Ultimate Guide to SEO for Law Firm Websites: In the 21st century, digital marketing is the law. Just two years, ago, digital marketing surpassed non-digital marketing in revenue. It does not look like that trend is going to reverse.
Gone are the days when only entrepreneurs had to focus on promoting themselves online. Now, people in the medical field, people in manufacturing, and even people in law need to focus on their digital presence.
One of the most important parts of contemporary digital marketing is SEO. But how does SEO for law firm websites work?
This article will walk you through everything you need to know about SEO keywords for lawyers, so you can have the best law firm SEO you possibly can.
What Is SEO?
SEO stands for search engine optimization. It essentially means taking specific keywords and peppering them throughout your website so that when people search for lawyers in your area, you come up before your competitors.
SEO is important because less than one percent of people click through to the second page of google results. People are looking for new levels of convenience, and if you can’t put yourself in the line of success, you’ll easily get crushed by your competition.
As you can see, it’s different from traditional forms of digital advertising because it’s not necessarily advertising. You’re not jumping out and telling people to come to your law firm. Instead, you’re letting them come to you.
Why SEO for Lawyers Is Important
It’s important that law firms make use of SEO, both for the lawyers and for the consumers. When people, for example, get injured, they don’t look in the phonebook to find a lawyer, they perform a quick search.
By making yourself the first result that comes up, you’re making sure that the customer uses your service rather than the service of a national law firm. This is important because it’s important for someone to be represented by a local law firm. Most people don’t even know how the legal industry works, and might not even know there’s a lawyer near them in the first place.
SEO is also important for making sure your clients are comfortable. Most likely, they’re going through a rough time in their life if they’re seeking out your help. By focusing on SEO, you can leave positive reviews for your service, which will help them feel optimistic about their future.
Who knows, if your SEO goes well enough, you might even get written up in local publications.
However, it’s important to note the sensitive nature of SEO for lawyers. Let’s look at some of the best things you can do to improve your SEO without making any faux pas.
Getting the Right Keywords
As stated earlier, the most important part of SEO is keywords. However, for the legal industry, you have to make sure you get those keywords right. You don’t want to wind up with calls and emails from people who can’t afford your services or are looking for services that you just can’t provide.
To remedy this, make sure that you’re not using any keywords that are too general. “Lawyer near me” might sound tempting, but there are probably a ton of lawyers making use of those keywords. It also offers little to no indication of what your services do.
However, if you target your niche, such as say “personal injury lawyer”, “cheap criminal defense lawyer”, or “top car accident lawyer insert name of your city” you’re far more likely to hook someone who actually needs you.
You should also consider grabbing keywords that don’t necessarily relate to law. For example, a personal injury lawyer can pepper the keywords “work injuries”, “hurt at work”, “amputation at work”, and funnel people towards their site.
It’s important to remember not to overstuff your website with keywords. Google’s algorithm looks for people trying to cheat (they can’t have people just writing the term “best lawyer” a hundred times in a row on their site — that isn’t fair) and punishes those who use keyword terms more than necessary.
To get around this, make sure you’re generating real content that justifies keywords. Post pictures, and make your keywords a caption. Write blog posts that contain your keywords, and reply to people’s reviews on your site by peppering your keywords in.
Check out this website we found which focuses on criminal lawyer marketing, to learn how to handle your local SEO for lawyers just right.
Focus on Web Design
It’s important to make sure that people come to your website — but it’s also important that people have a good time once they’re there. In the 21st century, having a poorly designed website is like having a facility replete with cockroaches, peeling wallpaper, and a smelly carpet — it doesn’t reflect well only our business.
People associate poorly designed websites with viruses and scams. Even if you’re the best lawyer around, no one will give you a second chance unless you make your website look fantastic.
SEO is also measured based on how long people stay on a website. You’ll \ increase your chances of being found if you provide people with an engaging experience that they stick around to appreciate.
Make sure that your website features clear pictures of you and several of your lawyers. Have your contact information available (don’t make them dig for this). Make it easy for them to learn about your business, your philosophy, and read the bios of a few of your attorneys.
SEO for Law Firm Websites Is Extremely Important
In the 21st century, everyone needs to worry about digital marketing. Even if you’re in the law industry, you have to make sure that people are able to find your services in the digital world.
Understand what SEO is, why SEO for lawyers is so important, focus on the correct keywords, and hone in on your web designer, and explore some services out there that provide SEO for law firm websites, and you’re far more likely to beat your competitors.
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