You know that law firms that rank on Google’s first page of search results tend to get the most clicks and, in turn, the most clients.
You also know that law firm search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most competitive areas of digital marketing – thousands of law firms are vying for competitive real estate on Google SERPs, but only a very select few will end up ranking.
This means that it’s smart to get help with your law firm SEO campaign.
But, how do you choose a legal marketing company? How can you know which service is the best fit for you and your law firm SEO campaign?
Here’s what you need to consider when hiring a legal marketing agency to get your firm’s website to rank.
Identify Your Goals So That You Know What Attorney SEO Services You Need
Before you choose a lawyer SEO company, it helps to think about what you want to accomplish with an SEO campaign.
Full disclosure: you might not know what you want to accomplish, and that’s okay. But giving these things some thought can help point you in the right direction.
At the very least, these are factors that any reputable SEO company should address when you sit down for an initial evaluation.
- What market are you trying to rank in?
- What practice area of law is most important for you to rank for? (example: personal injury, criminal defense, etc.)
- Do you need a law firm website?
- Is local SEO a priority for you?
- Are you more interested in
- (a) organic rankings that can offer long-term rewards,
- (b) paid campaigns that prioritize short-term benefits, or
- (c) a hybrid approach that can give you the best of both worlds?
- Do you want to prioritize ranking your website as a whole, or would you rather target specific keywords?
- For example, many personal injury lawyers want to focus specifically on motor vehicle accidents, while others want to focus on things like medical malpractice. Knowing what you want to target helps us create a custom package.
- Do you want to improve both the quantity and quality of the leads your website generates?
Your answers to these questions are important – not all SEO agencies will be equipped to help you with your specific goals.
Some law firm marketing agencies only focus on the more superficial aspects of a campaign – like web design and how your website looks to the user. They hone in on paid ads to drive the project instead of focusing on the quality of your content and links.
Other companies double-down on content and links but don’t have the resources to build a new, state-of-the-art website to enhance the user experience.
The best SEO services for attorneys offer experts, resources, and tools that give you the ability to accomplish it all.
If you want to take a comprehensive approach to SEO, it helps to work with an attorney SEO service that has the knowledge, experience, and resources to do it all.
LawRank specializes in getting attorneys and law firms to rank organically on Google. From the start, our primary goal will be to get your website to show up in the first results for your targeted geographic location(s).
How? We do this by:
- Making sure that your law firm’s site has great content – developed by attorneys.
- Maximizing the link equity flowing to and through your firm’s site.
- Having our in-house team develop and design a customized, state-of-the-art, gorgeous website just for you.
- Supplementing our organic campaign with aggressive and compelling paid ads.
We’re ready to help your law firm rank, which in turn will help generate leads and cases for you in 2021. Get in touch with our experienced team to learn more today.
Consider Past SEO Results: Have They Ranked Attorneys on the First Page?
Every SEO agency will tell you that they get results for their clients. And, to some degree, that might be true.
“Results” is a considerably broad term. Unless it’s clearly defined from the start, you and the SEO company might have different ideas of what the term means.
Most SEO agencies for lawyers have a “show pony” – that one client that ranks great. That’s not enough.
What you need to see is a consistent pattern of getting clients to Google’s first page.
Ask to see the rankings for at least 2 to 3 different clients in large to mid-sized cities.
So, when an SEO company tells you that it gets results for its clients, ask yourself:
- What are those results?
- How does the agency define a positive outcome?
- Can I verify those results independently?
- Do they rank clients in the local pack for competitive keywords like “NYC personal injury lawyer”?
Ideally, you’ll want to go with an SEO marketing company with a demonstrated ability to get law firms to rank organically on the first page of Google’s search results.
You’ll want a firm that can drive website traffic and increase visibility to the firm’s target market. And, you’ll want to be able to go to Google yourself to see those results for your own eyes.
At LawRank, we’ll show you the specific results we’ve achieved for our clients. We’ll show you our case studies and data-driven results.
