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The 10-Point SEO Checklist For Local Lawyers Who Want Better Google Rankings

Local Lawyers Who Want Better Google Rankings

For every law firm that wants to attract new clients via the internet, the most effective long-term strategy for doing so is using SEO to help improve the rankings of your website on Google. With Google being the biggest search engine by far, it is their algorithm and ranking factors that you must consider if you want your website on page #1 of search results, and hopefully in one of those coveted top three positions.

Anyone who knows anything about SEO will tell you that it is rarely a quick process. Google is not in the habit of operating with random whims and its algorithm is designed to reward those who follow a longer-term strategy than those who wish to take shortcuts.

As such, you must realise that using SEO to promote your law firm’s website and see it climb the rankings on Google will require patience, however, that patience will be rewarded assuming you follow tried and tested SEO tactics and actions. One of the best ways to do so is to follow a step-by-step process aided by a checklist. The checklist which follows covers ten of the most important SEO actions you must take to manifest better rankings on Google.

#1 – Plan Your SEO Campaign Strategy: Planning is required for any activity that you wish to be a success. For SEO, this strategic planning will include setting your goals, determining what resources are required, who you call in to help such as an SEO agency, and what budget you allocate.

#2 – Carry Out Keyword Analysis: Ranking is based on the keywords people searching for lawyers locally enter on Google. To discover what these keywords are, you can use one or more keyword research tools.

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7 Factors To Consider When Choosing A Commercial Office Cleaning Company

7 Factors To Consider When Choosing A Commercial Office Cleaning Company

Doubtless, there will be many outside agencies and companies that you hire to support your business and, if you operate from an office building, we assume one of those is a commercial cleaning company to clean your offices. Whilst it can be argued that services such as legal advice from a commercial lawyer or tax advice from your accountant are crucial, ensuring a clean and safe environment for employees and clients who visit your offices is no less important.

It might be that you have just set up a business or have recently moved into new offices and have not yet secured the services of a commercial cleaning company. It may also be the case that you have never used commercial cleaning services before, and this will be the first time you have had to search for them. That means you reading this now is ideal timing as we are going to outline seven factors you must consider when choosing commercial cleaners.

Factor #1—Services Offered: The first factor to consider is whether any commercial cleaning company you are considering can offer the services you require. Office cleaning is about more than vacuuming the carpets and mopping the toilet floors. You may require a lot more than that, so enquire about what services they can offer, as they may not have them all listed on their website.

Factor #2 – Reputation, Reliability, And Reviews: Finding all three of these may take some research but they are all essential so that you have a full picture of a commercial cleaning company’s record. Be especially pleased if any commercial cleaning company is happy for you to contact their past or current clients as this shows they are confident in their ability to provide a great service. Conversely, be wary of any that have little or no track record.

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5 Reasons Why Investing In SEO Benefits Your Business

5 Reasons Why Investing In SEO Benefits Your Business

There are many options open to you should you wish to use SEO as part of your online marketing strategy, with one of the most astute choices being to employ an SEO agency. They will discuss your goals with you, create a plan for your SEO, and then set about implementing that plan. You should be aware that not only will this require a financial investment, but it will also require patience as most results can take weeks before coming to fruition.

If the previous sentence relating to financial investment and patience has sparked a modicum of doubt in your mind as to whether you should embark on an SEO campaign, we wish to point out that for all the perceived negatives, the positives that can be realised from a successful SEO campaign far outweigh those negatives by a huge margin. A successful SEO campaign can bring many benefits to your business, and here are five of the most significant.

Increases The Quantity And Quality Of Website Traffic

One of the most obvious benefits of SEO, and no doubt the primary reason for using it, is the increase in website traffic you will see once your rankings start improving all the way, hopefully, to page 1 of Google. In addition, the quality of traffic should improve too. as those rankings will be based on search terms with buyer intent identified as keywords for which you should optimise your website.

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5 Ways To Optimise Mobile Content For A Rankings Boost

5 Ways To Optimise Mobile Content For A Rankings Boost

If you take a second to look around a busy train, a shopping mall, or a bar, there is one thing you are almost certain to witness several people doing: looking at and using their mobile phones. Whether chatting via Messenger, sending a quick email to their boss, watching a funny video on YouTube, or checking the latest news, our mobile devices, including smartphones, provide numerous windows on the world.

Even though mobile phone use has accelerated exponentially for many years, the Coronavirus pandemic most certainly increased it further as people used them to stay in touch with family and friends during lockdowns and, in many cases, to enable employees to work from home.

With mobile phones now an integral part of our everyday experiences, the concept of creating content specifically for use on mobile devices is one we almost take for granted these days. An experienced SEO agency will tell you that the swing from desktop computers to mobile devices continues and we are now at the stage where mobile versus desktop internet usage has seen mobile go into the ascendency.

What that means for a business that wishes to market itself online is that over half of those who might visit their website are doing so from a mobile device which is likely to be a smartphone. The implication for many of the marketing tasks they undertake is they need to be mobile-friendly.

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Using Online Webinars To Promote Products And Services

Webinars

Long before the internet existed, whenever businesses wanted to get together with others to discuss or promote their products and services, or to train their staff, a meeting called a seminar was arranged. The format would tend to be one or two speakers making a presentation to a live audience which could number several hundred in larger seminars.

