SEOblog Interview: Miami SEO Expert Alex DiSebastian from PaperStreet

We’re excited to have interviewed Miami SEO expert Alex DiSebastian, from PaperStreet, for the next installment of our Featured SEO Expert Series!

PaperStreet is one of SEOblog’s Top SEO companies in Miami.

Alex DiSebastian has over 21 years of experience spanning many industries and disciplines. His industry experience has culminated in the role of internet marketing director at PaperStreet. He has led the internet marketing team to achieve top rankings (organic and paid) for numerous competitive keywords and maintained their positions, generating millions of dollars a year in revenue for PaperStreet’s clients.

What would you say is unique and/or challenging about the legal SEO industry?

“The greatest challenge is the extra qualifications required by law firms for a lead to become a client. With great rankings and solid traffic, conversions will flow. However, law firms have many variables and internal filters that can disqualify a potential new client from becoming an actual viable case. This unique circumstance puts the focus more on the quality of conversions and not just quantity.”

How does your agency stand out in a crowded market such as the legal online marketing space?

“PaperStreet was founded by a lawyer in 2001, when there were not many online legal marketers. We have grown with the industry. Our process and marketing works. Having launched well over 2000+ websites of which hundreds have won awards – along with internet marketing campaigns that have collectively generated millions for our clients – we know how to help law firms grow their legal practice.”

Can you share a success story from a local SEO campaign centered around your area?

“A Florida personal injury firm was looking to increase conversions in various statewide markets. Since 2009, we have gone through two website revisions and handled SEO during this period. In 13 years, we have increased traffic by 20 times! This leads to over 30 inquiries per day on a variety of practice areas.”

What is the best advice you ever received in business?

“Focus on the firms’ return on investment. Most marketing firms will showcase and highlight rankings and traffic as the major accomplishment. Unless this benchmark is producing a decent return, these results become trivial.”

What do you think is the most important quality that makes an agency truly great?

“The ability to adapt and then update SEO processes. Although SEO tactics don’t drastically change month to month, there are always new algorithms and unexpected updates that occur in the SEO industry. An agency must be able to diagnose ranking issues and keep up with the current quality standards in order to survive. If you are stuck using old-school tactics, you won’t be able to get results for your clients.”

Any predictions for the future of SEO?

“While not necessarily a prediction, Google is constantly and continually updating its algorithm. We can often predict that Google has made an update by looking at our clients’ analytics as a whole. While the ever-changing best-practice indicators and standards can be difficult to keep up with, it is also nothing to fear if you are confidently complying and doing what is proper. Also, you need to have a paid strategy in place. If you compare screenshots of the last 20 years of Google’s search results, you will naturally see paid has a larger share of the browser viewport each year. I’m not saying SEO is dead, but you have to have a strategy that evolves to showcase both paid and organic results.”

What is your reaction when you hear that “SEO is dying”?

“SEO is here to stay, but it is forever evolving. Google is getting smarter at understanding what searchers want, and that means websites and SEO agencies need to adjust. There will always be a need to optimize your website properly in order to convert clients. If people are still searching on Google, then it is still important to focus on the quality and visibility of your website.”

What do you think is the most important contributor to keeping law firm clients happy?

“You won’t always be reporting good news in this industry (that’s the nature of the business), so the best tactic for maintaining a good relationship is to always be dependable. That’s something you can control. Do tasks quickly. Get ahead of any breaking news or trends. Plan the reports in advance. Predict their questions and be ready with the answers.”

Interested in being considered as an SEOblog “Featured SEO Expert”? Reach out to our team at [email protected]! We’d love to hear from you and give you a high-traffic platform to share your SEO agency’s story and insights.