Most law firms today have developed a web presence to attract new clients. Some sparkle and shine, others languish and produce lackluster results. The distinguishing factor for many of these cases is the strategy they employ for the keywords they use on their respective web sites.
The most successful employ specialized marketing firms, like Lasting Trend, to research the top SEO keywords for law firms to incorporate into their site. This leads to higher search rankings which, in turn, leads to increased organic traffic.
Legal SEO is one of our areas of expertise at Lasting Trend. Contact us today to see how we can help you!
What Are SEO Keywords
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization (or Optimized). So, SEO Keywords are keywords that are tagged and structured to get the notice of the various search engines online like Google. The keywords themselves are not necessarily limited to a single word. They can consist of an entire phrase.
Basically, the idea is to select keywords that match the phrases that users type into the search bar on a search engine. If the phrase matches the keyword on your page, your page has a greater chance of being displayed on the list of search engine results for the user of the search engine.
Short Keywords Vs. Long-Tail Keywords
Keywords come in a variety of forms. For example, some keywords consist of a single word or perhaps two. Such keywords are called short keywords. Contrast that with long-tail keywords which consist of three, four, five, or even more words.
When you are developing a list of SEO keywords for lawyers, it’s good to keep that distinction in mind.
Why the Right Keywords Matter
Search engine optimization techniques like strategically using the top SEO keywords for law firms in the development of your site can increase your site traffic exponentially and then some.
Very few people ever reach the 2nd page of a search result. Indeed, unless your law firm is listed on the first page it might as well not exist. One of the critical factors determining what legal site is listed where are the attorney SEO keywords each one uses.
You need traffic to make conversions and increase your client roll. If you use the right SEO keywords for lawyers, you will get that traffic and reap the rewards of such.
Top SEO Keywords For Law Firms Listed
As a rule, the most effective keywords are those that get large amounts of high-quality traffic. That is, a law firms wants to get a lot of traffic that is looking for something that firm provides, whether it be legal services or simply information.
A number of different factors come into play when one is looking for the best SEO keywords for lawyers. It is not just the number of searches per month. Other factors, like competitiveness play a role, too. Let’s look at a few examples of good attorney SEO keywords.
Short Keywords
We’ll start with some short keywords. These are one or two word combinations that might include:
- Lawyer
- Immigration lawyer
- Attorney
- Bankruptcy Attorney
- Divorce lawyer
Obviously, that’s not a complete listing. There are more out there. Generally speaking, short keywords generate the greatest volume of searches per month on Google and other search engines.
Basically, this means that the term is popular and probably common. So common, in fact, it may be too difficult to rank for such a term because every other law firm out there is using that word as a keyword. Thus, a different strategy may be called for.
Long-Tail Keywords
As we said above, long-tail keywords consist of three or more words tacked together in a phrase. Some excellent attorney SEO keywords are:
- Lawyers near me
- Car accident lawyer
- Real estate attorney
- Personal injury lawyer
- Divorce lawyers near me
Again, that’s hardly a complete list and it isn’t necessarily in order. The key thing to notice here is that because every phrase consists of more words than a short keyword, it is more specific. This narrows the scope of the word, but at the same time, eliminates much of the competition for that word.
How To Find Profitable Legal SEO Keywords
So, now that you know how critical SEO keywords, you may be interested in learning how to find the most profitable ones for your particular law firm. In developing a keyword list, there are a number of keyword SEO tactics for an attorney to use. Some of these tactics include:
- Start with a Big List
- Use Google Suggest
- Audit Your Competition
- Don’t Get Blinded by the Big Numbers
- Use Your Geographical Location
Let’s take these one at a time.
Start with a Big List
The first step you want take when searching for the best keywords for lawyers SEO efforts is to start with a big list. You need to generate an extensive master list to work with. In some ways, this is analogous to brainstorming – except there are a number of software tools you can use to help you.
The idea is to whittle down the master list into a more manageable selection that you’ll be able to do some analysis on to produce effective results for your company.
Use Google Suggest
In the next step, you should perform a simple google search on your main keyword or one of your potential main keywords. The thing to look for is the section called “related searches.” You can use the information presented there to gain a better understanding of what people in your target audience are searching for.
Each listed result is an excellent choice for a legal SEO keyword. They can become headings for sections of a blog post, or simply additional keywords that you know produce results.
Audit your Competitors
Another one of the critical keyword SEO tactics for an attorney is auditing his/her competitors. When doing competitive analysis, you start by visiting your competitors’ websites. Take note of the keywords used and the structure of each page. Determine how user-friendly the site (how easily it is read, etc…) is, and how computer-friendly (no spam or keyword stuffing, etc…) it is.
