Website Design & Development

Fred Lebhart Posted by Fred Lebhart on April 17, 2012

Simple Guide to SEO for Law Firm Websites

A Simple Guide to SEO for Law Firms

Optimize your legal website for search engines by following these fundamental SEO tips.

seo for lawfirms - seattle SEOHow does your law firm's website fare in search engines? When you search for phrases like, "personal injury attorney Seattle," "Seattle divorce lawyer," or whatever phrases are relevant to your law firm's geographic location and practice area, does your site appear near the top of the page? If the answer is no, you may not be using SEO, or search engine optimization, to your advantage. Here are some SEO tips that law firms ought to consider.

Get On-Page SEO Right

To make the most of your online presence, start with your own website. The meta tags and domain name of your site should include your firm's name and the legal services you offer, when possible. Each page of your legal website should have a unique meta tag. If your meta tags consist of the same words repeated over and over, your rankings could take a beating. So, be specific but don't overdo it with the keywords.

High-quality content that is optimized for important phrases can also do wonders for your website's rankings. The keyword here is "high-quality." Focus on creating informative legal content that is useful to visitors and that incorporates keywords relevant to your practice area and geographic location. The keywords should be so well integrated that readers don't even notice them. Stay away from spun content and keyword spamming, which can get your site de-indexed.

Go Beyond Your Own Website

Link-building is also essential to achieving high search engine rankings. The more high-quality links your law firm's site has pointing to it, the better its search engine visibility will be. A great way to increase rankings is to submit your law firm's website to various legal directories. These directory links not only drive traffic back to your site – they also boost your site's search engine rankings.

Submitting guest articles to relevant websites can also give your rankings a boost. Websites that host guest articles typically allow you to add a link at the end of your article, directing people to your website. Even if nobody clicks on the link itself, the fact that it's out there already benefits your site because search engines measure the quantity and quality of links to your site in order to determine its relevancy and value.

Press releases also increase your rankings by generating backlinks. As press releases are picked up, they shine the spotlight on your firm's name and services, helping to generate publicity for your law firm.

Embrace Social Media

Does your law firm need a Facebook page? Sure thing. How about a Twitter account or a blog? You bet. The strategic use of social media can do wonders for your law firm's online presence. Intelligent social media marketing involves providing value at all times, so don't create a blog or social media updates that just talk about how wonderful your law firm is - people won't care. Instead, blog about changes in your practice area, relevant cases being mentioned in the media, and other current topics. Offer something useful to visitors and they'll keep coming back.

Always keep in mind that prospective clients need to be able to find you before they can hire you. That's why SEO is so important. If you increase your law firm's search engine visibility, you'll significantly increase your chances of landing new clients.

Propel Your Legal Website to the Top of Search Engines with efelle's SEO Services

efelle helps law firms across the country achieve high search engine rankings. To learn more about our full suite of SEO services for law firms of all sizes, give us a call at 206.384.4909 or fill out our online contact form today to set up a free consultation!

 

See Also: