If you are a small firm or solo, you have probably felt the frustration of battling against a bigger firm – their sheer size (and sizeable marketing budget) may seem to you an unfair advantage in the legal marketplace.

Last week, Google said that size doesn’t really matter, at least when it comes to the size of a website and search results.  Answering a question on the Google Webmaster blog, engineer Matt Cutts said that larger websites do not automatically rank higher on Google than small sites.

In fact, he said that smaller sites that are agile, dynamic, with a quick response time and frequent content updates can rank higher than the bigger sites.  The key differentiator is superior content and focusing intently on the user experience.

Cutts’ tip for small firms and solos is to concentrate on a small topic area and cover that topic really, really well – in other words, be a specialist and create stellar content that is relevant to users searching for that topic.  This will make you an expert in Google’s eyes.  And that’s how niches can lead to riches when it comes to SEO!

Here are three ways that solos and small firms can capitalize on their online agility:

1.  Designing a website that provides users with a superb experience – from the way they navigate the site to the information they find there.

2.  Developing high quality, relevant content for your area of practice that people want to read to help them solve the problems they would hire you for, populated with relevant keywords.

3.  Being an active participant on social media networks that your prospects and clients frequent,sharing all that great content you’ve developed for your website and your blog and engaging online with your target market.