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Enlil
OTD God-King




Registered: 08/16/03
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Getting one's site at the top of a google search.
#16874158 - 09/19/12 10:56 AM (11 years, 4 months ago) |
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This is a shot in the dark here, but maybe someone knows something about this.
I'm planning on launching a website in the next 6 months or so. I was wondering if anyone here knows how one would go about getting google and/or yahoo to list the site on the first page of searches. Specifically, I'd like to know how much this kind of thing costs and who to contact about it.
I appreciate any help or suggestions.
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imachavel
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Re: Getting one's site at the top of a google search. [Re: Enlil]
#16874739 - 09/19/12 12:40 PM (11 years, 4 months ago) |
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You can pay google to use meta tags on the domain hosting server you use, I dont know how thats set up. Or you can create them yourself. But my advice, skip it. Focus on a very descriptive web site, and itll tag itself. If your web site is descriptive itll automatically come up when someone searches for it vs. a non descriptive site. Focus on learning html, stylizing with css, and if you want to test the site in local host directory, then learn apache, sql, and php. Otherwise skip it as hosting servers include all those services when you pay to lease a domain and sign up to allow them to host it as well. If you create the most detailed well described law web site that you can, searches will automatically find your site. If you want to go beyond that look up web site tags. I use a group of attorneys myself called berlowe and Rosen. I found them on the web, and theyre fantastic. Their web site isnt even that nice, but its very descriptive, the most important thing
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5HTSynaptrip
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Re: Getting one's site at the top of a google search. [Re: Enlil]
#16874774 - 09/19/12 12:44 PM (11 years, 4 months ago) |
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Getting it to return as a query result on the first page means it has to have been visited, or redirected to more than the rest within the same type of query. I'm just guessing though. You can pay for advertising, and search engines like google intelligently put your ad up when someone searches for whatever you have that's the same/similar.
I watched a documentary on google once and how this custom leather boot company ended up getting so much business it takes months to have shit made by them. Obviously, with increased traffic from advertising you'll gradually become more likely to be on those first few pages.
I'm just guessing though so someone can chime in and say I'm retarded.
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Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge. - My hero, who will be forever remembered, Carl Sagan.
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Enlil
OTD God-King




Registered: 08/16/03
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Loc: Uncanny Valley
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Re: Getting one's site at the top of a google search. [Re: imachavel]
#16874792 - 09/19/12 12:46 PM (11 years, 4 months ago) |
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I don't have time to fuck with building the site. I'll provide the content, of course. I'll have a designer build the site. I've made sites before, but this one is gonna require all kinds of shit I'd have to learn.
It sounds like you're saying that the more specific my meta tags are, the more likely it is to get at the top. For instanced, if I want to focus only on states where I'm licensed, I can put those states in, etc.
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igCorcaigh



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Re: Getting one's site at the top of a google search. [Re: 5HTSynaptrip]
#16874816 - 09/19/12 12:50 PM (11 years, 4 months ago) |
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Getting other sites to link to your site is a powerful strategy.
Use Google Anaytics to see what search terms people use to reach your site. Make sure that your meta tags properly describe your site, and matches what people are searching for.
Use friendly URL's, and avoid PDF's and other premonitory formats for storing your content, as these are like black holes for search engines.
Lots more info here:
http://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/untrusted_dlcp/www.google.com/en//webmasters/docs/search-engine-optimization-starter-guide.pdf
Edited by igCorcaigh (09/19/12 12:53 PM)
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Enlil
OTD God-King




Registered: 08/16/03
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Re: Getting one's site at the top of a google search. [Re: igCorcaigh]
#16874848 - 09/19/12 12:55 PM (11 years, 4 months ago) |
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Thanks a lot. I'll read that pdf, but this is starting to look like it's something that will have to be managed as time goes on. I assume that there are companies that handle such things.
I'm trying to start slow and open a side practice in other states while still working as a PD in this state (I can't legally do both in the same state at the same time). I'd like to not invest a ton of money at the outset, of course, but I think internet presence is essential to getting off the ground.
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igCorcaigh



