Local SEO for Solicitors & Lawyers : Get More Local Clients
Law is for sure a tough business; the competition is fierce and the larger law firms spend big bucks to make sure the web knows their brand. I know this out of first hand – my wife is a solicitor. Don’t let that intimidate you, though: if you’re just focusing on big keywords searching for traffic, you may be missing some easy wins.
Showing up in search results is a major aspect of any marketing strategy, but being noticed by the right customer in a location-specific manner can make a world of difference.
So, the task is to rank higher in Google and other leading search engines by focusing more on local Search Engine Optimization – so-called Local SEO for solicitors and lawyers.
The most important thing to remember when it comes to your local SEO strategy is that it’s entirely different from your regular “organic” search engine optimisation strategy. While your traditional one relies on things like improving your organic rank in search results, getting mentions about your brand online, and generally creating high-quality content that will build authority and trust, your local strategy revolves around one simple concept: your location. Optimize your presence on Google by creating content about your city, neighborhood, and onsite amenities.
What local search engine optimization is for law firms
The key to success in local SEO is to address all the factors that affect your rankings. This means optimizing your website and content for local search, building a good list of citations, and having a solid link building profile.
Organic local Search refers to the practice of optimizing your site to move upwards in the google search listings without paying for it, rather than through advertising. Using keywords in your site content, optimizing your title tags, and building geo-targeted citations will improve the chances of appearing on the first page of Google’s search results. Moreover, you can use local search tools such as Yelp, Google Places, Bing Places, and Foursquare to optimize your site by inputting accurate details.
If potential clients search in their local area, Google may show you some relevant results from Google My Business listings (seen on Google Maps), even if they aren’t looking specifically for a local service. They may also see results with localized search intent from sites like Wikipedia if they are looking for other types of information.
If you’re a lawyer, you may see ads with “Google Featured” providers in search results.
Google screens providers to help users find trusted companies for their product or service needs. We have partnered with companies that fall in a variety of industries, including child care, finance, health, and law. Users searching for these services will see “Google Screened” next to companies that have passed our screening process. These local listings will display some features from the “Local Pack” (such as reviews, address, and hours), and they will often show up leading the page.
Why local SEO is so important for law firms
Without local search engine optimization, sites that feature your services on search engines won’t show up in searches that are geographically relevant to your business. This means that unless people specifically search for you—using your practice area and the city and state in which you specialize—your listing won’t show up in search results.
BETTER LOCALIZED KEYWORDS THAN BROAD ONES
An additional tip: It’s of course less competitive to try to rank for localized keywords than for broad keywords.
Because fewer people are searching for [criminal lawyer in San Francisco], there will be fewer lawyers trying to rank for that keyword compared to when it’s ranked for [best criminal defense attorney].
HOW DO CLIENTS SEARCH FOR A LAW FIRM WEBSITE?
When we look at how clients shopped for a lawyer, we see that 59% sought a referral of some kind. Friends and family members were the most common source for a referral (32%), followed by referrals from a lawyer (16%) or another non-legal professional (9%). (A non-legal professional could include an accountant, real estate agent, or someone else working in a profession related to a certain type of issue.)(Source: 2019 Clio Legal Trends Report)
2 in 5 clients believe they will never look for a referral from a family member, 1 in 5 think they will receive one but never trust it, and 14% said they would never get a referral from another lawyer.
But finding a lawyer doesn’t need to be difficult. 57% (about the same number that found a lawyer through a reference) who sought legal advice on their own. And the reason most people seek a lawyer is that they have a problem that they can’t solve on their own. Furthermore, if you’re going to the lawyer, make sure you do your research and figure out if they specialize in what you need. After all, the last thing you want to do is hire someone who doesn’t specialize in what you require.
So how does this relate? It suggests that a sole focus on attracting and retaining new clients by networking and word of mouth only—while neglecting the other sources out there—is leaving lawyers with untapped business opportunities.
YOUNGER GENERATIONS DO CARE BY FAR MUCH FOR ONLINE REPUTATION
When we look at the differences between younger generations compared to older ones, we can also see that perceptions and behaviors shift with younger generations.
For example, younger generations and those who have never hired a lawyer before find the whole experience of searching for a lawyer more challenging and intimidating. 39% of Gen Z and 40% of Millennials admit to being intimidated by lawyers / solicitors, compared to 30% of Gen X and only 20% of Boomers.
