Let’s kick things off with a statistic that highlights the importance of SEO for general practice law firms. Did you know that up to 66% of call conversions in the legal industry originate from organic search (RulerAnalytics)? That’s a huge number, and it speaks to the increasingly digital world we live in.
The thing is, general practice law firms face some unique challenges when it comes to attracting clients online. They’re not like those niche firms that specialize in one area of law. They’ve got a broader practice area, which means more competition.
But here’s the good news – SEO can help general practice law firms overcome these challenges and reach a wider audience. When you consider the power of search engines, it’s clear that a strong SEO strategy is essential for any law firm looking to grow its client base.
So, what exactly is SEO? Well, it stands for Search Engine Optimization, and it’s all about improving your website’s visibility and ranking on search engines like Google. It’s not just about stuffing your site with keywords – it’s a complex and ever-evolving field that requires a deep understanding of how search engines work and what users are looking for.
In this article, we’re going to dive into the challenges that general practice law firms face when it comes to SEO, as well as some strategies and tactics to overcome those challenges. We’ll cover everything from keyword research to link building to local SEO. By the end, you’ll have a solid understanding of how to approach SEO for your general practice law firm.
Challenges for General Practice Law Firms in SEO
Let’s start by looking at some of the key challenges that general practice law firms face when it comes to SEO.
Broad Keyword Competition
One of the biggest issues is the high level of competition for general keywords. Try ranking for a term like “lawyer” or “attorney”. These broad keywords are highly sought after, which makes it incredibly difficult for a general practice firm to rank for them.
Lack of Specialization
Another challenge is the lack of specialization. Niche firms that focus on a specific area of law, like personal injury or estate planning, have an easier time establishing authority and relevance in their field. They can hone in on specific keywords and topics, whereas general practice firms have to spread their efforts across multiple areas.
Local SEO Complexity
For many general practice firms, local SEO is key. They want to attract clients in their geographic area. But targeting multiple locations and practice areas can make local SEO management a real headache. It’s not as simple as just optimizing for “lawyer in [city]”. You’ve got to consider the nuances of each location and practice area.
Resource Constraints
Finally, there’s the issue of resources. For smaller general practice firms, they don’t have the same budget or manpower as larger firms. They may struggle to produce the volume of high-quality content and build the backlinks necessary to really succeed with SEO.
These challenges can seem daunting, but they’re not insurmountable. With the right strategies and tactics, general practice law firms can still make significant strides with SEO.
SEO Strategies for General Practice Law Firms
So, how can general practice law firms approach SEO in a way that addresses these challenges? Here are a few key strategies:
Niche Down Within Practice Areas
One way to deal with the broad keyword competition is to niche down within your practice areas. Instead of trying to rank for those big, general keywords, focus on more specific, less competitive long-tail keywords.
For example, rather than targeting “family lawyer”, you might aim for keywords like “child custody lawyer in [city]” or “prenuptial agreement lawyer”. These are more specific, and while they may have lower search volume, they’re also less competitive, which means you have a better chance of ranking for them.
Here’s a real-world example from my experience: I worked with a large law firm that was struggling to rank for any keywords related to medical malpractice. I decided to niche down and focus on specific negligence types. By creating targeted content around this specific topic, particularly case studies, they were able to rank much more quickly and attract clients looking for that particular service.
Develop a Strong Local SEO Strategy
For most general practice firms, local SEO is going to be a key piece of the puzzle. You want to make sure that when someone in your area searches for a lawyer, your firm shows up.
To do this, you need to claim and optimize your Google Business Profile for each location. This is essentially your firm’s listing on Google, and it includes information like your address, phone number, hours, and reviews. By ensuring this information is accurate and up-to-date, you improve your chances of showing up in local search results.
You also want to target location-based keywords on your website and in your content. This could be as simple as including your city or region in your page titles and headings.
Another important aspect of local SEO is building citations. These are mentions of your business name, address, and phone number on other websites, like online directories and legal associations. The more consistent citations you have, the more credibility you build with search engines.
Finally, don’t underestimate the power of local community involvement. Sponsoring local events or organizations can lead to valuable backlinks and increased brand recognition in your area.
Create Comprehensive and Authoritative Content
Content is king in the world of SEO, and this is especially true for law firms. Your content is what demonstrates your expertise and builds trust with potential clients.
To make the most of your content, you need a strategy. I recommend developing a content calendar that targets different stages of the buyer’s journey. You want content that addresses the initial awareness stage, when someone is just realising they have a legal problem, all the way through to the decision stage, when they’re ready to hire a lawyer.
Your content should be comprehensive and in-depth. Think detailed blog posts, informative articles, frequently asked questions, and case studies that showcase your successes. Don’t be afraid to go long-form – Google tends to favour content that thoroughly explores a topic.
Also, consider different content formats. While text is important, you can also leverage multimedia content like videos and infographics. These can be great for engagement and can also help you stand out in search results.
Finally, don’t forget about the power of attorney profiles and testimonials. These help to humanise your firm and build credibility with potential clients.
Build a Diverse and High-Quality Backlink Profile
Backlinks, which are links from other websites to yours, are a major factor in SEO. They’re essentially a vote of confidence from another site, telling search engines that your content is valuable and relevant.
For general practice law firms, the goal should be to build a diverse and high-quality backlink profile. This means getting links from a variety of reputable sources, not just a bunch of low-quality directories.
One effective tactic is guest blogging. By writing articles for other relevant legal websites and publications, you can earn valuable backlinks and exposure for your firm. You can also seek out opportunities to be listed in reputable legal directories and industry associations.
Public relations can also play a role in link building. If you can get your firm or your attorneys featured in media outlets, that can lead to high-quality backlinks.
