All sorts of businesses have to follow best SEO (search engine optimization) practices to rank higher, especially service-based businesses such as law firms. Why, though? Service-based businesses don’t usually have a customer that’ll need their offerings every now and then. So, when the need arises make sure you are the first service provider they find.
SEO is Search Engine Optimization. It helps to optimize your website to rank higher in the Search Engine Result Page. SEO gives you organic search results which are not paid to rank higher.
But why do you need to rank higher?
Let’s say your law firm is one of the best in handling property disputes. I need a good lawyer that can give me legal advice on my property issues. You and I are a perfect match, but how will I know you exist? I’ll search on Google, “best law firms for a property dispute” The first to pop on my SERP (Search Engine Result Page) is XYZ law firm. I contacted them and you lost your potential client.
Don’t stress out! Follow my best SEO practices for law firms and get that potential client right away (well, maybe not right away). You won’t rank overnight. So be patient and consistent in your SEO marketing efforts. SEO is not difficult, but it is an ongoing process that needs a lot of effort and time. SEO in marketing is crucial, so it’s best to either get better at it or hire an SEO expert.
Up Your Keyword Game
All SEO marketing experts are going gaga over “keyword.” Let’s understand a few basic things for starters.
Why is it so important?
Because keywords are what search engines use, to decide what your webpage is all about. Moreover, the words that people use to search on a search engine are also referred to as keywords. If the two keywords match and your webpage has satisfied other essential ranking criteria (will be discussed further) then your website will rank.
Long-tail keywords and short-tail keywords
Long-tail keywords have 4 or more words. They let us be more specific and have less competition. These keywords have higher chances of ranking but will bring less traffic.
Short tail keywords on the other hand are 1-2 words long. They usually have high competition hence ranking becomes difficult. But they bring better traffic to your website.
For example, the keyword “Law firm” (short tail) is an umbrella term. It is a broad term hence there is huge traffic. If your firm is fairly new you might rank on the 5th or 6th page with this keyword. On the contrary, “Law firm in Washington DC” (long-tail) is more specific and your competition has reduced to law firms competing for SERP ranks in Washington DC. You can get more specific with “Criminal law firms in Washington DC.” You are reducing the traffic further and are also reaching a targeted audience.
When to use long-tail and short-tail keywords? Use a long tail for a targeted reach and a short tail for a broader reach.
Keyword Research
Keyword research will help you find the keywords that are most relevant to your website. You can do this with the help of keyword research tools such as Google’s keyword planner and Semrush.
How to use these keywords?
Use only relevant keywords and avoid keyword stuffing. Use only those keywords that are relevant to your webpage. Avoid keyword stuffing. Such malpractices are easily detected by search engines these days and are also a major turn down when the visitor scrolls through your website.
Add keyword in the first few lines. It is observed that adding keywords in the first few lines of the webpage helps in ranking higher.
Insert the keywords seamlessly. The viewers should not know your deliberate effort of adding a keyword. It should fit in the content on your webpage. Like we added our keywords in the first few lines too. Did you notice?
Use keywords in Title, Heading, URL, and meta description. Apart from the rest of the content, it is recommended to use keywords in the title tag and other headings following it. Add the keyword to the page URL as well. Meta descriptions are small 150-160 characters long paragraphs that we can see below the page title in the SERP. It is important to add your keyword in those descriptions to rank higher.
How many? In a 1000 word article, 7-10 keywords are ideal. Make sure to evenly distribute these 7-10 keywords throughout the article.
Google My Business
You must have seen when you search “best Italian restaurant” you get some results on top of the organic search results. Businesses use Google My Business (GMB) to get their business listed.
There are a few major advantages of using GMB.
- It shows up before the organic search results
- It shows results relevant to the searcher’s location
- It shows ratings
- People can add and read reviews (Word of mouth)
- Shows contact information and address
- Helps with navigation
People who are looking for your legal services would like to meet you. Hence they will definitely look for law firms near their location. Therefore it is important that you rank in the Google maps search results or the local business listings.
Moreover, it is an easy method for users. They don’t even have to open a webpage. They get what they want on the SERP itself. Since it’s easy many users avoid checking out the organic search results and proceed with these local listings.
Let me elaborate on the ratings as well. Ratings are an easy word of mouth that also makes your website more credible. Instead of giving your website the title of the best law firm, I encourage you to ask your clients to add a review. Make sure they write a good review and not some emojis.
Make sure that your contact information and navigation facilities are available. The easier you make it for your audience to reach you the greater are the chances of them being your client.
Fill out the GMB information accurately. Select the correct business criteria and location. Don’t forget to add your website link as well.
