Written by Market My Market’s content team, with contributions from McKenzie Fox, Jordan Kimmel, Lindsay Bennett, Katie McLoughlin, and Tyesha Ferron
Creating effective and top-performing legal content means having reliable resources. When you’re working with SEO and keyword optimization, a solid research strategy brings forth creativity and increased search engine visibility. Regardless of your previous experience in the legal industry, credible research will elevate your content and help you stand out from your competition.
The difficult part is adding the right resources to the content. Working with legal clients is sometimes challenging due to the varying laws and regulations by state, complex practice areas, and sophisticated terminology. To help you navigate the best legal resources for your content development, Market My Market has a few recommendations.
Contributed by McKenzie Fox, Content Specialist
Why Nolo Works So Well
Nolo, which was at one time called “Nolo Press,” is a publisher that delivers do-it-yourself legal books and software allowing users to learn legal matters. Generally speaking, Nolo is considered a secure, trustworthy, and professional network of legal documents and resources. It’s one of the largest online libraries of free legal information, which provides readers with FAQs, legal updates, blogs, dictionaries, and other research in an easy-to-understand format. Other similar sites include LawInfo, FindLaw, Archives Library Information Center, and The Library of Congress.
One of the main reasons Nolo works so well is because its focus is attorney-authored articles. When you want accurate legal information, what better way to ensure precision than to get your information from real lawyers? Likewise, the data isn’t presented in a dense, difficult-to-comprehend format. Instead, the content is delivered in a way such that just about anyone can understand the main ideas.
Contributed by Jordan Kimmel, Content Lead
State Court and Law Websites Are Your Best Friends
When you enter your research topic into Google, the search engine will likely return thousands of results. Unfortunately, not all of these results will be credible sources to use in your legal content. While determining the validity of a site ending in “.com” may be challenging, those that end in “.gov” can add immense value to your content. State court and law websites should be the first stop in your research to understand how your topic interacts with specific state laws. Additionally, externally linking these sites can improve SEO and help your content adhere to Google’s E-A-T standards in the following ways:
- Expertise: Relying on credible sources such as state law websites shows the creator’s understanding of their topic and industry.
- Authoritativeness: State law and court websites are among the most authoritative resources on legal topics as they are government entities. Referencing and linking to the specific laws that apply to your topic can significantly increase your content’s authority.
- Trustworthiness: Without reputable links, a reader or search engine may not trust your content’s validity. Links to state court and law websites can increase your content’s trustworthiness by backing up any claims to a reputable source.
In order to specifically search for “.gov” domains as you complete your research, you can apply a Google advanced search technique to find the sites you need quickly. After entering your topic, type “site::.gov” to filter your search results for the “.gov” domain. This strategy will make it easier to find reputable information for your content as well as quality external links.
Contributed by Lindsay Bennett, Content Writer
Use Other Legal Blogs for Inspiration… But Check Their Validity
Other legal blogs can serve as inspiration for your own content research, but you should ensure the information in them is accurate. They may use outdated laws and facts or cite unreliable sources. Therefore, checking the validity of the legal blogs you look to for information and ideas is essential. You can do this by looking for the following:
Accurate Legal Information
When looking through other legal blogs, you can check the accuracy of their information by using state court and law websites. Even if the blog’s information was accurate when it was written, the laws might have changed, making the information outdated. Using legal blogs in tandem with government websites ensures your content is correct and readers are not misinformed.
Recent Study Data
Many legal blogs often use study data to increase their credibility. This can be a great way to give further insight into a topic, but the information you include in your content should be recent and relevant. When looking to other blogs for inspiration, check that the studies they use are within the last few years. If not, additional information in the blog may be outdated as well.
Data Sources
When looking to legal blogs for inspiration, you should check where they get their information. Educational, government, and nonprofit sources are typically more credible, so if another legal blog cites information from these types of sources, they may be a reliable place to jump-start your research.
Legal blogs can be a great place to start when writing your own high-quality content, but it’s essential to check that their information is up-to-date, accurate, and credible. Cross-checking legal blog information with law and state court websites and other legal blogs ensure your content is reliable and accurate for your readers.
Contributed by Katie McLoughlin, Content Writer
Trust Market My Market to Strengthen Your Content With Reliable Research
Strong content that performs as well needs reliable research. Your reputation in your field hinges on the depth and accuracy of your knowledge. Accurate and informative content establishes authority and lends credibility to your services, but is time-consuming to produce. A marketing agency that prioritizes using reliable sources can save you time while elevating your content.
Market My Market houses a team of digital marketing experts who can help you reclaim your time and boost your returns using reliable resources to produce high-quality content. Submit our contact form or call (866) 270-2250 to get more information about our services and how we can help your business thrive.
Contributed by Tyesha Ferron, Content Writer
