SEO for Lawyers

How to Use Your Practice to Rank #1 in Search

During the discovery process we figure out all of the online assets you already have that can be used to your advantage in search.  Everything from your firm’s physical location and social media accounts to your membership in legal-related associations is leveraged.

As a respected member of the legal community, you have powerful assets at your disposal.  We pull together all those assets to use as leverage in one comprehensive document.  This is the first step in designing your custom SEO campaign.

“Submitting your law firm to legal directories like Avvo, Justia and Findlaw can significantly boost your presence in search because these sites consistently rank on the first page of Google. These sites are authoritative to search engines and trusted by searchers.”
~ Chris Dreyer, CEO & Director of SEO

All of those assets can be used for things like consistent contact information on the internet, links, social proof for your site, vehicles for guest posting and much more.

Throughout the first week, our SEO specialists work one-on-one with you or a member of your firm to get all hosting, social media, website, directory profile, and other login credentials. Much of this information is captured in our discovery documentation which streamlines the process of starting SEO work on your site.

We use social profiles, directories, professional organizations, your website (or sites), external blogs, your professional status as a lawyer, your practice areas, and many other assets to promote you and your firm on the internet.

It’s no secret that as an attorney, you may be subject to bar regulations related to advertising.  We work with many attorneys, and we are adept at crafting campaigns that succeed within state bar frameworks.

How to Get More Clients by Optimizing Your Website

On-site SEO is all about the structural and content improvements you can make to your website to make it rank better in search.  That process starts with figuring out what keywords you need to be going after to bring in the kinds of cases you want.

We start by doing keyword research, which means analyzing what phrases people are using to find your legal services.  We look for terms that people are using a lot but that not many attorneys in your practice area are trying to rank for.

Once we know which terms to go after, we make sure those phrases are used in strategic areas of your website.  For example, we include them in content, in page titles, in the headings of content and in URLs, to name just a few.

Another way we optimize client sites is by adding structured data markup.  That’s a fancy way of saying we make your content more understandable to search engines so that your critical contact information shows up more prominently in search results.  That’s really important for local searchers who are trying to find an attorney to contact.

Other important changes we make include organizing your pages so that they are in logical places on your website.  We also take steps to improve the experience visitors have when they come to your website.  It may not seem like it, but making your site easy to use sends positive signals to Google.

Below is a brief overview of the on-site or on-page elements we optimize on your site:

How to Grow Your Firm with Legal Content Writing and Social Media

It’s hard to find enough time to run your firm, so forget about writing blog posts and syndicating content on social networks.  You’re not an SEO; you’re a lawyer, and practicing law is what you do best.

It may seem counter intuitive, but you can get more leads and clients by generating helpful, well-researched, and informative content.

We can take that content generation off your hands and grow the authority of your firm online at the same time.  Just think of it: You’ll have a team of JDs generating content to make your firm look like a superstar in your practice area all over the internet.

Your potential clients will be mesmerized by your legal expertise, and your competitors will wonder how you’re doing it.

We know you’re busy practicing law and that you are the person who knows your firm best.  That’s why our SEO specialists work closely with you to create or gain access to social accounts, develop content strategies, and syndicate your content all over the internet.

How Local SEO Can Get You the Cases You Want

Local search holds special relevance for lawyers because they serve local geographic regions.  There is only so much space in local results for attorneys, so every little bit helps when it comes to local optimization.

“Claiming and optimizing your GMB (Google My Business) profile is one of the most impactful things lawyers can do in search. Add images, add your practice area, add your hours of operation, and most importantly; focus on getting reviews.”
~ Chris Dreyer, CEO & Director of SEO
See how Rankings.io got Stewart Guss to the number one position for Houston personal injury lawyer

The SEO specialists at Rankings.io are experts at local SEO.  Here are some of the things we do for our clients to make them rank well in local search:

• We set up profiles on Google My Business, Bing Business Listings, Yahoo, and other top-tier directories. We fill out profiles completely with content, images, and useful information about your firm for users.
• We create hundreds of citations across the internet with consistent name, address, and phone number information for your firm.
• We make location-specific pages for your firm to help it rank for location-specific phrases.
• We use attorney-specific schema markup on your content so that search engines can more easily interpret and display it in search.
• We acquire links from local sources like BBB.org and other high-quality local sites.
• If your state bar association allows, we help you design and implement a campaign to get reviews on your GMB profile as well as on your website.
• We submit your site to top local directories.

How to Earn Page One Rankings with Links

Links are the No. 1 ranking factor in search.  All else being equal, the site with the highest quantity and quality of links pointing at its domain will outrank its competition in search.  Acquiring links from reputable sources can be challenging, but it’s achievable with some creativity and hard work.  Here are some of the strategies we employ for our clients:

• Guest Posting: Writing content and getting other people to post it on their sites is a good way to get high-quality links to your site. io content strategists help our clients find viable guest posting opportunities around the internet and within their own spheres of influence.
• Lawyer-Specific Directories: Contextually relevant links are huge for SEO, and lawyers can find them on legal-specific directories. We submit client sites to 100-plus high-quality, legal-specific directories on the internet.  These include broad legal-related directories as well as practice-area niche directories.
• Scholarship Programs: Links from .edu sites tend to be authoritative, and we are unmatched in our ability to land links on educational domains through the use of our scholarship campaign. We have curated lists of hundreds of educational institutions across the United States that we help our clients pitch their scholarships to.
• Social Media Link Building: We get your audience to engage with you on prominent social media networks by sharing your well-crafted content. By syndicating content on sites like Scoop.it, we can generate highly authoritative “dofollow” links to your site.
• Local Directory Link Building: There are many local directories with high Domain Rating where attorneys can have a presence. We’ve curated a list of hundreds of the best local directories that are all DR 40 and up.
• Infographic Link Building: Infographics are a great way to engage people online and get them to share your content. We help our clients submit to dozens of high Domain Rating infographic directories.
• Blogging: An off-site blog is an easy way to get a link to your main website. You should have a blog on your own domain too.  Create an account on Blogger.com or WordPress.com and post content on a regular basis that links back to your main domain.
• High DR Directories: Directories with a high Domain Rating are another good source of high-quality links. We claim directories on top sites like HG.org, Justia, and Avvo.  We also create opportunities for off-site blogging on sites like Tumblr.
• Press Release Link Building: We help clients disseminate press release information through popular networks like PRWeb, PRBuzz, and others. While press releases are not a strong source of links, they are great for balancing out a link profile and earning brand exposure.

How to Get Transparent and Accurate Reporting

Open and continuous communication on your SEO success is one of our priorities.  We understand how vital the investment you’ve made in your site is, and we provide accurate and timely reporting so you can see how that investment is paying off.

Here are some of the platforms we set up your site in for long-term SEO campaign reporting:

• Install and/or properly configure Google Analytics
• Install and/or properly configure Google Search Console

Other platforms from which we extract and manipulate data:

• Ahrefs
• WooRank
• Google
• SEM Rush

Routine weekly reporting on SEO campaigns is a cornerstone of our process with clients.  You can expect to see frequent and transparent reporting on how your SEO investment is working for you. We understand that not all SEO firms online are reputable, so open, clear, and continuous communication about your success is our goal.You don’t have to earn any special degrees or designations to be an SEO.  All a person has to do is create a flashy website and claim he or she is the best SEO in the business.  How do lawyers tell the difference?

Our SEO specialists work one-on-one with you or a member of your firm to provide consistent reporting on your SEO campaign progress.  You shouldn’t be left wondering if your SEO campaign is working or when you will get a report.

Do you need help with your law firm’s SEO?  Contact us today to request a consultation with one of our SEO specialists.