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If you're a lawyer, you probably know how important it is to have a website that showcases your expertise and services. But what good is a website if no one can find it? That's where law firm SEO enters the picture.
SEO entails trying to improve your search rankings to connect with people searching for legal information or assistance online. SEO for lawyers is not rocket science, but it does require some planning and strategy.
In this article, we'll show you how to use SEO for law firms to attract more clients and grow your practice. Whether you're a solo practitioner or a large law firm, SEO can help you stand out from the competition. And if you're looking for a done-for-you solution, SeoProfy provides law firm SEO services based on a data-driven approach.
Lawyer SEO is the art of making your website more appealing to search engines so that they can direct more potential clients to your law firm. It involves taking certain steps to ensure that your website has the right information and pages that rank for the queries that users are searching for.
Think of search engines as giant answering machines that help users find the best destination on the web for their needs. If your website has what they are looking for, you have a better chance of attracting more visitors.
For example, if someone searches for "How to make an accident claim", and your website has some awesome information on this topic, you might rank among the top results. Thus, users will see your website and click on it. And if you impress them with your great content, they might want to hire you as their lawyer.
Sounds simple, right? Well, not quite. Search engine optimization for lawyers is a focused and competitive effort that requires a lot of research, strategy, and creativity.
You need to know what keywords your target audience is using, what kind of content they are looking for, and how to optimize your website for both technical functionality and user experience. You also need to outperform other lawyers who are trying to do the same thing.
Yes, it does because it gives you a chance to top search engine rankings in your locality. You don't want to let your competitors steal your potential clients, do you?
But that's not all. SEO for law firms can also be a long-term source of traffic on Google and other search engines. One article can rank among the top results for many years, only requiring updates to keep up with Google's Freshness Update. That means you can get more exposure and leads without spending more money on ads.
SEO builds your personal brand. By creating valuable and informative content, you can showcase your expertise and authority in your practice area.
Moreover, you can enhance your potential clients' experience by empowering them with information that answers their common questions, addresses their pain points, and educates them about their legal options. This allows you to build trust before they even engage with your legal services.
Undertaking SEO allows you to optimize your website for user-friendliness, speed, and mobile responsiveness. That guarantees visitors a smooth and pleasant experience on your site.
Finally, law firm SEO acts as a starting base for other forms of online marketing, as it's a gateway to the world of inbound marketing. Once you have a solid SEO foundation, you can leverage other strategies such as social media marketing, paid search, email marketing, and more.
SEO is mostly compared to paid search ads like Google Ads, as both forms of marketing drive visitors to your website from search engines. Here are a few stats that compare their effectiveness:
So, if you're weighing whether to consider law firm SEO, statistics show that organic traffic edges PPC traffic across many categories. However, PPC is admittedly better at driving more conversions as it targets potential clients at their moment of purchase.
That is not to say that you should choose one method and ignore the other. Each serves a particular conversion goal. If you're looking to nurture your leads, SEO is better. However, PPC is great for short-term gains, although effectiveness ends the minute you stop paying for ads.
Ranking factors are aspects of your web page that Google uses to determine how relevant and useful it is for users who are searching for legal services. Based on our analysis and experience in the niche, these are some of the most important ranking factors for law firms:
One of the most important aspects of SEO for law firms is getting more backlinks to your law firm's website. They are a sign of trust and authority, as webmasters only link to sites that they find useful, insightful, and a good reference for their readers.
In the past, the more backlinks a site had, the better its chance of ranking well. Nowadays, the quality and relevance of the backlinks matter more than the quantity. So, if you want to improve search engine rankings, you need to focus on high-quality backlinks from authoritative and relevant websites.
For instance, Tobin Injury Law is the highest-ranking website for the keyword, "accident lawyers in Atlanta." Backlink analysis of their top-ranking page shows that it has a backlink profile with over 75 backlinks from 30 linking websites.
If you're trying to outrank the page on search results, you'll need to build a strong backlink profile.
Off-page SEO complements your on-page SEO efforts, such as creating high-quality content and fixing technical issues on your website. It involves activities that happen outside your website, such as:
In addition to backlinks, these activities create valuable signals that search engines use to determine that your website has strong social proof.
SEO for attorneys is not just about keywords and links, but also about providing value and solving problems through your content. High-quality content not only attracts more visitors to your website but also builds trust and credibility, which can lead to more conversions and referrals.
