Ben Thomson – Learning to boost your law firm SEO is a key objective for many lawyers, but in the shifting sands of SEO, the arrival of AI tools and the ever-evolving requirements for good SEO what does a smart law marketer do?
Understand the Basics of Law Firm SEO
There are a few basics you need to understand when it comes to law firm SEO. (Check the ultimate Guide to Law Firm SEO here).
Although the rules and algorithms may be changing, some basics remain when it comes to good law firm SEO.
First and foremost, you need to make sure your law firm website is optimized for search engines.
This means including keywords in the title, in the body of your content, and on your social media pages. You also need to make sure your website is easy to navigate and includes features that will help clients find what they’re looking for easily.
A poorly designed website that makes it difficult for clients or others to navigate is a killer when it comes to good law firm marketing.
Another important factor to consider is your website’s location.
If you have a physical location, make sure you’re targeting local keywords. Local search SEO is a key advantage to good rankings. You can read more here.
If you don’t have a physical location, you can still target keywords related to your practice area. Additionally, you can focus on building relationships with local businesses and promoting events that may be of interest to your target audience.
Finally, make sure you’re regularly publishing quality content that will attract legal professionals and potential clients.
This quality content should be focused on helping people solve problems or understand complex legal concepts. It should also be well-written and easy to read.
Good content is a hands-down winner in terms of law firm marketing.
By following these tips, you can boost your law firm’s online visibility and attract new clients.
Let’s consider some of these points in more detail.
Optimize Your Website for More Visibility
One of the most effective ways to boost your law firm’s online visibility and overall law firm SEO efforts is by optimizing your website for more search engine visibility.Â
The following are a few key things you can do in order to improve your website’s ranking and make it more visible to potential clients.
Make sure all of your content is keyword rich.
There’s a mountain of material about keyword research and how to use them. Â However, in brief, including keywords throughout your site will help to improve your law firm’s search engine rankings, as well as attract more visitors from Google, Bing, Yahoo!, and other popular search engines.Â
Using good keywords, including the all-important ‘long tail keywords’ is fundamental to getting good online traction. Â
Don’t worry about targeting highly trafficked keywords. Â You can go for keywords that may only have a few searches on Google and get good rankings and also good, targeted traffic (ie potential clients).
Minimize clutter on your website.
A cluttered layout can decrease the amount of time someone spends looking around at your website, which can lose them in terms of your marketing efforts.
Keep everything on your site organized so that visitors can easily find what they’re looking for without having to scroll down or try to figure out where something might be located on the page (this goes for both text and images).
Use bold or italic fonts
Use bolding, italics and other font styles for emphasis when necessary in order to emphasize particular words or phrases within text passages or web pages can help build engagement and online success.
This helps readers scan through material quickly and determine whether they want to read further based on what they’ve seen so far – after all, if an important point isn’t being made very clearly then chances are no one besides those who specifically need access to that information will ever see it.
It also makes it easier for readers who are visually impaired (or just don’t like reading lengthy texts) since some elements within a webpage may be highlighted instead of hidden behind large block letters or numbers that aren’t easily noticed by searchers without assistance from visual aides such as screen readers/ magnifiers/text enlargement software programs and so forth.
Highlight wins and testimonials
Good law firm marketing will see your site highlight recent work, including client wins and testimonials.
These can help create positive brand recognition & encourage potential clients to call.
The use of online searching to find lawyers continues to climb.
Client retention rates increase exponentially when firms prominently feature case victories prominently displayed online even if a small percentage (<5%) selectively display these types of items randomly throughout the entire web presence occasionally.
Meta Descriptions
Use keyword rich titles and meta descriptions to attract even more attention from Google, Yahoo! and other search engines.
A well-written title that includes relevant keywords and a catchy meta description that accurately describes the content of the page can help to boost your website’s ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Use social media
Whether you like it or not, social media will make a different to your law firm SEO efforts. Make use of social media platforms to share your content with a wider audience.
You can also use social media platforms to promote your website content in order to generate more leads and ultimately more business.
Monitor your work
Know What Keywords to Use
When it comes to law firm SEO, there are a few things you need to keep in mind.
Check what we have written previously about the best SEO efforts for lawyers, including keyword usage.
Keyword research is essential to ensuring your website and marketing materials are found by potential clients who are looking for information about lawyers and the law.
Don’t get hung up about hunting down the high traffic keywords, though.
Low traffic, long tail keywords can be incredibly useful to find targeted traffic that will translate into clients. And ‘low traffic’ does not equate to ‘low value’.
In my advise you should go for the lower competition, lower traffic longer-tail keywords and work the rankings to generate high visibility online.
Make sure that your site includes keywords that potential clients may be searching for. You can find these keywords by doing keyword research or by using popular search engine tools like Google Adwords or Overture.
Leverage Local SEO Tactics to Reach a Wider Audience
There are a few key things you can do to help boost your law firm’s online visibility.
Local SEO can be one of the very best ways for law firms to build their law firm search engine optimization and to create a major boost to their law firm online visibility.
Local SEO tactics as we discussed in this article can really drive traffic that is targeted to your law firm.
And it can be done quickly and (relatively) easily.
Optimize your website for better search engine visibility.
Make sure your website is properly optimized for search engines, including using keywords and phrases that are relevant to your industry and target audience.
Monitor your analytics reports to see how you’re performing and make adjustments as needed.
Utilize Social Media Platforms to Share Content and Build Your Brand
Building a strong online brand for your law firm can be a crucial part of securing more clients and future business.
Social media is sometimes a double-edged sword in terms of counter-productive posts by Influencers and others but used properly by law firms it can create positive impressions and connect with potential clients.
