According to a 2024 study, over 660 million legal searches are made on Google monthly in the US. This shows the massive need for legal assistance, presenting excellent opportunities for attorneys.
Today, more people search for services on search engines, and topping the results gives you more visibility to reach more clients. To achieve this, you need a planned SEO strategy.
SEO involves researching keywords and optimizing content and websites to improve your position on search engines. It will make online searchers and potential clients find and choose you over your competitors.
This article will reveal the basics of SEO and how to achieve SEO success for your legal services without being an SEO expert.
Summary
- Why Attorneys Need SEO
- Attorney SEO: Key Concepts to Understand
- Practical Steps for SEO for Attorneys
- Beginner-Friendly Tools for Legal SEO
- What to Measure and How to Improve SEO Strategy
- The Bottom Line
- FAQs
Why Attorneys Need SEO
The legal field is highly competitive. With over 1.3 million lawyers in the US, it’s challenging to stand out. As more people turn to search engines for legal assistance, SEO efforts can push you to the top of search results.
Benefits of SEO for Attorneys
1. Increased Visibility
High rankings on search engine result pages (SERPS) increase the likelihood of being found by potential clients.
People hardly go beyond the first page of Google, so the top sites usually get more clicks.
2. Attract Local Clients
Clients in your community can find you in Google Maps results, and you will appear in near-me searches.
Local SEO is essential mainly because your state will be your primary target for clients. As a result, appearing on top of local search results is vital to getting local clients.
3. Build Credibility and Trust
An SEO-optimized website with valuable content and quality keywords shows your expertise and boosts your credibility. This also applies to other citations on online directories.
4. Cost-Effectiveness
Effective SEO strategies cost less than traditional ads. Also, they compound over time, driving traffic to your site and improving brand awareness for extended periods.
Attorney SEO: Key Concepts to Understand
These are the standard terms used in SEO and what they mean.
Keywords
These are the words or phrases that people use when they make searches online. Keywords are essential SEO ranking factors and form the basis of the content on your website.
For example, “family lawyer” is a keyword. However, it is not specific enough, and ranking high in search engines for general keywords like this will be difficult.
Instead, longer keywords, such as “family lawyer in Florida” (a long tail keyword), will yield better results.
Common Legal Queries and Keywords
- “Divorce lawyer nearby.”
- “Affordable tax defense attorney.”
- “How to make a will.”
Search Intent for Legal Services
This is people’s intention when searching for information on search engines like Google. There are different types of search intents; here’s the difference.
- Informational intent: This is when people search for legal information; blogs usually suffice for this.
Consider this intent: “What does a personal injury lawyer do?” It is for knowledge only.
- Transactional intent: Transactional intent refers to active searchers looking to conduct a transaction.
For example, Hire a family attorney near me.” the searcher is probably in immediate need of an injury lawyer.
- Commercial Intent: These online searchers want to solve a problem and hire a lawyer.
Keywords with commercial intent include “Hire a lawyer for a car accident” or “Need a divorce lawyer in Manhattan.”
They may contain specific legal needs, locations, and action words like “representation” and “consult.”
- Navigational intent: This is for those looking for locations or directions. These searchers could be looking for names of attorneys or law firms and contact information.
Search intent differs for separate legal fields. Whether you are a criminal lawyer, mass tort lawyer, divorce lawyer, or personal injury lawyer, the intentions are niche-specific.
On-Page SEO Basics
On-page SEO optimizes your website pages and content for potential clients and search engines.
Title Tags and Meta Descriptions
- The meta description summarizes your webpage content. It provides a glimpse of your page on search engine results pages and can entice clicks.
- A title tag is the main title of a website page that appears on browser tabs and search engines.
Content Creation
These are website content, such as blogs, case studies, and FAQs, that target client problems. They answer legal questions and provide clear, practical advice.
Off-Page SEO
Off-page or off-site SEO is about your website earning respect and getting noticed by building relationships with other websites.
It involves other websites linking to your content, social media sharing, and online reviews.
Backlinks
The connections between pages within and outside websites are called links.
There are different types, but the most important is backlinks. You get them when other websites cite your web content. They signal that the content of your website is high quality and relevant.
Backlinks boost your brand visibility and authority and make you rank higher in search results.
Technical SEO
This aspect of SEO focuses on your website’s technical aspects, including its loading speed, mobile friendliness, and SSL certificates for site security.
Practical Steps for SEO for Attorneys
1. Google Business Profile Optimization
Set up your business profile on Google. Claim your Google Business Profile and verify it to appear on Google Maps and in near me searches.
- Profile Details
Use current and accurate name, address, phone, working hours, and other critical business information.
- Encourage Reviews
Politely ask your clients to share their reviews on your business page to gain trust and improve your rankings.
- Join Directories for Lawyers
Join online directories for lawyers like Avvo, Justia, and FindLaw to increase your visibility and trust and attract new clients.
Other directories like Yelp and Binge Places for Businesses are also good.
Learn how to optimize your Google Business Profile for more visibility.
2. Optimize Your Law Firm Website
- Web Service Pages
Explain all your legal services, highlighting the benefits for your clients.
- Easy Website Navigation
Make your website navigation easy for visitors, and the layout should not be overwhelming.
- Mobile Friendly Website Design
More people do searches on their mobile, so making your website mobile-friendly is a good SEO tactic.
3. Use Local Keywords and Write Content
Use Keywords with locations for your content, such as “Nevada family lawyer” or “Divorce attorney in Ohio.”
Write Content That Converts
- Blogs and FAQs
Create blog posts with topics that answer search intent in your locality, like DUI laws in Houston. Answer common concerns like “How to file for bankruptcy in New Jersey.”
Include keywords for attorneys and lawyers in titles, meta descriptions, the body of content, and your image filenames.
Use a warm and friendly tone in your writing with an authoritative undertone.
- Call-to-Action (CTA)
Include what you want your readers and potential clients to do. It could be to book a free consultation or call now for a discussion on your web pages.
- Consistent NAP
Use the same name, address, and phone number (NAP) across all platforms. It should be consistent with Google Business Profile, Legal directories, and social media.
Our detailed article on SEO for family law might also benefit you.
4. Conduct Off-page SEO
Off-page or Off-site SEO are activities outside your website to improve authority and credibility. It involves other websites linking to your content because they find it high-value and link-worthy.
Off-page SEO includes link building, social media marketing, local citations, and reviews.
5. Carry Out Technical SEO
Technical SEO impacts the performance of your website to improve user experience and search engine rankings.
It is a process that occurs behind the scenes (backend) and ensures that your website loads fast, is safe, has a good layout, and is mobile-friendly.
Beginner-Friendly Tools for Legal SEO
Several tools are useful, from keyword research to competitor analysis to website audit and performance.
Keyword Research Tools
Niche Empire, SEMrush, Ahrefs, Ubersuggest
These keyword tools can help you find the phrases people use to search for your services. They can also analyze keywords for which your competitors are ranking.
Local SEO for Attorneys
Niche Empire, Moz Local
Use these SEO tools to track your local SEO rankings and maintain consistency in your business information.
Find out more on local SEO for lawyers.
SEO Monitoring Tools
Google Awhotics and Search Console
These will measure the number of times, weeks, months, and pages they view on our website and their duration. This information helps you identify high-performing content and topics that interest your audience.
They also track and report technical issues on your website.
SEO Plugins for Websites
Yoast SEO and Rank Math
If you have a WordPress website, you can use these SEO plugins to optimize your content and meta descriptions and take the desired action, such as booking.
What to Measure and How to Improve SEO Strategy
Website traffic: This is the number of people that visit your website. It could be visitors per day, a week, a month, a quarter, or a year.
Bounce rates: Bounce rate is the number of people leaving your site after a short while. It implies that they didn’t find the content relevant or due to poor user experience.
This rate can help refine your content, website performance, and overall SEO strategy.
Keyword rankings: The positions your keywords occupy for your site in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Conversion rates: This is the percentage of website visitors that took your desired actions, like booking your consultation or contacting you.
Effective SEO Adjustment Strategies
- Take note of underperforming keywords that you can adjust to improve your search rankings.
- Always focus on creating content that suits your audience’s needs to get engagement.
- Refine your SEO strategy with data from Search Console or Google Analytics. For example, your web visitors might leave earlier (bounce rate) because of poor website elements.
More details on SEO performance.
The Bottom Line
Attorneys need SEO strategies to reach local clients, create relevant content, and optimize websites.
Stand out by listing on Google Business profile and other online directories and ensure your website is fast, easy to use, and mobile-friendly.
You will have to exercise some patience; it takes a little while for the results to set in. Do you need an effective SEO strategy for your law firm? Our tools can help you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is SEO for Attorneys?
It refers to optimizing a law firm’s website and other online platforms to enable more potential clients to see it on the front page (rank higher) on search engines like Google.
How Is SEO Performed?
SEO for attorneys involves conducting keyword research and creating quality content that answers important questions.
Other parts of SEO include adding your website to Google My Business Page, online local directories, and SEO audit of your website.
Do Lawyers and Law Firms Need SEO?
Indeed, lawyers and law firms need SEO for the following reasons:
- More Online Visibility: Many people search for legal services on search engines; SEO will make your firm appear in higher search results.
- Audience Targeting: Optimizing your websites and using the right keywords will help reach those needing your services.
- Clients Nearby: Local SEO strategy attracts people in your community or area in local searches.
- Cost-Effective Form of Marketing: SEO offers long-term benefits and is less expensive than traditional marketing.
Is Legal Marketing Part of SEO Campaign?
Legal marketing is a subtle and central part of legal SEO. The right SEO campaign can deliver several benefits for lawyers.
- Higher Website Traffic: A higher ranking on search engines leads to more traffic to your website.
- Quality Leads: SEO targets active searchers and those who need your legal services, increasing conversion chances.
- Enhanced Credibility: Your potential clients trust you, and you establish authority when your website and content appear at the top of search results.
- Improved ROI: Being more affordable, unlike traditional marketing, SEO brings you a better ROI.
How is SEO For Attorneys Different From SEO?
SEO for lawyers uses specific keywords and strategies that apply only to the legal field.
- Strict Ethical Guidelines: Lawyers must adhere to advertising rules regulating their content and marketing strategies.
- Emphasis on Local SEO: Most clients seeking your legal services are close by, making local SEO (Online Business Profile, keywords with location) essential.
- Content Focus: The search intent of people seeking legal services differs with every field.
So, SEO for attorneys uses informative content like blogs, FAQs, and case studies to answer legal issues and show expertise.
