Google did it again, another core update in the books. As of May 18, the Google Search Liaison tweeted that Google's Core Update was complete. This 14-day update showed a rather large impact on search results which led to firms seeing a change in both their impressions and clicks to their websites from Google. The specifics around this core update, like the majority of every update before it, are largely unknown, but SEO's have begun to piece together patterns and trends observed over weeks following the beginning of the update roll-out to make a few key inferences regarding its wide impact on search results.

What Is a 'Core Update'

Google makes  thousands of changes to their algorithm each year which equates to an average of multiple a day. Google is very secretive about the changes they make and the frequency by which they make them. Core updates are large scale rollouts of changes to the way the algorithm works. Google will release a core update every few months, the last of which being in January 2020. These updates typically "shake things up" in the search rankings, allowing Google to rectify any issues with the content that is being displayed and for them to further push their quality scoring and ranking factors to be as optimal for searchers as possible. Core updates are nothing to be alarmed by, unless you don't have an SEO keeping their finger on the pulse and guiding your website strategy to abide by Google best practices.

The Update's Impact on Lawyers

May's update did not discriminate, there wasn't just one "loser" when it came to the aforementioned "shake up." It is already clear that this update definitely looked at content length and quality (more information can be found on Google's Webmaster Central Blog) and most shifts weren't small. Google has been pushing the "quality content is king" mantra for years and is not backing down anytime soon. Law firms and lawyer SEO has become a lot more important with each update as Google's content guidelines lend themselves nicely to what attorneys do.

Long form content is crucial to following Google's best practices, which is perfect for law firms. Being that legal articles are more on the technical side, longer content allows the firm to answer several questions and provide useful information without appearing to be a know-it-all or a novel writer. Searchers are used to scrolling several times to read an article (many more on their mobile devices) and prefer to get their information from one location. Attorneys can write to their heart's content without fear of boring their reader or the infamous "no one will read something that long" logic we hear at 9Sail on a weekly basis from our law firm SEO clients.

How to Write Blogs/Articles to Follow Google's Best Practices

Writing articles, blogs, and static content pages is a bit of an art form, one that is rather easy to be great at, with a little practice. Content writing is more about the preparation and research than it is about the execution. Bryan Pattman, Lead Digital Strategist at 9Sail said:

There should be at least 15 minutes of research time before you actually begin writing any content for your website. The main goal of search engines is to show users the best result on the first try and if you do not know what the top results for your target search terms look like, you are going to have a hard time writing content that is informative enough to rank well. You should be taking the best H2 subheadings from each page to make sure that you are covering all of the topics that a searcher could be looking for and then add even more subheadings to show your expertise on the topic.

If you consistently create content that includes the best subheadings of the top 10 search results (also known as the "skyscraper method") along with other subheadings about the topic you will have a greater chance of ranking on the first page for the search terms that you are targeting.

Cast a net wide enough to speak to a group of users from professionals to a layman gathering information. "Targeting a wider audience, increases both traffic and leads, in my experience." said Domenic Romano, Managing Partner of Romano Law, a rapidly growing law firm that works with both businesses as well as individuals in entertainment and corporate industries. "Being accessible and humble while de-mystifying the law and leading with curiosity can make a big difference."

Resources for Lawyers to Use When Writing Content

There are many great resources around the internet for people who are either trying to optimize their own websites or for people looking to get educated on the latest trends and best practices. Here are just a few resources we recommend you checkout:

• EAT – Learn about E-A-T and why it is important. Google's Webmaster Central Blog references E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) and simply cannot be ignored.
• Content Guide – When writing content, there is a formula to follow in-order to produce a high quality piece. We recommend our clients follow this guide when having an attorney or marketing person within a law firm write content for their website.
• Skyscraper Technique – This technique will help writers to assess what they should cover in their article to gain a favorable position on Google.

Joe Giovannoli is Founder & CEO of 9Sail, a search marketing company that caters to the legal industry.