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Re: Getting one's site at the top of a google search. [Re: Enlil]
#16874906 - 09/19/12 01:06 PM (11 years, 4 months ago) |
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Yes, you're right, it is an ongoing process, only a certain amount of planning you can done in advance, and any strategy has to be regularly reviewed.
There are lots of consultants out there that can help out a lot, maybe use them when you get things up and running. However, it doesn't take that much time to read upon the basics of SEO.
Also, when your site is up and running, look into Google Analytics (or other web analytics program), you can do a lot of really cool stuff there to fine-tune your web strategy.
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Deekay



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Re: Getting one's site at the top of a google search. [Re: igCorcaigh]
#16883401 - 09/20/12 09:58 PM (11 years, 4 months ago) |
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research some about what's known of google's page rank algorithm
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DigitalAdvent



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Re: Getting one's site at the top of a google search. [Re: Deekay]
#16889461 - 09/21/12 09:38 PM (11 years, 4 months ago) |
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Google's SERP's are organized by algorithms that are changed constantly. The VERY best thing you can do is find and hire an online company that handles all of what you just said. Just go to Google and type in search engine optimization company or service, and choose one of those companies that appear on the first page.
Think of your site as a single strand that's part of a massive spider web, you need to be 'connected' as much as possible. You have to have things like inbound and outbound links to relevant sites and material, etc. This is just one example but it can be done in a number of ways. It's complex and unknown. But like I said, the best thing to do is to hire one of these companies. And don't waste your time trying to manually do all of this, especially if you have other sites to attend to.
After that you won't have to worry about shit.
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Enlil
OTD God-King




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Re: Getting one's site at the top of a google search. [Re: DigitalAdvent]
#16890831 - 09/22/12 05:59 AM (11 years, 4 months ago) |
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That's kinda what I'm hoping to do. The less time I spend managing a website, the more time I can spend making money.
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DigitalAdvent



