Recently, a law firm SEO expert, Monopolists, has released a guide that could help optimize your law firm’s website’s SEO ranking. While traditional methods of marketing may still be effective, SEO is clearly the way of the future. Today, we’re going to discuss what Law Firm SEO is, how it would benefit your business, and how it compares when compared to traditional marketing methods.
WHAT IS “LAW FIRM SEO”?
SEO (which stands for Search Engine Optimization) is a method whereby you can increase the number of visitors to a website or particular webpage. The better your SEO ranking is, the higher you appear in the results of search engines like Google.
By using certain keywords in your site’s content, search engines rate your website’s relevance to a specific user query (who also enters keywords when searching) and then present those results based on the “relevance” (which refers to the SEO rating and keywords being used).
“Law Firm SEO” is optimizing your law firm’s SEO rating based on the areas of practice you are involved in, and the services that you provide. You will be using different keywords that are relevant to a law practice or legal services, but the overall process of SEO is still the same.
WHY DO I NEED SEO?
The American Bar Association Journal has stated in the past that almost one-third of legal services consumers start their search using an online resource. Online resources could include search engines, social media, blog posts, podcasts, and so on. Google has gone as far as stating that almost 90 percent of people use a search engine to look for legal services.
Regardless of what our opinion on digital and social media may be, there is no denying that they contribute significantly to a business’ profitability. A law firm, just like any other business, needs clients if it is to survive, and while traditional marketing methods may work, the level of access SEO can give you to a targeted client base is immeasurable.
By using SEO, you could appear on the first page of search engine results and even at the very top if you truly use optimal SEO on your website. Considering how many people use Google to search for legal services, along with the fact that 75 percent of users don’t even go beyond the first page of search results, having the top ranking would automatically increase client flow to your firm.
Therefore, while having a presence for your law firm online is a good thing, it is nowhere near enough to properly market your law firm. You need to pay attention to details and one of the details is your website’s SEO ranking.
You could argue that you can just pay for ad space and not do all this work, but surveys have found that almost 70 percent of users ignore paid ads and pay more attention to organic search results. So, by focusing on your SEO, and making it a priority, you can ensure your firm stands out in search engine results, which will attract even more potential clients who are willing to work with you.
WHAT’S BETTER? SEO OR TRADITIONAL MARKETING?
While traditional marketing methods are still in effect and wisely used, internet presence has clearly surpassed traditional methods. As explained above, the stronger your presence, the more people you’ll be able to reach, which ultimately results in more business for your firm. Let’s go over some of the advantages that online presence has to traditional marketing.
Traditional methods can have a wide reach but with an online presence, you are able to target and control which demographic is viewing the advertising content. Traditional methods will send out advertising whereas SEO will generate organic interest among users and potential clients and attract them to your firm.
Online presence also allows you to assess how successful your efforts are and lets you make tweaks in a much shorter time period than you would have to change a billboard or TV advert. Knowing exactly how many users you’ve attracted by a specific online advertising method lets you track your return on investment and makes it better as well.
Traditional marketing methods also cost a lot more than the online approach. Buying a domain and getting hosting services can cost you as low as $20 per year, whereas renting billboards and buying commercial time on a network would cost in the thousands! The cost-effectiveness of online methods is simply a lot higher.
Furthermore, because there is less human involvement, the room for error is a lot more restricted and running costs are significantly reduced. In fact, even with this reduced manpower, surveys have told us that leads generated through SEO have a higher close rate than traditional methods which have the “personal touch” to them.
Finally, there is the longevity of SEO. You buy ad space for a limited time, whereas content you have uploaded always stays there. This not only reduces your costs and the amount of effort you need to put in, but it also saves valuable time which can be used to deal with more important matters.
While there is no doubt that SEO takes time and it requires a considerable amount of time to master, the results are all worth it. The above explains the many advantages SEO has to traditional marketing, and spending some time to master the craft will ultimately help your business.
HOW WILL SEO HELP MY LAW FIRM?
The most significant advantage of using SEO to market your firm is the ability to be present around the clock, in terms of marketing, without having to divert any extra manpower to the task. This saves a lot of time and money and considering how cutthroat the legal profession is, any respectful attorney can use more of both.
You’ll be able to market your firm just as effectively as your competitors without having to spend too much money. As explained above, SEO would also offer you a higher return on the amount of money you’ve invested in marketing your firm.
With SEO, you’ll also be able to generate more relevant traffic. Optimizing your site, and by using the right keywords in your content, you’ll always rank higher than your competition in search results. In the process, you’ll be reaching or attracting clients which are relevant to your areas of practice and legal services.
Your clients would already know what they’re looking for and you would know what to offer, allowing you to offer your services in a much more streamlined manner than your competitors.
Finally, when you consider the fact that there are almost 1.2 trillion searches on Google every year (that’s 5 billion searches every day!), you’re bound to have more prospective clients if your SEO rating is high. We realize not all those searches will be for law firms in your area, but the fact remains that by using SEO, you have access to a larger pool of prospective clients.
CONTENT (AND BACKLINKS) IS KING
We can’t deny that SEO is an art form. It takes time and effort to see what works best for your site and generates the most amount of traffic. However, consensus tells us that there are two factors that play the biggest role when it comes to high ranking on search engines. These two factors are content and backlinks.
If your site does not have quality content, you’re bound to get flagged and your ranking takes a really big hit. Google’s algorithms are always on the lookout for quality content and are easily able to detect the difference. If your site has relevant, quality and original content, you’ll be automatically giving these algorithms the right signals, which in turn would improve your rating.
So, it’s important that you upload content which is authentic, detailed, and most importantly, original. Plagiarism is a big no-no, and using your own visual media goes a long way in ensuring these requirements. You could also consider dedicating a section of your site to blogs or articles. If you regularly post content to your website, it keeps Google and other search engines interested in you and it maintains your SEO rating.
Backlinks are just as important to your site’s rating. By having authentic and diverse backlinks, you add legitimacy to your website. However, you need to ensure that your backlinks are diverse and lead to equally quality-bearing sites as your’s otherwise your site could be flagged. Again, a significant amount of time and effort is required in perfecting the balance, but once the task is completed, the benefits will have been worth it.
CONCLUSION
We hope the above is able to help you with your SEO efforts. However, you need to understand that the above is a general overview of SEO and its benefits to a law firm. To reiterate, SEO is an art form and it requires significant attention and devotion to perfect. If you want to know some specific tips on how to optimize your website, then check out the law firm SEO guide.
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