Moreover, you can look up our clients on Google for yourself – and you won’t have to scroll too far.
Ask Current and Former Clients About Their Experience
You don’t have to take the lawyer SEO company at its word – you should have the ability to go right to the source. Contact the agency’s current and former law firm clients – and ask them about their experience with the content marketing firm.
Good questions to ask might include:
- How responsive was the agency to your calls and requests?
- Did the agency deliver results as promised?
- Why did you discontinue the agency’s marketing services? (If a former client)
It can be a good idea to reach out to a few firms – each firm will have a different experience and offer a unique perspective on the agency’s practices.
Will They Build a Custom SEO Plan For Your Law Firm?
No two projects are the same. The best SEO company for lawyers will build out a custom plan for you that focuses on the types of cases that you want to handle.
If, for example, you want to draw clients who have medical malpractice claims, you’ll want to hire a firm that:
- (a) is willing to tailor your SEO campaign to that end, and
- (b) knows the best practices for getting you med mal leads.
If a law firm SEO agency is hesitant or unwilling to help you capture the traffic and generate the specific leads that you want, consider that a red flag.
After all, it’s not just about getting traffic to your website. That’s just a part of the equation. It’s also about making sure you’re getting high-quality leads for the specific types of cases you can (and prefer) to handle.
Consider What Law Firm SEO Services They Provide
The best law firm marketing companies will offer a variety of services and tools so that your campaign can take a holistic approach to search engine optimization. You’ll want to make sure that the company you hire to handle your SEO can tackle your campaign from every conceivable angle.
At LawRank, our law firm SEO services typically include:
- Current website and domain assessments
- Competitor research and analysis
- In-depth keyword research
- Content – written or developed by lawyers
- White hat link building campaigns, including link profile analysis and monitoring
- Optimizing the flow of link equity across your website
- On-site SEO, including optimization of title tags, meta descriptions, and headers
- Intelligent internal linking to optimize the UX
- Social media marketing and outreach*
- Local SEO to improve call volume and leads
- Pay-per-click (PPC) as a supplement to an organic campaign*
- Customized websites with SEO-friendly site architecture*
*Additional fee applies
With LawRank, you’ll have law firm SEO experts working to get your website to not only rank on Google’s first page, but to rank at the top of the results.
Your dedicated team will keep their finger on the pulse of your campaign every step of the way:
- tracking changes in Google’s algorithm,
- adjusting the strategy for your SEO project accordingly, and
- monitoring results.
You’ll always be in the loop with your customized LawRank SEO campaign dashboard and monthly Google Analytics reports.
Confirm You’ll Own – Not Lease – Your Website
SEO is really about three things:
- Content,
- Links, and
- User experience (UX).
The way your law firm website looks and reacts to the user is a huge component of UX. If your current site isn’t up to par, SEO agencies will likely suggest investing in a brand new, state-of-the-art platform.
In truth, you can have the best content ever penned by mankind and the most compelling link structure in the world – but if your website isn’t user-friendly or visually appealing, it’s all for nothing. So, there can be incredible value in investing in a new website.
Now, considering that this is an investment, it would be important to know whether you will own your website outright or, for lack of a better term, “lease” it.
Some SEO agencies won’t be transparent about the fact that they’re creating a site for you to use – not to own. That should be a red flag – you deserve to have ownership over one of your firm’s most important assets. You shouldn’t run into this issue with a good SEO company.
When you work with LawRank, you’ll know from the start that you – and you alone – own your website free and clear.
Do They Have The Ability to Build Conversion-Driven Website?
Your law firm doesn’t just need any old website. The best law firm websites are designed to convert clicks into leads – and that’s what you need. You want the people that visit your firm’s site to take action and call you for help with their legal problems.
The way your site is designed and executed will have a lot of influence on that:
- Is the website visually appealing?
- Does the site contain authoritative content and material that answers the questions your potential clients will most likely have?
- Is that content structured and displayed in a way that’s easy to digest and navigate?
