Legal Website Backlink Basics: What they Are, Why You Care, and How to Get Some.

From Banned to Backlinks.

Did you know that until the mid-1970s, most states banned lawyers from advertising at all?

Fast forward to 2020 and so much has changed.

Attorneys are now not only allowed to advertise, but almost all firms rely on online marketing.

Although we still have advertising restrictions and most attorneys are playing “catch up” when it comes to online marketing, despite this, digital marketing is critical for building and retaining legal business.

According to the National Law Review, 96% of people looking for a lawyer go online to find one, and 74% of consumers hire counsel from that firm (or attorney’s) website.

Which means that your website is the new “rainmaker” for you or your firm.  

It’s no longer optional: if you want to be, and stay competitive in the legal field, you need to have a website. And that website needs to have content.

And, as we’ll see in a minute, it’s quality legal content that drives it all.

OK, I Give up. What is a Backlink?

Before we get into what a backlink is, we need to talk briefly about Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

SEO is the ever-changing, always evolving, strategy/science/art of trying to get your website to rank high in Google searches to drive traffic to your website.

There are basically two main categories of SEO: onsite optimization and offsite optimization. “Onsite optimization” is just what it says. It is the art/strategy of ranking high in Google searches because of the information (i.e., content) on your website. The right way to do this today is by having quality content (i.e., fresh blogs or articles) on your website and by providing users with a great user experience.

“Offsite optimization” generally refers to link building for your website. Link building – of which creating backlinks is a part – is an SEO strategy.

Without getting into the technical weeds of all this, essentially you build links on your website by linking out (adding a hyperlink) to valuable sources in your content (let’s just say in your blogs).

If someone puts a link on their website that connects to your website, that’s called a “backlink.”

Backlinks to your website can help improve your rankings because a backlink is a signal to search engines that other people think your content is valuable. (Sorta like when you cite to a case as authority for a point.)

Great. Now Tell Me Again, Why do I Care about Backlinks?

You care about getting backlinks to your website because you want potential clients to be able to find you and hire you to handle their cases.

Getting quality (see “white hat” below) backlinks from high-authority domains makes your website more visible and more authoritative (almost like establishing you as the legal “expert”).

And the more visible your web pages, the higher your search rankings.

And the higher your search rankings, the more clients you get. And the more clients you get …

Well, you get the idea.

What Can You do to Get Quality Backlinks for Your Legal Website?  

Listen, I’m no SEO expert, but even I know that there is a right way and a wrong way to get backlinks.

Not surprisingly, in the wild, wild, world of online marketing, you can’t just run out and pay for backlinks or make deals on the virtual street corners to exchange backlinks with people —anymore, that is.

It worked once for SEO marketers and others trying to game the system.

But Google caught on and put an end to it. Which means, if you do not want to have your website penalized, you will need to fly right and use “white hat” SEO strategies for creating backlinks.

I’ll leave it to your SEO provider to explain all the “white hat” vs. “black hat” link building methods to you in more detail. For now, you can just think of the “white hat” SEO as the honest way to build links, and “black hat” SEO as the slimy, computer-hacker approach to link building.   

The main point is that SEO experts agree that

CONTENT IS ONE OF GOOGLE’S TOP 3 SEARCH RANKING FACTORS.

 And, they say that the NUMBER ONE way to build quality links is by

INVESTING IN QUALITY CONTENT.

That’s because fresh, quality content, especially in the form of blogs, can help you establish E.A.T. — your expertise, authority and trustworthiness — in your legal practice area. Which helps you rank higher.

And the more your blog posts provide useful legal information to potential clients, the better your chances are that someone will link out your blog post or article. In other words, it makes it more likely that you will get backlinks to your site.

How Soon Can I Get Backlinks to My Website?

Although backlinks are a fantastic SEO strategy for your website, getting genuine backlinks from respected sources isn’t going to happen overnight.

Like getting in shape, backlinking is an SEO strategy that, like most SEO strategies, requires consistency, quality, and TIME.

