• Skip to navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys

AAEPA, Inc

Find a Member Member's Login
Call Today (800) 846-1555
  • Membership
    • Membership Membership
    • submenu
      • Why Join?
      • Member Requirements
      • Become A Member
      • Meet the Team
  • Estate planning software
  • Education
  • Practice management
    • Practice management Practice Management
    • submenu
      • 11 Essential Systems
      • Coaching
      • Law Firm Marketing
  • Resources
    • Resources Resources
    • submenu
      • Live Training
      • Blog
  • Contact Us

Google Panda 4.2 Is Here: What It Means For Your Law Firm

Home » Law Firm Marketing » Google Panda 4.2 Is Here: What It Means For Your Law Firm

Google is at it again!  They’ve recently initiated a refresh of their Panda search filter, which sifts through the millions of live websites, in order to reduce the rankings for low-quality sites. Panda targets sites that have poorly written, thin, and duplicative content. It’s a site-wide penalty, meaning that if the majority of pages on your law firm website are flagged by Panda, the whole site may be penalized, even if you have great content on some of the pages.
Panda has been updated approximately 30 times since it was first introduced in 2011. With each update, sites that were previously penalized can get back into Google’s good graces, if they’ve made improvements. On the flip side, sites that weren’t previously flagged as low-quality could be penalized.

Unlike previous updates, Panda 4.2 is being slowly rolled out over several months. That means that your firm’s site might not be immediately affected. If your rankings have remained consistent over the last couple of weeks, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve escaped unscathed.

What Should You Do If You’ve Been Penalized?

Unfortunately, if your site is penalized as a result of the Panda, it’s going to take some time to recover. Google doesn’t re-index every site each time it refreshes the Panda filter, so you may have to deal with the fall out until Google recrawls your website and takes note of any improvements you make.

Matt Cutts, head of Google’s webspam team, advises, “And so, if you think you might be affected by Panda, the overriding kind of goal is to try to make sure that you’ve got high-quality content, the sort of content that people really enjoy, that’s compelling, the sort of thing that they’ll love to read that you might see in a magazine or in a book, and that people would refer back to, or send friends to, those sorts of things.”

Toward that end, when evaluating the quality of your website, consider the following:

  • Would you trust the information contained on your website?
  • Is the content written by an expert who knows the topic well, or is it shallow in nature?
  • Does the site have duplicate or redundant content?
  • Would you be comfortable giving your credit card information to this site?
  • Does the content have spelling, grammatical or factual errors?
  • Does the page provide substantial value compared to other pages in search results?
  • How much quality control is done on content?
  • Was the content edited well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?
  • Does the content provide a complete or comprehensive description of the topic?
  • Does the content contain insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond obvious?
  • Is this the sort of page you’d want to bookmark, share, or recommend?

In short, Google rewards websites that they feel are most valuable by ranking them higher in search results. In part, that value is measured by the amount of in-depth, informative content that’s on your website. To remove a Panda penalty or escape from being caught in the future, your firm website should be rich with well-written, educational content that prospects will find valuable.

Rita Chaires
Director, Web & SEO Services
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (800) 846-1555
www.aaepa.com

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Rita Chaires
Rita Chaires
Rita Chaires
Latest posts by Rita Chaires (see all)
  • 6 Content Marketing Myths Debunked - November 4, 2021
  • Law Firm Marketing on LinkedIn - October 7, 2021
  • Stop Googling Yourself and Start Accurately Measuring Your Online Marketing Success - September 2, 2021
SHARE

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to our blog

Recent Posts

  • How Do I Title Thee…Part I
  • Turning Stalled Out Goals into Actions
  • What Makes a Will or Trust Invalid
  • Ultimate Social Media Cheat Sheet: Character Limits & Best Days/Times to Post
  • Understanding Tax Apportionment Clauses

Categories

  • Academy Girl Friday (33)
  • Client Services (238)
  • Coaching (33)
  • Consumer Advantage (3)
  • Counseling (21)
  • Elder Law (5)
  • Estate Planning (919)
  • Estate Planning Documents (5)
  • Estate Planning Education (199)
  • Financial Analysis (3)
  • Financial Services (1)
  • General (19)
  • Law Firm Marketing (281)
  • Law Firm Net Revenue (7)
  • Law Firm Staffing (99)
  • Law Firm Technology (45)
  • Law Firm Web Tips (185)
  • Leadership (191)
  • Legal Education (645)
  • Marketing Tools (2)
  • Medicaid (1)
  • Member Services (1)
  • Owners Compensation (1)
  • Peak Performer Focus (1)
  • Practice Building Calls (1)
  • Practice Management (495)
  • SEO/Social Media Support (3)
  • Software (6)
  • Strategic Planning (9)
  • Uncategorized (15)

Footer

logo of American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys

About Us

  • Meet the Team
  • Site Map
  • Legal Notice
  • Privacy Policy

Explore Our Services

  • Coaching
  • Estate planning software
  • Events
  • Legal education
  • Marketing
  • Web and SEO

Keep in Touch

Mon-Fri

9444 Balboa Ave. Suite 300

San Diego

(800) 846-1555

info@aaepa.com

Take Back Control of Your Business and Your Life

+

footer section | American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys

© 2022 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc All rights reserved.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Don't sell my personal information.
Cookie Settings Accept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
Save & Accept