Optimizing Digital Content for a Variety of Search Engines

Houston Legal Marketing

When it comes to writing digital content, it’s no secret that an important goal is for it to be seen by as many people as possible searching for your topic. While it may feel like Google is all that matters – and optimizing law firm content for that one search engine is challenging enough – a myriad of different factors matter when optimizing your writing for multiple search engines.

Why Content Optimization is Important

Content optimization is the process of ensuring website content is written in a way so that it can reach the largest possible target audience. The process of optimizing content includes ensuring that associated keywords are present, including the addition of metadata and title tags, as well as any relevant internal or outbound links.

While Google still holds the largest overall market share of any search engine, writers shouldn’t solely optimize their content just for one platform. There are a wide variety of different search engines available, including Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, and more. Don’t limit the reach of your content on search engines by only optimizing it solely for Google. For instance, Microsoft’s search engine Bing currently holds 5.53% of the search market. While this may seem small at first glance, it is actually pretty significant considering the digital population around the world is in the billions.

Law firms can optimize their content for all search engines by taking certain proactive measures, including:

Researching popular alternative search engines

Prior to optimizing your law firm’s content, research what each search engine can offer and work out which are most relevant to your website and legal practice. Some of these key search engines include:

Bing: Microsoft’s search engine has a strong market share. Bing originated in Microsoft’s previous search engines like MSN Search and Windows Live Search.

Yahoo: Powered by Bing since 2011, Yahoo utilizes the same technology as Bing, but is a different platform. Don’t assume Yahoo’s search results are the same as Bing’s. Yahoo search results do not mirror Bing search results.

DuckDuckGo: DuckDuckGo is an Internet search engine that emphasizes the protection of searchers’ privacy and avoids personalization. DuckDuckGo distinguishes itself from other search engines by not profiling its users and showcasing the same search results for a given search term to all users.

Ask.com: Ask.com provides users with answers to queries by showing them relevant pages and content in a question and answer format.

Finding alternative ways to view website traffic

When optimizing content for alternative search engines, it’s important to find and review new sources of the firm’s website traffic information.

While most typically utilize Google Analytics to review website traffic and other important metrics, this platform only displays clicks from Google searches. In order to determine where all of your website visitors come from, you should use alternative methods.

Tools like SEMRush and SpyFu can display exactly where website traffic comes from, while also offering a wide range of additional tools like keyword searches and top page analysis. These platforms analyze a website’s search engine performance in detail so webmasters know what changes to make to boost site rankings not just on Google, but on a wide variety of other search engines as well.

Staying up-to-date on search trends

Follow all the major search engines on social media and/or subscribe to their e-newsletters to stay on top of the latest developments and advice. While keeping tabs on so many different search engines can be a challenge, your law firm will have the strategic advantage of getting information on algorithm updates as soon as they are released.

Need More Help With Blog Content?

Ensuring your law firm’s content ranks the best it can within search engines is a complex process. At Stacey E. Burke, P.C., our team writes effective digital content for law firms across the country in a variety of practice areas. If your law firm would like to learn more about how we can help, contact us today for more information.

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