The way clients find, and use, lawyers and law firms has changed dramatically. In the past, clients used referrals from friends and family, local advertising and word of mouth. Now, the majority of clients will start their inquiry by searching online, and whether their need is related to a property dispute, divorce, criminal matter, or business contract, they will usually look to Google for their initial search.
Because of this large shift in how consumers are looking for legal services, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) has become one of the top growth strategies used by lawyers and law firms. By having your law firm’s website show up on the first page of search results, you will likely get more visibility, trust, and enquiries. If your law firm is not visible on the Internet, you will lose numerous potential clients who are actively searching for a lawyer.
SEO is not only about ranking higher in a search engine; it is about connecting at the right moment to the right audience, as well as establishing credibility over the long term. When implemented correctly, it can provide a continuous stream of leads to your law firm at a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising methods.
Understanding How Clients Search for Legal Services
Before you begin working on SEO, it is necessary to know how potential clients search for legal assistance. Most users do not search in a complex manner. They will type in relatively straightforward questions to describe their problem or need.
Some users search for specific services like divorce lawyers, criminal lawyers, and corporate legal advisors. Users searching for these types of services are generally further down the purchase decision process and therefore will be more likely to convert into actual clients. Other users will typically use search engines to gather information — for example, what do I do after I receive a legal notice? Or how do I start a case? These users are still researching their options but can become clients if you provide them with helpful and trustworthy information.
Finally, another frequent pattern of searches is location-based searches. People often search for lawyers in their city or within their local area because, typically, the legal services provided by a lawyer will require them to physically go to see that lawyer or because they need to find a lawyer who has local expertise related to their legal problems. This is why local SEO is so critical for law firms.
By understanding how potential clients conduct searches for legal services, you will be able to create content for your website and effectively optimise your website so that it accomplishes what potential clients are looking for when they are using search engines.
Keyword research marks the foundation of an SEO campaign. Keywords are the words and phrases that people search for when looking for legal help through a search engine. By using the appropriate keywords in the correct manner, you can connect with potential clients that are interested in the services you provide.
Lawyers should select keywords based on their relevance and intent rather than simply searching through a volume of search results. Therefore, it’s much better for you to receive a ranked position for a specific keyword that produces prospective clients than for a keyword that produces solely general traffic. For example, a user searching for an attorney within their specific geographic area is much more valuable than someone searching for a general legal keyword or term.
Long-tail keywords (longer and narrower) can also be just as effective as shorter and less specific terms. Although long-tail keywords possess lower overall search volume, they also typically direct more qualified traffic to your website. An individual searching through a specific long-tail keyword is much more likely to make a purchase than one entering a short-tail term.
In addition, effective keyword research also involves compiling a list of all of your practice areas within that region. This will ensure that your content is targeting the right audience and that you will increase your chances of converting that audience into a client.
The next step is to optimise your site after selecting the proper keywords. On-page SEO pertains to developing your pages’ structure and content so that search engines more readily see your pages. When optimised, a legal website has a separate page for each service. For example, if you do divorces, criminal law and business law, these services should each have their own page. This makes it easier for search engines to rank your page’s content and for consumers to find what they want on your website.
The content on your site should be easy to read, clear to follow, and informative. Many legal subjects can be exceptionally difficult to comprehend; however, your intent should be to find a method for explaining those subjects such that an average person will understand what you mean. In doing so, you develop a trusting relationship with your visitors, resulting in them remaining on your site longer.
Another aspect of on-page SEO is title and description optimisation. These items are the first two things that users will see when searching for information; therefore, they need to adequately describe what is on the page and induce users to click through to it.
In conclusion, when your website contains well-structured pages with relevant content, you will likely improve your ranking and greatly improve the user’s experience while they are on your site.
For law firms, the importance of local search engine optimisation (SEO) can’t be overstated. Almost all legal services are location-based, and, as a result, how well or poorly you show up in local search results has a direct relationship to the number of clients that you can attract to your business. One of the best ways to improve your local SEO ranking is to create and optimise your Google Business Profile. This allows your law firm to be one of the results that are shown when someone searches for legal services on Google or Google Maps. The information that should be provided on your Google Business Profile includes, at minimum: Your law firm’s physical address; Your law firm’s contact phone number and other details about how to reach your firm; The hours of operation (Monday through Friday — 9 a.m.-5 p.m. type of information) and the services that you provide.
