When it comes to marketing your law firm, your website is a critical marketing tool. It’s what potential clients see when searching for a lawyer online, and it’s how you attract new business.
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the process of improving your site’s rankings on search engines like Google. The goal is to get your site to show up on the first page of results when prospective new clients search for a lawyer.
Keyword Research
Keyword research is the process of identifying keywords and search terms that potential clients are using to find the services you offer. You can use a tool like Google Keyword Planner to do this.
Once you identify the right keywords, it’s time to put them to work on your law firm’s website. This will help your firm rank higher on the SERP and attract new clients.
Some of the most important things to consider when deciding which keywords to target are search volume and competition. The best keywords have a high amount of regular search traffic.
Other words or phrases, however, might not have the same level of volume. Fortunately, there are a number of tools that can help you assess keyword search volume, including Google’s Keyword Planner and AHREFs.
On-Page Optimization
Whether you’re a small law firm or a large one, your website is an important marketing channel that needs to be optimized for organic search traffic. If your site doesn’t rank well for relevant keywords, you can miss out on a significant amount of potential business.
Fortunately, there are several proven SEO tactics you can use to improve your site’s organic rankings. These include content creation, link building, and keyword research.
When it comes to on-page optimization, the first thing you should do is optimize your title tags and heading tags (H-tags) for each page. These will help Google understand what the page is about at a glance, which can affect how high it ranks for a given keyword.
Besides these on-page optimization factors, you should also make sure that your website is well-structured. This will ensure that search engines can find all the content you want and make it easy for visitors to navigate your site.
Link Building
Link building is a crucial part of any SEO strategy. While it can seem overwhelming, there are ways to ensure that you’re getting the best results possible for your firm.
For one, you can leverage your existing relationships to get links that are relevant and beneficial for your law firm. For example, if you know someone who is also an attorney and your practice areas are similar, consider writing a guest post for them that shares your unique perspective on the topic they’re interested in.
Another way to expand your link portfolio is to engage with other local organizations in your community. Working with a charity event, speaking at a school, or offering scholarships can all provide you with valuable links that are relevant to your local market.
The key to success is to carefully consider your goals before pursuing link building tactics. Remember, Google has been weeding out bad link building techniques for years and can take your site down if you use submission-based tactics or manipulative “quid pro quo” schemes.
Content Creation
Creating quality content for your law firm’s website is a key part of attorney seo. It establishes your authority, expertise, and credibility as a trusted source of information and answers.
Legal content can include practice area web pages, blog articles, and roundups on topics in your practice space. This type of content helps to position your law firm as an expert in its field and generate leads and clients.
When creating content, it’s important to ensure that you’re avoiding legal jargon and presenting your points in a way that is accessible to the audience. This is especially true for blogs.
As with all content, you should work with an expert attorney marketing agency to make sure your legal content is accurate and compliant with the rules of professional conduct in your jurisdiction. This includes not using shady backlinking or posting unoriginal content, as these can get your site knocked down in rank and damage your reputation.