Creating quality online content is probably one of a law firm’s biggest goals. Getting it to potential clients in a way that appeals to them is another. They are separate concepts, separate arts and likely also separate teams at your firm.
Even though SEO and content writing are complicated in different ways, they share a mutual goal–to get your firm’s web content seen by the people who want to see it.
Achieving this can be easy, in theory at least. Look past the technical to focus on the human element and get these different teams to work together. Aligning SEO with content is the key to internet search.
Syncing up
One of the most effective ways of integrating the workflows of two different teams is to put them together. Something as simple as weekly or monthly joint meetings can put everyone on the same page and foster cooperation. Being sure the two groups are comfortable with one another and have the tools to work together makes them well equipped to collaborate efficiently.
Another way is to standardize the goals of both teams and make them equally accountable for SEO success. When each team is working toward a shared goal, measured by the same indicators, they will be more able to come together to do so. Many people are motivated by goals and rewards and eager to demonstrate their value to a team. Helping the two groups to do this together just makes sense.
It is also critical that the two teams have the tools they need to communicate effectively. There are many apps which may allow this, like Slack or Google Hangouts. It is easier than ever for people to work together even when they are not face to face.
Learning from each other
Another easy way to increase collaboration is to make sure that both teams are teaching one another of the basics of their work. The way SEO affects content creation and vice versa becomes apparent when teams can share about their processes, their research and their goals. A better understanding of “the other side” makes your team members feel better equipped to succeed. Ultimate SEO performance can only benefit from a little education.
There is a ton of research that goes into SEO and sharing this with the content creators goes a long way. Helping them see not only what to do but why to do it is empowering and will allow them to create material that is formatted in a way that real consumers already like.
There are two general areas of research that may benefit writers, competitor analysis and audience analysis. Competitor analysis involves finding successful content from other firms and looking at what works for them. This can give the content creators a wealth of inspiration and practically guarantees successful content.
By finding competitor pages that are getting a lot of organic traffic or that have been linked by other sites (you can do this with a number of tools such as SEMrush, Moz, or others), the content team has an idea of what searchers want and perhaps where they can pick up traffic by creating similar pages.
Audience analysis is also valuable for content creators to keep in mind, especially when it comes to keywords. For example, do more people search for “what to do after a car accident” or “what to do after a car wreck?” Knowing this, and perhaps making relevant content that caters to both, will keep your firm’s site in front of more people.
Regular competitor and audience analysis may benefit the SEO team by showing them what is successful for other firms at that time. It always helps to check in with both things often, so content stays fresh. Preferred content format, length, structure or hot keywords may emerge or change and without an eye on the information, it could be easy to miss.
Finally, keeping the SEO team involved with the content creation team’s process is critical to integration. When they are informed of the schedule, they can offer guidance on how to best optimize content for web consumption at every stage of development.
By involving the SEO team with content as it is being written can reduce the frustration of miscommunication and increase the quality of work all around. A checklist may help writers and other creators to hit certain SEO goals and optimize content as they go.
Getting better results
Some of these easy and not-too-invasive ideas can really help increase visibility online for your firm. Effectively aligning content and SEO will produce better results for both teams and increase revenue for the firm by bringing in new clients via the web. The process of facilitating cooperation between two teams is not an easy one, but in this case a worthwhile, and profitable, endeavor.