- Younger generations are more likely to care about a lawyer’s website (49% of Gen Z and 48% of Millennials)
- Younger generations are more likely to care about a firm’s online reviews (46% of Gen Z and 53% of Millennials)
- Younger generations are less likely to value referrals from lawyers (47% of Gen Z and 46% of Millennials)
Key aspects of local SEO for law firms
If you’ve watched the progression of digital trends over the last twenty years, you’d know that SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is now more important than ever before for legal services. And now is the time to get into that. To be honest, the best time was yesterday. Local SEO, to be precise. With the emergence of mobile technology, more and more people rely on their portable devices for tasks like finding the nearest pizza or the nearest lawyer, of course.
Optimize your law firm’s website
The first step to getting new customers is to optimize your law firm’s website for speed, functionality, and search engines. Customers should be able to find your website through Google and other search engines easily, so make sure to invest in search engine optimization (SEO).
Your business needs an SEO Audit
This could include adding text to your site, ensuring that your titles, subtitles, and headings include relevant target keywords, and creating a well-structured, easy-to-follow website.
If you have a new website, it’s vital pay extra attention to optimizing for search engines. This will ensure your site is optimized for both search engines and people.
If your website is quick to load, easy to navigate, and can be indexed easily by search engines, you’ll have a far better shot at increasing your visibility in local search results.
Mobile Internet usage
In the U.S., Google says that more than half of all website traffic comes from mobile devices. This means that often users are searching and browsing online while using their smartphones or tablets.
As a digital marketer or business owner, having a responsive site is key to retaining customers.
To achieve this, consider creating a mobile-friendly website that has clear content, effective images, and easy-to-find CTAs.
OPTIMIZING FOR MOBILE USAGE
Optimizing for mobile is crucial for a good user experience. Mobile-friendly websites generate by far higher commitment, longer sessions, and a lower bounce rate. At the same time, good search engine optimization (SEO) is also crucial for success. Well-planned and well-written content will drive traffic to you – both via search engines and on social.
Writing articles - Content is king
Your website is your real estate on the internet. It works to tell visitors what you do, how you can help them, and how they can get in contact with you.
One way you can attract more organic visitors is by including localized keywords in the titles, meta descriptions, and body of your content.
In researching or creating new content for your website or blog, having excellent keyword search tools is critical to discovering the best keywords for search engine optimization (SEO). High-quality tools help you discover relevant terms and phrases that will rank high in organic search engine results (SERPs). Thus, these keywords will make your website more visible to people seeking a legal attorney in your area and will help your potential clients easily find you.
Targeting Keywords
If your law firm targets clients living in or visiting San Francisco, consider targeting keywords like “San Francisco criminal lawyer” or “criminal law attorneys in San Francisco.”
For instance, let’s say I’m preparing to launch a self-defense course. I can identify searches such as “self-defense classes in [location]” and “law enforcement weapons of choice”, and implement these terms into the copy surrounding my service/product pages.
In addition to publishing feature articles of interest to prospective clientele, provide industry-related white papers, online courses, and free evaluations to help deepen your connection with potential clients.
What Do I Do If I Get Arrested In San Francisco?
With blog posts like “What Do I Do If I Get Arrested In San Francisco?” you can attract prospective clients to your firm.
This is where a local SEO strategy shines in organic results. While people looking for business information may not want to have to look through Local Pack results, you still want to let them know that your result pages have answers that are relevant to their location when they do.
Once you know which keywords you want to target, you will be able to write relevant content to use throughout your web page that will help rank the page for those terms on search engines, such as Google.
But don’t do it to excess. People can often tell when a piece of content is keyword heavy. Quality over quantity.
Google My Business Page
How can I get my law firm to show up in local search results?
Law firms frequently struggle to appear in their city’s area code on Google Maps because they don’t have a strong local presence.
When updating your SEO strategy, your priority shouldn’t be generating more traffic. That’s usually just a byproduct of focusing on user’s experience.
And you may already know by now that Google’s “Local Packs” algorithm affects local SEO visibility. The Local Pack algorithm *now* gives consumers high-quality information from nearby locations, limiting the number of local listings seen in organic search results.
Gaining visibility on search engines and maps results starts with your Google My Business Profile. A Google My Business profile helps businesses connect and engage with their customers anytime, anywhere, and across any device.
Optimize your Google My Business account and improve your local SEO today!
To get started with Google My Business, simply sign up so that you get access to the platform. You’ll have access to full control on editing the way your business appears when customers are searching for you on Google.
First, add (high-quality) photos and details about your services, then information about you and your staff. Lastly, kindly let Google know where you are located.
Once complete, periodically review your listing to ensure its accuracy. Make sure your business is listed correctly on Google My Business because that’s the portal where customers go to search for local businesses. The better you optimize your listing, the better chances you have of being found by potential customers.
Online reputation for a business
When your clients leave positive feedback and reviews, it increases your credibility as a lawyer and helps encourage other potential clients to choose you as well.
