A few decades ago, all attorneys had to do to keep their law firms afloat was to create commercials, get themselves listed on the yellow pages, and put up billboards. Then, clients would call them on their phones.
Today, here is a new reality:
Prospective clients spend close to 7 hours reading digital content daily and 97 per cent of them check Google instead of the yellow pages.
While the legal niche is slow in adopting new technology, you cannot afford to fall behind. This is why you need to learn more about the SEO for attorneys.
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How Important Is SEO to Law Firms
Search engine optimisation (SEO) grooms your online presence so your firm’s website ranks high on the search engines for specific keywords.
Plus, the way your clients look for, research, and choose law firms is dramatically different. The main channel is Google, which now dominates the search space.
- 70 per cent would rather have their queries answered and learn more about your firm through online articles rather than an advertisement.
- 91 per cent research on mobile devices.
- In the first quarter of 2020, 96 per cent of searches were done via Google.
- By 2016, a massive 92.6 per cent of people in the UK had access to an internet connection.
These statistics confirm that if you are running a law firm and want to bring in new clients, they must find you on Google and other search engines.
Why your firm needs a website for SEO
As a business, you need the best resource that allows you to answer user queries and show your expertise. A website is a central hub for your SEO strategies and the foundation of everything you put about your firm in front of your prospective clients.
Websites that rank first on Google’s search results earn clickthrough rates (CTR) that are over ten times higher than those ranking in the 10th position. The traffic percentage from searchers then drops by around 2 to 3 per cent on the second page of search results.
While sponsored and pay-per-click ads increase your visibility, your presence would rapidly disappear once you stop paying for the service.
On the other hand, SEO is an investment that includes backlinks and content that bring you an evergreen, long-lasting impact. The dividends of this investment pay long into the future. SEO is an asset your law firm owns and doesn’t rent!
Since search engines, especially Google, are getting better at understanding the meaning behind phrases typed into them, they are becoming the preferred tool of choice across the internet. With the number of people using Google to carry out research, it makes sense that attorneys should market themselves online. One way of doing this is by building websites that are designed and configured for easy finding.
Why care
Firstly, most individuals would rather carry out online searches to find legal services and advice.
Secondly, research shows that 74 per cent of prospective clients visit law firm websites before taking action, and 85 per cent utilise online maps to find your location!
Simply, your prospective clients are using organic search to find you.
A critical part of any SEO campaign is measuring the value or return on investment you derive in terms of money and time. So, whether you hire a lawyer SEO expert, use software, or do the entire work yourself, you need to be sure that your efforts will generate results.
Top SEO Tips for Law Firms for 2021
Many law firms now know the benefits of SEO, and they are investing heavily in it. This makes the legal space a competitive SEO vertical.
Fortunately, there are a few things you can do as you learn more about the SEO for attorneys. Here are a few tips to ensure that each of your strategies covers all that is required to improve your rankings on the search engine results pages (SERPs).
Doing local SEO
Local SEO is the optimisation of your website for local clients, meaning that you target and connect to current clients and prospects within your locality.
This strategy utilises measures that help you connect better with searchers in your areas of operation. For instance, instead of using generic long-tail keywords with little chance of getting picked by Google crawlers, you can have specific targeted keywords that are easily picked up by Google’s PageRank.
You can also make use of Google My Business (GMB) to ensure your listing appears first on the organic search results. Make sure that you verify your GMB and optimise your account by putting in your actual business name, physical address, phone numbers, and a description of the services you offer.
Focus on getting reviews on top platforms like GMB and Facebook. Remember to respond to all reviews on your profiles and re-purpose them for use on your website (with permission). Citations on online business directories also help with building your local SEO.
Link building
Do you belong to national, regional, or local organisations?
Are they willing to list your firm on their websites?
Building links is one of the best off-site SEO practices that you can follow. A healthy link profile shows Google that your firm is trustworthy, rewarding you with better rankings.
Get inbound links by getting quoted in online news sources and creating relevant, high-quality content. When people like your content, they want to share it and link to it.
Writing guest blogs also provides you with an opportunity to create a link back to your own law firm’s site. A common strategy is to contribute blogs on law-related news sites with good domain authority (DA) with a follow link. You can also write for websites that do not have attorney audiences, further increasing your reach to readers who are potential clients.
Keep tracking, measuring, and analysing
None of the SEO strategies works if you do not measure, track, and analyse your data. Doing this ensures that your online marketing strategies are working. It is also critical in identifying what you should change or eliminate.
While tracking your campaigns, monitor these metrics:
- Social shares
- Brand mentions
- Bounce rate
- Rankings
- Impressions
- Website traffic
However, do not make any marketing decisions solely based on these metrics. Instead, they are metrics that provide context to your key performance indicators (KPIs), including:
- Leads
- Return on marketing investment (ROMI)
- Booking rate via calls from organic search
- Total number of new clients
- Revenue
- Lead to sale conversion rate
- Cost per lead
Use these SEO indicators to turn things around if you are struggling or do even better when you are succeeding.
Other SEO tips you should consider implementing in 2021 include:
- Picking the right law firm SEO keywords
- Investigating how you rank up to competitors
- Making SEO improvements to your website, such as improving page speed and optimising the site for mobile use
- Optimising content on existing pages
Picking the Right SEO Model for Your Firm
There are two options to achieving successful digital marketing for lawyers. So, which one works best for you?
DIY model
This process involves utilising an easy-to-use website builder.
From a low price point, this is a suitable solution for a firm that cannot afford to build a website or those who are tech-savvy enough to spend time on the technical details of a site. Unfortunately, you are trading in cost savings for a bunch of extra work, missing excellent opportunities along the way.
General-purpose software can be extremely frustrating, especially when you are trying to put up a professional front for your firm. Furthermore, many attorneys have found out that investing too much time in learning the technical aspects and figuring out how to design their websites is an expensive drain on their time—especially when they come up with homemade-like websites that do not bring in business.
Expert lawyer SEO model
Working with attorney SEO experts makes it easy for your firm to succeed at putting out content that is favoured by Google. These professionals provide a service that is only for attorneys and their firms. The service includes producing an effective user experience (UX) design that complies with the latest SEO best practices and standards. Plus, you never have to worry about guesswork or technical labour.
Considering all that goes into SEO, it is easy to get a bit lost. This is hard stuff, which is why there are attorney SEO companies, such as Ardor. While there is enough information and SEO tips for law firms above, if you need someone to guide you through the process or a helping hand, an SEO team is yur best option.
Final Thoughts
An excellent way to grow your firm is to learn more about the SEO for attorneys. The legal niche is a booming business, and many lawyers are competing for the same clients you are looking for, and it’s unlikely that this will change anytime soon. If you want your law firm to rank, do things the right way!
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