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Re: Getting one's site at the top of a google search. [Re: Enlil]
#16891210 - 09/22/12 09:01 AM (11 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
Enlil said:
The less time I spend managing a website, the more time I can spend making money.
Exactly
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ch1ck3n.s0up
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Re: Getting one's site at the top of a google search. [Re: DigitalAdvent]
#16932559 - 09/29/12 01:27 PM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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Hey Enlil,
Without providing links to really long articles, here's some key points that will give you a good start:
1. This is called "Search Engine Optimization," or SEO for short
2. This is a big topic; there are consulting companies that make a living getting businesses on the first page of search results. At bigger companies there's at least one guy and sometimes even a whole SEO group that specializes in this topic.
3. There's tons of SEO techniques out there, but here's some key ideas:
4. Identify your target market, and build your Web, mobile, and social media presence around it. Sound like a lot, but it doesn't have to be extravagant--you just need to have a presence in each of these spaces, and the pieces of this puzzle need to create a cohesive picture that makes sense.
5. Identify the search terms that your target customers will type in, and include those in your URL, social media page names, and at the top of your page as header tags. You can have fun with that on Google Adwords Stats (link below). Search for "Chicago Lawyer Criminal" and see what pops up... try different keywords to see what makes sense for you: https://adwords.google.com/o/Targeting/Explorer?__c=1000000000&__u=1000000000&ideaRequestType=KEYWORD_IDEAS
6. Have a page on the big social media sites--a simple page is fine, so long as you have a presence. FB, Twitter, YouTube, Linkedin, and maybe even Pinterest. Not only will each get you another Internet page that will be indexed by Google, and presence in each of their communities, but you can also then backlink to your main site from these Social Media pages, and in doing so raise your own pagerank ! A bit of a sockpuppet, but it works.
7. Have a mobile site.
8. For example, if you wanted to market Criminal Defense Services in the Chicago area, you would: ...i. Name your URL something like "http://www.criminaldefensechicago.com/" or "http://www.chicagodefenselawyer.com/" ...ii. Have the title of your site be "Chicago Criminal Defense - Attorney - Lawyer" ...iii. Have the header h1 tag on your site read, "Chicago Lawyer, Criminal Defense Attorney, specializing in DUI, trespassing, drug, and murder defense cases." ...iv. Be sure to name your social media pages with the same, good keywords. Your tweets, posts, and information should also contain these keywords--every little bit helps. ...v. Have your FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and LinkedIn accounts all backlink to your main Web site ...vi. Be sure to get listed in all the free Legal Defense Directories. These add credibility, and improve your Page Rank. ...vii. If you want to get deeper into this, you can start a blog and/or start writing articles. From reading your comments on this site alone it seems like you've got a lot to offer. You could easily write an article like, "Top 10 things to do if you've been arrested for possession," or, "Stupid things people to get their bail revoked," etc. People like that kind of thing--it generates A LOT of traffic to your site! Stick a little "Call to Action" button on the page, with your phone number, and you'll get some hits.
As you can see, we're building a cohesive picture of you as _THE_ criminal defense lawyer in Chicago to call. The result of this technique? Four out of five who get tossed into the clink for possession at the first chance they get will frantically Google "Chicago Drug Lawyer." Your Web Site, Facebook, and LinkedIn presence all pop up on the first page of search results, and he says, "Well this guy looks legit... let me call him."
It's so important to set this stuff up properly from the beginning. I've seen so many sites that struggle because they named their site something idiotic like "http://www.enlil123.com/," and their social media pages (if they exist at all) have different yet similarly obscure names, and don't form a cohesive picture. All of this gives absolutely no useful information to search engines, and they wonder why the Internet isn't working for them. Then they're stuck with these sites because they're too expensive to change.
4. One other key point: Set up your site for recurring billing if possible. It costs money to win new customers; repeat business is EXTREMELY valuable. Can you set up a retainer service (with automatic monthly recurring billing, of course ) for $19.95/month? Get 100 people signed up on your retainer service; they get peace of mind and someone to call, and you've got $2k in monthly revenue for very little work. Now you're the lawyer in their phone, and any legal questions that they have come to you. You've developed a great network of clients; tell 'em to call you if they have any legal questions. Then you can bill them for stuff that you handle, and refer other things like mortgage, bankruptcy, liability, etc. questions to your buddies from law school. At a minimum set up your site so that your clients can pay you online with a credit card or debit card--through Google Checkout or PayPal.
Funny you should post this... I'm now setting up an Internet presence for another lawyer on the side. I'm going to drive all the legal business in his city and specialty to him, and make this guy so much ffing money.
The whole point is that it's beyond "getting google and/or yahoo to list the site on the first page of searches." It's about return on investment. If you're going to pay for those results, you need to be set up to convert them, or you're just wasting your money.
~Chicken~
-------------------- "Inspiration ~ Move me brightly ~ light the song with sense and color ~ hold away despair ~ more than this I will not ask ~ faced with mysteries dark and vast ~ statements just seem vain at last" --Jerry Garcia, Terrapin Station "Officer, I'm going to remain silent, and I would like to speak with a lawyer. I'm not resisting, but I don't consent to any searches.
Edited by ch1ck3n.s0up (09/30/12 01:34 AM)
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Psychedelic Pupil
Goober



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Re: Getting one's site at the top of a google search. [Re: ch1ck3n.s0up]
#16950436 - 10/02/12 06:51 AM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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Chicken soup has put up some great info. SEO specialization is huge. There's many companies and individuals with businesses for that.
The one thing that I would add is also think about the fringe keywords and phrases. For example if someone is looking for a lawyer in Chicago many people will use the keywords "lawyer" and "Chicago". But some people might search for "how to beat a traffic ticket" or "what should I bring to court" so having "traffic" and "court" in your meta tags will get you a couple people that may have been missed if you had just used the obvious tags.
Google does have a service that you can use to check you meta tags and see how popular they are and how often they are used on comprable sites.
Good Luck!
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Confusionhathfuckhismasterpiece


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Re: Getting one's site at the top of a google search. [Re: Psychedelic Pupil]
#16963662 - 10/04/12 05:21 AM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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You need some high quality backlinks man. And check out blackhatworld.com you can find tons of information there.
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