- Can users easily find the information they’re looking for without spending too much time or energy?
- Do the pages load quickly and benefit from a fast site speed?
- Is the website free from technical errors and mistakes?
- Are there calls to action and easily-accessible “contact us” forms spread throughout the site?
At LawRank, we understand that your firm’s website is your opportunity to sell your services. We want to help you thrive and convert as many visitors into leads as we possibly can.
That’s why we’ve:
- Developed custom templates that are not only aesthetically pleasing but expertly designed with the intent to convert clicks into clients.
- Create all-new, best-in-class web content from scratch for every SEO client based on intensive keyword research related to core practice areas.
- Assign an SEO specialist to manage your website after it launches and throughout the lifespan of your SEO campaign.
- Partner with top SEO services – including Birdeye, Yext, Crisp Video, and InMotion, to give your website every possible technical edge.
We take a comprehensive approach to your SEO campaign and your law firm’s website. Our goal is to increase your caseload – and your revenue – as much as we can and as quickly as possible.
Does the Campaign Include Local SEO For Your Law Firm?
As the old saying goes, “Law is local.” To maximize your return on investment (ROI), you need a lawyer SEO company that has experience and proven results of ranking people in the local pack.
Many SEO agencies for lawyers now only rank internal pages. Why? Because ranking an internal page is easier than building a brand around a homepage. The big disadvantage to this approach is that the bigger brands tend to do better in local SEO rankings.
Before choosing an SEO company, ask to see a Local Falcon report with a 1-mile radius from their client’s office using the target keyword: “NYC personal injury lawyer,” “Houston personal injury lawyer,” etc.
Does their client rank well in the local pack?
Pro Tip: If the law firm SEO service you’re considering argues with you, refuses to give you a Local Falcon report, or worse, doesn’t know what Local Falcon is, immediately hang up the phone.
Transparency: Will You Get a Front Row Seat to Your Law Firm SEO Project?
SEO is both an art and a science. There’s a lot that goes into making a website rank.
When you hire a law firm SEO service company to handle your online marketing campaign, you shouldn’t have to wonder about what’s going on behind the scenes.
You should be able to have a front-row seat to witness the methods behind the madness – if you want it.
Why?
Knowing what’s happening in your SEO project will:
- Provide assurance that your marketing agency is taking meaningful steps to get your law firm website to rank
- Give you insight into the time and resources that are dedicated to your individual project, and
- Keep you updated and connected with your campaign.
If an SEO firm refuses to be transparent or won’t offer unfettered access to your project, you might want to think long and hard about moving forward. Your relationship with your SEO service provider is really important – you need to work with a team you can trust.
At LawRank, we want you to have a clear understanding of what’s going on in your SEO campaign at any given time – day or night.
For all our projects, you will see in real-time:
- Rankings: We provide a mobile app so you can see your rankings anytime.
- Links: Your client dashboard will detail the links we’ve built for you and what links we have planned for the future.
- Content: We provide monthly reports on the content that’s been developed for you in the past month.
We’re confident in our ability to get your law firm to rank – and we’re proud to show you how we make that happen.
How Much Do You Value Customer Service?
At the end of the day, human relationships are fundamental to the success and failure of almost everything. So, your law firm SEO project will only be as successful as your relationship with your SEO agency.
The best law firm SEO company should:
- Answer your calls promptly
- Give you direct answers to your questions – not the runaround, and
- Be open to hearing about and adopting your unique and specific goals
LawRank values its relationship with its law firm and attorney clients. We understand that your law firm is your lifeblood – it’s what helps you provide for yourself and your family. So, we appreciate what it means when you entrust us with your SEO campaign.
That’s why we place such great emphasis on transparency and customer service. At the end of the day, your success is our success. And that starts with a great client-agency relationship.
If you want to find the right SEO company for your law firm, call LawRank. We’ve developed winning SEO strategies for law firms across the country. Connect with us online or give our team a call at 833-LAWRANK (833-529-7265) to learn more about how we can help your law firm rank.
