If you know what this refers to, congratulations (but you’ll still want to read on).  In the old days of the internet, there were a lot of tricks you could do which would increase your rankings in a google search.  But those days are long gone.  How do you get your web page to come up on a google search?  There are a lot of people who will charge you a lot of money claiming they can do this, but I’m going to share the single biggest secret.  Content is King.

Writing Good Content

Google wants to return the best search results so that people continue to use Google as a search engine, and they can continue to charge advertising rates.  So, what does Google look for when returning search results?  Google wants content which people are looking for when they do a search.  Thus, the better the content, the more likely your site will appear in a search result.

What this means as a practical matter is this.  Don’t expect to put up a few pages or hire someone to do a web site for you and expect google to recognize it and start returning results with your site.  

To show up on a search result, you have to write consistent good content. There are thousands of lawyers who write, “Ten Steps After a Car Accident” or “Ten Mistakes People Make When Filing For Bankruptcy.”  These are important articles and should be on your web site, but don’t expect them to show up in organic search results.

So What Should I Write?

To have the best chance of showing up, you (or someone writing content for you) should write something detailed on a specific original, timely topic.  Write what people are searching for, but take the time to make it worthwhile.  Keep in the back of your mind, would I find this helpful or would I spend my time reading this?  Or, would I hit the back button and look for the next entry on google’s list?

Ideas for Blog Posts for Google

Here’s the part where neophytes to search results as well as those who know a thing or two can benefit.  A great way to return search results is to find a current news story or event and write an article which shows your expertise or opinion on the matter.  News comes and goes, so you have to be prompt, but if you write something insightful about a current topic, there’s a good chance google will move that to the top of their search results.  Even better, success breeds success.  So, when an article of yours gains traction, it gets quoted, and searched and increases traffic in general.  Make no mistake about it, this is hard work and takes creativity and perseverance, but it pays dividends.

Season specific topics also tend to return well on google searches.  For example, slip and fall on ice articles do well in the winter, not so much in the summer.  Dangers of fireworks, as they relate to potential personal injury cases, do well in June and July.  Think about your practice and how it relates to seasonal events.  Content is king and google likes timely material.

If you are going to write about a topic in your practice, make sure you do it well.  It should be in depth and feature phrases and questions which people maybe looking.  Hire someone to format your article properly on your web site so that google recognizes the important points.  Never forget that it is a computer and an algorithm which yields results, not some human reading your article for relevance.  So if you are going to do it, do it right.

It Takes Work

I get an email a day from someone promising me “Page One on Google.”  These people are just taking your money.  It takes hard work and persistence to show up on google.  There are firms which have been doing it successfully a lot longer than you.  Not to sound discouraging, but it takes work (and/or money) to show up on google search results.

I have been heavily involved in the internet for many years.  In have learned a few things, some the hard way, but I am happy to pass along what I have learned if anyone is interested,  Needless to say, this has merely scratched the surface.