Relevant content should match the intent and expectations of your target audience and speak to their needs, pain points, and goals. As an illustration, if someone has been involved in a car accident, they may go online and search, "what to do after a car accident?" They will likely come across this article on Lawyers.law.com that ranks among the top organic search engine results:
What makes the article rank well? The content is well-written from an expert point of view, which Google is keen on. It similarly offers detailed tips and contains descriptive headings.
Readers will want to choose someone who knows what they're doing. And in this example, they may select the author as their personal injury lawyer — they have just seen his level of expertise.
User experience is how visitors feel when they interact with your web page. It includes elements such as visual design, content, usability, accessibility, and performance. A great user experience can make your visitors stay longer, trust your brand, and take action.
Michaelbest.com is a good example of a lawyer website offering a great user experience. The site ranks among the top results for "best law services" in Virginia.
What are they doing well? Their law firm website is fast and intuitive. It also has a simple design that makes everything easily accessible. In our analysis, it passed the Core Web Vitals assessment on Page Speed Insights, a set of metrics used by Google to gauge the UX provided by websites.
PageSpeed Insights results
Local SEO is the process of optimizing your website and online presence for local search results. They show up when people search for businesses or services near their location, such as "lawyer near me" or "divorce attorney in Seattle".
For most law firm websites, local SEO is indispensable. Most of your prospective clients are local, situated in your city, county, or state. They are looking for a lawyer who understands their legal issues, their local laws and regulations, and their specific needs and preferences. They are also more likely to trust and hire a lawyer who has a strong local reputation and presence.
The pillars of local search engine optimization for attorneys are:
These local search results for the keyword "lawyer in Piedmont" highlight the importance of having a Google Business Profile for local SEO.
Google Business profile featured snippet on Google
Technical SEO is a crucial ranking factor for any law firm's website. It refers to the optimization of the website's structure, speed, security, and performance to ensure that search engines can crawl, index, and rank it effectively.
Your legal SEO campaign should include regular audits to identify and fix any technical issues. Some of the common technical SEO problems are broken links, duplicate content, slow-loading pages, mobile-unfriendly design, and poor site architecture.
You can use monitoring tools such as Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and Bing Webmaster Tools to track your site's health and performance and make necessary adjustments.
You now have a firm understanding of the foundations of SEO for law firms. So, which steps can you start implementing right now to improve your SEO efforts? In this section, we'll show you some tips and tricks to improve your law firm SEO and rank higher on Google. Don't worry, it's not as tough as passing the bar exam!
Lawyer search engine optimization is a specialized field that requires a tailored approach. Law firms need to target prospective clients who are looking for specific legal services in their area. Therefore, a law firm's SEO strategy should focus on optimizing the website for local and niche keywords, as well as creating relevant and engaging content.
One of the key steps in developing a successful law firm SEO campaign is to conduct a thorough competitor analysis. This will help you understand what ranks well in your niche and location, and what strategies your competitors are using. By analyzing their website structure, content, backlinks, reviews, and social media presence, you can find opportunities to improve your law firm search engine optimization.
Another vital aspect is proper law firm website design that reflects your brand identity and value proposition. Your website should have clear and easy-to-navigate pages that provide useful information, such as practice areas, case studies, testimonials, about us, contact us, etc. The pages should also include relevant keywords and calls to action that encourage visitors to take the next step in hiring your services.
As a lawyer, you never know who your next client may be. However, it will most likely be someone from your area.
Considering that almost everyone uses Google to find the services and professionals they need, local SEO is key here. That's why it's essential to have a listing on GBP.
But don't just create an account and leave it at that. You need to optimize it to make sure you stand out from the crowd and attract more potential clients. Here are some tips on how to do SEO for a lawyer using GBP:
These steps are essential in SEO for lawyers — they help your law firm appear higher in local Google search results and allow people to find information about you quickly.
Focusing on providing a great user experience will greatly aid your search engine optimization efforts. You need to start by designing a unique and user-friendly site. Many sites in the niche look old and outdated, which makes them seem unprofessional and untrustworthy.
By creating a modern and attractive design for your site, you can stand out from the competition and impress your visitors. A good design can also make your site easier to navigate, faster to load, and more responsive to different devices.
