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How to Take Advantage of Local SEO for Law Firms

Expert Tips For How to Take Advantage of Local SEO for Law Firms

The legal field can be tricky to navigate, but with the help of localized SEO strategies, it doesn’t have to be. Local search engine optimization (SEO) is a process that helps law firms rank higher in organic searches for certain locations. It differs from traditional SEO because it focuses on specific geographic areas rather than keywords and phrases. While it may seem intimidating at first glance, local SEO is quite simple—and it can be an incredibly effective strategy for generating leads and new business opportunities for your firm! 

Understanding Local Lawyer SEO 

If you’ve never heard of local SEO, that’s okay. It’s a relatively new form of online marketing—and one that has the potential to be especially helpful for law firms. The basic idea behind local SEO is simple: it allows you to rank highly in Google searches when someone types in your city’s name or zip code while searching for legal services. Search query examples are “lawyers near me” or “Dallas law firms.” 

While this may sound similar to traditional paid advertising, there are some key differences. First, with paid ads (such as those on Google AdWords), you pay every time someone clicks on your ad and visits your website. With local SEO, there are no costs associated with each visit—as long as the person typing in their information correctly matches what they’re looking for. Second, paid ads tend to appear at the top of search results based on how much advertisers have spent; local SEO means appearing at the top simply because people want what you offer nearby! 

Start With Your Google My Business Listing 

Google My Business listings are essential for local SEO because they’re how you get your presence on Google Maps. 

Google My Business listings aren’t automatically created for you when you set up a business, so if you don’t already have one, create one here. 

Once you’ve filled out all the required fields and submitted your listing, it may take up to 30 days before your profile appears on Google Maps. In addition to creating a listing on Google Maps, make sure that any other platforms (like Facebook) where people might look up information about your law firm also display accurate information about its location(s). 

Work On Your Law Firm Website 

Your website is the most important tool to get new clients and keep existing ones. There are a lot of things you need to consider when developing your website, including: 

  • Content—What kind of content will be on your site? Is it helpful or just a bunch of legal jargon that no one can understand?
  • Design—Is your website intuitive and aligned with your brand image?
  • Usability—Are all your links and features accessible across all devices and browsers? 
  • Navigation—Can people find what they’re looking for quickly and easily?

Get Your Website Reviewed by a Professional 

One of the best things you can do for your law firm’s local SEO is to get a third party to review your website. You may have a local SEO specialist or a local law firm that you’re already familiar with, but hiring someone with experience in both industries might make sense. If none of those options fit the bill, consider working with an SEO agency, like Agency Partner Interactive. Getting a new perspective will help ensure your site is up-to-date and functional and that your website architecture is optimized, especially if you’re new to local search optimization or updating an older site. 

Use Geotags 

If you publish any social media content, ensure you include geotags. Geotagging is simply labeling your posts with the location of your firm. Doing so is a simple way to increase your brand awareness and let potential customers know where to find you. 

Geotags for videos are equally important. When someone shares a video on Facebook or YouTube (which both use Google Maps for location data), their audience can see where the video was shot if it was uploaded with appropriate tags. 

Ways to Incorporate Local SEO for Law Firms 

You can incorporate local SEO for your law firm in several different ways. Local SEO, or lawyer SEO that focuses on getting exposure for attorneys in front of their prospective clients in their primary business location(s), is a part of internet marketing that many firms overlook. 

Optimize Your Website 

This will help people find you when they’re searching online and ensure that you’re properly indexed on search engines like Google and Bing. Most importantly, it will improve your chances of ranking well on those searches when someone types in keywords related to what you do (e.g., “personal injury attorney” or “criminal defense lawyer”). 

Create Geotargeted Content 

People will be looking for your services nearby, no matter what industry or location you’re in. A way to target this market is by creating useful content related to your location and services. Some content topics can include: “How much does an average personal injury case cost?” or “Which attorneys specialize in green card cases?” By answering some of the most asked questions your audience searches, you can establish credibility and call them to action. After creating your content, post them on social media channels like Facebook or LinkedIn so they rank higher when people search for relevant terms.  

To summarize, if you want to appear in local search results, you must optimize your website and content.  

Agency Partner Interactive 

Local SEO benefits many businesses but offers key advantages for law firms. Potential clients will always search for lawyers to take on their cases, and ensuring you’re top of mind is essential for generating new leads. A successful strategy means optimizing your law firm website for local SEO and publishing any content with correct meta tags, descriptions, and geotargeted keywords. Whether you’re just getting started with local SEO or have an established practice, improving your outreach and visibility will help your firm stay agile and successful. The SEO experts at Agency Partner Interactive have worked extensively with law firms of all sectors and sizes. We can help you develop a data-driven local SEO strategy to accelerate growth and drive revenue. Schedule your free consultation today!

