Are you aware that 96% of potential clients use a search engine to seek legal advice? That makes law firm SEO vital to your firm’s success. However, national SEO is super competitive as hundreds of lawyers fight to appear on Google’s first page.
How can you win this SEO battle and attract qualified clients? Focus on local SEO strategies for law firms. In this approach, you focus on dominating the keywords related to your geographical practice area, like “personal injury lawyer in Melbourne, Victoria.”
In this post, Marketlytics dives deep into local SEO for attorneys. We’ll outline what it entails and why it’s important. Stick to the end to discover the proven strategies to rank your law firm on local search queries.
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What is Local SEO for Law Firms?
Local SEO involves optimising your website to rank for local search queries. The strategies involve using geo-specific keywords targeting an audience in a specific geographical area. It differs from traditional SEO, which focuses on broad search queries.
The keyword “criminal defence lawyer” is a general search term, but “criminal defence lawyer near me” is a local search query. See the difference? Local SEO for lawyers involves ranking for such keywords, ensuring potential clients locate your firm.
Using top local SEO strategies boosts your visibility and helps attract people seeking legal services near you. There are various factors that determine whether your law firm’s website appears on Google’s local SERPs.
Top Local SEO Ranking Factors
The lion is arguably the king of the pack. Your goal should be to dominate the pack by being the most authoritative lawyer in your area. By doing so, Google will put you on the list of its local 3-pack of top lawyers.
Google’s local 3-pack is a list of the top three local lawyers/firms related to a certain search term. Potential clients can find the contact details, including the phone number and map directions of these three firms.
Google mostly considers these three factors when determining the lawyers to feature in the local 3-pack:
- Relevance: Your business listing and website content should match closely with the search query.
- Distance: Google checks whether your law firm is within the proximity of the user. The closer it is, the better.
- Prominence: Your law firm must be trustworthy and authoritative in its practice area to appear in the local 3-pack. Google checks whether you have helpful content, citations, positive client reviews, and ratings.
Other factors that determine local ranking in 2024 include on-page optimisation, backlink profile, behavioural signals, and Google Business Profile (GBP). If all these seem unfamiliar to you, consult a law firm marketing agency to plan the best SEO strategies for your firm.
Why Local SEO is Important for Law Firms
Local SEO for lawyers has numerous benefits. From attracting clients and increasing visibility to boosting authority. Here are five reasons to invest in local SEO:
- Higher conversion rates: People searching for legal services near them are more likely to hire you. Use local SEO to attract these potential clients and enjoy a higher conversion rate. Since the prospects are near you, they can contact or visit your law firm.
- Cost-effective marketing strategy: Instead of spending thousands on ads, invest in local SEO best practices for lawyers. Spend less, attract pre-qualified clients, and grow your law firm’s profits.
- Competitive advantage in your practice area: Ranking high on search engines puts you in front, giving you an advantage over your competitor. You’ll get more traffic, leads, and clients.
- Boost visibility and online presence: Enjoy more visibility by having your business information on legal directories, local publications, and websites.
- Build trust and authority: Publishing content on legal matters and having numerous positive reviews shows you’re a trustworthy legal expert.
How to Implement Local SEO for Law Firms: 10 Best Strategies
You now agree that lawyer SEO, especially locally focused, is a must-use digital marketing strategy. Now, the big question is which roadmap to use to get to the top ranks for local search queries related to your legal services.
As an established SEO company for law firms, we recommend the following 10 proven local SEO strategies for lawyers.
1. Create and optimise your GBP
Google My Business, now referred to as Google Business Profile, is among the top local search ranking factors. Your GBP contains key information about your law firm that Google might feature in the lawyers’ local pack.
If you don’t have an attorney GBP, it’s time to open one. Head over to the GBP website and create your profile. Use the following tips to optimise your lawyer GBP for local SEO:
- Select the best categories: Choose the primary category that best describes your expertise, such as personal injury lawyer. Add several secondary categories.
- Add a clear business description: Google gives you 750 characters in the description box. Avoid fluff. Include key details like business name, practice areas, legal awards, location served, and years of experience.
- Upload images for personalisation: Add photos of yourself, the legal team, and the office interior and exterior.
- Create FAQs and answers related to your law firm.
- Update the GBP frequently with posts and information like new locations or changes in working hours.
2. Use geo-specific keywords on your law firm website
These keywords target the city or regions you serve, like “Finance lawyer in Perth”. Include geo-specific keywords in your law firm website content, blog posts, and service pages. Add these terms to your meta titles, descriptions, headings, and page titles.
Other key areas to include local keywords are the URLs and anchor texts. Be strategic, and don’t stuff the keywords everywhere.
3. Use local citations
Local citations refer to sites or directories that mention your business information and include a link to your law firm’s website. Build citations on platforms like Google, Yellow Pages, Yelp, and Apple Maps. Have your business information on legal directories like FindLaw, Lawyerlist, and FirmChecker.