Law Firm SEO Tips
Create Best in Class Content
Google puts a lot of emphasis on content. It’s one of the top three ranking factors – and many SEO experts believe it’s the top ranking factor. If you want your SEO efforts to be fruitful, it means you’ll have to have a laser-sharp focus on content.
It’s simple: you need to create best-in-class content that’s better than anything your competitors have.
You want Google to say “hey, this law firm has content that’s way above and beyond anything out there – they’re an authority on XYZ, so we’ll have them show up first on SERPs for related queries.”
Create content that’s better than your competitors, and you’ll be rewarded.
Don’t Focus All Of Your Marketing Efforts on Organic Rankings
If you want to get the maximum ROI, your primary goal should be to get your law firm’s website to rank organically on SERPs for keywords relevant to your practice. But, it’s best to not put all of your eggs in one basket, so to speak.
Google is constantly adjusting its algorithms and changing how SERPs function. Organic results used to be at the very top of Google’s search engine results pages.
Today, however, they’re found beneath local service ads (LSAs), PPC ads (pay-per-click), and the local 3-pack (when it appears).
No one knows what Google will do in the future – if it will change what’s considered an important ranking factor or how SERPs will be structured – so it’s wise to take a varied approach to your marketing efforts.
And, it’s important to keep in mind that ranking organically tends to take time. This means that you might invest a lot of time and money up front and have to be patient before you really see results.
If you’re interested in making the phone right now, it’s smart to consider supplemental digital marketing tools. For instance, PPC – or pay-per-click – campaigns are a great way to increase brand awareness, increase traffic to your website, and get leads today.
Invest in a Jaw-Dropping Website
Don’t downplay the importance of a stunning website that’s easy to use. It’s a potential client’s very first impression of your firm. In reality, your website says a lot about you and your firm’s culture.
You can have the best content out there, backlinks from the most authoritative sources out there, and offer the best legal representation in the industry… and that can all mean nothing if your website doesn’t encourage users to stick around.
This doesn’t mean you have to spend everything you’ve got to get a great website. Focus on a clean website with engaging colors that’s easy to navigate. Make sure that potential clients can find the information they’re most interested in without issue – and fast.
Site speed is critical, and we can’t emphasize that enough. One out of two people will click back to their search results if a website takes more than two or three seconds to load.
A great website is about appearance and functionality. In order to get it right, it’s best to bring in professionals who understand how to develop, design, and execute precisely what your law firm needs – even if that means spending a little more on your investment. It’ll worth it in the long run as your cases (and bottom line) grow.
Respond to Reviews
People put a lot of stock into online reviews. And, it’s not just about the consumer’s review. It’s about how a company or service provider responds – particularly to negative feedback. Why? It offers context to one particular person’s experience.
It shows that you’re engaged and actively involved in your business. It shows that you care. It’s a simple step that doesn’t take a lot of time that can be of considerable value.
Responding to reviews – good and bad – can significantly increase the odds that someone contacts you to talk about their legal problem.
Law Firm SEO Frequently Asked Questions
How will LawRank help our law firm SEO?
LawRank has a tried-and-true approach to search engine optimization. When you hire our experts to get your law firm website to rank, we’ll put our strategies into action for you.
- Market research and analysis: Just like the legal cases your firm handles, preparation is key. Before we can begin to build your SEO campaign, it’ll need a solid foundation. That’s why we invest the time and resources that are necessary to conduct comprehensive diagnostics on your target area(s).
We’ll conduct in-depth keyword research, analyze what your competitors are doing to rank on the first page, and identify potential strategies to catapult your website to the top of the SERP. - Evaluate current firm name and website: If your firm has an existing website, we’ll scrutinize it for potential issues that might be standing in the way of a great user experience. Our team might even suggest changing your law firm’s name – or at least how you can legally advertise it – to really maximize your local SEO efforts.