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Law Firm Website Design Tips for Better SEO Rankings

Expert Tips For Law Firm Website Design Tips for Better SEO Rankings

You’ve probably heard the term SEO (Search Engine Optimization) before, but what exactly is it? The most common way to think about SEO is to increase your “search engine rankings” so that people can find your website when searching for specific keywords on Google or Bing. But SEO isn’t just about ranking higher — it can also help convert visitors into clients by making them aware of your services and assuring them that you are the right lawyer for their case. 

Understanding Law Firm SEO 

SEO is a process of improving your website’s visibility in search engines. SEO is not just about ranking higher in search results for keywords that are relevant to your business. A good SEO strategy helps you get more visitors to your site through organic traffic, which means people find you online naturally by typing a keyword or phrase into the search engine. 

SEO also allows you to attract qualified leads. The better your website shows up on Google, the more likely people will click on it, explore your site, and contact you for services. 

Determine Your Law Firm’s Target Keywords 

Effective SEO requires extensive research into your target market. The data then determines the keywords most relevant to your law firm’s practice area. To do so, you can use: 

Google Keyword Planner – The Google Keyword Planner tool helps you determine search volume and cost per click for specific keywords. It also provides suggestions for related terms that might be useful to include in your SEO strategy. 

Google Search Console – This free tool from Google allows you to see which keywords visitors are using when they arrive at your website (and what pages they visit). This data can help inform your SEO strategy by identifying trends about how people find the site and which topics interest them most. 

Google Trends – This tool shows how often certain search terms are used over time, as well as where in the world those searches originate from (including approximate locations). You may find this information useful when deciding on topics related to current events or legal developments to reach new clientele, but it can also serve as a good starting point when brainstorming target keywords. 

Optimize Your Home Page 

When writing a blog, press release, or any other form of content, you should always include the keywords you want your articles to rank in their meta title tag and meta description. Search engines prioritize relevant content and keyword usage, so when a user searches for one of your keywords and sees your content at the top of the results page, they’re more likely to click on it.  

Likewise, when designing a website or creating content specifically for your site (like white papers or eBooks), it’s critical to incorporate these keywords within your content format for optimization. 

This includes using them in tags and H1 headings throughout the page. Whenever someone types something into their browser, Google will use whatever text appears in your tag as the title of its search result page listing—in other words: this is what your extensive keyword research has led up to! 

 Scope Out Your Competition 

  • Use Google Search Console, Moz’s Keyword Explorer, and other analytics tools to determine which keywords your competitors are using and ranking well on.
  • Look at Google Trends to see what people are looking for.
  • Use SEMrush to see what keywords your competitors use so that you can outrank them.

Customize How Your Law Firm Appears in Search Result Pages 

If you want your law firm to appear in search results, it’s important to ensure that your website is optimized. This means using keywords and phrases that are relevant to your practice and including them in some of these ways: 

  • Meta descriptions: The meta description is the text snippet describing what a page is about when it appears in Google results. It should be between 150-160 characters long and include 1-3 of your most important keywords.
  • URL: What people type into their browsers to access a specific page or post on a website.
  • Title tag (H1). When writing titles for articles on your blog or pages about topics related specifically to law firms (such as “How Lawyers Can Improve Their Website Design”), use those exact words within each post, so your content stays consistent.

Create Keyword-Specific Website Pages 

For your website to appear on the first page of search engine results, you’ll need to use keywords strategically. Sporadically distributing them within your content without relevancy or context is not enough for search engines like Google to prioritize your content. A way to do this effectively is by creating keyword-specific pages for each term or phrase you are targeting. 

For example, if your law firm specializes in commercial litigation and personal injury cases, create an individual webpage for each of those terms. 

This will help Google understand what type of content relates to them and, thus, which pages should be included in their rankings. 

The title tag is also important because it tells users what they can expect from the content on that page. Ensure each page has a unique title tag to help Google surface your page when users search for related topics within its database.  

Track Your Keyword Rankings 

After implementing your SEO strategy, tracking your rankings with research and analytics tools is essential. Doing so can allow you to determine which keywords are performing well and which need to be adjusted. 

Tracking your site’s keyword rankings is relatively simple if you have the right tools. However, each keyword must be tracked separately because the results will differ based on competition, search volume, and other factors. If you need help getting started, contact Agency Partner Interactive. Our award-winning SEO experts can help you rank #1 on SERPs and keep you there! 

Improve Your Law Firm’s Local SEO With Your Google My Business Profile 

Google My Business (GMB) is a valuable tool for law firms because it allows you to manage your business’s online presence in one place. GMB allows you to upload photos and videos, create a listing on Google Maps, connect with customers and other businesses in your area, add new features like reviews or social media icons, and even monitor nearby competition. 

An Award-Winning SEO Agency 

Effective SEO strategies can help your law firm rank higher on search engine results pages, attract qualified leads, drive traffic to your website, and more. While SEO requires extensive research and constant monitoring, Agency Partner Interactive can help. As an award-winning SEO agency, we can guide you through data-driven decisions, monitor your keyword performance, and optimize your online presence. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation!