Best Practices for Law Firm Websites

Whenever you place new content on your site, submit it to Google. This practice is important for making sure Google recognizes your current content. To submit new content, visit Webmaster Tools (Google account required), then select your site, then click Fetch as Google (under Crawl on the left side of the screen), then enter the URL of your new content, and then click Submit to Index. When using this method, your new content should appear in Google search results right away. Google provides additional information about the process here, Ask Google to crawl a page or site. If you do not follow this process, it may be days or weeks before your (no longer) new content appears in search results.

Whenever an attorney at your firm authors an article or a book chapter, post a copy on your website. Make sure the copyright license agreement with the publisher allows posting a copy on your site. Alternatively, consider self-publishing or simply post your content without a publisher. Prospective clients and the legal community are constantly searching for information online; the best way for them to find your firm is to make your content freely available via your website.

DO always include the date on all content you post online.

DO regularly update your sitemap.xml file.

DO NOT host third party banner advertising on your site. Any law firm website that hosts such third party advertising is subject to exclusion from Law Firm Search Engine.