If your law firm’s website has been penalized by Google, much of your website traffic can disappear overnight. In fact, you can lose 20 percent of your users, or even more, in an instant. You can incur either a Manual Action or an Algorithmic Penalty for violating basic search engine optimization (SEO) rules.
Many websites that are penalized are nothing but content spam, and the penalties are legitimate. However, you can also be penalized for efforts to improve your site that are well-intended and authentic. Google penalties were created to punish websites that have done something wrong, but there can be a fine line, and good intentions are not something that can necessarily be measured. A penalty can have a great impact on your site’s performance.
Diagnosing and Repairing
To recover from Google penalties, you must diagnose them. You should also be aware that a sudden and dramatic drop in organic search traffic can sometimes be caused by a Google algorithm update. If you see a sudden drop, you need to review the recent algorithm changes. Google utilizes key updates to fight Black Hat SEO tactics.
You can diagnose actual penalties by checking your website’s backlinks and analyzing your site’s content. You can also perform a full-site audit with online tools that identify SEO violations. Additionally, you should assess whether your site is employing any practices that might cause a penalty, such as:
- Error-filled content
- Low-quality content
- Pop-up ads across most of your content
- Duplicate content reused from other websites
- High load times
- Thin content with little valuable text
- Lack of mobile functionality
If you receive a manual penalty from Google, you will be notified by Google Webmaster Tools. Once you fix the violation, you can submit a reconsideration request. With an algorithm-related issue, however, there is no need to contact Google. With a loss of traffic caused by an algorithm change, you will need to gather as much information as possible to fix the problem.
There are as many solutions to penalties as there are problems. For example, if you are penalized for posting thin content, you can remove that content and replace it with content that is useful and desirable. If you are penalized for duplicate content, you can use a plagiarism checker to locate it, then delete that content and replace it with content that is unique. Once you identify and fix your site’s problem, your ranking and traffic can be restored.
Premier Legal Marketing Can Help You Maintain a Powerful, Penalty-Free Online Presence
It can be difficult to diagnose a Google penalty, and it can take months to recover from one. At Premier Legal Marketing, we have the resources and team in place to avoid doing anything that could land your site in trouble. We can help you improve your search engine performance and boost your Google rankings with techniques that align with the terms and conditions of major search engines, including Google. As a boutique digital marketing firm, Premier Legal Marketing offers the very best in personalized service. Call us today at 856-448-4736 or contact us online to learn more about our internet marketing services for lawyers.