For just about any industry today, there are SEO techniques that can improve a company’s visibility on Google, as long as they’re applied in an industry-specific way. Here’s how to apply these techniques for your law firm.
Keyword research
In general, you’ll need to find keywords that are relevant, generate steady traffic, and have levels of competition that are achievable. Professional tools you can use include:
Note: You typically need to have a paid subscription to use these tools, although some companies may offer free trials.
Then, rather than simply trying to rank for “attorney,” which would be extremely challenging, you’ll want to rank for more precise terms that specifically describe the services you offer. In other words, you’ll need relevant, targeted keywords with commercial intent.
Let’s say you’re a real estate attorney, you specialize in escrow closings, and you practice in New Jersey. Through keyword research, you discover that 22,000 people a month search in Google on “real estate attorney,” so it makes sense to optimize your site for that term along with “New Jersey real estate attorney.”
Digging in deeper, additional targeted phrases include “real estate closing attorney” with 590 monthly searches, and “New Jersey real estate closing attorney” with 50. (Although 50 searches may seem small compared to 22,000, that keyword precisely targets what you do and where you do it, so it can be invaluable.)
Also, look for keywords that ask questions implying a need for services, such as “How much does a real estate attorney cost?” with 320 monthly searches. And for your blog posts, white papers, case studies, and so forth, find relevant keywords with research intent. These often start with “why” or “how,” or as in this real-life example, with “do”: “Do you need an attorney to close on a house?”
Content creation
You’ll need to regularly create fresh, audience-relevant content that supports your keyword strategy. Optimize both your content and corresponding back-end tags on your web pages and blog posts.
Web pages include your home page, but go far beyond that. Make sure to create quality, optimized service pages for every service you offer, as well as an overall service landing page that links to each of your more specific service pages. Also create an “About Us” page that will capture site visitors’ attention, and on every page there should be contact information to make it super easy to contact you.
Because Google has a “freshness” ranking signal, sites with frequently updated content can be rewarded, and blogging is the ideal vehicle for this. In addition, blog posts allow you to target more research-based keywords.
For our New Jersey real estate attorney example, blog post topics may include:
- What Does a Real Estate Attorney Do? (320 monthly searches)
- How Much Are Closing Costs on a House? (2,400 monthly searches)
- How Much Does a Real Estate Attorney Cost? (320 monthly searches)
Long-form posts (2,000 words and more) perform better in Google, overall, so include in-depth posts as part of your blogging mix. At the end of each post, you can include a call to action about contacting you for your services.
Local SEO
When you’re more successful at local SEO than your competitors, this means your law firm will appear in Google’s coveted local 3-pack for your geography. Let’s say you’re headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. If so, then you would want to have your listing visibly appear in conjunction with the Google Map that comes up when people search on “Jersey City real estate attorneys.” In other words, you want to appear in Google’s 3-pack.