There needs to be more than just setting up an eye catchy website for a law firm to attract clients these days. There needs to be more than having a website for a law firm because nearly 96% of the audience today use a search engine to search for an attorney for legal advice. That is why it is crucial to have a strong presence on the top page of Google. SEO for lawyers is a practice to raise the rank of a website on the search engine result page.
When your website ranks in the top position automatically, your visibility will increase and generate maximum leads. Also, SEO brings organic traffic in the long term, and you don’t need to pay extra to get clicks. SEO is daunting for a law firm because you must abide by legal marketing practices.
We’ll provide you with the key strategies of SEO that help your legal firm covet the top position on the search engine result page. From basics to current updates for SEO to building an optimized website, we’ll cover all things that help to execute your search engine optimization strategy successfully.
Understanding SEO for Lawyers
SEO for lawyers works similarly for any other business firm. By leveraging the right SEO strategies tailored according to search engine algorithms and users, you’ll be able to hit the sweet spot to get the desired ranking. Search engine optimization is a strategic process involving key measures that help get desired results. The key elements you need to follow are:
Keyword Research and Targeting
High-quality information helps drive traffic to the website. But you also need Google to evaluate your content to determine whether it is user intended. That’s where keywords play a magical role. You need to use keywords as the key parameters to get the best results.
Optimize your title tag, meta description, and content completely. Google uses the RankBrain AI system to interpret your website for keywords. For instance, “best personal injury lawyer in Canada.”
The target keyword used throughout the content for optimization is backed up with lots of information people want to know. You can use Google Keyword Planner to find the right keywords. Always use a mix of high-density and low-density keywords. Do not overstuff keywords, and keep it organic.
On-Page Optimization Techniques
On-Page is an SEO optimization process for optimizing the website’s numerous back-end and front-end components. That helps to understand Google about the website and that you provide value to the customers and readers. To keep it crisp, here are some techniques you must follow for On-page optimization-
- Update page title, URLs, and meta descriptions
- Insert keyword in URL and throughout the page
- Define value proposition for website pages
- Keep a check on the targeted audience
- Optimize visual content
- Add external and internal links
- Optimize pages for conversion
Off-Page Optimization Techniques
Off-page optimization is the most crucial part of search engine optimization for marketing. This involves the use of different techniques to improve rank in Google SERP. An off-page SEO technique is useful for building high-quality backlinks. The on-page optimization techniques include the following-
- Guest posting on the website: Look for websites and third parties where you can start guest posting for SEO for lawyers.
- Check out the backlinks profile: Quality is always a priority over quantity. Whenever you add content to the site, ensure it is informative with no fluff. Most importantly, it helps to build quality links.
- Social media shares: It might not be a ranking factor, but you must recognize them. It helps build a community and lets you communicate with brands to answer relevant user questions.
- Local listings: Start listing on Google. It is a directory that users check to find nearby attorneys or anything.
- Fix Broken Links: This helps to fix the problem of error 404. Moreover, it helps to build the credibility of the site.
Implementing SEO for Lawyers
Now that you have an understanding of SEO for lawyers, it’s time to implement search engine optimization techniques in the right way. To make it clear, let’s take an example. If someone searches Google for “criminal case lawyer in a specific location,” your website should be on top rank. It can only happen if you do it properly.
Here are some key steps to follow for SEO implementation for lawyers-
- Incorporate long-tail keywords in your content specifically optimized for SEO for lawyers. Keywords such as attorney and lawyers are common choices, and hence, difficult to rank. So, try to use long-tail keywords. It helps to boost rank on search engines. Use keywords like “best attorney for personal injury cases.” The long tail keyword helps to avoid competition and boosts SERP ranking.
- Optimize your website to improve rank. Keep a responsive design and ensure it is mobile-friendly. Remember to optimize the page loading speed. If your website takes too much time to load, visitors leave your website without scrolling. Also, make sure to simplify navigation and ease. Use clear labels and structure so users can easily navigate it.
- Content is still the sweet juice users want to taste before hiring you. Make sure to write informative, answerable, and high-quality content. Use an On-page SEO approach for the optimization of content. Keep the paragraph short and easy to read. If you’re adding images, then use alt text for optimization. Divide content into different paragraphs and subheadings to make it eye catchy and easy to read.
- Start building authoritative backlinks. The backlinks are a form of links that the website uses to reach your website. High-quality backlinks should be linked to relevant and authoritative websites. It shows the trustworthiness of the website. Google also uses backlinks to improve the rank of your website. To build quality backlinks, use shareable content, start engaging with social media communities, and use directories and listings.
