As a law firm, you provide a service someone needs. Regardless of how much experience you have and how many cases you win, people won’t seek out your services if they can’t find you. They need to find your physical location and your presence online. That’s why it’s essential to find ways to get your office at the top of search engines. Use this article for techniques that can put your firm at the top of relevant Google or Bing searches to gain more clients.
Don’t Underestimate Local SEO
As a lawyer there’s nothing wrong with wanting national reach and acclaim. However, in most cases, your clients will be local. After all, if you’re a Florida-based lawyer it is unlikely that a client from Alaska will seek you out, unless they have a Florida home and you have such a reputation. That’s why it’s essential to understand the nuance of local SEO. The best way to use it is by stating your firm’s location on all of your online profiles such as your website and social media. The location will include your state, city, and any other regions you may serve. Don’t forget to include your areas of expertise on your website.
As you gather keywords, you should try to localize them as much as possible. Focus on phrases locals are likely to use. Take for example public transportation. People in Boston often refer to the train system as the “T”, whereas Londoners refer to it as ” the Tube”. In Chicago when someone says taking the “L”, they’re referring to the l train. Understanding these localized expressions can help you hone in on a local audience that needs your assistance. What if an accident happens on public transportation or other vehicles? Unfortunately, vehicle collisions, whether it’s with other cars, pedestrians, or motorcycles, are one of the most common reasons to seek a personal injury claim. Local personal injury attorneys can use this knowledge of how people refer to the train, other metro systems, or the most common type of vehicles used in the area when catering to clients who need assistance after such an accident.
When creating materials for your website, blogs, or social media, try to include the name of your city or neighborhood as much as possible. Instead of saying, “Call us when you need criminal lawyers“, you would say, “Call us when you need criminal lawyers in(city name). You may further localize it by stating your region, such as the New England region of the United States. If your law firm operates in one of the larger cities, such as Los Angeles, you may want to focus on certain subsections, such as Burbank, Pasadena, LA County, or nearby Orange County. You can also include the names of all these counties to improve your chances of getting to the top of search engines.
Use Online Business Listings
Don’t waste your chance to claim your spot in online business directories. There are platforms like Google My Business that will improve your law firm’s visibility. As long as you properly fill in as much information as possible, you increase your chances of appearing at the top of search engines when people use such a site. When you’re using the Google My Business platform, always have your company name, full address, phone number, and website address. The more information that appears the higher you’re likely to rank. It can also help get reviews when people use your services. The better reviews you have, the more stars will appear alongside your name. As a result, you’ll be able to rank higher at the top of search engines.
Get Social
As a lawyer, don’t make the mistake of thinking you don’t need to use social media. Social media has proven to be a necessary resource for businesses throughout several industries to market themselves. Between LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, among others, there are different clientele you can tap into. Social media is available around the world. Even if you’re focused on localized SEO you can still build your reputation beyond your local city-state or even country boundaries. One of the best ways to do so is by utilizing the appeal and access of social media sites. It doesn’t take long to set up a social media website. As a busy law firm, you don’t even have to run it on your own. Just like with your website, you can hire a professional team of marketers who can build and manage your social profile for you. Plus, once you go viral on social media, it’s easy to go to the top of search engines.
Don’t be afraid to use your expertise in your particular legal field to comment on relevant social issues. For example, an injury attorney may comment on ways to prevent accidents due to negligence. In recent news, one of the most tragic events to happen was the Baltimore bridge collapse. There’s always a celebrity you’re going through a divorce. That may be a time for professional divorce lawyers to chime in on something relevant to the case. They may comment on Twitter or TikTok by giving other couples tips on how to avoid acrimony in divorce through mediation. A foreclosure defense law firm can give very timely information to many Americans who are suffering through a housing crisis. It’s a good time to give advice on how to avoid foreclosure or the steps to take in case it happens to you. The web and social media posts related to foreclosure or local bankruptcy attorney help will likely help a law firm be at the top of search engines due to things happening in the economy at the moment.
Create social media profiles but don’t let them become dormant. Even if you publish a few great posts that people respond to, they’re not going to keep coming back if you don’t keep them updated. As mentioned, it’s understood that law firms are busy as you’re dealing with clients and research. If you don’t have a designated social media person on staff, it’s essential to hire outside help. There are plenty of digital marketing firms that can take on this load from you. Now, there are even specialized marketing firms that cater to the legal industry. With digital marketing experts to handle social media posts, and tags, and create content relevant to public searches and concerns, you’ll have someone to help you rise to the top of search engines and stay there.