Create Quality Content
The key to cracking SERP ranking is relevance. The more relevant your website is to the search query the faster it will rank. Adding content that is relevant and valuable to your target audience will help you build credibility and rank higher.
Give your audience a reason to come to your website. Your content should have some takeaway for them. You can do subtle promotion here and there, but be subtle. People don’t like to see promotional content everywhere.
Start a blog
Starting a blog is the easiest way to bring more traffic to your website. Write blogs on topics related to your industry.
Blogs are a part of your website that sounds more human, hence it is easy for the audience to connect with your law firm and vice versa.
It creates more likeable and shareable content that will bring more traffic to your website. It is simple logic, the more traffic you have the higher you will rank. Moreover, blogs will give you a chance to include long-tail keywords as well. As a law firm, you could write on topics that will help the audience understand the industry better. “How to…” are one the best types of articles you could write.
Uploading blogs on a regular basis makes your website more relevant and updated to the search engine. How new your web pages are is also a criterion for ranking. Therefore if you keep uploading blogs, the search engine thinks you are an updated website, and it will rank you higher.
Another advantage that blogs bring with them is they increase the time people spend on your website. The more time people stay on your website, the higher it will rank on the search results.
SEO researchers have found that long-form blog posts tend to perform better than shorter ones. My best advice would be to give a variety of blog posts. Add long-form, short-form, listicles, infographics, videos, etc. The more you give the better.
With a blog on the website, you can increase the amount of inbound and outbound links. Inbound links are the ones that are liked to a web page of your own website. Outbound links are the ones that are linked to another website. Both are equally important.
Create Good Backlinks
Backlinks are created when someone links your web page on their website. So for example I link a blog from your website on my webpage. I have created a backlink for you.
Why is it important?
There are certain rules that search engines follow to decide if a website is worthy of a rank or not. If your website has a considerable amount of backlinks then it gives the search engines a green flag to rank your website higher. Think of it as a positive review or vote. The more votes you have the better your rank would be.
It is important to have quality backlinks. What does this mean? The website that is linking your web page would be a good quality website. If you could manage a backlink from a high-traffic website some of that high traffic will be redirected to you. Moreover, if your backlinks are of poor quality your rank will also come down.
How can you create backlinks?
Building backlinks for a new website is rather difficult. But after you have created quality content for your website, it can become easy. You can reach out to people and share your valuable piece of information and ask them to use it on their website and link it to yours.
Another option is to write guest posts for other websites. If you could write for a popular website your traffic will surely increase.
Get The Fundamentals Right: Technical SEO
Technical SEO helps you build an error-free website. It includes things that can be optimized in the back end by the coder. Technical SEO makes it easy for the search engine to find your website and then crawl through it.
Build a good URL
Make sure your URL is in lowercase and has the relevant keyword. Keep it small, easy to read, and avoid keyword stuffing here as well. Make your URL descriptive so that it’s easy to understand what the web page is about.
Optimize your website structure
Make sure that your website has an easy navigation path for the search engines to look for relevant information.
Increase the loading speed
Your audience is impatient. They want the results as soon as possible. A delay in loading the website is a major thumbs down. Use small images to increase the loading speed.
Mobile friendly
Make your website mobile-friendly. A lot of users use mobile phones to search for information. If your website is not mobile-friendly it will not rank in SERPs of smartphone devices. It’s better to have a responsive website that can modify itself according to the device used to search.
Get SSL certificate
You must have noticed some URLs start with HTTPS and some with HTTP. What is the difference? HTTPS is a secure platform. With the growing popularity of cybersecurity, having a secure website is a must. SSL is defined as “SSL, or Secure Sockets Layer, is an encryption-based Internet security protocol.” Having an SSL certificate assures your visitors of their safety on the website.
I have listed the most important things that you should do for technical SEO. There are many other things that you can do to optimize the technical aspects of your website. Here is an interesting read for curious people out there.
Use Analytics
Using web analytics software like Google Analytics can be of great help. You can keep track of your progress. You can segment your audience and make content accordingly. With analytics, you can develop different strategies to increase your ranking. It will help you study how much traffic is coming from mobile devices and how much from desktops. You can check if your backlinks are working properly. There are a bunch of other things that you can do to reach out to your potential client with a proper strategy that is backed by analytical reports.
Conclusion
SEO is great for a law firm. You can reach the right customer at the right time without wasting a lot of money. Though it requires a lot of time and effort. Marketing your law firm properly will bring you more clients. Leverage the internet to develop a good SEO marketing strategy using the tips we recommended and grow your law firm.
