SEO for lawyers can be an extremely lucrative way to generate high quality leads who are well informed, ready to pay, and will actually take your advice.
Any good law firm SEO agency will tell you: search engine optimization, unlike paid advertising, requires a fairly substantial front-end time investment. However, it has the potential to grow your client base exponentially while keeping customer acquisition cost (CAC) very low.
To put it simply, SEO boils down to two main elements: content and backlinks. "Content" encompasses all the pages hosted on your website. "backlinks" are the connections from other websites directing to yours. If you have a lot of high-quality content and backlinks, your website will thrive. The catch is, what counts as “high quality” in the eyes of Google changes frequently. That’s why it’s equally important to understand other mechanics of SEO like on-page SEO, technical SEO, EEAT signals, and local SEO. This might seem like a lot of technical language, but rest assured, I provide detailed explanations including illustrative examples below.
Optimizing SEO for an attorney website is slightly different from other industries’ SEO for two main reasons. First, unlike an industry like ecommerce, you have to worry about your reputation and licensing. Second, it’s very important to have an understanding of legal concepts to be able to put together a content plan. That’s why it is important to work with a law firm SEO agency with people who understand the law and can optimize your website without sacrificing your reputation.
What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
SEO, Search Engine Optimization, is the art/science of making your website more visible when people search for topics, products, or services related to your business in search engines like Google, Bing, or Yahoo. If the internet were a library, SEO would essentially be tech companies’ algorithm run catalog system. SEO Content for Law Firms Content is king! In order to rank well on a google search, you need to have a page that targets appropriate keywords and related pages adding context to that page. In order to convince searchers to purchase your service, your content also needs to be useful.
How do you determine which pages to write? You will need to research these keywords using a combination of competitor research and tools like Ahrefs to ensure you’re targeting the correct keywords.
Let me break down each part of the above explanation.
Keywords for Attorney SEO
Keywords are the words or phrases that people type into search engines when they're looking for something. They range from primary keywords, the main focus of your content, to secondary keywords that support the main topic, and long-tail keywords, which are longer, specific phrases that are less competitive and highly targeted. For example, when discussing revocable living trusts, "revocable living trust" would be a primary keyword. Secondary keywords might include "setting up a revocable living trust" and "revocable living trust benefits," while long-tail examples could be "how to set up a revocable living trust in Colorado" or "advantages of a revocable living trust for estate planning." Short-tail keywords are broader, like "trusts."
The right keyword strategy takes many points into consideration including relevance to your audience, search volume, competition, and user intent.
Other keyword types not covered here are latent semantic indexing (LSI), geo-targeting, and intent-based keywords. These are all crucial because they give Google the right context to determine what your page is about and who to serve it to.
Content Creation for Attorneys
Creating SEO content for attorneys involves navigating complex legal topics, stringent compliance standards, and the high stakes of conveying accurate legal information. To meet these challenges, content must be written by individuals who possess a solid understanding of the law, user experience, and SEO.
While you can write your own content, producing enough content to achieve SEO results is extremely time-consuming. At Legally Marketing, we employ a team of SEO-trained writers with a strong grasp of legal concepts to write articles. These articles then undergo a rigorous review process by our team of legal professionals, ensuring the content is accurate, user-friendly, and steers clear of offering legal advice. If you need help with your content strategy and writing, please contact us here.
Law Firm Backlinks
Backlink building is like getting endorsements from other websites. Imagine each link to your site as a vote of confidence, telling search engines, "this content is valuable!" The more reputable the site linking to you, the stronger the endorsement. For your law firm, earning links from legal directories, reputable blogs, and industry sites can boost your visibility on search engines, making it easier for potential clients to find you. It's about creating quality content or resources others want to share, thereby increasing your site's authority and search rankings.
In the competitive legal landscape, effective link-building strategies are paramount for enhancing online visibility and credibility. Link building strategies include:
- Creating high-quality, informative content and resources that naturally attract links.
- Guest blogging on reputable platforms not only showcases expertise but also secures valuable backlinks.
- Broken link building offers a proactive approach to gain links by fixing the web's dead ends with your content.
- Directory submissions should be strategic, targeting respected, law-related directories to ensure relevance and authority.
- Social media sharing, though indirectly beneficial for SEO, amplifies content reach, fostering opportunities for organic links.