Today, seminars still happen, but the onset of the internet has spawned an online version of seminars called webinars. Now, we are not here to challenge nor vouch for the merits of ‘webinar’ being the name conjured up to describe online seminars. What is more important is their use by businesses and the many ways that webinars can be used to promote products and services.

What Is A Webinar?

For those that have never heard of or been on a webinar, they are online presentations that the audience views on their PC, laptop or mobile device and the information being relayed is presented by one or more organisers of the webinar. Just think of a Zoom call but instead of speaking to one person, you present it to hundreds.

Webinars are relatively simple to create with the main equipment needed being a microphone, a webcam (optional), presentation slides  (e.g. PowerPoint), and a script so that you can describe what is on the slides.  In addition, a webinar platform is needed which acts as the conduit between the presenter and the audience. The most popular webinar platforms online include GoToWebinar and Webinar Jam.

In most cases, webinars are presented live and there is often an opportunity for the audience to ask questions via a chat box. However, they can also be set up to replay, or to be broadcast automatically on a loop several times per day, every day.

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7 Email Copywriting Mistakes You Must Avoid

7 Email Copywriting Mistakes You Must Avoid

Any business not using email marketing is missing the opportunity to benefit from one of the most effective digital marketing tools available. Email marketing is extremely cost-effective, and its ability to help businesses build relationships with prospects and to sell its products and services is second to none.

As with any marketing tool, email has to be used properly, and if not, the results will most likely be poor. This might be why some businesses have turned their back on email marketing claiming it does not work. It does work,  but not if the way it is used is counter to what email marketing experts suggest it should be used.

A fundamental error that often occurs is a business using the wrong copy within its emails. A well-written email that follows effective copywriting principles is key to an email campaign being successful. Unfortunately, many email campaigns are sent containing copy errors, and here are 7 of the most common.

Not Using Emails To Build Relationships With Your Subscriber List

We have this first because it is by far the most important point we wish to make. If you are not using emails to build and augment your relationship with your subscribers, then you are failing to appreciate why you are emailing them in the first place. Without building relationships with them,  your subscribers will not see any reason to open your email and will have even less reason to click on any links they contain.

Poorly Optimised Subject Lines

Coming a close second is the mistake of having poor subject lines. The subject line is the most important few words of your entire email. Why? It is the subject that will entice your subscribers to open the email rather than binning it without opening it. Get the subject right and your email open rate will soar.

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How Apps Empower Users to Weigh Their COVID-19 Risk

How Apps Empower Users to Weigh Their COVID-19 Risk

When you venture out for the day, you check your weather app to see if storms are on the way. If there’s a storm system moving through, you bring an umbrella or raincoat, just to play it safe. The forecast helps you plan for the day, anticipating problems that might come your way.

NOVID, developed by Carnegie Mellon University professor of mathematics and Expii founder Po-Shen Loh, applies the same principle to the probability of encountering COVID-19. Users can see, in real-time, the immediate threat of COVID-19 in their circles monitored by degrees, in the style of “six degrees of Kevin Bacon,” Loh joked.

Because NOVID helps pre-detect risk, opening the free app is less about telling someone they already have COVID and more about informing someone of their risk of contracting it so they can make better decisions about how to avoid it. Loh hopes the experience can give back some autonomy to users when it comes to understanding how the disease spreads and the risks associated with their choices.

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IRL to URL: How Pittsburgh Organizations Are Adapting Events in the Age of Social Distancing

IRL to URL How Pittsburgh Organizations Are Adapting Events in the Age of Social Distancing

By now, we’re all familiar with the Zoom conference call, board game night, or networking event. But for Pittsburgh organizations with big events on the horizon, a webcam alone isn’t going to cut it. As online interactions become the norm, organizations are quickly shifting plans to recreate some of the magic of in-person gatherings online.

StartNow spoke to two organizations about how they’re replicating live events online with the help of technology, the local community, and an engaged audience.

“I’m over the Zoom happy hours,” joked Day Bracey, co-founder of the Fresh Fest Beer Fest, America’s only Black beer festival. With the festivities moved online, Fresh Fest Digi Fest will stream and share over 54 hours of content for festival attendees in a single day.

From noon to 9 p.m. on August 8, programming will be streamed across six different online channels, each uniquely themed and plotted out over the festival’s app. Programs include lectures, interviews, and live DJ sets and art. Other channels will feature pre-recorded content from local chefs cooking up recipes using beer.

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Fresh Fest Digi Fest

Fresh Fest Digi Fest

Fresh Fest Digi Fest

Saturday, August 8, 2020
12:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Fresh Fest in the nation’s first Black beer festival and second best in the nation, according to USA Today. The annual event showcases the country’s most talented Black brewers, along with breweries from across the globe in collaboration with Black artists, entrepreneurs, politicians, and business owners.

These imaginative partnerships include brew collaborations, label designs, and/or food pairings for a new beer released exclusively at Fresh Fest. Established in 2018 by the Drinking Partners and Black Brew Culture, Fresh Fest attracts thousands of craft beer industry veterans and connoisseurs as well as novices from across the country to enjoy unique beers, ciders, and spirits while celebrating the Black diaspora.

But Fresh Fest is more than just a festival; it is a community initiative that seeks to economically empower the Black community by promoting and providing access, opportunities, and representation in a $119B industry with less than 1% Black ownership or employment. To accomplish these goals, Fresh Fest offers symposiums, live events featuring Black artists and musicians, digital education, and community outreach programs, to name a few.

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