Consistent quality content can help you build your reputation and may, slowly but surely, increase your rankings and followers.

It won’t happen overnight.

Because SEO is a long-term strategy and a long-term commitment.

And quality content doesn’t just write itself.

If you want to improve your search rankings on Google while remaining free to practice law, contact me.

Quality Writing for People Who Value Their Message.    

Your business has people to help and a message to convey. All your writing is a reflection of you and your message. How you portray yourself to the world through your writing is critical for your success and your business. At Fit and Legal Freelance Writing, I can help you create the quality content you need to convey your message clearly and boost your bottom line. Whether you are a lawyer or a personal trainer, I can provide you with the writing you need, when you need it. Email me at Lisa@fitandlegalwriting.com or contact me here.

4 Ideas for Your Personal Training eBook.

Given the shutdown of so many gyms in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), more and more personal trainers are transitioning their businesses online.

Online training helps you to stay in business and change more lives at the same time.

But if you want to get the word out or want to monetize your website, you’ll need to create content.

And then some more content.

And…

More content. 

Why?

Because time and time again it’s been proven that creating quality content can help you:

·       Get new clients

·       Establish your expertise

·       Create passive income

·       Build your online reputation

So, what to write?

Well, there are tons of different types of content that you can use to build or scale your personal training business.

E-Books are just one.

Create a Fitness eBook.

Nothing novel (pun intended) in the idea of creating an eBook.

E-Books are a “tried and true” marketing tool.

An “eBook” is simply a book that is in electronic form. In other words, it is available for download.

E-books are great because they can be used to build your emailing list, as freebies or as an item for purchase.

You probably know the drill.

To create an eBook, all ya gotta do is:

·       Pick a fitness topic.

·       Write a page-turning, quality, gives tons of value eBook about that topic.

·       Upload your eBook to your website.

·       Clients come along, download your eBook, and hey presto!

·       You have a mailing list.

·       Or you’re a gazillionaire.

Or so all the marketing gurus say.

I don’t know about you, but somehow I don’t think it’s quite that simple.

Let’s take just one small part of this.

What Fitness Topic Should You Write About?

Skipping over the how the he**-- are you going to actually write a never-been-written-before-gives-amazing-value-people-just-have-to-have-it -or-die eBook, what should you write about?

The web is crammed full of online trainers right now – all writing “amazingly valuable” eBooks. (Or so they say.)

So, what, exactly should you write about that can help you stand out from the crowd?

4 Fitness eBook Ideas.

Well, the answer of course is, who knows?

It all depends.

Since it’s not fair to leave you with that, here are 4 ideas to help get your creative juices flowing.

1. Take one aspect of your unique approach to fitness and write about it.

Every personal trainer has a different approach to how they train their clients. The beauty of it is that it’s personal.

So take a look at how you train and see if you can expand on your personal view or your unique way of teaching fitness.

For some people it might be keeping the workouts fresh and changing things up. For others it might be the emphasis you place on correct form, functional training, or biomechanics.

Whatever it is, bring out your unique philosophy of training and your unique approach.

It will help differentiate you from other trainers and will give potential clients a better understanding of the value you bring to training.

2. Tried and True Topics.

Ok, you know what these are. It’s what all fitness clients want to read about: 

·       How to lose fat and build muscle at the same time.

·       How to get six pack abs (instantly and without giving up fast food and ice cream). 

·       How to work out but not actually sweat.

You get the idea.

Simply identify the top 3 or more requests you get from clients or friends and family and choose the most popular to write about.

Put your own spin on it. Bring some new insights to it.  Or dispel some myths.

3. Give People a Workout to Follow.

As a trainer, making workouts is what you do. Since COVID-19 has shut down the gyms, more and more people need ways to workout at home.

And, given that the trend of working out at home is likely to continue even when he “shelter in place” is lifted, creating an eBook that gives people an at-home workout is a good idea.

4.  Inspire with Your Transformation Story.

If you have a transformation story, consider writing an eBook that can inspire and motivate people.

