Introduction
I’ve been a lawyer for over 10 years and I’m also a local SEO expert. As such, I’m often asked about how to manage my reputation and how to be found when someone searches for lawyers in my area. If you’re looking for advice on the best way to improve your law firm’s online presence, then read on!
Local SEO for Law Firms?- It’s important to manage your reputation
It’s important to manage your reputation. That’s why we’ve created this handy guide for law firms looking to grow their business.
In case you didn’t know, there are a lot of ways to manage your reputation online. You should be managing it on Google and Bing (and Yahoo), as well as on Facebook and Twitter, and Yelp or any other review sites where you have reviews posted about your firm.
How to be found when someone searches for a lawyer in your area
While the first two points are quite straightforward, it’s important to note that the third and fourth points are not as much so. In order to be found in local directories and other business listings, you must have some sort of presence on those sites. The easiest way is to claim your Google My Business listing. If you don’t know what that is, refer back up above where I wrote about how important it is for attorneys (and any other business owner) to have a verified GMB listing. It only takes a few minutes for most law firms with an online presence and should be done by all attorneys because:
- It gives potential clients more confidence in your services
- It helps with search engine optimization (SEO) so that you show up higher in searches
Local SEO for Law Firms?- It’s important for your firm to have the right information
How to be found on Google, Bing and Yahoo:
- You need to be listed on Google, Bing and Yahoo. If you are not found there, you will not be able to get any new clients through online marketing.
- You need to be listed on the first page of Google for each keyword that you want your law firm getting leads from. The closer you are listed on the first page of Google (and its search results), the more likely it is that people will click on your website when they search for a legal service in their area or yours specifically. They want an attorney who can help them with their problem ASAP!
Citations matter
Citations are important for local SEO because they help you rank in the local search results.
Citations can be thought of as “backlinks” to your website, except that they’re not pointing to you from other sites — instead, they are pointing to you from within your own industry. Citations come in two main forms: NAP citations and review citations.
It’s important to be found on Google Maps listings
Google Maps is the most popular mapping service, and it’s no wonder why: it’s free, easy to use, and provides an unprecedented level of detail. This means your business location (including address and phone number), as well as its hours of operation are readily available to anyone who searches for your law firm online.
Google Maps also allows users to see if you have a website or blog—and if so—what the name of it is! If you don’t have one yet but want one badly enough, we’ve got some tips on how you can make sure everyone knows about it when they come across your listing in Google Maps.
It’s important for your law firm website to load quickly
- Page speed is an important factor in Google’s search algorithm. The faster your pages load, the higher they rank in search results.
- You can use Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool to evaluate page speed and identify opportunities for improvement. It will assign a score based on how well your site meets best practices: 0–85 means “needs work”; 86–100 is “excellent,” but if you want your site to be truly competitive against other sites in your field, aim for 96+ points (or 100/100).
- If you want to learn more about optimizing your website for SEO, check out our previous article on SEO basics for law firms or book a consultation with us today!
Local SEO for Law Firms
A law firm’s first priority should be attracting clients. If you’re looking to attract clients who are close by, local SEO is the way to go.
Local SEO (also known as geo-targeted or location based marketing) focuses on optimizing your website and online presence so that the most relevant people can find you on search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo!
It’s easier than ever before to get started with local SEO because there are many tools available to assist in this process. You can use Google My Business (GMB) to publish accurate information about your law firm such as hours of operation and contact information directly into their search engine results pages for easy visibility among potential customers searching for legal representation nearby.
Local SEO for Law Firms?- Conclusion
Local SEO is a must if you want to be found when someone searches for a lawyer in your area. It’s important to manage your reputation, have the right information online, and be able to rank on Google Maps listings. Local SEO can help your law firm website load quickly so that customers can find it easily when they’re looking for legal services nearby.