Ever since Google first introduced their search engine back
in the late 1990’s, there have been a lot of changes – and I am not referring
to their secret search algorithm. Google has also fundamentally changed their
search results display screens (or SERP’s) and many would argue to only the
betterment of Google. An increasing amount of people who follow the changes in
Google are lamenting that Google is transforming itself from an independent search
engine to a Google product engine.
THE EVER SHRINKING GOOGLE
SEARCH RESULTS SCREEN
A
recent
study released found that on average only 13% of the Google search results display
real results. In short, Google has now pushed the natural “organic” results to
less than 13% of the screen display above the fold (or scroll). So who owns the
remaining 87% of the displayed results? You guessed it: Google. This includes
Google paid advertising PPC (29%), Google Navigation Bar (14%), Google Maps
(7%) and the rest is Google dead space.
As you can see from the images to the right, we compare a
typical Google results screen from 2001 to one from today to illustrate this
point. When comparing the 13% organic results today to the nearly 70% organic
results displayed in 2001, you can clearly see a trend here. It is true that long-tail
searches can typically display more organic searches if there is less competition
from PPC but then again, when competition is present, many search results move
us back to the 13% again – even with an absence of maps and local results.
There is also a qualitative change as well. Notice
the contrast from the heavily colored “Sponsored Link” #PPC ads in 2001 to the
seemingly subtle colors of the “Ads” displayed today. Coincidence?
Some would argue that the advent of universal search along
with localized searches screws these results and they have a point. However, where
their arguments lose steam is when you consider that all of these new elements
beyond organic search results are Google owned properties which they sell and monetize
to varying degrees.
WHAT ABOUT MOBILE
SEARCH RESULTS?
As we have previously discussed,
#mobilesearch is expected to
exceed PC search to websites by 2016. If you don’t believe me, simply look at a
group of people ages 10-28 waiting in line and see if they are still twiddling
their thumbs. When I compare the same “divorce attorney” search in my iphone 5 (see
example) with Google, I see roughly 25% of the screen displaying organic
results – the rest are Google properties. Moreover, of the top three results,
the top two are PPC ads and one includes a click-to-call feature…something the
organic listing does NOT provide. Once again, advantage Google.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN
FOR ATTORNEYS?
Google makes their money from advertising and they have
added a lot of vehicles to help them accomplish this over the years. The problem
for the average user is that as more display options have increased, the space
on their computer screen has not. In fact, with the advent of mobile search,
the screen is now increasingly shrinking for most search engine users. Google
has made it very clear through their actions that organic search results (the
stuff they don’t get paid on) will be minimized to the point where they can maximize
their revenues and still keep people coming back for more. If that number has
fallen from around 70% in 2001 to 13% today, will people still see the value in
Google?
Here are a few things
to consider:
If you run PPC with Google, you need to make sure you are changing
your focus to mobile ads along with your user base. It is also important to
note that being in the top two PPC positions on mobile may be the only
effective answers to being crowded out of a dramatically shrinking screen. This
may mean better search results but it also comes at a
very high price you mayneed to pay to Google.
Long-tail search results increasingly give you the best
chance for real results in the organic search world. As people become more sophisticated
in how they search, they are becoming more specific (ie long-tail searches) in
what they are looking for. When attorneys spend high amounts of money for organic
vanity search phrases like “Personal Injury Attorney…” or “Divorce Attorney…”, aren’t
they really competing with Google PPC? In this case, why not pay Google instead
for these top of the page results (PPC) and stick with the money searches in the
long tail? Economists would argue that pricing parity will eventually be
reached if a keyword PPC result for “Personal Injury Attorney…” came at the
same cost as organic. And who do you think Google would prefer to be the benefactor
of this search spend? Welcome to the 13% solution.
A mixed marketing plan may be more effective moving forward.
A combination of Website, SEO, PPC, active content (blogs) and social media tend
to be the most effective combination of web marketing today. The search engines
reward each to varying degrees and by having those all work together, you have
a rising tide that lifts all boats.
