Google recently changed a very important algorithm to give preference to websites that are more user friendly.
It’s a vital component of website design, but unfortunately sometimes overlooked by lawyers. Then again, if you’re a lawyer taking search results seriously, this change represents a significant opportunity because you can catch your competitors asleep at the wheel. Now is a great time to revisit your website design and make the necessary tweaks to help boost your search ranking.
You should incorporate a user-centered approach to your SEO and web design to rank on search engine results pages (SERPs), and limit your site’s bounce rate. While your content is still vital, if users need to work when visiting your website, little else will matter.
Google updated its search algorithm to integrate page experience measurements as search ranking signals for websites.
Here is what Google said about this ground-shifting “page experience” update:
“Page experience is a set of signals that measure how users perceive the experience of interacting with a web page beyond its pure information value. It includes Core Web Vitals, which is a set of metrics that measure real-world user experience for loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability of the page. It also includes existing Search signals: mobile-friendliness, HTTPS, and intrusive interstitial guidelines.”
In other words, page experience metrics will evaluate your firm’s site on a technical level, focusing on usability, page load speed, overall design, mobile experience, navigation, and user sentiment.
When looked at closely, the goal of the page experience update makes a ton of sense. It wants us to move away from traditional on-page SEO strategies towards a more advanced strategy that encourages the best possible user experience (UX).
Impact on Google search results
Visibility is essential for any successful business.
To reach the broadest possible audience, you must meet Google’s criteria for good UX. Competition for the top of search rankings is fierce, after all, so just having relevant content won’t cut it.
Your site’s Google web rating will suffer if it lacks in areas such as page load speed or mobile friendliness. The result is that you will likely receive a lower volume of traffic, leads and total conversions from your website.
Is this change a bad thing? We don’t see it that way. It is in Google’s best interests, after all, to push forward the best-performing sites. If users can consistently find what they are looking for, the more likely they are to trust the quality of Google’s search results and use it again in the future. It’s also good for sites that put in the work to ensure that visitors get the best possible UX. Why wouldn’t everyone want that for their prospective clients?
To attain higher Google search rankings for targeted keywords and topics, your site must be technically optimized to support the best possible UX – even on mobile. To get there, you need a firm grasp on how page experience works, and the way page experience is measured behind the scenes by Google.
What are these page experience criteria?
Research indicates that less than 15% of websites met the Google Page Experience Guide benchmarks. Considering the impact of not meeting these minimums, it’s clear that there are a lot of businesses (and a lot of your competitors) shooting themselves in the foot in terms of Google rankings and search results.
Make no mistake, this is an opportunity. To avoid incurring the wrath of Google and to take advantage of your competitors’ missteps, you’ll want to do some page experience optimization.
Here are the key components of page experience you need to be aware of:
The page’s mobile friendliness, including responsive design and accessibility.
Page load speeds, regardless of a user’s internet connection.
Page content visual stability in web browsers, based on performance metrics called Core Web Vitals.
Google prioritizes the mobile page experience for indexing and ranking because of the overwhelming popularity of search on mobile devices. What it means is that both your desktop and mobile experiences need to be on par if your law firm wants the best possible SEO performance.
Keep in mind that the overall optimization process for all page experience signals can take between 15 and 40 days (maybe more), depending on the volume/severity of the issues that need to be addressed with your law firm website as well as the number of pages that are being updated. Additionally, there is an extra 28-day turnaround to see the impact of these changes. So, this is not something that you can accomplish overnight. But it’s worth the effort. We’ve been seeing a lot of firms loosing ranking positions because they have failed to fully grasp the impact of these changes.
And don’t overlook your web page loading speed. The faster the load time the better. Google factors in the load times of “light” content like text and buttons as well as the rendering of “heavy” page elements like images and videos. Work closely with your web development team to optimize your loading performance.
Mobile devices generate over 50% of global website traffic. So, Google takes this very seriously and pulls all your content for indexing and ranking from the mobile version of your site.
To score well in mobile search results, you’ll need to:
Use modern and widely available web technologies to avoid mobile usability errors and ensure broad compatibility.
Choose a well-coded responsive design that factors in different device screen sizes.
Make sure your page text and visual elements are formatted accordingly, so that the content is legible and easy to interact with.
To ensure the effectiveness of your law firm website, you should also offer a secure browsing experience. Choose a secure HTTPS connection to avoid security issues. If you’re not sure if you meet the safe browsing standards, it’s always good practice to occasionally run a safe browsing website check.
Accessability
As you’re going through the design phase, compare your law firm’s website to your competitors. Can everyone, regardless of physical capability or know-how, make use of every page on your website? During Covid-19, as more and more people began relying on digitally connected legal services, this wasn’t always the case.
There are a few small things you can do to make your site more accessible and improve the page experience, including:
Adding more descriptive links.
Utilizing an intuitive URL structure.
Providing keyword-rich alt text in images.
Cater to users with physical impairments with audio or video transcriptions (including your keywords).
These go a long way to improving the page experience and pushing your website up the SERP rankings.