Running a successful legal firm requires more than the ability to practice law. Today, you will need to understand how to appeal to your prospective clients both locally and online. If you are managing a small law firm and want to maximize your reach, both online and off, becoming familiar with small law firm SEO is essential. Small law firm SEO can make a major difference in how others find your law firm and learn more about the services you provide. SEO, or search engine optimization, is one of the most prominent tools used by business owners and web developers alike. Optimizing your website for search engines can significantly increase web traffic and, ultimately, the number of referrals or new clients you receive.
1. Define Your Target Audience
Whether you represent condemnation lawyers, injury lawyers, or you’re an auto accident lawyer yourself, you will need to define your target audience when developing your law firm’s online presence. All law firms are not created equally and do not take on the same type of clients. In order to truly hone in on clients in need, determine the target audience that is most likely to require your services. Consider the age group, income level, gender, and location of clients who are most likely to benefit from the legal services you are able to offer. When it comes to implementing small law firm SEO, you should not begin until you know exactly who it is that you intend to reach.
Spend time carving out the exact audience you intend to appeal to based on past experience as well as your case portfolio. Defining your target audience will prevent you from spending too much time on campaigns that are not likely to result in the outcome you desire. You can also define your target audience to help contact new clients or take on new cases.
2. Conduct Keyword Research
Conducting keyword research is another integral element in any online marketing strategy. Without keyword research, your website and marketing campaigns may fall short of expectations. Whether you are a personal injury lawyer, a green card attorney, or you are operating an entertainment law firm, conducting keyword research is essential for the benefit of small law firm SEO. Keyword research will allow you to not only learn more about local competition in your area, but also how they are utilizing specific keywords and phrases that are most relevant to your own legal services online. To get started with the keyword research that will benefit your law firm, you can use free tools such as Google Trends. With Google Trends, research specific keywords and phrases in various regions and industries that are most relevant to your own.
3. Learn the Basics of SEO
Anyone who is managing the small law firm SEO of a law firm or attorney should understand the basics of SEO at a minimum. If you are an attorney yourself but you want to know more about the process of managing an online presence, learning the basics of search engine optimization is highly advisable. When you are familiar with SEO, you can better understand when it is appropriate to implement keywords and phrases that will help attract visitors to your website or even to your social media pages and presence. Knowing when it is appropriate to implement keywords and when you should steer clear of overcrowding a page with keywords is also essential to prevent or minimize the risk of having your website blacklisted on top search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, DuckDuckGo, and Bing.
4. Create a Content Strategy
Anyone who is interested in implementing small law firm SEO should first create a content strategy. When it comes to building and developing a thriving online presence today, content is still king and should not be underestimated. A content strategy is not just a way to ensure you are able to provide your users with fresh content and useful information, but it will also help top search engines to crawl your website using virtual spiders. The more content you produce that is of high quality, the easier it will be to promote your website within top search engines. As your website begins to take place on top search engines, it will rise and fall based on the activity the links you share receive when users are searching for relevant topics or keywords.
5. Spend Time Focusing on Link-Building
Link-building is another integral part of building an online presence and boosting a website’s SEO, or search engine optimization altogether. Link-building will provide you with the ability to promote both internal and external links you choose to publish on your website. You can also use link-building in cross-promotional activities, such as when you are sharing a guest blog from another website or if you are publishing a blog of your own on a local site that is not yours. Whether you are currently working as an auto injury lawyer or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney, learning the ins and outs of link-building is extremely important for SEO purposes. Link-building can help you to spread the word about your website while also offering an opportunity to connect with others who have relevant websites in the same industry or market as you.
6. Expand Your Online Presence
For both business and felony lawyers, expanding your online presence is essential. Building an online presence should remain a top priority if you are interested in boosting your small law firm SEO within top search engines. Without an online presence, it will be increasingly difficult for traditional search engines to find and detect your website and the legal services you offer. Even if you are listed in traditional legal directories or online sites that are designed to help others find legal assistance, this is not considered an official online presence. Building an online presence means dedicating time to launching an official website and working to build a following with the use of various social media platforms today.
Tips on Getting Started With an Online Presence
Building an online presence as a lawyer requires an official domain name and website. When registering a domain name, choose a name that is relevant to your own name and the law firm you represent. Avoid special characters or odd spellings. Streamline your presence across the web by registering the same name using your preferred social media platforms. Use the same logo, color scheme, and taglines to help establish your brand as a professional law firm.
7. Share Content and Updates via Social Media
Once you begin crafting content of your own on your site, you should create consistent and regular updates. This will keep users interested in what you have to say while also incentivizing them to come back for more. Regular and consistent updates should not only be shared on your official website, but also on the official social media pages you have built for your law firm. Creating a content schedule can go a long way when you are establishing yourself as an independent attorney or if you want to promote the small law firm you represent. Once you have a content schedule in place, you can then begin sharing all of the content you produce via your official social media pages.
Which Social Media Platforms Are Ideal For Lawyers and Law Firms?
Choosing the right social media platforms to represent your law firm can make a major difference in attracting clients. Some of the most popular social media platforms used by attorneys and law firms alike include Facebook, Twitter, and, in some cases, even LinkedIn. Take time to research individual social media platforms to determine which ones are optimal for you and the type of clientele you are trying to attract.
When to Update Your Social Media
Once you have established a presence on social media for your law firm, you may be wondering when it is time to update and if there is such a thing as too many updates. Updating your social media at least once a day is highly recommended, especially when you are working towards establishing a professional and trustworthy reputation. If you have an active and thriving social media presence, more than one update a day may be advisable, especially if the content is unique and interesting. However, it is also important not to overwhelm your followers or bog them down with spam or too much content at once. Spreading your content over a period of a few days can also help to maximize your reach. This is often true, as most people do not access their social media accounts and news feeds at the same time. Dedicating a bit of time each day to sharing news and updates will keep current followers interested in what you have to say while allowing you to reach as many people as possible using your preferred social networks.
Types of Social Media Updates
When you are promoting a small law firm, it’s important to consider what type of content you will be producing and sharing. Are you interested in helping your followers to become more familiar with the current legal system or the area of law you represent? Are you trying to encourage your followers to learn more about the legal representation you offer and how you can help them with their legal cases? Do you want to build a professional, yet trustworthy and warm reputation in your local community? Defining your goals as an attorney or as a law firm can help you to best gauge what type of social media updates will likely result in the outcomes you desire.
8. Tend to Local Business Listings Online
Whether you are currently acting as a federal criminal defense attorney or if you are helping others with family law issues, tending to local business listings online is important for small law firm SEO purposes. After you have created an official website with your own domain and you have set up your social media pages, you will need to tend to local business listings. Some of the most popular local business listings can be found via the Google search engine. Adding your law firm to the Google Business directory is one of the fastest ways to ensure your website’s URL is being scanned and crawled by Google’s virtual spiders across the web. Pay attention to local business directories and listings to ensure your law firm is included, especially when you are browsing locally or regionally.
9. Source to Credible Companies and Resources When Producing Content
Anytime you are crafting new content or blogs to share with the world via your website, be sure to incorporate valid and authoritative links as your external sources. Using credible sources can go a long way when it comes to establishing your reputation as trustworthy and credible. Sourcing credible sources and companies can also help your website to become discovered by search engines. This is especially true once you have committed your time to creating a consistent and ongoing content schedule. Publishing content on a regular basis will allow you to boost your visibility while establishing yourself as a trustworthy law firm, regardless of the area of law you are currently practicing.
10. Offer Invaluable Content and/or Free Advice
Once you have worked to establish your website and online presence, you can continue building a following with invaluable content and/or free advice. The more value a user receives from visiting your website or reading your blog, the more likely they are to refer your services to others or visit your website again in the future. Providing invaluable content and free advice is also a way for you to go about establishing yourself as an authoritative source in the legal industry in your town, city, or region.
Anytime you are interested in understanding small law firm SEO, it’s important to first become familiar with the type of clientele you intend to appeal to and reach. Once you have a basic understanding of small law firm SEO methods, you can choose which tactics are optimal for your firm and the goals you have set in place. When you are comfortable with marketing online, you can attract the clientele you need to stay in business for years, if not decades to come.