- HARO (Help a Reporter Out) provides a unique avenue to contribute expert advice, earning mentions on authoritative news outlets.
- Local business citations and participation in community activities enhance local SEO through relevant backlinks.
- Membership in professional associations often comes with the perk of a directory listing, further broadening your firm’s online footprint.
- Link reclamation capitalizes on existing mentions, converting them into valuable links, fortifying your firm's online authority.
Similar to content creation, link building is time consuming and takes expertise. If you want a solid link building strategy that’s executed well, please reach out to us!
On-Page Lawyer SEO
On-page SEO is like fine-tuning your website so search engines can understand it better and show it to more people. It involves optimizing the content and structure of your site—like using the right keywords in your text, making sure your titles and descriptions are catchy and informative, organizing your content so it’s easy to read, and ensuring your website loads quickly and looks good on mobile phones. It’s all about making your website as appealing as possible to both search engines and visitors, helping you rank higher in search results and attract more traffic.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO is the behind-the-scenes work that makes your website easy for search engines to find, crawl, and understand. It's like setting up a good foundation for your house so it's solid and accessible. This includes making sure your website loads quickly, works well on mobile devices, has a clear structure that search engines can follow, and is secure for your visitors. It's about getting in the code and optimizing the technical aspects that ensure your website performs well, helping improve its visibility and ranking in search engine results.
Why is Local SEO Important for Law Firms?
Local SEO for lawyers is like putting up a digital billboard in your neighborhood, making sure people nearby can find your law firm easily when they search online. It involves optimizing your online presence so your firm shows up in local search results, especially when someone is looking for legal services you offer. This includes claiming your business listing on platforms like Google My Business, ensuring your contact information is consistent across the web, and collecting positive reviews from your clients. It’s all about making your firm more visible to the local community, attracting potential clients who are searching for legal help in your area.
EEAT and YMYL for Lawyers
EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) and YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) are concepts Google uses to evaluate website quality, especially for fields like law.
YMYL refers to content that can significantly impact a person's life, especially in legal contexts. For lawyers, it means providing accurate, trustworthy information is crucial, as it can affect readers' legal rights, financial decisions, or safety.
For lawyers, showing EEAT means your website demonstrates your legal expertise, experience, and reliability through things like high-quality content, client testimonials, professional credentials, and contributions to reputable legal publications.
SEO for Family Law
SEO for family law firms involves tailoring your online strategy to topics that matter most to families, like divorce, custody, and adoption. What sets it apart is the focus on local SEO, as clients often seek local legal support. Additionally, the content must be empathetic and accessible, addressing sensitive issues with care. Unlike more transactional legal fields, family law SEO emphasizes building trust through informative and reassuring content, highlighting your firm’s understanding and compassion. Optimizing for relevant local search terms and providing clear, supportive information can help your firm connect with those in need of family legal services.
SEO for Estate Planning Law
SEO for estate planning law firms focuses on attracting individuals seeking assistance with wills, trusts, and estate management. Unlike broader legal practices, estate planning SEO targets specific, often long-tail keywords related to future planning and asset protection. The content must be both informative and reassuring, addressing concerns about complex topics like inheritance laws and tax implications. Highlighting your firm’s expertise, trustworthiness, and compassion is crucial, as clients are planning for their family’s future. Emphasizing local SEO is also key, as clients prefer dealing with nearby advisors for such personal matters, making your firm's visibility in local search results vital.
SEO for Immigration Law
SEO for immigration law firms aims to connect with individuals seeking guidance on visas, citizenship, and other immigration issues. This SEO niche differs because it often targets a global audience, as well as local communities of immigrants. Keywords may need to be tailored to specific nationalities or immigration concerns, making the content strategy more diverse. Additionally, the content must be highly informative, clear, and empathetic, addressing complex legal processes and potential anxieties. Trustworthiness and authority are crucial, highlighting the firm's success stories and expertise in navigating the intricacies of immigration law to reassure and attract clients from around the world.
Law Firm SEO Experts
SEO for law firms opens the door to a world of potential clients. A strategic blend of content and link-building, paired with a deep understanding of legal nuances, sets the foundation for your online authority.
Engaging with a specialized law firm SEO agency will not only streamline this process but ensure your firm's reputation and legal expertise are reflected accurately and compellingly. By investing in SEO now, your firm can secure a future where high-quality leads and low acquisition costs are the norm, not the exception.