Local SEO for Lawyers
Local search engine optimization for lawyers is a part of the SEO strategy. It optimizes law firms’ sites whenever readers search for legal advice within particular geographical areas. Hence, it is vital to do local SEO for lawyers. Optimizing your Google My Business is the best way to do local SEO.
- Create Google My Business Account: Be sure the name you use on the website and other marketing sites keeps organic traffic high. Avoid overstuffing keywords.
- Complete Your Google My Business listing. Add complete address, including street, city, state, and zip code. Add services and official location.
- Add your business categories and services contact number.
- Add the website URL to your Google listing.
Local Keyword Research and Targeting
With the advancement of Google updates, most searches on Google contain a word such as “near me.” When optimizing a site for local search, add the correct keywords with user search intention. Use keywords smartly in Google My Business listing and Meta description and title. Optimize your website URL with keywords–rich anchor texts.
Building Local Citations
Local citations are crucial when you are doing SEO for lawyers. It refers to the online mentioning of phone numbers, law firms’ business names, addresses, and more. It also includes legal directories such as social media platforms.
Besides NAP, you can also include vital details such as hours of operation, the firm’s website URL, and client reviews. It also helps to provide accurate information to the clients. It further helps to improve rank on local search engine results.
Measuring and Monitoring SEO Success
Now that you have followed all the SEO practices, it’s time to calculate measurable benchmarks to check progress. You can find out user engagement metrics:
Conversion Rate= Number of actions/Website visitors.
Time on Page: How long do visitors stay on the website?
For instance, visitors lose interest if you have posted a 2000-word blog and the reader stays only for 10 seconds.
Pages per Visit: This is an essential engagement metric. Low pages per visit are good and high pages per visit are excellent.
Bounce Rate: This indicates people visited your website but left without scrolling through the site.
Search Traffic: This helps to measure organic traffic on the site.
Tools for Measuring SEO Success
To measure the above parameters, use tools like:
- Google Analytics: This enables you to check bounce rate, organic traffic, time on page, conversion rate, and more.
- SEMRUSH: SEMRUSH is an excellent tool for checking keyword ranking, conversion rate, traffic, and leads.
- ScreamingFrog: This tool is used for a complete analysis of SEO, such as URL performance, meta keywords, H1 tags, and pages that show 404 errors.
Ethical Considerations while doing SEO for lawyers
Law firms have to follow ethical rules and regulations before doing SEO for lawyers.
There are specific rules for attorneys, such as:
- Use appropriate and informative content only with the right type of keywords.
- Do not make any statement that cannot be measured, verified, and quantified.
- Never promise definite outcomes. For instance, never say you provide 100% surety of winning a case.
- Never provide promising outcomes in testimonials and case studies. The problem with adding definitive results is your potential clients may expect similar results. So, stay transparent and explain that each case is different and the result will differ.
- Try to avoid ethical dilemmas.
Avoiding Black Hat SEO Tactics
Black Hat SEO is generally against the guidelines of SEO for lawyers. It helps get high-ranking websites on search engine result pages. That is why it is considered an unethical practice. The user may have to pay a penalty if they go against these guidelines.
Black hat techniques include:
- Keyword stuffing: Using keywords irrelevantly or excessively.
- Use of private link networks: Authoritative websites for link building.
- Cloaking: This involves showing different content to Google and users.
- Sneaky Redirect: This means redirecting users to different URLs instead of the link they have clicked.
Try to avoid the above-listed practices as it is against SEO legal practices. Black Hat SEO also leads to penalties.
Balancing SEO with Quality Content and Ethical Standards
SEO for lawyers is a way to improve rank on search engines. In addition to the above practices, lawyers must balance information and high-quality content with SEO ethical standards. Keep this in mind by considering your targeted audience in mind.
Be sure your content includes these things:
- Answer to the reader’s problems
- Use relevant, targeted keywords and maintain keyword density
- Do not claim to be best and claim false results.
- Deliver a clear message.
Bottom Line
Local SEO for law firms is an excellent approach to improve your visibility over search engine result pages. If you implement the right SEO strategies and keep the above fundamentals in mind, you’ll see a difference in the way your law firm lists on SERPs.
If you still need to be eligible to bring organic leads on-site, contact us. Our SEO experts would be happy to help solve your problems and offer the best solution.
If you want to know how we do it, here’s our style guide- Building Trust with Your Clients: The Role of Marketing in Legal Ethics