The legal field is an intensely personal industry. Your law firm works directly with individuals, families, or businesses, which means attracting clients is a top priority. Across the United States, there are about 450,000 law firms [1], many of which are competing for the same target audience. Standing out from the competition, especially in your practice area, is crucial for sustained success.
Focusing on your law firm website is key to your marketing objectives. In 2024, most potential clients will begin their search for legal services online, so positioning your practice at the top of search engine rankings is necessary.
This can be accomplished through a local search engine optimization (SEO) campaign.
Do Law Firms Need Local SEO?
Local SEO focuses on improving your position in local search rankings on popular consoles like Google or Bing. Google is the priority since it is the most used search engine by a wide margin.
Your law firm should prioritize a local SEO strategy because you are likely competing with other nearby law firms in the same service area. Most of your clients will be local, so SEO on a national scale will not impact your conversion rate.
Why Local SEO Is Important For Law Firms?
When a person requires legal services, the first place they will turn is probably the Internet. They will search for a term like “personal injury lawyers near me.” If you have not invested in law firm local SEO, then your website is unlikely to pop up near the top of the organic search results.
The data shows that the top three results for any given search query see the vast majority of the available traffic, so if you want to stand out as a personal injury attorney or any other type of lawyer, SEO must be part of your marketing efforts. Local SEO for lawyers has numerous benefits, including:
- Greater brand awareness
- Stronger presence in the community
- Outpacing competing firms
- Polishing your brand image
- Generating more online conversions
- Informing prospective clients of your services
- Showing up on Google Maps or the Local Pack
In-Depth Guide To Local SEO For Lawyers
Your local SEO efforts can be the difference between clients choosing your firm and choosing a competitor’s practice. To move your website up the rankings in local search results, consider adopting some of the following methods.
Setup and Optimize Your Google Business Profile
Google My Business is a top strategy for improving local SEO. It is why businesses show up first in search queries on a Google Maps graphic and in the Local Pack with hours and contact information. Without a profile for your law firm, it will be harder for local clients to find you. Setting up this page is relatively simple, but it can have a massive impact on organic traffic to the law firm’s website.
- Access the Google Business Profile page and select “Manage Now”
- Provide business details
- Add a location
- Specify the service areas
- Add contact information
- Finalize the page
- Create regular Google Business profile posts
Get Listed on Local Directories
Directories are another method for showing up more in local searches. You can get listed on national directories, but that will not do much to improve local SEO. Instead, focus on local and legal directories that are specific to your field of law and geographic location.
If your law firm’s business listings are locally based, all the better for your marketing efforts. There are many types of online directories you can use to acquire backlinks to your website, such as:
- Chambers of commerce
- Business listing associations
- Pages or groups on social media
- Local government websites
- Niche business directories focused on legal services
Build Local Citations
Citations are any time there is a textual reference to your business information, such as the name, number, or location of your law firm. You can partner with other local businesses to provide citations for each other, and pairing them with local link-building will maximize the impact on the firm’s local SEO. Here are some steps that can help with this initiative:
- Set up Google Alerts for your brand name to find citations
- Claim those citations to acquire backlinks
- Search local business listings for companies you can add value to
- Evaluate the websites of these businesses
- Reach out and offer value to obtain a citation and backlink
- Hire attorney link-building services for professional assistance
Make Sure Your NAP Is Consistent
NAP stands for name, address, and phone number. Consistency is key for local SEO for lawyers, so making sure all online iterations of this information are consistent will help you acquire more organic traffic through search engines.
Earn a Badge of Trust from Google
If your business has earned the trust of Google, the largest search engine in almost every market, then you are in a good position. Your law firm’s online presence can be strengthened locally with a Google Screened badge. Passing this screening will require several elements:
- Create an account with accurate business details
- Upload attorney photos and licensing information
- Connect Google Business profile reviews
- Submit to background checks and licensing verification
Request Reviews from Your Clients
Google reviews can have a massive impact on local SEO for lawyers. You can request these positive reviews through your Google My Business profile, which can then be connected to your website and other platforms to display your average rating. With visible online reviews on the search engine results page, clients will be more likely to navigate to the website to learn more.
Research and Use Local Keywords
Keyword research is a pillar of local SEO. You want to rank highly for relevant keywords, especially local keywords that relate to your practice area. There are many tools to research relevant keywords for your local audience, so take advantage and start curating content that incorporates these terms.
Dominate Local Search Results by Publishing Local Guides
If you want to dominate the local area on Google and other search engines, one way to do so is by creating location-specific content. Local guides can be incredibly helpful for your law firm’s local SEO, providing valuable information to potential clients that search consoles will deem as helpful to the target audience. This will move your content up the local rankings.
Create Pages Based on Your Geolocation
Location-specific landing pages can also improve your local campaign. For example, if you serve several towns in your area, you could create separate service pages for each specific town. Then, when you run local services ads, they can link back to these pages that feature relevant content for the user. This is a highly effective strategy for using local service ads and content creation to your advantage.
Earn Local Links
Backlinks are an indication of a website’s authority and trustworthiness, especially if they come from other reputable websites. Building links from other local websites will enhance SEO overall and for local searchers. Link outreach can be done in numerous ways, such as guest posting, citation searches, broken link building, and being featured in podcasts or interviews.
Make Sure Your Website is Mobile Friendly
If almost every local search for a law firm begins online, you can bet it starts on a person’s smartphone. Websites look different on a computer than they do on a phone screen. If you are a personal injury attorney and your pages are not optimized for mobile users, Google could lower your local SEO rankings. This will make it harder to compete for organic traffic with other injury law firms that prioritize a mobile-friendly experience.
Sponsor and Join Local Events
Legal practices play an important role in the community. Since your work is focused on people, your presence in the community must be positive. Sponsoring and joining in local events can boost the perception of your brand, but it will also provide opportunities for citations and backlinks on local websites. Both of these elements contribute to a strong online presence that will allow for higher rankings in local search queries.
Local SEO for lawyers is crucial if you want to compete at show up at the top of every Google search. The methods listed above can lead to more website traffic from potential clients, creating more opportunities for online conversions to boost the firm’s bottom line. If your law firm’s local SEO strategy is sound, then you have a better chance of welcoming new clients to the practice.
How Much Does Local SEO Cost For Lawyers?
For a strong lawyer local SEO campaign, you can expect to pay anywhere between $5,000 and $20,000 a month, though this number depends on your location and the market for legal practices in the area. However, the return on investment for your legal practice can be substantial and long-lasting if you work with a reputable SEO agency that understands your specific needs and builds a custom campaign.
Endnote
Businesses that invest in local SEO services tend to be far more successful. A strong campaign can push your law firm to the top of local search results, driving more traffic to the website and creating more opportunities for conversions.
Whether you are a personal injury lawyer, a business attorney, or a family lawyer, you need a stronger presence online in the local community. There are plenty of strategies you can employ to improve your position, including local listings on Google Maps and Google’s Local Pack results, partnering with local organizations for events, and asking for positive reviews from past clients.
Evaluate your local intent for an SEO strategy and start prioritizing the right steps that will move your legal business up the search rankings.