Remember to take advantage of Google Search Console to monitor your site's mobile performance, fix issues, and submit sitemaps. Similarly, utilize Google Analytics to see how users are interacting with your web pages by tracking their behavior, preferences, and conversions.
Keyword research is an essential part of SEO, as it helps you find the most relevant keywords for your law firm website. Here's how you can conduct keyword research for law firm websites:
SEO tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Keyword Planner can help in keyword research. LSI Graph and SurferSEO can make it easier to find LSI for your main keywords.
On-page optimization entails the steps you take on your site to boost your law firm's online presence. Here are tips to start implementing today:
Backlinks are like gold when it comes to SEO for legal firms. But don't be tempted to buy links or use shady tactics to get them. That can backfire and hurt your site's reputation.
Instead, focus on getting links from high-quality and relevant sites that have something to do with law or your area of expertise. For example, a link from a gardening blog won't help you much, but a link from a legal news site will. So, focus on quality over quantity and use ethical linking practices, such as guest posting on reputable blogs, performing outreach, or getting placements on ranking articles.
E-E-A-T stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness, and Experience. These are the factors that Google uses to evaluate the quality of websites and rank them accordingly.
How can you improve your E-E-A-T for legal SEO? Here are some tips for each SEO ranking factor:
Featured snippets are the boxes that show up at the top of search engine results pages designed to provide quick answers to a user's query. Some examples of featured snippets are:
An example of the "People also ask" featured snippet
Appearing on featured snippets can boost your CTRs as they have prominent placements on search engines. Here's how you can improve your chances of getting there:
How do you know if your SEO efforts are bringing the right results? Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) can help you evaluate your campaign.
Goals are essential for any marketing strategy as they give you benchmarks to aim for. KPIs help you measure your progress and adjust your tactics accordingly.
Your goals should be SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. You should also consider what your competitors are doing and what kind of results they are getting. This can help you set realistic and challenging goals for yourself.
There is a lot you can track. But don't lose focus on what's important. The core KPIs for a law firm's website are:
You can also track other metrics such as bounce rate, dwell time, pages per session, domain authority, etc. The essential thing is to keep improving on your core KPIs.
Hiring a professional SEO expert is a smart move because they can take care of all the aspects of SEO for you. They don't have to juggle between court cases, client meetings, and paperwork like you do.
A law firm SEO company will have a team of experts who can handle different aspects of SEO, such as web design, content creation, link building, social media, and more. They can leverage their collective expertise and experience to boost your rankings and visibility.
SEO services work with a set of deliverables and milestones that you can agree on beforehand. They can provide you with regular reports, feedback, and recommendations to keep you informed and satisfied.
However, you need to choose carefully who you entrust your online reputation and success to. Here are some criteria that you should pay attention to when hiring an SEO expert:
Professional law firm SEO services can be a wise decision if you want to grow your law firm online. And remember: the only way to determine if a particular service is the right fit is to engage with them. Ask them questions, gauge their credibility, and see if they can deliver what they promise.
The answer is not simple, as it depends on your goals, your niche, your location, and your competition.
While some SEO companies will have packages starting from $1,000, a little more can go a long way as you can get more work done. So, a general range that most law firms can expect to spend on SEO for lawyers is anywhere from $3,000 to $10,000 per month.
Remember that attorney SEO is an ongoing activity and will likely require at least six to 12 months to yield results. You may need a sizable budget, but it is worth it when you consider the long-term benefits of SEO success.
In summary, search engine optimization for law firms entails enhancing your web pages to outperform similar sites in search results. It attracts more visitors who grow to trust you as an authority in the niche.
You need to focus on lawyer SEO ranking factors to perform well. They include having quality and relevant content, performing technical SEO, building authoritative backlinks, enhancing your E-E-A-T, and focusing on local search, among others.
Improving your law firm SEO is possible with our tips, from improving the user experience to setting KPIs. However, it requires a lot of time and effort.
Fortunately, you don't have to do it alone. You can hire a professional SEO company that specializes in legal marketing and knows how to get you more clients and cases.
An experienced SEO company for lawyers should have a proven track record of delivering results for law firms of all sizes and practice areas. For example, SeoProfy will help you create data-driven SEO tactics that suit your goals, budget, and industry.
So if you want to grow your law firm online and beat your competitors, get the best SEO for lawyers. It's a digital marketing strategy that will help you dominate search engine rankings.
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