=”four”]<\/p>\n

Managed, Partially Managed, and Unmanaged Content<\/span><\/h4>\n