Getting your law firm discovered in local search results is becoming progressively more important. Nearly 40% of all search queries carried out every month have some type of local purpose (ie: state or city name, zip code, community, and so on.). There are certain techniques and factors that are important in helping your law practice website perform well for local queries.
1. Classify Your Practice Appropriately
Choosing the appropriate categories for your firm in local listings is extremely important. Many law firms do not spend adequate time considering which category terms to use. They discount this as a trivial step. When your potential clients are not looking up a specific law firm by name, they will first find firms by type. If you don’t associate your firm with the category they are in search of, you won’t be found.
2. The Value of Backlinks and Citiations
Hyperlinks From Similar Sites: Links are the currency of the internet. A hyperlink to your site is like a vote for your site in the eyes of the search engines like google. All things being equal, a lawyer’s website that has more backlinks from local and relevant websites will gain more presence in local search results.
Citations: Citations are references to your law firm name, address, and telephone number on different web sites. These references do not have to have a hyperlink to your web site. A good illustration of a citation would be an online lawyer directory where your practice is shown, but not linked to. Yet another might be a local yellow pages site.
3. The Name Of Your Law Firm
Your law firm title (ie: the name of your law firm) is a very important factor for ranking well in the local search engines. You really want your title to be consistent throughout the listings in addition to having it contain pertinent keywords to your practice. Having consistency helps your law firm establish confidence in the eyes of search engines. Including relevant words in the title helps your law practice receive better positioning when people conduct searches. As an example, The Law Offices of Joe Smith, found in Chicago, might create a title called Law Offices of Joe Smith | Chicago Family Attorney. Just keep the title consistent and uncomplicated. Do not attempt to stuff too many key terms into your title.
Our blog focuses on seo for lawyers. From the basics to advanced techniques, we provide insight on effective law firm search marketing campaigns. Have questions? Don’t hesitate to contact one of our law firm search marketing specialists.
