An optimized online presence is vital to any attorney. It enables clients to locate your firm quickly and with trust, while simultaneously creating leads more likely to become clients.
An effective attorney SEO strategy requires using various techniques such as keyword research and content writing to meet your objectives of attracting new clients, outranking local competitors, and increasing click-through to your website.
Keyword research
Keyword research is an integral component of attorney SEO as it ensures your content strategy matches up with terms that clients use when conducting online searches. By conducting this exercise, keyword targeting with commercial intent becomes much simpler, leading to higher-quality traffic and leads.
Begin by compiling a list of keywords related to your practice areas and services. Next, use an SEO tool like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush to locate new keyword opportunities with high search volume but low competition.
Focus your keywords around commercial intent keywords such as “sue nursing home” or “tax law”. These tend to have greater conversion potential and attract potential clients more readily.
On-page optimization
On-page optimization involves improving various front-end and back-end elements on your law firm website to increase search engine visibility and bring in new traffic. This can include creating high-quality content, optimizing page architecture, using SEO tools, as well as making sure it loads quickly and is mobile-friendly.
The best lawyer SEO services will ensure your pages feature keyword-rich titles and meta descriptions, optimize URLs, check for duplicate content, as well as use image compression tools to speed up page load times.
An effective attorney SEO strategy prioritizes quality over quantity. Google gives preference to content that highlights experience and expertise.
Content creation
Law firms that implement content creation strategies as an SEO tactic produce informative blog posts, articles, FAQ pages and practice area pages that address potential clients’ queries and needs. Furthermore, their shareable content encourages other websites to link back to them, ultimately improving search engine rankings.
SEO professionals use title tags and meta descriptions to accurately reflect the content of each page with relevant keywords, while optimizing headers provides search engines and readers a clear overview of its contents. They may also include location-specific keyword phrases in their website content to connect with potential clients in that region.
Link building
Link building is an essential aspect of attorney SEO, yet can be an intensive and time-consuming task. Given Google’s ongoing algorithm updates, your law firm’s link-building strategy may need to be adjusted continuously in order to stay competitive.
Content that’s “link worthy,” such as useful articles linked by other websites, is the ideal way to build links. But be wary of using unethical tactics like buying or trading links as this violates Google’s guidelines and could result in penalties.
One effective strategy is to search for unlinked mentions of your law firm and request backlinks from them. Tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs can assist in finding these opportunities.
Mobile-friendly design
Modern consumers primarily search for businesses via smartphones. If a law firm doesn’t provide a responsive site that is user friendly on mobile phones, potential clients could go elsewhere to competitors that do.
An engaging mobile site makes your firm look professional, giving clients confidence that they can easily contact you. Furthermore, it increases engagement by making it simpler for people to find what they need.
Avoid large fonts, ads and other distracting elements which make a website slow to load. Furthermore, contact forms must be as user-friendly as possible – complex forms are an especially difficult way of deterring mobile users from visiting your site.
Authority building
Law firm SEO strategies that work involve combining technical and content optimization techniques such as keyword research, onsite optimization, link building and citations into one cohesive plan. When done right, law firms can rank highly on search engines while simultaneously attracting more qualified clients.
Content produced by attorneys must meet the needs of its audience while aligning with target keywords, be readable and engaging, and contain an engaging meta description that encourages clickthroughs.
A lawyer’s website should be optimized for mobile devices. Studies have revealed that page load speed on mobile devices is an influential ranking factor; slow-loading sites detract from user experience and could drive visitors away from an attorney’s site altogether.