11 Things to Know About Law Firm SEO Services

Attorney marketing is one of those necessary evils. It's not why you got into the trade, but it's necessary to generate leads. Believe it or not, the average law firm spends 7% to 8% of its entire revenue on marketing alone!

Fortunately, with the right law firm SEO services, you can start ranking ahead of the competition in no time. Let's talk about marketing legal firms and how to choose the right SEO services for lawyers!

What Is SEO?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is how website operators optimize their content to rank higher on search engines like Google. There's a strong correlation where the higher you rank, the more traffic you get. Also, this traffic tends to be more valuable, as users tend to trust high-ranking results on Google!

Several factors go into an SEO strategy, but it's more straight forward than you think. Google's algorithm crawls and indexes a site and ranks it for various keywords based on what it perceives as the quality of your site and the intent of the user searching. On the user side, that's based on their location, previous search history, demographics, and keywords used.

Intuitively, you already know this. That's why you don't see Mexican restaurants in California when you search for Chinese restaurants in Seattle.

However, we don't always think about it from the other side. On the ranking website's side, Google is looking for your authority on the topic, usability, user engagement, and quality (not spammy) content.

Therefore, SEO for lawyers involves using the right keywords in your content on an optimized website. Essentially, once you build the foundation, it's a lot easier to maintain.

Keyword Research Is a Must

Keywords are the foundation of your strategy. How else will anyone find your website? Unless they're searching for your law firm's name specifically, they won't.

Consequently, the first job in SEO services for lawyers is the develop a strong list of keywords. This should include a diverse array of both long-tail and short-tail keywords.

Short-tail keywords include the obvious ones like "lawyer" or "defense attorney." These have the highest traffic but are also the most competitive. You may even have to compete at the national level for a keyword like this.

However, that traffic isn't always relevant. There are thousands of reasons someone may look up "lawyer." They may be interested in the career for themselves, want to learn about their history, or find a completely different type of attorney.

Conversely, long-tail keywords are highly specific and relevant to your services. Think of keywords like "DUI penalties in Concord" or "pro bono defense attorney near me."

While these will have substantially less search volume, the traffic they drive will be far more relevant and likely to convert. There's also a lot less competition standing in your way, making it easier to rank in the short term. We recommend using as wide of a variety as possible with these keywords for the best results.

With the right marketing services for lawyers, you can build a strong list of keywords to rank for. The more applicable they are to your services, the better!

There's Less Competition

Online law firm marketing is a notoriously competitive industry. However, 57% of businesses in the US still don't have any SEO strategy. Many businesses find it daunting and too challenging to start.

Well, that's great news for you, as it means there's less competition standing in your way. Well, at least for now!

The good news is that getting ahead of the competition can make a world of difference. It's much easier to maintain a position at the top than it is to climb from the bottom.

As a result, SEO is a great way to diversify your law firm internet marketing strategy and potentially find new ground away from your competitors. This can give you a major leg up when finding new clients!

You Can Integrate Your SEO Campaign

SEO is one of the easiest tools to integrate with your existing marketing strategies. For example, you can easily integrate your SEO campaign with your email marketing services for lawyers.

For one thing, every SEO boost to your website will ultimately yield higher conversions for your email campaign. You won't drive traffic away on an optimized site.

Conversely, you can recycle your SEO content in your email campaigns. Why not send out an occasional newsletter highlighting the new content series on your website with links to each informative article, video, or podcast?

Moreover, the same goes for your law firm advertising campaigns, social media, and more. A well-rounded and integrated marketing campaign will yield the best long-term results. Your SEO efforts will have a direct effect on these strategies regardless, and you can reuse or link to your content on each of them!

SEO Drives Long-Term Growth

SEO is the undisputed best long-term law firm marketing solution. Period.

The reason we say this so strongly is that building organic traffic is the key to long-term, sustainable growth. You've probably seen how expensive PPC for lawyers can be. Depending on your area, you could lose $5 to $50 per click (not conversion)!

SEO is entirely the opposite. It takes time to build, but once you do, there's no limit to your success. Ranking highly on one relevant keyword could be enough to sustain your law firm for years to come.

Also, let's be honest here. Organic traffic is necessary to build trust among your target audience. Many people are skeptical of legal firm marketing campaigns, so it's best if users find you organically.

Think about it. Are you more likely to hire a lawyer you see on a random ad when scrolling online or one that you found yourself?