So many people are looking for help when it comes to fitness.

So many people think they are the only ones who have ever dealt with their … fill in the blank…. health, weight, motivation, age …problem.

What everyone is looking for is connection.

An eBook that talks about your transformation story (or that of your clients) just might do that.

Transformation stories give people a sense of hope. They can also show them a way to make the same changes in their own lives.

People love transformation stories.

So, spread a little hope.

Share your story or that of your clients, with your audience.

It’s powerful.

Quality Writing for People Who Value Their Message.    

Your business has people to help and a message to convey. All of your writing reflects you and your message. How you portray yourself to the world through your writing is critical. At Fit and Legal Freelance Writing, I can help you create the quality content you need to convey your message clearly and boost your bottom line. Whether you are a lawyer or a personal trainer, I can provide you with the writing you need, when you need it. Email me at Lisa@fitandlegalwriting.com or contact me here.

If Your Website Doesn’t Have This, You Could Get Sued.

Not to frighten you or anything, but according to Seyfarth, the Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”) Title III  federal lawsuits reached an all-time record high of 11,053 in 2019.

Those numbers do not include state court lawsuits.

They do, however, include lawsuits involving website inaccessibility.

And, it doesn’t look like those numbers are going to decrease drastically anytime soon.

If anything, in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the problem of ADA website lawsuits has increased.

ADA Website Compliance is Big Business and it’s Serious Business.

A recent article in Forbes indicates that more than one in 5 persons are disabled. The disabled represent a significant source of online business.

ADA website compliance has thus become

 “one of the most important issues facing online businesses today.”

For one thing, businesses that have websites that are not accessible to the disabled are leaving a lot of money on the table.

For another, however, there are the legal ramifications to having a non-compliant website.

The Americans With Disabilities Acts Applies to Your Website.

The ADA prohibits discrimination based on disability “in places of public accommodation.” (42 U.S.C. § 12182(a).)

So how does that apply to a website?

Well, plaintiffs in ADA website lawsuits generally argue that websites qualify under the law as places of public accommodation. And, that those without access (for example, websites without screen-reading software) violate the law because they deny plaintiffs the right of equal access.

You might be tempted to reject that argument out-of-hand, but think about it for a minute.

Most of us rely heavily on the internet for everything from entertainment to job- searching.

Most recently, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our reliance on the internet has increased tenfold.

Global “lock downs” and local “shelter in place” orders have everyone relying on the internet to handle everything from doctor’s visits to schooling their children, to ordering groceries.

How do you order groceries or prescriptions online if you are disabled and you can’t see the “order now” button?  How do you do your banking or hire someone if the page times out before you can fill in your information?

Now more than ever, having access to the internet is critical for even simple everyday living tasks. For the disabled, not having such access makes life even more of a struggle than it already is.  

Does the Law Require You to Make Your Website ADA Compliant?

Right now there are no legally- enforceable ADA website accessibility standards.

So, does that mean you won’t get sued if your website is not ADA compliant?

Not necessarily. (See, Winn Dixie Stores case.)

In 2010, the US Department of Justice indicated that the ADA applied to websites  and announced its intention to establish website accessibility requirements.

By 2018, while specific technical standards were still not mandatory, the DOJ nevertheless reiterated that for 20 years it had taken the position that the ADA applies to websites.

Should You Make Your Website ADA Compliant?

For the disabled, inaccessible websites make ordinary everyday living a struggle.

For businessmen and women everywhere, providing an accessible website makes good business sense and is simply the right thing to do.

Quality Writing for People Who Value Their Message.    

Your business has people to help and a message to convey. All of your writing reflects you and your message. How you portray yourself to the world through your writing is critical. At Fit and Legal Freelance Writing, I can help you create the quality content you need to convey your message clearly and boost your bottom line. Whether you are a lawyer or a personal trainer, I can provide you with the writing you need, when you need it. Email me at Lisa@fitandlegalwriting.com or contact me here.