Below is an introductory DIY guide to search engine optimization for lawyers. If that’s what you’re looking for, read on! If you don’t have the time to invest and you’re looking to hire SEO experts to get your law practice ranking for you in a timely and profitable manner, click here!
Is Search Engine Optimization Worth it for Lawyers in Houston?
Recently we’ve gotten a number of DMs from lawyers in the Houston Texas area inquiring about SEO services, so we decided to write this guide for our beloved attorney audience.
What is SEO?
Before we dive into the specifics of how we apply SEO principles to our clients in the legal industry, let’s give you a brief foundational understanding of what the term “SEO” refers to.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing the content on your website so that a search engine will show it as a top result for searches of a certain keyword. In simpler terms, it’s about making your law firm easily discoverable to those seeking legal help online.
Why is SEO important?
- Visibility and Ranking: Higher visibility on search engines increases the likelihood of attracting potential clients. With high enough visibility you are virtually guaranteed to see an increase in the number of client inquiries on a regular basis.
- Credibility: Sites that appear on the first page of search results are often perceived as more credible, because Google has deemed them credible enough to prioritize them in search results.
- Cost-Effectiveness: Unlike paid advertising, the organic traffic generated from SEO is free. Even if you have to invest time and/or money upfront, once you reach certain rankings, your investment in SEO will pay for itself over and over again.
How Does SEO Work?
Keyword Research
The important work of SEO revolves around Keywords.
If you found this guide via a Google search, the words you put in the search box are one example of a keyword.
Keyword is a technical term that can refer to a word or phrase, so whether a search contains 1 word or 10, we still call it a keyword.
For example, if you searched “lawyer search engine optimization Houston,” this counts as one keyword, even though it’s technically a 5 word phrase.
You’re going to have to figure out what keywords you should be focusing on using Keyword Research Tools such as Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, SEMRush, among others.
Each keyword tool is a little different. Some are free, like Google’s, while others might offer one or two free tools and also paid plans with advanced functionality and extended/unlimited use.
Content Creation
Once you have a list of keywords you need to create unique content that addresses the intention behind the keyword.
Providing valuable, accurate, and informative content that addresses the searchers’ intention will provide a high quality user experience, giving you favor in the eyes of Google.
Technical SEO, aka On-Site SEO
Technical SEO involves ensuring your site is fast, secure, mobile-friendly, and easy to navigate.
It also involves your appropriate use of header tags, meta descriptions, images, and keywords in your content.
Link Building, aka Off-Site SEO
Link building refers to directly and/or indirectly attracting backlinks to specific pages on your website.
When you regularly publish quality content, other websites might link to what you’ve created – this is a backlink!
Another way to get backlinks is guest posting, which is cooperating with another blog or website by offering to write an informative article that will be posted on their site and linked back to your own.
Yet another method for gaining backlinks to your law firm’s website can be much easier: citations. The term citation refers to mentions of a business’s name, address, and phone number on external websites.
You’ve probably heard of some of these, like the YellowPages.com, or Yelp for example. Some citations will include a link to your website, and some of these links
Expert SEO teams use a tailored combination of backlinking strategies to build a diverse backlink profile that will boost your website’s domain reputation and rankings on the pages of Google and other search engines like Bing.
One last note on backlinks: not all backlinks are equal. It is up to the person who creates the link to another site (the website owner or administrator) to tell search engines the significance of the link.
There are two options: follow, and nofollow.
If the creator of the link labels it follow, it essentially means that they endorse the site they are linking to.
Nofollow means the opposite.
So, to sum up, “follow” and “nofollow” are instructions that website owners can use to tell search engines how to treat links to other websites.
When it comes to SEO, only follow links are helpful for boosting your website’s reputation and rankings on search engines.
We covered On-Page/On-Site SEO in the previous section. Link Building is part of Off-Page or Off-Site SEO.
You can think of On-Page SEO as SEO that someone could do completely on their own, alone, and Off-Page SEO as SEO that requires a “friend”.
How Can I Use SEO To Net My Law Firm More Clients?
So far you’ve learned the basics of SEO, why it’s important, and how it works in general.
Now it’s time to focus on the unique approach to SEO that is required for lawyers and law firms.
Two main distinctions between general SEO and “lawyer SEO” is the keywords you’ll be optimizing for, and the types of websites and blogs you’ll want to gain links from.
In addition, you’ll need to make sure that any content that you create is compliant with the guidelines set by your state bar association.
When it comes to implementation, if you’re limited on funds, but rich in time, you’re going to need to put in some sweat equity.
If that’s where you’re at, begin by diving deeper into the fundamentals of on-page SEO to ensure your website is fully optimized for relevant keywords.
This involves not only integrating strategic keywords into your content but also optimizing meta tags, images, and URLs to improve your site’s visibility and ranking on search engines.
Here are some additional areas of focus if you’re trying to do lawyer SEO on your own:
- Keyword Optimization: Conduct thorough keyword research to identify the terms and phrases potential clients are using to find legal services. Once identified, strategically incorporate these keywords into your website’s content, headings, meta descriptions, and URLs to enhance searchability and relevance.
- Content Quality and Relevance: Regularly update your website with high-quality content that addresses the common questions and legal issues your potential clients face. This can include blog posts, FAQs, white papers, and case studies. Quality content not only helps with SEO but also establishes your firm as a knowledgeable and reliable source of legal information.
- Guest Blogging: Extend your reach by contributing articles to legal blogs, law schools, and websites of non-competing law firms. Guest posts are a great way to gain backlinks, which are vital for improving your site’s authority and search engine ranking. Ensure that the content you provide is valuable and insightful to encourage more sites to link back to you.
- Local SEO: Since many law firms serve local communities, it’s crucial to optimize your website for local SEO. This includes claiming your Google My Business listing, ensuring your firm appears in local directory listings, and using location-specific keywords in your content.
- Mobile Optimization: With the increasing use of mobile devices to access the internet, ensure your website is mobile-friendly. This includes having a responsive design that adapts to different screen sizes and ensuring that mobile page load times are fast.
- Analytics and Adjustment: Utilize tools like Google Analytics to track your website’s performance and understand how visitors interact with your content. Use these insights to refine your SEO strategies and make informed decisions to enhance your online visibility.
By implementing these strategies, you can enhance your website’s SEO performance, attract more potential clients, and build a strong online presence that reflects the expertise and professionalism of your law firm.
If you’re already too busy seeing clients to make the substantial investment of time required to do your law firm’s SEO on your own, considering hiring an expert SEO team like ours. You can click here to apply for us to do all of the heavy lifting for you.
Examples of SEO Keywords for Lawyers
The keywords you will want to target in your firm’s SEO strategy will depend on your area of law. Below we listed different potential keywords to optimize for based on the type of law you practice, giving a few examples for each.
| Type of Law Firm | Potential Keywords To Optimize For |
|---|---|
| Family Law |
“Houston family law attorney”, “Family law specialist in Houston”, “Houston child custody lawyer” |
| Personal Injury Law |
“Personal injury lawyer Houston”, “Houston car accident attorney”, “Slip and fall lawyer in Houston” |
| Criminal Law |
“Houston criminal defense attorney”, “DWI lawyer Houston”, “Felony defense lawyer in Houston” |
| Employment Law |
“Employment lawyer Houston”, “Houston workplace discrimination attorney”, “Wage dispute lawyer in Houston” |
| Estate Planning Law |
“Estate planning attorney Houston”, “Houston probate lawyer”, “Trust and estate lawyer in Houston” |
