Legal SEO & Content Tips, Unlearning Bad Habits & More with Alex Valencia [PODCAST]

“Sometimes we’re put in bad positions to help us grow. The metaphor in jiu-jitsu was when I was training a lot more, you’re always put in a position that if you’re not trained, it’s hard for you to get out of it, but if you kind of sit back, breathe, you’re going to find a way out.”

As early as the 2000s, Alex Valencia was already doing sales and marketing in the banking industry.

But in 2008, the market crashed and he went from being an executive making all this money to not making anything.

“It was like a punch to the belly,” as Alex described what he went through at the time.

Yet, this didn’t stop him from persevering. He decided to start a business with his wife – a content firm for law firms – hoping to get back to where he was.

Now, Valencia is a leading figure in the legal marketing space, helping law firms craft an effective digital marketing strategy.

In this episode of The Search Engine Journal Show, let’s get to know more about Alex’s inspiring life and career story, his insights on legal SEO and content marketing, and so much more.

About Alex Valencia

Alex Valencia is the President at We Do Web Content, the content-focused digital marketing agency he co-founded with his wife in 2009.

Currently, he’s also a contributor to Search Engine Journal.

He’s also contributed to legal publications, including PILMMA’s Insiders’ Journal, and spoken at conferences, like the PILMMA Super Summit and the Trial Lawyers Summit, among others.

He also hosts the SEO Happy Hour podcast.

Listen to this episode and learn why simply writing blog posts isn’t always a smart idea for law firms, the art of doing a webinar, and building relationships, among others.

Show Notes

• What is We Do Web Content and what do they offer as a company? [3:32]
• Alex shares how COVID-19 impacted the business. Some of their big clients have doubled down in their marketing efforts to stay ahead of the game. While other smaller clients had to pull back. [6:18]
• One marketing idea that more law firms should do is to invest in their digital presence (instead of spending on billboards, TV commercials, bus ads, etc.) Create a lot more content, just because everyone’s now more digital. [9:57]
• Content is still what works in the legal industry right now. Producing content should be strategic and purposed. [14:04]
• Common SEO mistakes that plague law firm websites: poor URL structure, no internal linking strategy, no architectural organization, and bad design, among others. [18:49]
• For the target audience in the legal niche, no one’s really looking at blogs. Most of the traffic is actually coming from FAQs. Blogging isn’t always a bad idea, but that shouldn’t be top of your strategy. [20:23]
• Some of Alex’s go-to SEO and content tools when doing client work. [23:57]
• One article he’s particularly proud of writing. [26:18]
• How can we get people to love and respect the whole SEO process? [28:44]
• On finding a way out of unwanted situations. [31:43]
• What led Alex into SEO? [33:58]
• We Do Web Content – where did the company name come from? [35:03]
• Alex talks about what it was like in the early days, building the business with his wife, and starting from scratch. [35:49]
• How they moved forward after the web development firm they were partnering with decided to part ways. [40:24]
• On rebuilding himself by going to new conferences and taking the long-term option of just building relationships. [41:42]
• Why Alex never thought he’d be in the business this long. [45:39]
• The art of doing a webinar and how to actually get clients out of it. [50:56]
• If he could go back and change anything, Alex would hire people to do the small things for him. Here’s why. [52:57]
• On being a better boss: Some leadership lessons Alex has learned along the way. [54:36]
• What keeps Alex passionate about doing what he’s doing these days? [56:58]
• Defining success for himself and for his company: What does Alex look at to gauge success? [59:20]
• Alex’s favorite campaign? Creating some skyscraper pages for some mass torts on their clients’ sites that resulted in national rankings. [1:00:37]
• He also points out a campaign where things just went wrong. [1:02:16]
• His podcast, SEO Happy Hour, started as he and his business partners were using to post webinars and audio. It eventually evolved into a different format where he interviews some local business owners to talk about their business.  [1:04:26]
• If he wasn’t in search or marketing, he’d probably be doing theater. [1:07:01]
• If he could go back in time to give his younger self advice at any point in the past, it would be “Get out of your way. Get out of your own way.”
• “The relationships and the way you treat people make a difference. And it changes absolutely everything not only for you, but if you’re building a business, if you’re in a relationship, the way you communicate with other people and treat them, the way you listen to people makes a difference.” [1:09:24]
• “You don’t need content.” Alex thinks this is one piece of advice that some people need to unlearn. [1:16:31]
• What is the key to having long-term success in SEO and content marketing right now? Hear Alex’s take. [1:18:10]
• Some of the things that excite Alex the most in the marketing space. [1:19:44]
• What’s next for Alex Valencia? [1:20:28]

Links from the Episode

How to connect with Alex Valencia:

Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram

• Alex Valencia on Search Engine Journal
• SEO Happy Hour (Apple Podcasts)
• We Do Web Content (LinkedIn)
• Google Analytics
• SEMrush
• Ahrefs
• Grammarly
• Copyscape
• Content Marketing: Bait the Hook to Suit the Fish (We Do Web Content)
• A 7-Step Process to Realize the Promise of SEO (Search Engine Journal)
• The Power of Perseverance: Overcoming Big Hurdles in Business & Life (Search Engine Journal)
• “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie
• The Jordan B Peterson Podcast
• Elevation with Steven Furtick Podcast
• Business Wars Podcast
• What Really Happened? (Apple Podcasts)

People Mentioned

• Jason Hennessey
• Ben Glass
• Yvette Valencia

This podcast is brought to you by Ahrefs and Opteo.

To listen to this Search Engine Show: Better Know a Marketing Pro Podcast with Alex Valencia:

• Listen to the full episode at the top of this post
• Subscribe via Apple Podcasts
• Sign up on IFTTT to receive an email whenever the Search Engine Journal Show RSS feed has a new episode
• Listen on Spotify, TuneIn, Stitcher or Overcast

Visit our podcast archive to listen to other Search Engine Journal Show podcasts!

Image Credits

Featured Image: Paulo Bobita