Semantic SEO for Law Firms

In conversation, few things are as irritating as someone arguing the semantics. Some people will drone on about anything without staying on topic or making a point. Fortunately for all of us, regarding SEO, arguing the semantics can be an asset as you strive to achieve a higher rank in the eyes of Google’s algorithm. In this instance, the semantics in question refers to a marketing tool known as Semantic SEO. One of Google’s more recent inventions, Semantic SEO, refines your web content to improve the meaning and topical depth of what you publish online.

Today, pleasing the algorithms of our favorite search engine is at the forefront of every marketer’s mind. Semantic SEO is yet another tool to help your law firm increase the probability of marketing success. If your Semantic SEO strategies pay off, you could see your law firm bestowed with a featured snippet, which is one of Google’s most coveted and exclusive marketing tools. So, what does it take to ensure GOOGLE9000 opens the pod bay doors to your law firm almost every time? First, let’s talk about the evolution of Google’s all-important AI and how it reviews your law firm’s website to determine rate & rank.

Semantic… Tick… SEO Boom!

Imagine you’re in a supermarket and come across one of those robots from ‘Lost in Space’ looking for spills, debris, and other hazards to clean up. They endlessly scour every inch of the grocery aisles to make sure it’s the best environment for their shoppers. Google’s old algorithm used to operate similarly, except we swap the supermarket for the internet, and the ‘bots are scouring every piece of online content, including your law firm’s website. 

Over the years, Google has developed new ways for the algorithm to rate and rank content, making the AI’s decisions more humanlike and less like Nostradamus with sleep deprivation. If they could improve the way they deliver search results, users would arrive at their destinations faster, and Google would become a trusted hub to accomplish this reliably. When your bread and butter are solid search results and making lots of money, it’s hard not to see how one influences the other.

Over the evolution of Google’s AI came tools like Hummingbird, which focused on the context of queries. After Hummingbird, they created Rank Brain so the algorithm could anticipate search intent. Google even provided marketers with knowledge graphs for reference. Unfortunately, none of these tools was sufficient. Even the most informed guessing game is still a gamble. 

Semantic SEO differs because of how it interprets content. Instead of relying on search queries or mindreading, the algorithm uses Semantic SEO to review the context, facial expressions, and writing tone. The more human, accurate, and thorough the content, the better chance Google’s algorithm will rank and rate it positively and vault the content up in search results. The summit of that journey could be a featured snippet, and Semantic SEO could be your sherpa. 

No Stone Unturned

When a user searches for a question, they want the complete answer. Leave the mysteries to Benoit Blanc. If a user misses the mark on their initial search, they continue down that rabbit hole until they find what they’re looking for or, worse, give up. When creating content, think of how you could answer that question without ambiguity. The algorithm looks for that single piece of content that answers a question meticulously. The algorithm is pleased when your law firm’s content presents trends closer and closer in that direction.

As your content rises in the rankings, you’ll begin to learn how to refine your law firm’s blogs, webinars, articles, videos, and social media to give the algorithm what it wants. Practice makes it close to perfect. Once you check all the boxes, a featured snippet might be the reward. As we discussed in a previous article, featured snippets are the top search result that a user sees, like a newspaper headline. Every other search result requires the user to scroll to read. Exposure like that is why Semantic SEO is trending upwards, and your law firm’s content should go along for the ride.

Takeaway:

Semantic SEO is another tool Google uses to help its algorithm rate and rank web pages as if they were the user. The more human-like the AI’s decisions, the better. In the past, AI relied on less intelligent methods of delivering information-rich content and articles to a user, like the context of their queries and, believe it or not, tech akin to digital mind reading. Google’s primary revenue source is its search results’ reliability, and its algorithm’s evolution leads to Semantic SEO. The purpose of Semantic SEO is for the algorithm to rate and rank content based on the quality of the information it provides, the visual aesthetic, and facial expressions within the images. Websites and businesses that use Semantic SEO strategies as a guide focus their efforts on making sure every piece of content answers one specific question flawlessly. The algorithm will be delighted if you consider every follow-up question imaginable and address it in the content. Satisfy the AI enough, and Google may bestow you with a featured snippet, the Mount Everest of marketing tools.

We work side-by-side with clients to understand the subtleties of Semantic SEO, catapult their content to the summit of search results, and attract the attention of Google’s algorithm. Please don’t hesitate to reach out today to learn more about how we can help your firm.