However, getting clients is not just about building a website and expecting users to inquire about your services. If you’re a lawyer who is looking into building a professional online portfolio or a company website, it is important for your content to be search engine optimized.
This is applicable if you plan to start a company blog. The company blog will not only provide you content which will make you searchable on websites such as Google, Bing, or Yahoo, it will also provide readers valuable content that can encourage them to avail of your services. In this post, Lawyers of Distinction enumerates 5 SEO tips for lawyers who are starting their own websites.
5 SEO Tips for Lawyers
1. Consider using local keywords
The difference between your company and from a lot of online entrepreneurs is your service-based business. This means that you are most likely able to get a client from within your community, city or state. It would be challenging to get clients from another state, as laws also differ from each part of the region. To do this, Lawyers of Distinctionsuggests that your content must contain keywords that pertain to your local area. For example, if you’re a personal injury lawyer located in Tampa, Florida, you add keywords in your content such as “Personal Injury Lawyer in Tampa Florida”. Usually, people from the Tampa area would be typing this search term and will most likely land on your website.
2. Use long-tail keywords
Try to put yourself in your potential client’s shoes. How would you search for yourself? You won’t simply put terms such as “lawyer” or “lawyer in the US” as these terms would be too broad for you to find what you need. Instead, opt to make use of long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords can exist in various forms–they can be in the form of a question such as “How do I file a divorce in Manhattan New York”. These terms are very specific and help you narrow down your clients to ones that really need your services. Additionally, these keywords can be paired up with valuable content such as blog posts or instructional videos that will connect you to your potential clients.
3. Content must be long-form and authoritative in nature
Due to recent changes in Google’s algorithm, websites with sparse content are now unsearchable. More and more websites with long-form posts tend to appear at the beginning of the search engine pages because of the value they provide. This means that if you want your page to rank in Google for the search term of your choice, your blog posts must be informative, long, and full of value. Lawyers of Distinction suggests that your posts must be at least 500-1200 words long, and should be able to answer questions that readers may have. This, coupled with good keyword research will give you a high chance of being on the front page of search engines.
4. Focus on readability
Law and legal matters are usually serious topics. They are filled with jargon, and sometimes, the layperson may just close your blog post if they find it too complicated. Make sure to create your posts in such a way that your readers would find it easy to understand. Remove all the legal jargons that would confuse them. To help you in this, you can find a person out of your profession to read your article. Ask for feedback if the content is easily understood, or if changes have to be made. Limit the jargon to terms which cannot be replaced, otherwise, use simple conversational language to engage your readers.
5. Using various media forms to create engagement
The main way for search engines to display your website is through blog posts or website content. However, this doesn’t guarantee engagement from your readers. To improve this, you can also include various multimedia forms in your posts, such as infographics, images, video, or podcasts to improve the multi-modality features of your blog. This will also capture your potential client’s interest and would allow them to consume your content in the way that they prefer. Just make sure to use the same keywords in different multimedia forms (e.g. alt tags for images and video titles) so that your content will remain SEO-friendly.
Digital marketing is a broad term, and its general principles do not necessarily apply to all types of online businesses. Through this post, you can understand which types of SEO practices are applicable to make a successful legal company website.