Attorney SEO (search engine optimization) helps law firms and individual lawyers get found online by prospective clients. It raises a firm’s visibility on search engines, which leads to more clients. The core of attorney SEO is optimizing a firm’s website for the keywords people actually use when looking for a lawyer.
Why attorney SEO is so competitive
Attorney SEO is an extremely competitive field, and staying ahead of competitors means doing it correctly. Hundreds of law firm marketing companies sell services to lawyers, yet most do not produce good results. Before hiring an attorney SEO provider, keep a few basics in mind.
What should a law firm optimize for first?
Google ranks directories and FAQ pages. For example, a person searching for a car accident attorney will see directory pages and local firms. Some searchers click those, and others want to visit the firm’s website directly. A law firm should optimize its pages for all of these search types.
Keep contact information consistent across the web
Consistency across the web matters, especially for contact information. Check every platform for mentions of the firm and make sure the details match. If there are errors, contact the account owners and webmasters and update the content. Consistency builds trust and improves search engine rankings.
Build a thorough attorney biography
A comprehensive attorney biography is one of the most visited sections of a law firm website and is often the second most visited page. Beyond personal information, list any awards and accolades, since local awards in particular can boost an attorney’s profile. The section should be informative and reflect the lawyer’s personality and experience.
How long does attorney SEO take to work?
Attorney SEO is an ongoing process that requires a concerted effort and careful planning. Persistence is the key to competing with competitors and driving more traffic to a law firm’s website. The more effort put in, the better the results, but results take time.
Add a blog tied to your practice areas
Developing a blog for the firm’s website is an effective way to capture high search volume for keywords related to a practice area. This increases traffic and exposure in Google and improves brand recognition, including a stronger branded presence in the local market.
Create practice area-specific landing pages
Law firms can also improve attorney SEO by creating practice area-specific landing pages. These pages should give visitors enough information to decide whether to contact the firm. Adding this element can dramatically increase visibility and improve the conversion rate of visitors.
Use video and schema markup
Video is another way to increase a law firm’s visibility. Adding video content to the website and using schema markup to customize the thumbnail image in Google search makes the site stand out and works well for mobile web users. Schema markup is also important for attorney websites because it can put extra information into search results, raising the chance that people will call the firm.
Show up in Google’s local results
Along with mobile optimization, an attorney SEO strategy should make sure the firm’s website appears in Google’s local results. A law firm’s page ranking at the top of local search results for keywords tied to its practice areas drives the majority of new clients and leads. Ranking in the top spot produces a large volume of calls.