1st page rankings We have worked with 100s of law firms to develop The Attorney Rankings System®, a streamlined approach to getting first page rankings.
SEO FOR Lawyers
Attorney Search Engine Optimization (SEO) involves strategies, techniques, and tactics that help attract more prospective clients to a law firm’s website by obtaining first page ranking positions in search engines (such as Google, Bing, or Yahoo). Rankings.io specializes in SEO for lawyers.
The Attorney Rankings System® is a proven SEO method that gets tangible and long-lasting results for our clients. Our methodical and systematic approach starts with a comprehensive audit followed by detailed scrutiny and optimization of on-site SEO, content, off-site SEO, and link-building.
The Attorney Rankings System®
Rankings.io provides SEO services for law firms in extremely competitive markets. Our system ensures best practices for on-site and local SEO and valuable exposure to hundreds of different law-related websites.
Step 1: The SEO Discovery Audit®
Before any SEO work begins on your website, our team does a comprehensive audit that has two over-arching objectives:
- Uncover any SEO issues that need to be resolved to achieve your firm’s business objectives.
- Conduct competition analysis.
During the audit process, we create benchmarks for the market share you need to gain in search to outrank your competition. We also examine at your firm’s existing website and other digital assets to see what can be leveraged in your SEO campaign. In other words, we put your digital presence under a magnifying glass; the audit creates the foundation for all the other SEO work done on your website.
Some of these items may include:
- On-site SEO diagnosis
- Content analysis
- Link-building review
- Competitor content analysis
- Competitor backlink review
- Local SEO evaluation
- Mobile optimization
- Website speed test
- And more
The video walk-through is special: most digital agencies simply give you a document (generated by software) that can be hard to parse through and understand, while we provide answers in plain English on a shared screen. The format is helpful for easily digesting the information in your audit and teaching you about SEO on your site.
For more than a decade, we’ve been developing The Attorney Rankings System®, a streamlined system for ranking attorney websites in Google search.
Step 2: The Attorney Rankings System®
Our system for ranking websites is a process that we’ve worked on since our founding. It’s a methodical approach that creates the highest chance of success for getting your site to rank on the first page of Google search results for your keywords.
Baseline reporting & collection of digital assets: we start by creating baseline reports of where your site is at now in the search results. We also assess what digital assets you already have that can be leveraged in your SEO campaign.
Thorough keyword research: Researching the keywords your firm needs to rank for is an important foundational element of your SEO campaign. By researching your firm and getting information from a brief questionnaire filled out by you, we develop core keyword phrases that will drive traffic to your site and generate conversions.
Editorial content calendar: When you purchase content through Rankings.io, it is edited by licensed attorneys. We also create a strategic content calendar outlining how often your posts will go live and what the topic areas are. This keeps a consistent flow of high-quality content streaming onto your site.
Topics & Ideation: We look to our attorney clients for the best topics to use for content on their site however we’re pros at coming up with engaging content that will help your visitors convert into new cases for your firm.
Primary onsite optimization: Our team methodically goes through your site to optimize all onsite elements including content, technical, keyword placement, schema, and more. We are proponents of the checklist manifesto and our team follows streamlined plans to ensure no element is left behind.
Expand existing content: Many of our clients already have content on their site which is awesome. We evaluate your existing content and then go to work expanding it, adding to it, and making it better than your competition’s content. This is all so visitors will see your site as the authority in your practice area.
Ongoing content: As our relationship progresses, we provide ongoing content production and editing to target more keyword phrases. This not only helps you rank well for a variety of phrases but builds on your authority as an attorney.
Ongoing optimizations: Eventually your firm will grow, you’ll add more pages, change things up, and make improvements. We’ll be there along the way making sure your site is well positioned to rank well in search no matter what changes you want to make.
Heavy link building: Links are Google’s primary ranking factor and it’s one of our most important focuses for your SEO campaign. Around month 2 of your campaign is when we start on white hat, safe, and aggressive link building. We only follow Google best practices when it comes to SEO and we only get links on the highest quality domains.
Monthly reporting: One of our core beliefs is transparency in everything that we do. Not only will you get frequent and open communication from your SEO Project Manager but you’ll also get tangible monthly reports so you can see how your investment is paying off.
The Attorney Rankings System®
For more than a decade we’ve been developing The Attorney Rankings System®,
a streamlined system for ranking attorney websites in Google search.
I. On-site SEO for Lawyers
A firm’s website is at the core of their success in search marketing. The Attorney Rankings System®ensures that your site is built to rank well in search. We handle every aspect of on-site SEO, giving you the best possible chance to rank for your keyword phrases.
We cover everything: title tags, headers, web copy, meta descriptions, page speed, permalink optimization, and content, as well as more technical aspects like legal service schema and internal linking. Our on-site SEO guarantees a solid footing that allows everything else we do outside your site to be successful.
II. Legal Content Writing
Well-written content is the cornerstone of a good web presence, but not everyone can write for lawyers. The blogs and pages that we provide are written by attorneys and edited by professionals.
We also curate and syndicate your content on leading content aggregators and social media platforms. Getting your content in front of as many people as possible helps generate traffic and links to your site.
III. Local SEO for Attorneys
Our attention to local SEO means you’ll be seen by people in your geographic region who are searching for legal services you provide. We submit your firm’s business information and website to hundreds of the most authoritative local website directories.
We use citation tools like Bright Local to build consistent citations across the Internet and implement other location-based law firm SEO strategies, such as attorney schema and local link building.
Links are the most common differentiator between sites that rank well and those that do not. They are also Google’s #1 ranking factor. We only use white-hat link building strategies to get links on the highest quality domains.
We offer our clients unique campaigns that generate links from the most authoritative websites in the industry and we do it in a way that promotes authority, longevity, and your firm’s stellar reputation.
IV. Link-Building Services
Transparency in everything that we do is one of our core values, so your SEO Project Manager will provide you with monthly reporting on your SEO campaign that is clear and easy to understand.
Something that sets us apart when it comes to reporting on your campaigns is that we do not automate the process. All of our reports are hand-crafted, so a real person has eyes on your results each month.
V. SEO Reporting
One of our core values is transparency in everything that we do. Your SEO Project Manager will provide you with routine monthly reporting on your SEO campaign that is clear and easy to understand.
Something that sets us apart when it comes to reporting on your campaigns is that we do not automate the process. All of our reports are hand-crafted so you have a real person with eyes on your results each month.
How we get first page rankings for our clients
The Attorney Rankings System® is a streamlined and holistic approach to SEO. We show you how to leverage your digital assets, attract viable leads with content, strengthen your local SEO, and earn page 1 rankings with inbound links.
Learn How to Use Your Law Firm's Assets to Rank #1 in Search
During the discovery process, we categorize your existing online assets to determine what you already have that can be used to your advantage. Everything from your firm’s physical location and social media accounts to your membership in legal-related associations is fair game. We pull together all those assets to use as leverage in one comprehensive document. This is the first step in designing your custom SEO campaigns, but these assets can also be used for things like consistent contact information on the internet, links, social proof for your site, and vehicles for guest posting.
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(s), 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 in many states through the U.S, we are adept at crafting campaigns that succeed within and abide by state bar frameworks.
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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 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.
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. Rankings.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 may help clients potentially pitch their scholarship 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.
- 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: In some cases we can help 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
- Page Speed Insights
- Google Search Console
- Siteliner
- Screaming Frog
- Bright Local
- SEMRush
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 for a consultation.
Randolph Rice
Law Offices of G. Randolph Rice Jr, LLC
Brian Zeiger
The Zeiger Firm