Moreover, if you need to drive short-term revenue, a law firm PPC campaign is the way to go. Get in touch with us about our PPC services for law firms to learn more!

It's Not All On the Page

You may not know that a lot of important factors in SEO take place entirely off of your website. This is known as off-page SEO. Here are some important examples.

Backlinks

Off-page SEO includes backlinks, which are links from other sites to yours. This is how Google determines the credibility or authority of a website. Backlinks serve as a "vote" in your favor.

The more links you have, the better. The higher the quality of these links, the better. If you have local affiliates that would be willing to offer links, this is a great place to start.

However, there are better ways to build a long-term, sustainable backlink strategy. This mostly takes place on the page with a high-quality content marketing strategy. Essentially, you want to offer other sites a reason to link to you.

Link-building is one of the most challenging aspects of an SEO strategy. Google may actually penalize you for purchasing links, so building them organically is the way to go. For that, you may need link-building services, but more on that later!

Listings

Moreover, another important off-page factor is your directory listings. These help Google and users find your website, and they are a major factor in establishing your online reputation. Therefore, managing these listings is essential.

The most important listing is Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) or GBP. The reason your GBP is so important is that it can help you skip the line on search engines.

You've seen business listings on Google before. When you search for "pizza near me" or something similar, you may see a map with several businesses nearby. The same applies when someone searches for "divorce lawyer near me" or "defense attorney in Boston."

Even if your website itself isn't ranking at the top of the organic results, it won't matter if that's the first thing people see. A listing that appears in the top three on the business listings will likely receive plenty of traffic.

Consequently, you need to optimize your GBP. This means adding images, business hours, and filling out every prompt that applies to your law firm. From there, you need to remain active on your listing for as long as possible.

There are other listings that may apply to your business. Yelp, Yahoo Places, and others can help with SEO. You may also have local legal directories, which are well worth it!

Law Firm SEO Services Don't Have to Break the Bank

Finally, it's important to note that getting started with lawyer SEO doesn't have to destroy your marketing budget.

Yes, it's more expensive to start up than some other strategies, but the right law firm marketing agencies won't break the bank. In the long run, the costs pay off.

Again, not only does SEO generate new traffic from search engines, but it directly improves your website. Google's algorithm uses over 200 ranking factors regarding the quality of your website, so a boost to your SEO is a boost to user experience.

Moreover, your website affects your entire marketing strategy. Therefore, the results will pay off sooner than you think, even if you don't rank right away.

Also, you can choose what services you want! If you're already happy with your website, then you may want to implement a quality content marketing strategy. Conversely, if you have an active blog that isn't ranking, you may only need some technical touch-ups.

Either way, having professional help early on in your strategy can prove invaluable. However, you want to make sure you choose a marketing agency for law firms specifically, as they'll offer the most applicable experience. The sooner you get started, the better!

Law SEO Services Are All Different

Again, you can get many law firm SEO services at different price ranges. However, you can fit them into your existing strategy.

For example, if you already use HubSpot solutions, you can hire HubSpot services to get the most out of your campaign. Without the right HubSpot implementation, you may waste your money on the platform. However, the right services can manage your HubSpot integrations and ensure that your inbound marketing services are as effective as possible.

Moreover, with the right SEO services for law firms, you can build a high-quality website with an informative and engaging content marketing strategy. From there, building an organic audience and backlink channel becomes much easier.

Why waste money advertising for law firms when organic lawyer marketing offers a "light at the end of the tunnel" where costs greatly diminish?

SEO Campaigns Are Easy to Track

Tracking, measuring, and adjusting your SEO campaign is quite easy. Everything is on your website, so using free tools like Google Analytics is all you need. From there, you can track key performance indicators (KPIs). When you host your law firm blog on HubSpot, you gain even greater insight.

For most SEO strategies, the most important metrics include bounce rates, engagement rates, and conversion rates. However, you also want to know when you build backlinks, how your pages perform, and more.

Build Your Law Firm Marketing Strategy Today

Advertising law firms is an expensive business, but with the right law firm SEO services, you can greatly reduce your marketing costs. With the right lead generation services for lawyers, you can build a functional SEO strategy as soon as possible and start ranking ahead of the competition.

Fortunately, we run a marketing agency for legal firms with years of experience. So, stay up to date with our latest tips for your law firm marketing strategies, and don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or for help with your strategy!