Not only can social media platforms help you to build relationships with potential clients and followers, but they can also be used to share important news or announcements about your law firm with a wider audience and help build that all-important brand-building and authority.
Platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook. By sharing valuable content on these sites, you can help build relationships with potential clients who may not have found you through traditional means
Use social sharing buttons on important pages, post thought-provoking content that speaks to the interests of lawyers and their clients, and monitor your online reviews for clues about how well you’re reaching potential customers. It may take some time to see significant improvements in your legal SEO rankings, but the diligent effort will pay off in long-term success.
Monitor Your Analytics Reports For Best Practices & Improving Performance
Monitor your website’s analytics reports in order to identify areas where you may be able to improve your website’s visibility and performance.
Analytics reports can help you track which keywords are driving traffic to your website, how many visitors are spending time on each page, and more. Use this information to improve your website’s performance and reach more potential clients.
Tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console can really help you monitor and check what is working. Use them daily.
By understanding which keywords are driving traffic to your website and how people are interacting with your content, you can make adjustments or create new content that will help to improve your law firm’s search engine optimization.
Maximize Relevance by Creating Quality Content That Appeals to Both Legal Professionals & Potential Clients
One of the most important factors in increasing your law firm’s online visibility is creating high-quality, relevant content.
Investing in content marketing strategies such as blogging, podcasting, video marketing, and social media marketing will be one of the most powerful things you can do to increase law firm marketing efforts and law firm visibility.Â
>> Check my article on how to avoid 5 Key Content Marketing Mistakes
By creating valuable content that resonates with your target audience, you can establish your law firm as a thought leader in your industry, build trust and credibility with potential clients, and improve your search engine rankings.
Make Sure Your Content Is Tailored To Specific audiences
When writing content for your website or blog, be sure to target specific demographics such as business owners, property or trust interests, personal injury, family law and so forth
This will ensure that your content is resonating with the right audience and provides them with the information they need without straying too far from the main topic at hand.
Keep It Short & Sweet
When it comes to articles, blog posts and other types of content, aim for shorter formats instead of lengthy blocks of text.
Long paragraphs or essays can be difficult to read and can quickly turn off readers who may not have time for a long read. Shorter pieces are easier to digest and provide greater value for those who do want to read more on a particular topic.
Plus – fewer words equals smaller documents which reduce bandwidth requirements on websites/blogs! 😉
Use Images Appropriately
Images are an important part of any website or blog layout. Not only do they add visual appeal but they also help convey key points in an easy-to-understand way – especially when it comes to technical jargon or complicated legal concepts are involved.
When selecting images, make sure they reflect the tone of your content properly – serious topics should use Serious images while lighter topics might benefit from using Humor images (think cartoons).
Support Your Arguments With References & Facts If you’re arguing a point in your writing -whether it’s about current events or complex legal principles- make sure you back up your claims with reliable sources (both online & offline) and data points that support what you’re saying.
Reader engagement increases exponentially when readers feel confident that what they’re reading reflects reality rather than simply someone’s opinion.
Be Creative When Writing Titles For Articles & Blog Posts
Titles can create great promises for interested readers before even clicking through; play around with different ideas until something strikes a chord with you (& shows potential clients/clients how funny intelligent law practice can be).
Remember: elevator pitches are everything so get creative with titles like “How To Avoid Becoming A$$hole Lawyer” or “7 Ways To Kill Time Lawfully”!
Use Law Firm PPC to Boost Your Reach
Target Specific Locations With Your Relevant Google Ads Campaigns an PPC marketing for your law firm. By specifying the location(s) where you want your ads to appear, you’ll ensure that your target audience is seeing relevant ads directly on their respective platforms (desktop/mobile).Â
This could be a great way to drive more leads or subs from specific areas of the country or even the world! Just make sure you keep track of all of your Campaign goals & stats so you know exactly how well your efforts are working.
You can read more about PPC ad campaigns for lawyers here.
Use Appropriate Hashtags & Keyword Placement
Hashtags (e.g #legaladvice, #lawfirm, etc) can help You Identify Your Content Across Social Media Platforms; be sure to place your keywords in the correct places so that they’re appearing in relevant tweets/posts/etc.
When it comes to keyword placement, aim for assets that are both searchable and rich with information – think about phrases or topics related to your business which would make great blog posts or website content..
Publish Quality Guest Blog Posts From Industry Leaders Published guest blog posts by industry leaders provide an excellent opportunity for law firms to showcase their expertise & attract new readers who may not have heard about them from other sources.
Not only do these pieces offer valuable insights into legal issues but they also demonstrate professionalism and credibility – two key factors when attracting new clients.
Guest blogs should be carefully considered before being published- make sure that the blogger is someone respected within the legal community, has experience writing about legal subjects, and is comfortable being quoted extensively in relation to their article topic.
Let us know about your law firm SEO
We’d love to hear about your SEO efforts for your law firm and what tactics you are using successfully – or even unsuccessfully.
Implementing strategies such as optimizing your website for more visibility, using local SEO tactics to reach a wider audience, leveraging social media platforms for content & brand building, monitoring analytics reports for improving performance, and creating relevant quality content will help position you on top of search engine rankings.
With these tools in hand and consistent effort over time in regard to law firm SEO efforts will allow you to enjoy increased traffic from potential clients looking for legal assistance.
Author –
Ben Thomson is an experienced SEO and content marketing expert who has consulted and written about legal marketing and legal SEO for a number of publications, including LawFuel. He last wrote on content marketing here. He may be contacted at webtrafficrules@gmail.com
