We scale organic traffic, get more leads, and drive business growth for ambitious attorneys. Our SEO services have helped attorneys rank in the top spots for keywords like:
- Criminal Defense Attorney Dumas
- Edinburgh Car Accident Lawyer
- Medical Malpractice Lawyer Pittsburgh
- Georgia Workers Compensation Lawyer
Why Do Attorneys Even Need SEO?
People looking for legal representation are searching for law firms online. You want to show up at the top of relevant search results so that they contact you, and consider your firm’s legal services. The key to get qualified leads via SEO though is to target the right keywords your prospective clients are searching for.
Law Firm SEO vs. Other Marketing Tactics
Attorney SEO is a digital marketing tactic that involves optimizing and promoting a law firm to increase the visibility of its assets—typically a website and a Google Business Profile—in search engine results pages (SERPs). It’s a slow burn that can typically starts giving an ROI over a period of 6 months (or even more).
- If you want instant results, pay per click marketing tactics (such as Google ads) may make more sense.
- If you’re investing in traditional law firm marketing tactics such as TV advertising, or event sponsorships, SEO can layer nicely on top.
Once it starts working, SEO marketing can scale at a fractional cost. It can land your firm more and higher quality cases than any other tactic. However, especially with the new Google updates to fight AI spam, keeping up with its algorithm can be time consuming.
How Does SEO Work for Law Firms?
Search engine optimization involves a lot of moving pieces. Let’s look at the combination of strategies you need to execute to achieve SEO success.
Local SEO
As a local business, attorneys can double dip in SERPs: cracking top search engine rankings in both organic search results and Google maps. A sound local search strategy incorporates both of these.
Begin here:
- Optimize your Google Business Profile (earlier called Google My Business)
- Get reviews and testimonials from past clients on your profile
- Ensure you have a consistent name, address, phone number, and website (NAP + W) across local listings and social media
Keep learning: Local SEO for Law Firms
Keyword Research
Is “legal services in New York (or your city)” the only right keyword to target on your website? Well, many people may search for something related to your practice area. Content marketing calls for understanding your target audience and interjecting their journey at every stage to build trust.
Your prospects may search for something like, “family law advice in NYC” if you’re a family law firm. Or “dog bite lawyer in New Jersey” if they are looking for such services. You ideally want to appear in SERPs for as many such relevant phrases as possible.
Keyword research using tools such as Ahrefs can help you find them.
Begin here:
- Use tools such as Ahrefs or SEMRush to find low-difficulty keywords related to your legal practice that you can target
- Understand the difference between high-intent and low-intent keywords
- Plug your competitor’s website in Ahrefs and find the keyword they rank for
Keep learning: Keyword Research for Lawyers
Content Creation
Your homepage can only rank for one main keyword, such as “lawyer in your [primary service area].” The other relevant keywords you found in the last step will need individual pages. Depending on the keyword’s intent, you can craft blog posts or practice area landing pages for each one.
Ultimately you want to create optimized content for all the keywords related to your services and establish your topical authority in the eyes of Google.
Begin here:
- Start writing legal content for every keyword on your list
- Use on page SEO tools like Surfer SEO to optimize your content
- Try to improve your attorney website’s E-E-A-T
Keep learning: How to Optimize Legal Content
Link Building
To establish your site’s authority in Google’s eyes, you need “votes” from other websites. Called backlinks (clickable hyperlinks from other websites to yours), they are one of Google’s algorithm’s most prominent ranking factors.
The more competitive keywords you target, the more backlinks you need to have your website rank on the first page of Google.
Begin here:
- Create a profile on prominent legal directories to earn some free links
- Sign up as a source on platforms like Featured for subjects you have expertise in
Keep learning: Link Building for Attorneys
Technical Optimization
If your website isn’t crawlable and indexable by Google Bots, all of the above SEO efforts will go to waste. Further, you want your website’s design and user experience to reflect your law firm’s brand.
Begin here:
- Use the search operator“site:YourLawyerWebsite.com” in Google to check your website’s indexed pages
- Use the free Ahrefs Webmaster Tools to crawl and check your site’s current health
- Get feedback from your website’s users if they can easily find the information they are after
- Choose a modern web design template that reflects your legal expertise
Keep learning: Website Design Inspiration for Law Firms
Measure Your SEO Performance
Are you getting any traffic, leads, and new clients via SEO? You want to monitor your campaign’s progress, relying on relevant metrics and tweak your digital marketing strategy.
Google Analytics is an excellent tool for tracking your website’s visitors. You can set up goals and also get an overview of your conversions.
Begin here:
- Set up GA4 on your lawyer’s website and monitor your traffic
- Use tools such as Ahrefs to track your keyword rankings and new backlinks
- Get feedback from your website’s users if they can easily find the information they are after
Keep learning: 6 KPIs for Tracking Your Lawyer SEO Results