Focus on Quality
The good thing about law firms is they provide necessary services to many individuals in businesses. You have a service that people may need for several reasons, ranging from organizing their estate, fighting for child custody, handling a personal injury case, or adopting a child. These are all very important issues that require valid information that pertains cities different ones. You can easily reach to the top of search engines when you provide quality content that can be backed up. You can use contact based on your experience in the courtroom. Focus on relevant cases that may be happening. The more relevant and informative you are, the more likely you are to have people return to your social media and websites. If you’re not sure where to start, search for frequently asked questions related to your type of legal expertise. You can address answers to these questions in various social media posts and extensive blogs. You can become a trusted source within your field based on a professional and high-quality online presence.
Find the Best Keywords
The Best way to organize your content creation is by sourcing relevant keywords. Keywords are the terms that your clients are already looking for online. When you use sites such as Google AdWords or Keyword Finder they often link the keywords in terms of their popularity. You can search for keywords that are relevant to the past day, week, month, or even year. As you find a list of the most relevant keywords, incorporate them into your website and social media content. After all, when you’re already focusing on things that people are searching for, it’ll pop up in their search results. Surround this keyword-filled content with quality sources that people keep coming back to and you’re more likely to make it to the top of search engines. Just be very mindful about the strategic use of these keywords as they should be spaced out evenly throughout your content and not stuff in one location. You should also be aware of the number of times the keyword occurs in the content so that Google won’t accuse your article or blog of keyword stuffing, which can work to your detriment.
Use Proper Links
If you go to any website you’ll notice that it usually has several links incorporated throughout the content. That’s because Google loves it when you use the right amount of links. Proper usage of links helps to create authority. First of all, you should always link back to your internal content. As you build out your website and social media profiles, you should have another internal page or social media post your work will link back to. You can also build even more authority by building backlinks. Backlinks are other reputable websites that people can go to as a source to back up some of the data you’re talking about. Some of the most reputable websites people may use may include Forbes, the CDC, NBC, Johns Hopkins, and respected research publishing sites such as Pubweb, etc. Therefore, when talking about child custody law, you may want to link back to groundbreaking child custody legal cases. Link back to your state website regarding child custody law. Include sources from respectable legal publications such as Harvard Law Review.
Speed Things Up
A good way to get rid of a user quickly is by having a slow website. That’s why it’s essential to have a web professional to build out your law website for you. Even if your website has the most relevant information in the world, you have to contend with the average attention span of today’s reviewer. They’re bombarded with other websites and don’t have to wait around too long for yours to load. According to Statistica, the average web user will click away from a website if it doesn’t load within 7 seconds. Why risk losing a potential client when you can keep things running smoothly with a professional web developer’s help? Another way your web developer can help you is by ensuring your website is optimized for mobile devices. These days some people use their mobile devices as much as or more than their regular computers. Web mobile devices provide opportunities for people to search for information on the go. A woman being abused may be on the run and not have access to a regular computer at the moment, therefore her mobile phone may be the only way for her to quickly find a domestic violence lawyer to help. Because search engines favor a good mobile experience, this optimization is a fast track to reaching the top of search engines.
Have a Maintenance Schedule
As a law firm, you understand the importance of staying on schedule. When you keep the same respect for your web and social media content, you increase your chances of ranking high. As mentioned, customers want to see relevant content. If the content has aged, and you haven’t posted anything since viewers may be less likely to trust it and focus on a legal website that does have more recent information. What if someone is looking for a workers compensation lawyer, but you haven’t posted anything in the past two years? They’re much more likely to opt for somebody who has had a recent posting in the past couple of weeks. Your web upkeep should ensure all of your links are still valid. Switch out those deadlinks for relevant live ones. Check all site functionality continues to work. People should be able to navigate through your navigation bar. The website should work across various platforms and devices.
Whether someone needs a defense attorney or estate lawyer, they want legal services quickly and efficiently. Therefore, it’s up to your law firm to ensure you have the right information presented in a way people will take seriously. Remember, your web and mobile presence may be the first introduction to you before a consultation. Reaching the top of search engines is the way to reach most clients in a fast manner. Hopefully, this article has given you useful insight into increasing your online impact, so people can find you and take advantage of your legal expertise.