Over 25% of users click the first organic result in Google Search. When the internet was just starting out, there weren’t as many pages and sites to sift through, so online search rankings didn’t matter as much. SEO grew in popularity as people tried to figure out different ways to find the most relevant information on the internet.
SEO for Lawyers is no different. As a lawyer, you’re not only competing with your local competition online, but any lawyer that works in the same area you do. People rarely even look at the second page of search results, so the higher your website ranks, the better your business will do.
Keep reading to find out how you can use SEO to grow your business.
Local Authority
One of the main SEO benefits for your law firm is that you’ll become a local authority. If you consistently rank high on search engines for various legal queries and searches, people will start to view you as an authority figure.
The goal should be to rank high in search engine results for keywords related to the legal services you offer. It doesn’t help if people find your business, but you don’t offer the services they need. This could even skew people’s perception of your business.
With local SEO services clients can easily find your business through Google Maps and local search results. This is incredibly useful for businesses that have a single physical location where clients come to you. Services benefit the most from local SEO services as people are more likely to look for “services near me”.
Better User Experience
A website that ranks high tends to have a better user experience. When you give users the answers they’re looking for without them needing to sift through tons of information, you create a good user experience. People are more likely to come back to sites that they enjoyed using.
If a user struggles to navigate your website, chances are that search engines will struggle as well. Search engines go through every page of your website to ensure they rank you accurately. If a search engine can’t properly navigate your site it will negatively affect your rankings.
That’s why you need to create your website with the users in mind. Don’t just dump all the information you think is necessary on a page and call it a day. Designing a high-ranking website is an art form and takes time to perfect.
If your website is optimized with users in mind, search engines will be able to easily pull information from your site.
Best Practices for SEO for Lawyers
There are a few ways you can increase your rankings. You’ll need to consistently work at it though, as people will constantly fight to dethrone you.
Website Content
It all starts with your website. You need to make sure the content on your website is optimized for both search engines and human readers. This can be done if you:
- Avoid long blocks of texts
- Use relevant keywords in your content
- Write engaging copy
- Use header tags
- Add relevant images
- Add alt text to your images
But optimization alone won’t cut it. You need quality content that cements you as an authority figure. You need to craft content that fits your needs while also showing potential clients why they should hire you.
These days, content needs to be educational, relevant, and most important, shareable. If you make it easier for people to share your content, then they’re more likely to send it on.
Quality Backlinks
Backlinks are a crucial aspect that factors in SEO. These are links from other websites that point to your website.
But getting backlinks isn’t good enough, you need quality backlinks. If your website is mentioned and linked on a sketchy site, it won’t mean anything. Instead, you need to focus on contacting reputable sources and ask them for a link or write guest blog posts for their website.
This way you can ensure the right people find your website through these backlinks.
Three Types of Metadata
When you’re creating your website you need to remember to utilize the metadata. Metadata is simply information about the content found on the page. Each page on your website has a space between the tags where you can insert metadata.
There are three main types of metadata you can use:
- Title metadata
- Description metadata
- Keyword metadata
Title metadata is the most important metadata of the page. Title metadata is displayed in the tab title of the browser you’re using and is also shown by search engines, like Google, within its search pages.
Most pages will have automated meta titles. While you can simply use the automated titles, you’ll find editing them to give more context will help your SEO.
Description metadata is the textual description a browser uses in your page search return. This is basically the display window, it gives users a glimpse into the content you’re offering. Usually, a metadata description will consist of two sentences.
Keyword metadata doesn’t really matter when it comes to tabulating search engine rankings, but you already know what phrases you use, so you might as well add them. Most keywords consist of phrases made up of 3-7 words.
Mobile First
Your website needs to be optimized to work on mobile. The majority of people do quick searches on their mobile devices, so if your website doesn’t work on mobile then you lose out on a large group of potential customers.
If your website is optimized for mobile it can drastically affect your search rankings. So make sure to prioritize mobile features.
Hack SEO for Lawyers
When it comes to building your own law firm, or simply expanding your existing business, you need to consider SEO for Lawyers. Online search rankings matter, and if you don’t rank, potential clients won’t be able to find you. It’s important to take the time to build your online presence so you can make the most out of your business.
If you’re ready to grow your business with SEO, contact us now! With Bipper Media, you can build your SEO authority, fix your business info across the web, and gain insights into your business.
