There's nothing worse than spending a big chunk of change on an SEO firm only to have them fail to deliver. What makes things worse is that most companies take advantage of their customers, promising results that rarely come true. At the AJ Center, we've been able to deliver results for our clients at a rate that has never been seen before—and we're going to tell you how you can get the same results!
Document keyword research
Keyword research is one of the essential parts of SEO. It helps you find new keywords to write about and makes it easier to determine what topics are relevant to your audience.
It's also crucial for competitor analysis and understanding what people are searching for.
Optimize for search engines and usability
Optimizing for search engines and optimizing for usability are two different things, but they're equally important. Search engine optimization ensures your site shows up in the top results of Google searches, while usability ensures that people can find what they're looking for on your site easily.
Make sure your website loads quickly! This is one of the most important things you can do because slow loading speeds lead to lower engagement and fewer conversions (no one wants that). To improve load times:
Minimize image sizes by using compression tools like TinyPNG or Kraken Image Optimizer - Move CSS stylesheets out of the header file by using CSS Combiner plugin
Optimize for mobile
Mobile is important. If you have a website, prospective clients will likely use mobile devices to search for legal services. According to Google, 57% of all searches are now done on smartphones and tablets; this number grows quickly each year.
If your site isn't optimized for mobile, you're missing out on potential clients who could be searching on their phones while standing at the bus stop or waiting in line at Starbucks--and they won't find you!
To check if your site is already optimized for mobile devices (and if it isn't), go here: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/ if it says "yes," great! If not, read on.
Use local keywords
When using a local keyword, it's essential to ensure you use the correct one. For example, if you are in New York City and do personal injury law, your target keywords might be "personal injury lawyer NYC" or "accident lawyer NYC."
If your business is in California and does immigration law, your target keywords could include: "immigration attorney Los Angeles" or even something more specific like "immigration attorney san diego."
Create a separate page for each practice area
Create separate pages for each of the practice areas you offer. This will allow you to target different keywords and rank for each one.
Suppose you have a criminal defence attorney specializing in DUI cases and another specializing in personal injury. In that case, it makes sense to have two pages on your website: one for criminal defence attorneys and another for personal injury attorneys.
Similarly, if multiple attorneys work at your firm with different specialties (such as family law versus probate), these need their pages. That way, they'll rank organically when someone searches specific terms related to these areas.
Finally--and this is an important step--you should create a page dedicated entirely just showing all previous cases won under each type of law practised by all lawyers within your firm
Write editorial style copy
You're writing for humans, not search engines.
Your copy should be highly relevant to your audience and use words that are specific to them. For example, if you're a criminal defence lawyer in Los Angeles specializing in DUI cases, then when you write about "drunk driving," don't just say "Drunk Driving."
Instead, say something like: "How do I get my license back after a DUI?" or "Drunk driving attorney in Los Angeles." You can also use keywords like these:
- Drunk Driving Attorney Los Angeles
- Criminal Defense Lawyer Los Angeles
Get local citations and links
This is a great way to get local links and citations, which will help your rankings. Here's how it works:
Use local directories. There are tons of directories out there that can help you find relevant websites in your area. Simply search "city name + directory" and see what comes up. Contact them directly to ask if they'd be interested in featuring an article from your firm on their site or having you contribute an article about local legal issues (though remember, always check their submission guidelines before submitting).
Get news coverage for yourself! If there have been any local developments regarding your practice area, reach out directly to reporters at local news sites and tell them about it--you never know what might happen!
Focus on micro-conversions & building trust first
Micro-conversions are small wins that help you build trust with your audience. They can be as simple as getting someone to sign up for your email list or download an eBook, but they can also be more complex things like scheduling a meeting with a lawyer or signing up for an initial consultation.
It would help if you also focused on building trust with your content by creating exciting articles relevant to your audience and publishing them regularly. Combined, these two things will make people feel confident about working with you when they eventually need legal services!
Encourage reviews
Reviews are an essential part of local search rankings. You can get reviews by asking for them on social media, email, and your website. The more reviews you have, the better it is for your law firm's SEO. Reviews help build trust with potential clients, which leads to more conversions in the long run.
Create a local listings strategy
A local listing strategy is an integral part of your overall SEO strategy. Local listings are a great way to get found by your target audience, and they can be leveraged in many different ways.
Here are some things you need to consider when creating a local listing strategy:
What types of local listings do you have? Are they all listed under one business name or multiple business names? If so, create a centralized hub for all of them so that they're easy for customers to find on Google (and other search engines).
How often do you update each listing? Do you have someone solely responsible for keeping everything up-to-date, or does everyone chip in occasionally when they have time between projects?
Each page must contain accurate information about the company so people don't waste time trying out services at places where those services aren't offered (or aren't available yet).
Use videos and images to increase conversions
Using images and videos can increase your website's conversion rate. Using both will help you stand out from competitors who don't do this.
First, use videos to explain complex topics. This can be helpful if you have a lot of information on your site that may confuse readers or scare them off if they don't understand it immediately.
For example, if you write an article about how divorce affects children in custody battles, consider making a short video explaining what divorce means and how custody battles work. Hence, people know what they're getting into before reading the full article (and potentially leaving).
Second, use videos as part of your marketing strategy! This can be done in many ways: showing off office space or lawyers using their services.
Create a Consistent NAP Across the Web (Name, Address, Phone)
One of the best things you can do for your law firm's SEO is to ensure that your name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistent across all platforms. This will help search engines easily find your site, provide an easy way for users who have found you on one platform to find you on another, and allow them to trust that they're connecting with the same business across multiple platforms.
If you are a lawyer, ensure that your NAP matches up precisely with what shows up on expert directories like Martindale Hubbell or Super Lawyers.
It also needs to match up precisely with whatever state bar association regulates lawyers where you practice law (for example: "New York Bar Association" rather than just "NYBA").
Use State/legal specific keywords in URLs and page titles
The best way to get a higher ROI on your SEO is by using state-specific keywords in your URLs and page titles.
For example, if you're a personal injury attorney in the state of Texas, it would be wise to use "Texas Personal Injury Attorney" as your page title (instead of just "Personal Injury Attorney").
This helps drive traffic from people looking specifically for legal help in Texas and converts them into paying customers more often than not.
The same principle applies to other geographical areas: city names, county names, and even postal codes can all be used as part of your URL or page titles to improve click-through rates on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Make sure your website is secure (HTTPS)
If you have an HTTPS site, it's more secure than an HTTP site. This is because the "S" stands for "Secure."
In other words, when users visit your site using HTTPS (the secure version of HTTP), they know their information is encrypted.
This means that no one can access what they're doing on your website or see which pages they've visited while there--it keeps all of this private and secure.
However, there are some drawbacks to having a website that's not encrypted:
- Google doesn't like it because it doesn't give them peace of mind about how trustworthy your business truly is;
- It could be harder to convince visitors that their data will be safe if they give it over during the checkout process;
- Some users may not realize that they need to change their settings to see a site correctly (yes, even though most browsers default these days).
Wrapping up
When you invest in your website and business, it's essential to ensure you get a return on that investment. The best way to do this is through Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which can help you get more customers, leads and sales by showing up higher in search results on Google and other directories like Bing or Yahoo!