You need to consider both traffic generation and conversion.
Gone are the days when
#attorney search was weak and cases were easy to
generate online. Search results are a function of competition and you now have
a lot of it. If you have invested in ways to generate traffic to your web properties,
you must now determine how best to convert them into new cases and clients. Remember,
the average person will look at 4.8 attorney websites before they contact a
firm and your referrals are also making judgments about you online before they
ever call. You never get a second chance to make a good first impression…and conversion.
The biggest threat to Google is not another search engine
like Bing – it is those little black devices that everybody is carrying around with
them…and in ever increasing numbers. The time spent on smart phone APPS is far
outpacing the flat-line of time in search and this means that people are
finding APPS more useful than search engines for many of their daily needs. Do
you need an APP for your law practice? That’s like asking if you need a search
engine for your law practice – it is not the point. Marketing 101: “fish where
the fish are.” If the eyes of your clients are moving to APPS, then why not
advertise your services on them. This after all was how a small project at
Stanford University ultimately became known as Google.
#lawyermarketing #google #seo #ppc #apps
A few weeks ago, I was having lunch at a Chick-Fil-A when a government
alert was sent out. Based on the volume of the people and smart phones present
in the restaurant, all of the phones when off at once and that was interesting
to say the least...even the smoke alarms were jealous. Topics quickly turned from who is really inside that cow suit
to how the hell to turn these annoying alerts off. Overhearing a few conversations,
most people seemed to believe that this was another government action like drones,
taxes and philandering politicians that they simply had to accept. But they are
wrong…
Until recently, most website authority producing measures
had to do with the quality and quantity of inbound links generated to a website.
In 2012, Google made 665 reported changes to their search algorithm with
arguably the two most sweeping changes having to do with active content (Panda)
and bad link building (Penguin). 
At the heart of social media is unique content generation
and the best place to generate new and fresh content is on a blog. When content
is created on a blog, it can be automatically sent to content distribution
points where people can more readily see, access, promote, share and act on it.
The most effective content distribution points for attorney come from social
media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google +, etc.). This is what we refer to
as an active content strategy – all of the necessary pieces from generation
(blogs) to distribution (social media) to conversion (websites) working together.
The most effective way to measure social media content
distribution is through “#reach.” Reach is nothing more than a simple
measurement of the total number of people who see your social media updates.
The more people “reached,” the better visibility and potential for new case /
client generation you receive. Beyond reach, Google has added one more benefit:
authority. 
As you can see from the images to the right, we compare a
typical Google results screen from 2001 to one from today to illustrate this
point. When comparing the 13% organic results today to the nearly 70% organic
results displayed in 2001, you can clearly see a trend here. It is true that long-tail
searches can typically display more organic searches if there is less competition
from PPC but then again, when competition is present, many search results move
us back to the 13% again – even with an absence of maps and local results. There is also a qualitative change as well. Notice
the contrast from the heavily colored “Sponsored Link” #PPC ads in 2001 to the
seemingly subtle colors of the “Ads” displayed today. Coincidence? 
As we have previously discussed, #mobilesearch is expected to
exceed PC search to websites by 2016. If you don’t believe me, simply look at a
group of people ages 10-28 waiting in line and see if they are still twiddling
their thumbs. When I compare the same “divorce attorney” search in my iphone 5 (see
example) with Google, I see roughly 25% of the screen displaying organic
results – the rest are Google properties. Moreover, of the top three results,
the top two are PPC ads and one includes a click-to-call feature…something the
organic listing does NOT provide. Once again, advantage Google. 
You may recognize hastags when you see a word that starts
with a “#” in front of it. Examples for attorneys would look like: #attorney,
#mesoattorney, #probate, #regulan, #wrongfuldeath, #policebrutality, etc. By
placing the “#” sign in front of words, it creates a metadata signal to
services like twitter and now facebook to help categorize the message based on
the keyword with the hastag in front of it. 
