On May 10, 2023, Google announced their Search Labs experiment, SGE (Search Generative Experience). Their article, titled Supercharging Search with generative AI, explains that their Search Labs test and Generative AI will impact how people search, how they ask follow up questions, comparisons, how they shop, code and find local businesses such as law firms. First Looks (No, it’s not
Prior to working exclusively with attorneys we had the opportunity to work with a wide variety of eCommerce companies, news agencies and international companies. We still have access to Google Analytics data for 100+ sites and analyze Google’s Core Updates when they roll out. We rarely post about them here unless they impact attorneys. Google March 2023 Core Update Impacts
This week we noticed a new feature on the Google Local Services Ads (LSA) dashboard for attorneys and law firms called Scheduling. The LSA scheduling feature allows prospective clients to schedule a consultation with an attorney. To use this service, your law firm must be using a Google authorized app which shows your availability. The app you must use is
It appears that Expertise.com suffered a significant loss of rankings and traffic around December 19, 2022 and again in 2023 when Google rolled out an algorithm change. Today, while I was examining before and after screenshots of Google’s search engine results (SERPs) for my article which analyzes the latest Google Link Spam Algorithm Update and it’s impact on law firms,
On December 14, 2022, Google dropped the news of their “December 2022 Link Spam Update”. It was a historic moment, and one I’ve been anticipating since I began building links decades ago. Why? Google’s announcement said “Today, we’re leveraging the power of SpamBrain to neutralize the impact of unnatural links on search results”. SpamBrain is AI powered. More on that
Running a local brick and mortar business from 2001 – 2012 gave me a whole new level of appreciation for local business owners, and I’m able to connect with them instantly. There are rewarding days, like when “Kim the Cookie Lady” stops by to tell you what a wonderful job you’re doing, and there are upsetting days, like when you
Throughout December 2022 we have been noticing Google testing out a new feature where “services” are showing on the profile of Law Firm’s Google Business Pages. As noted on Search Engine Roundtable this week, this change has now officially rolled out on desktop and affects all business types (not just attorneys). Here’s a screenshot of what the new services section
No. Attorneys can not get a Google Guaranteed badge. They can, however, get a Google Screened check mark alongside their Local Services Ads. Google Guaranteed and Google Screened are two separate things. What is Google Guaranteed? Google Guaranteed is for home service providers. Google provides a guarantee and refunds people up to $2000 if something goes wrong with a Google
Image thumbnails significantly improve Click Through Rate (CTR). Often, a crisp, square image on the page in question helps get attorney’s thumbnails in Google search results. But, it’s complicated. A Very Brief History: Over the years, Google has tested all sorts of various thumbnails in Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs). The biggest rollout in my memory was the short
Throughout the month of October 2022, reviews have gone missing for several law firms, at least in the United States. On October 17, 2022, a client pointed out that a personal injury law firm in Los Angeles had gone from around 100 reviews down to 39. In several cases that we looked at, the review profiles lost around 60 –