You don’t want to plagiarize or do anything else unethical, but you do want to get ideas and refine your insights to make your site more impactful.
Don’t Get Blinded by the Big Numbers
When you are doing your keyword research, you may find keywords with large numbers attached. For example, suppose the keyword “lawyer” garners 200,000 searches per month. Impressive, right? Not necessarily.
Although it generates a huge number of searches, the difficulty of ranking on the first page of a search of that word is astronomical. Massive numbers of searches don’t do you any good, if all the searchers are going to someone else’s page.
This, essentially, delineates the advantage long-tail keywords have over short keywords.
Use Your Geographical Locations
Another point to consider is geographical location. Showing up on search listings in California isn’t very useful for an attorney located in New York City or some other practice area. That’s why your law firm should spend significant resources on local SEO keywords for attorneys.
Changing a general keyword into a local keyword is often easy to do. Simply tack “in NYC” onto the end of the word. So, “attorney” becomes “attorney in NYC.” Remember to do variations, though. Include, “in New York,” “in New York City,” etc… to cover all the bases.
Keyword Research Tools for Law Firm SEO
Doing keyword research on your own is a laborious, time-consuming process. Fortunately, there are a number of professional software tools you can use to help you. Some excellent options include, but are not limited to:
- MOZ
- Ahrefs
- SpyFu
- And SEMrush
Be aware that many software tools have limited-time free subscriptions. This is a great way to get started, but you should know that SEO requires a long-term effort. A short-term freebie won’t cut it in the long run.
That’s one of the many reasons you might want to use a SEO marketing firm like Lasting Trend. Contact us today to get your SEO campaign underway!
How To Use SEO Keywords For Lawyers
Another one of our important SEO keyword tips for lawyers is that not all keywords serve the same purpose. The keywords that direct traffic to one of your landing pages may not be the same keywords you use to direct someone to your legal blog.
The first will likely be used to sell your services to the client and is called a commercial keyword. The second is called an informational keyword. Both are based on the intent of the user. There are also transactional and navigational keywords as well.
Identify And Target Specific Keywords
The idea behind the intent of a user is that you should structure your content to provide the answer to the question the user is concerned with. If they want information about legal services, you provide information about legal services. If they want to set up an appointment, you provide a form to do so.
That means, you have to identify and target those respective sets of keywords. Again, the right software can do a lot of this for you, provided you know how to use it.
Incorporating Keywords Into Site Content
When incorporating keywords into your site, you must remember that you have two audiences. One audience is the search algorithm. It uses the keywords to index your site to help determine how it will be listed on Google.
This means you must take advantage of keywords usage for many of the behind-the-scenes aspects of a site. This includes alt tags for images, the site’s URL, meta-description, etc… There’s a lot of ground to cover here.
At the same time, you must remain aware of your human audience.
Avoid “Keyword Stuffing”
The second, and more important, audience is your human audience. These are people who will give you business. Beyond answering the initial question, humans aren’t really concerned with keywords. They want high-quality content that provides a superb user experience. For them, keywords operate behind-the-scenes.
What does this mean? You must incorporate keywords in a way that it doesn’t disrupt the user experience. Keyword stuffing—the practice of cramming as many keywords into the text as you can manage—will ruin the flow and readability of the content and will, ultimately, be penalized by the search engines.
Avoid keyword stuffing at all costs.
FAQ
What Are Legal SEO Keywords?
Legal SEO keywords are keywords that are geared towards the legal profession. They attract traffic to law firms, directing such traffic to landing pages, legal blogs, and other parts of a lawyer’s site.
Is it Better to Rank for Short or Long-Tail SEO Keywords For Lawyers?
It may seem counter-intuitive, but the Long-Tail SEO keywords are better to rank for because they allow for better targeting and are usually less competitive.
What Are The Best Keyword SEO Tactics For Attorney?
The best keyword SEO tactics for attorneys are to make your website human-friendly (clean writing that is suitable for mobile and other technologies) and computer-friendly (intelligent, strategic use of legal keywords throughout the various parts of the site). You should also update the site on a regular basis.
Optimize Your Website Today
If you’re law firm’s website is languishing and you just aren’t getting the results to make it worth the effort, it may be time for a change. Consider Lasting Trend. We’ve got what you need!We’re a digital marketing company with the experience and knowledge of all the pertinent SEO trends and strategies to deliver the results you’re looking for. It’s time to up your game. It’s time to increase your ROI. Contact Lasting Trend for a thorough consultation now!
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