If your clients are searching online and they see that you have high customer reviews, they may definitely be inclined to choose you over the competition. Let me show you some ways online reviews enhance your business:
- Shows you’re reputable and trustworthy
Helps retain existing clients
Increases click-through rates on your website
- Grows your network via referrals
- Generates links from authoritative sites
- Adds authority to your business
You should encourage your clients to leave you reviews on Google, Facebook, and other legal directories.
Possessing positive online reviews for your law firm can position you as a leader in your niche and help legitimize your legal services to potential clients.
When it comes to managing online brand reviews, one of the biggest challenges is keeping up to date with them. Online reviews are one of the best ways of building rapport with customers, but violating the review guidelines and responding with poor review responses can be detrimental to a company’s reputation.
A streamlined approach to managing online reviews and a brand’s online reputation should be in place. This includes proper monitoring of reviews:
ONLINE REVIEWS
Online reviews significantly influence consumers when they decide whether or not to choose your business.
A study shows 53% of consumers expect a business to respond to a negative review within a week. Responding to all reviews—both positive and negative—is essential to your business.
If your firm responds to reviews, it can help you show customers that you really care about your business and their opinions.
Backlink creation
The fourth and final step in your firm’s local SEO strategy is to build links from authoritative sites.
In terms of SEO, links from other sites are a “vote of confidence” and an indication that your site is a good authority on your specific topic. Thus, if your law firm has a high volume of links to it, your local search rankings can improve. (If you want to dive deeper, read here: why backlinks are so important).
A good place to start when looking for high-quality backlinks is by submit your company’s profile to relevant directories.
Or, you can write guest posts for websites that your target audience would visit, or you can interview people in your professional network that you admire or respect. If they agree to the interview, you can publish those interviews on your own website or post them on your blog.
In addition to promoting the content you create on your website, you should also get your content, e-books, and PDFs featured in other industry blogs.
Remember, focus on the quality of links instead of the quantity if you want to improve your local SEO and to boost your lead generation with more traffic to your website.
Use Google Analytics
Finally do not forget to start measuring how much organic traffic your law firm’s website gets, what that traffic does once on your site and how this compares to other channels. Google Analytics allows you to measure in detail daily, weekly and monthly improvements to the free traffic coming to your site from search engines.
Analytics is too complicated, too confusing?
Try Google Search Console – our blog post tells you everything you need to know about Google Search Console Insights!
How to find a good SEO Consultant?
SEO is a highly lucrative yet time-consuming endeavor. However, the fact is that many attorneys simply do not have the time or interest to study a new profession. If this is you, here are some things to consider while looking for a professional to help increase your law firm’s SEO.
Budget
What do companies charge for legal services? A good SEO specialist will most likely charge a similar hourly cost, if not less. And, as previously stated, SEO is a time-consuming effort. A baseline estimate of $300-$800 a month is a good place to start, so include it in your law firm’s budget if you decide to invest in marketing initiatives.
Where can you locate an SEO specialist for your legal firm?
Here’s the catch: Top SEO specialists don’t have time to work on their own websites, you might not be able to find them with a simple Google search! Request a reference from other lawyers in your network to someone who specializes in SEO for law companies.
What to look for when choosing a law firm SEO consultant
When speaking with potential SEO specialists, they should at the very least acknowledge the fundamentals described in this book. Inquire about the role of content, backlinks, and technical SEO, as well as examples of their previous work. Finally, check their references, especially those from rival law offices. They must comprehend the sector as well as the specific pain points that potential clients face when seeking the services of your law company.
Red indicators that indicate a bad legal firm SEO specialist
You should not anticipate or demand that an SEO consultant guarantee outcomes for your legal practice. If they do (“tomorrow you will be Number 1 on Google Search“), you should look elsewhere.
Be aware of an SEO expert who takes advantage of your desire for clicks, traffic, and leads. Find someone who is willing to describe their process as well. They should be honest with you about the time and work involved, as well as the results you can expect.
Make certain that you are not paying them to undertake paid search advertising, which is clearly not the same as SEO.
In the end—a Law firm needs local SEO strategies
If you’re not already optimizing your SEO, now’s the time to get into it. Utilize tools like Google My Business and advertise your practice on social media to reach a wider audience.
Local SEO has become a critical component of effective law firm marketing strategies.
At Commander SEO, we advise all of our clients to consider a website from the get-go. Here’s why: It’s the most effective entry point for growing your business, in terms of generating new business and retaining your current client base.
Optimizing your law firm site for search engines with local SEO will significantly increase your traffic and ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs).
If you need some help – contact us now!
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