Local citations improve your law firm’s SEO by providing potential clients with your information and links to your website. You can build the citations yourself or automate the process using tools like Yext or Moz Local.
4. Employ a local link-building strategy
Building quality backlinks should be among your top marketing strategies. There are numerous ways to create a strong backlink profile. Start by obtaining local citations and guest posting on high-ranking sites and local websites. Ensure you include links pointing to your lawyer website.
Another law firm marketing strategy is seeking sponsored content opportunities in local publications. You can also offer expert opinions, be an interviewee, or publish articles on local websites and publications.
Other tactics include creating useful content that other websites link to and sending press releases to journalists.
5. Maintain consistent NAP
Ensure your law firm’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistent across all directories. Incorrect business information hurts your lawyer’s SEO efforts as it confuses search engines, which might affect your ranking.
What’s more, potential clients may lose trust and fail to contact your firm. Ensure you update any changes in working hours, address, contact details, and any other vital information.
6. Use Legal Service Schema
Our law firm SEO experts suggest that legal service schema should top the list of your SEO strategy. Schema is structured data that helps search engines understand your law firm’s website. It enables Google to understand your website’s purpose, intent, and legal services.
Generating and submitting your website’s schema enables Google to serve your site on rich snippets and improve ranking. If you’re unfamiliar with schema and technical SEO, it’s advisable to seek assistance from a law firm SEO agency.
7. Generate positive local reviews and testimonials
Positive reviews build trust and social proof. Law firms with numerous positive reviews and high ratings may rank higher in search results. Reviews with target location and keywords also contribute to better rankings.
Offering exemplary services is the key to getting high ratings and positive reviews. Statistics show that 67% of happy clients consider writing a review. Also, email your past clients and request that they review and rate your services.
8. Be active on social media
Use social media to promote your attorney’s SEO efforts. Create profiles on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. LinkedIn for lawyers is also excellent for networking with other professionals and showcasing expertise.
Upload posts regularly and respond to comments/questions. Combine social media with video marketing for lawyers by making insightful videos about your law firm. Share your blog posts on social media and publicise events you host or attend.
9. Law firm website optimisation
Create landing pages for all the locations you serve and include location-specific keywords on the content. Another law firm SEO strategy is adding Google Maps to your website, making it easier for prospects to locate your offices.
You should also publish blog posts on legal topics related to your practice area. Articles help establish authoritativeness and attract more audience to your website. Don’t forget to optimise your website for high loading speed, mobile-friendliness, and inviting design for a nice user experience.
10. Host and Attend Local Events
Participating in local events offers an opportunity to interact with potential clients, build brand awareness, and increase your popularity. Sponsor charity events, host workshops, and attend trade shows.
Host online events on Meetup and virtual meeting platforms such as Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom. You can also appear on local podcasts to offer expert advice. While these tactics aren’t directly related to SEO marketing for lawyers, they establish authority and make you the go-to lawyer in your practice area.
Use Local SEO To Grow Your Law Firm
Local SEO helps you stand out from the rest, improve search ranking, and reach your target prospects. While these benefits are mouth-watering, it takes time and effort to get them. Luckily for you, Marketlytics is here to help. We’re a team of law firm SEO experts with the skills and experience to grow your brand.
If you’d like to discuss local SEO to take your law firm to the next level, book a discovery call with Clarence now.
Local SEO for Lawyers FAQs
Is it important to work with a local SEO company?
Lawyers seeking long-term results should work with a law firm marketing agency. SEO companies like Marketlytics offer a holistic marketing approach, ensuring your firm dominates search engines, social media platforms, and local directories
How long does it take for local SEO to work for my law firm?
It takes several weeks for local SEO to bring results. If doing it alone, it can take longer. Hire a digital marketing agency offering local SEO services to achieve results quicker and more efficiently while you focus on other areas.
Is local SEO effective for law firms?
Yes. Utilising the best local SEO marketing for lawyers brings measurable results, including more leads and higher search ranking. Local SEO is an effective marketing strategy with high ROI.
Clarence Ling is the Founder of Marketlytics, and a guerilla marketer. Initially a trained Lawyer and Practice Development Manager, he contributed to the growth of his firm, including implementing software.
Clarence Ling is a Digital Advertising and Analytics Expert. Having a wide range of advertising experience ranging from international real estate, to legal and previously worked in full service marketing agencies, Clarence is a diligent marketer with an eye for detail and a talent for numbers.
Clarence can carefully plan out the best budget levels for the desired outcomes with projections that are more accurate than most.
His background in Analytics enables a clear, big picture assessment of both organic and paid campaigns, enabling maximum efficiency of those digital campaigns. His analytical background brings precise clarity of client or customer interaction and behaviour on online assets.
Clarence’s four fields of practice are Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Social Media Marketing (SMM) and Email Marketing (EDM). He is best as an Advertiser and is an avid collector of Software As A Service (SaaS) Products, avidly investing in both technology and human capital of Marketlytics.
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