Another important factor is the number of positive reviews that you have from past clients, as these reviews help to establish trust and can have an impact on whether or not potential clients choose to contact your law firm. If someone sees that several (or many) other people have had a positive experience with your law firm, it will be much more likely that they will contact your law firm.
In addition to your Google Business Profile and client reviews, your law firm’s website content should also contain location-specific content about the services that your firm provides. Incorporating your city, town, or service area within your content will help search engine robots better understand where your service is provided.
Local SEO ensures that your law firm is viewed as trustworthy and credible when someone in your area searches for a lawyer.
Content marketing represents a game-changing way for law firms to establish their authority in a given area of law through helping an audience. Content marketing helps you educate consumers about the services you provide, answers the types of questions the consuming public seek out, and ultimately creates the impression that you are the ‘go-to’ person for any sort of legal help. Developing informational, educational content such as blog articles, guides, and FAQs about common questions facing consumers will create an audience of users who can eventually convert to clients or even build trust with through providing valuable information prior to the time they may be able to afford to retain an attorney.
When creating content, it is best to focus on issues that address real-world problems or issues consumers have encountered. For example, legal issues related to legal processes, using their legal rights, or common legal issues people experience can offer substantial helpful information. You want to make sure you provide clarity and guidance in a manner that is easy for them to understand.
In order for your content marketing strategy to be successful, you have to allow for consistent content development. The best way to show search engines that your website is active and valuable is to continually add new content to your site. Continually adding value through addition of new content will add to your rankings and increase your exposure within the organic search results.
Technical SEO deals with the underlying side of your website. This means that even though the general public cannot see these services, they still play an important part in how well your site ranks in the search results.
When building a website that loads quickly for its users, you’ll first want to consider how fast your website loads. If it takes too long for your site to load, then most likely users will leave your site due to frustration, and hence your rankings will suffer as a result. Your website also needs to be mobile-friendly, as a lot of Internet users now access the Internet via their mobile devices.
Security is another one of the big keys for a website. A secure website will earn trust from its users and from search engines. Having a proper structure on your website and clean URLs will help search engines better measure & determine the content of your website.
Overall, technical SEO makes sure that you are providing a positive & efficient user experience, with the end result being better rankings and satisfied visitors.
Building links refers to acquiring links from external domains (websites) back to your domain. Links provide signals of trust and authority between sites. When quality domains link to your content, it creates a perception by search engines that your site has greater credibility.
The most common way for legal firms to build links includes writing articles for legal websites, submitting business listings to directories, and being included in industry-recognised publications. The key is to focus on quality rather than quantity. Having a few high-quality and relevant links is far more important than having multiple low-quality links.
It will take time to build a solid backlink profile, but it will greatly increase your website’s authority and help improve your ranking in the search results.
SEO should never be treated as a one-time event; rather, you must monitor and improve it on an ongoing basis. By tracking your ranking with respect to different metrics, you will be able to determine which aspects of SEO are performing well for you and which ones may require adjustments.
When measuring performance, you should focus on key performance indicators (KPIs) such as how much traffic your website receives, positioned against how many inbound leads/enquiries you are receiving through your website. By continuing to analyse your KPIs regularly, you will continuously improve upon your success and make changes to your SEO plan accordingly.
Regular updates, enhancements of existing content, and technical optimisations are all ways to help ensure that your SEO is working in the long term.
When it comes to SEO for attorneys and law practice sites, it is important that the practices achieve visibility on the web; however, it is equally important to develop an online identity to draw in the appropriate audience or potential clients to convert them into paying clients (in other words, create a new client portfolio). In addition, consistent and ongoing efforts to conduct keyword research, optimise your law firm’s website, enhance local search presence, provide high-quality content and improve technical capabilities should yield a steady stream of new enquiries. Although you will not see immediate results from your SEO efforts, the long-term return on investment from these types of marketing strategies can add up quickly to be amongst the best possible investments for any law firm.
Do you desire to increase your visibility online? Grow your practice? Have a consistent flow of new clients using digital marketing? Having the right internet marketing strategy is essential. At Diama Technologies, we specialise in assisting law firms with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), content marketing and successful digital growth strategies that are specifically developed to meet the needs of the legal industry. Contact us today for a consultation and let us show you how to create a sufficient supply of new legal clients through the web.