Finally, creating shareable content can naturally attract backlinks. If you produce something truly valuable and informative, other websites will want to link to it.
Optimize for Technical SEO and User Experience
While content and links are important, they won’t matter much if your website is a technical mess. Technical SEO involves optimizing your website’s infrastructure to make it easier for search engines to crawl and index your pages.
One key factor is page speed. In today’s fast-paced world, no one wants to wait around for a slow website to load. Google has indicated that page speed is a ranking factor, so it’s crucial to ensure your site is as fast as possible. This may involve optimizing images, minifying code, and leveraging caching.
Another important aspect is mobile-friendliness. With more and more people using smartphones to access the internet, your website needs to look and function well on mobile devices. Google primarily uses the mobile version of your site for indexing and ranking, so a poor mobile experience can really hurt your SEO.
You also want to optimize your website’s structure and navigation. Use clear, concise URLs and make sure your site is easy to navigate. Use internal linking to help search engines understand the hierarchy and relationship of your pages.
On-page elements like title tags, meta descriptions, and header tags also play a role in technical SEO. These elements help search engines understand what your pages are about and can also influence click-through rates from search results pages.
Finally, don’t neglect website security. Google favours secure websites, so ensure your site is using HTTPS. You also want to avoid any intrusive interstitials (like pop-ups) that could hurt the user experience and your SEO.
SEO Tactics for General Practice Law Firms
Now that we’ve covered the high-level strategies, let’s dive into some specific tactics that general practice law firms can use to execute these strategies.
Niche Down
- Use keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner, Semrush, or Ahrefs to identify long-tail keywords related to your practice areas. Look for keywords with lower competition but still a decent search volume.
- Create dedicated landing pages for each of these niche keywords. These pages should be thoroughly optimized for the target keyword, with it appearing in the page title, headings, and throughout the content.
- For example, if one of your niche keywords is “estate planning for blended families”, create a page specifically about that topic. Provide detailed information about the unique considerations and strategies for estate planning in blended family situations.
Local SEO
- Tools like Moz Local or BrightLocal can help you manage and optimize your local citations. They’ll help ensure your business information is consistent across different directories and platforms.
- Consider running local awareness ads on social media platforms like Facebook. These ads can be targeted to specific geographic areas and can help increase brand recognition and drive traffic to your website.
Content Marketing
- Use a content calendar tool like Trello or Asana to plan and organise your content strategy. This will help you ensure you’re creating content consistently and targeting different stages of the buyer’s journey.
- Repurpose your content to get the most mileage out of it. Turn a blog post into a video or an infographic. Use quotes from a blog post as social media posts. By presenting your content in different formats, you can reach a wider audience.
- Use Google Search Console to see what questions people are typing into Google that lead them to your site. These can provide great ideas for new content topics that you know people are interested in.
Link Building
- SEO tools like Semrush and Ahrefs have features that allow you to see what websites are linking to your competitors. You can then reach out to these same websites to see if they’d be interested in linking to your content as well.
- Reach out to local journalists and bloggers who cover legal topics. Offer to provide expert quotes or to write a guest post for their site.
- Legal publications are always looking for expert contributions. Reach out and offer to write an article or provide a quote for a story they’re working on.
Technical SEO and UX
- Use Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool to check your website’s speed and get recommendations for how to improve it. This tool will identify specific issues like large images or unminified code that are slowing down your site.
- Check that your website is mobile friendly. There are several mobile friendly test tools. You can even use the Lighthouse report within Google Chrome’s Developer Tools to check if there are any accessibility issues that will affect mobile. Another mobile friendly check you can do is simply to open up your website on your mobile device and check it is easy to read the content and navigate to different pages.
- Regularly check Google Search Console for any technical SEO issues or security problems. This tool will alert you to things like crawl errors, indexing issues, or security threats on your site.
Measuring SEO Success and ROI
SEO is a long-term strategy, and it can take time to see results. However, it’s important to consistently measure your progress and adjust your strategy based on the data.
The first step is to set up tracking in Google Analytics. This free tool from Google allows you to track a wealth of data about your website traffic, including how many visitors are coming from organic search, what pages they’re visiting, how long they’re staying on your site, and what actions they’re taking.
You should also be using Google Search Console. This tool shows you how your site is performing in Google search results. You can see what keywords you’re ranking for, how many impressions and clicks those keywords are getting, and your average position in the search results.
To really understand the ROI of your SEO efforts, you need to be tracking lead generation and client acquisition. Use your CRM or client intake system to note how each new client found your firm. Over time, you should be able to see a correlation between your SEO efforts and an increase in leads and clients from organic search.
Regularly review all this data to see what’s working and what’s not. If you’re seeing good results from your efforts in a particular practice area or location, double down on those efforts. If you’re not seeing the results you want, it may be time to adjust your strategy.
Final Thoughts
SEO for general practice law firms is challenging, but it’s also incredibly rewarding when done right. By niching down within your practice areas, developing a strong local SEO strategy, creating comprehensive content, building high-quality backlinks, and optimizing for technical SEO and user experience, you can improve your online visibility and attract more clients to your firm.
But SEO isn’t a one-and-done task. It requires ongoing effort and a commitment to staying up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices. Google’s algorithms are constantly evolving, and what worked well last year may not work as well this year.
As you embark on your SEO journey, keep an eye on emerging trends. Voice search is becoming increasingly popular, and optimizing for how people speak (as opposed to how they type) will become more important. User experience is also becoming a larger factor in SEO, with Google increasingly using signals like user engagement to rank websites.
By staying on top of these trends and continually working to improve your website’s SEO, you can set your general practice law firm up for long-term online success. It’s not always easy, but the payoff in terms of increased visibility, traffic, and clients makes it well worth the effort.
