To a certain type of lawyer, “law firm SEO” sounds like a nonsense phrase, like “football astrophysics” or “honest politics” – two elements that have nothing to do with one another. Understanding SEO is an important part of running a successful law firm. Let’s look at how to do it and why you must.
How did SEO Get Involved in Law?
Before the internet was created, lawyers liked to think that they got cases based purely on word of mouth and their reputation. But now, an important part of reputation is making sure that when users go to Google and type in “lawyers near me,” yours is the first name that comes up.
In a sense, that’s nothing new. The same old-school lawyers once daydreamed about working for the first law firm listed in their local White Pages. The difference is that now, thanks to technological innovation, you’re able to get yourself to the first page if you work hard to do so. Here’s how you can SEO-optimize your professional page so that when people are looking for lawyers in your area, your firm is the one they find.
Is Law Firm SEO Really That Important?
According to 2015 article from the National Law Review, when prospects start looking for a lawyer, 96% percent use a search engine. The internet is the most important tool a business can have in their toolbox, and one that is crucial to harness to your advantage. More importantly, 87% who decide to contact an attorney go on to a hire an attorney and 72% of them only contact one attorney. So, once you’ve gotten your business on the front page, you have a greater chance to be found by potential clients.
How Can SEO Grow Your Law Firm?
An essential piece of SEO is the use of keywords. For example, a user can type in “law firm specializing in finance,” and Google will generate several pages of the law firms. One way that you can get your law firm on the top pages is producing unique content such as blogging and videos. 25% of people researching legal topics visit YouTube during the process. For a lawyer who wants to become more involved with the local community and create a positive public perception, short and informational YouTube advertisement videos may be the answer.
What Does an SEO-Friendly Website Look Like?
Google prioritizes websites that are easy to navigate, with an intuitive drop-down menu on the homepage that directs the user to the answer they’re searching for. For example, under the “Family Law” section, you’ve embedded sub-categories such as “Child Custody.” The goal is getting your website synced up with Google – Google needs to read and recognize your site to show it to the user. That way, when a user searches “child custody lawyer,” Google will lead the user to your site.
Google also has an easier time finding sites whose homepages have a mission statement saying who they are and what they do. Break this introductory text up with images and headings, making sure to put important ideas in the headings. In general, you should be including an “About Us” page, a few pages that headlined with business-relevant specialties and subcategories.
What Are the Secrets of an SEO-Friendly Site?
A well-maintained site should be as clean and efficient as possible. The website should be easy to navigate. If your company has had a website for a few years, try taking small steps and removing old press releases and cluttered extras that may be outdated. You can also use Google’s free Page Speed Insights tool to check your website for lag. According to a study completed by Portent in 2019, a 0-4 second load time is best for conversion rates. Conversion rates are a percentage typically used to evaluate performance of website traffic. In other words, you want your website to be loading completely and immediately if you want to capture the user’s attention. The first five seconds of page-load time have the highest impact on conversion rates, and website conversion rates drop by an average of 4.42% with each additional second. Ideally, you should be aiming for your site to load within this five second timeframe. If it doesn’t, there’s a 4.42% chance that for every second the user is staring a blank screen, they’ll be moving onto the next search result.
Make sure your home page has plenty of keywords that contain relevant information, but also make sure they’re used naturally. They shouldn’t sound forced or confusing to the public.
It’s also important to stand apart from the crowd. There was a time when Google would have prioritized a page that just said “Detroit area lawyer” fifty times, but its algorithms have gotten smarter. In addition to using keywords, structuring your website for a Google search, another “secret” includes adding your website to online directories such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Yelp, and Google My Business. Providing outstanding customer service can allow an opportunity for you to reach out to clients who benefitted from using your service and encourage them to post about their experience on any of the previously mentioned websites. You could even ask them to write a short testimonial of their experience to be featured on your website.
Need Help?
Let the SEO professionals at Cindtoro handle your webpage SEO optimization and utilize all these secrets to your advantage.
Visit cindtoro.com today to browse our services and get your webpage working for you.