Experienced SEO professionals will walk you through all of your options, help you identify potential problem areas, and offer solutions to help your firm grow. - Create an SEO strategy that’s designed just for you: There’s no one-size-fits-all SEO service. At least, not if you want the time and money you invest in SEO to be worthwhile. At LawRank, we take the time to really understand our projects at their core. The more we can know about your target market, your competitors, and how Google’s algorithms are working at a particular moment in time, the better prepared we can be to identify the strategy that’s best suited for your individual law firm SEO project.
Our strategy involves carefully analyzing your competitors to find link opportunities that will help your project. We also engage in an extensive local link-building campaign to improve your exposure in your market. This helps both your organic and local rankings. - Adjust your campaign when Google changes its algorithm. SEO isn’t static. It’s always changing – because Google is always changing the rules. Google has millions of incredibly complex algorithms that are constantly being tweaked, updated, and modified. And, Google won’t just announce when a change in how it decides to rank content occurs. LawRank tracks Google’s algorithms constantly.
We monitor our projects closely for even the most moderate fluctuations in performance. Doing this across the board means that we can identify patterns and, in turn, pinpoint changes that might be happening behind the scenes. When this happens we have the experience needed to pivot, test potential fixes, and track the results.
We live and breathe SEO – it’s what we do, and we’re excited about it. Our energy and passion translate directly into the work we do – and our clients reap the benefits. That’s what you deserve when you’re searching for the best law firm SEO agency for you.
I’ve tried attorney SEO in the past… but it just didn’t work. How is LawRank different from other law firm marketing companies?
A lot of our clients have been burned by other law firm SEO companies in the past.
There are hundreds of digital marketing firms out there – and many will tell you unequivocally that they can give you everything you ask for and more. But, at the end of the day, most simply don’t have the experience, resources, or knowledge to do attorney SEO and get results.
It’s an incredibly competitive facet of search engine optimization, and only the best lawyer SEO firms understand what it takes to get on top.
LawRank is not just any other SEO company. Any SEO agency should understand the ins-and-outs of digital marketing.
At LawRank, we add the law to law firm SEO. Our CEO is a JD. Our content department – the ones responsible for arguably the most important aspect of your SEO campaign – is exclusively run and staffed by licensed attorneys.
We know the law.
We know lawyers.
We know law firms.
Paired with our years of SEO expertise and success, we’re uniquely qualified to help our attorney clients rank, get a meaningful ROI, and ultimately grow their businesses.
Our results and client satisfaction are a testament to that. We work with all practice areas including personal injury lawyer SEO, divorce lawyer SEO, and criminal defense marketing.
What do your law firm SEO packages typically include?
LawRank offers comprehensive SEO packages that include:
- Link building
- Local SEO
- Web hosting, and
- Custom, best-in-class content.
We’re also here to help you accomplish your specific goals – which means that we can customize your SEO package to suit your needs.
Are you a WhiteHat SEO company?
Yes. When you trust LawRank with your lawyer SEO campaign, you’ll never have to worry about legally or ethically-questionable practices. Every step we take is carefully measured – and completely within the boundaries of Google’s terms of service.
We know that you’re more likely to benefit from White Hat strategies – building links naturally, focusing on creating compelling content, and developing a website to convert clicks into leads.
We understand that Black Hat approaches can have devastating consequences if they’re identified. You can trust LawRank to get your law firm website to rank the right way.
How much does SEO for lawyers cost?
This answer isn’t the one you want, but it’s the one that’s most honest: it depends.
It depends on
- what you want to accomplish,
- how much money you’re willing to invest, and
- what kind of ROI you’re looking for.
It also depends on how your firm currently ranks on search engine result pages (SERPs), where you’re located, and what type of practice you have.
This doesn’t mean that you have to spend the moon to reap the benefits of SEO for law firms, but it does mean that there’s a link between how much you budget and the results you’re likely to get.
At LawRank, we’ll walk you through all of your options and help you understand the plan of action that’s best suited for your particular practice.
Does ranking in the local pack matter?
Yes.
A 3-pack shows up in about 93% of all local searches. When a local pack appears, those 3 results get anywhere between 40% and 60% of all clicks. The top listing in that local 3-pack typically gets the most attention.
Studies have shown that the 3-pack even reduces the number of clicks the top-ranking organic results get. So, it can be really important to rank in the local pack.
LawRank provides comprehensive SEO for attorneys – meaning that we carefully orchestrate your campaign to maximize your visibility everywhere. We pay close attention to local SEO so that your firm has better odds of being one of the chosen 3 in the local pack.
We consistently help our clients rank in the local pack, and we’ll apply our methodology to your project to help you rank, too.
How will I be able to track the status of my campaign?
You’ll have access to a custom dashboard that gives you real-time data, including:
- Organic rankings
- Local rankings
- Call volume,
- And more.
You can access your dashboard online or using a convenient mobile app – anytime, anywhere.
We’ll conduct a thorough diagnostic of your project. This way, you’ll be able to clearly see the progress that’s being made throughout your campaign.
Should I do anything besides SEO?
SEO focuses solely on efforts to get your law firm’s website to rank organically at or near the top of search results for relevant queries.
SEO doesn’t involve paid digital marketing campaigns, taking out television ads, buying billboards, or other methods of advertising. Supplementing your SEO campaign with other marketing strategies can be helpful, especially if you’re in a particularly competitive market.
Keep in mind that most people are turning to Google when they need a lawyer. So, it’s smart to make law firm SEO your priority.
However, ranking can take time. In the meantime, you can increase your brand visibility by exploring other marketing techniques – especially with an attorney pay-per-click (PPC) campaign.
When a PPC campaign is done right, you’ll show up before organic results when potential clients are searching for a lawyer or legal help. Once you begin to rank organically, you can suspend your PPC campaign or reduce what you spend.
LawRank knows that digital marketing – and SEO in particular – is what will help your law firm and business grow. So, that’s our primary focus.
However, we can help you raise brand awareness in other ways and supplement your SEO campaign. Give us a call to discuss your options and learn more.
Who writes my content?
When you’re trying to compete in the hyper-competitive field of attorney SEO, who writes your content really matters.
In order to become an authority – and in order to rank – you have to really know what you’re talking about. That’s why LawRank has attorneys, JDs, and people with real-life legal experience writing the content.
Our content development division is exclusively staffed by licensed attorneys – which means that every piece of content is edited and reviewed by someone who knows the law (or knows how to find it). This sets us apart from other SEO firms.
Many agencies outsource their content to the lowest bidder – people who have little-to-no practical or hands-on experience with the law.
When you choose LawRank, you won’t have to worry that your legal content is being written by someone who’s unfamiliar with the law or someone who might not even be in the country.
When you choose LawRank, your law firm web content is developed by your peers. You can be confident that this will give you a leg up on the competition and help you rank.
Do I have to pay for link-building?
Link-building is an essential part of any SEO campaign – that’s why link-building costs are built into your SEO package. We’ll work to build a strong backlink portfolio to boost your site’s authority.
How long does it take to rank on Google?
There’s no set time frame.
It will really depend on a variety of factors, like:
- Where you’re located and what type of law you practice – competitiveness varies from market to market.
- Your current web presence and SEO rankings – how much of a hill do you have to climb?
- How much you invest in your SEO campaign.
LawRank will complete a full analysis of your SEO project and explain what challenges might lie ahead – and address how we’ll overcome them to get your law firm to rank. As we build your campaign, we’ll keep you fully apprised of the progress that’s being made.
Typically, projects rank in 9-12 months (but sometimes in significantly less time and sometimes slightly more). While we can’t give you an exact timeframe for your project from the start or guarantee results, you should know LawRank has a history of getting law firms on the first page of Google – fast.
We’ve ranked clients for top keywords in competitive markets in as little as 90 days.