You can find almost everything online these days. Attorney SEO marketing is no different, and your competitors are getting traction from most people going online to search for legal services. They don’t look in the phone book or the yellow pages anymore. In fact, according to the National Law Review, 96% of people seek legal advice using a search engine. What’s more, 74% of prospects that begin with an online search end up contacting the office via phone.
While this sounds great, implementing SEO for attorneys is no cakewalk. With hundreds of websites being indexed in Google every day, it’s challenging to get yours to shine. In other words, there is no room for mistakes.
Whether you hire professional attorney SEO services or decide to do it yourself, you have to get it right from the get-go. There is no secret formula for 100% successful SEO. However, you can take a few steps to help reduce the risk of failure.
1. Focus On Just One Keyword
This is a common mistake. And the best agencies that offer attorney SEO services know this all too well.
If you continue to focus on just one main keyword, it’s less likely to work. It prevents you from ranking for a more diverse set of keywords. Besides, relying on one keyword means you have to cut through the toughest competition, including high-ranking competitors.
Keywords optimization is at the heart of your attorney’s SEO marketing. But the first cardinal rule of keyword optimization is to go as far and wide as possible. Make a checklist of different keywords, including long-tail and high intent keywords. Use these keywords appropriately throughout your website, blog, and social media content. Even one long-tail keyword will have multiple smaller keywords in it, so you can think of it as two for the price of one.
But what is a long-tail keyword? Long-tail keywords are specialized keywords. Generic keywords often have a high search volume. And the higher the search volume, the more difficult it is to rank for that keyword. On the other hand, specialized keywords, usually more than 3-4 words long, have low volume, better search intent, and less competition.
For example, using a keyword like “Scranton divorce attorney” is a much better idea than just going for “Scranton attorney” or “divorce attorney.” As you can see, people looking for a “Scranton divorce attorney” are looking for specific legal services. So, they are more likely to convert.
2. Going Only for Promotional Content
In the world of attorney SEO, the saying “content is king” never gets old. It is the backbone of every SEO strategy you create and implement. But keeping it 100% promotional will cause more harm than good.
Sure, you are going to need promotional content every now and then. But, the rest of your content needs to resonate, educate, and inspire your target audience. So first and foremost, write for your target audience. Make sure your content answers their questions or appeals to their interest.
For example, a potential client facing a DUI charge would want to know what they should do before and after getting pulled over. This means your content needs to focus on steps they can take when talking to the officers, their legal rights, and how they can get through this with minimum hassle. That’s one of the best ways to pique their interest in how your law firm can help them.
Instead, if you only talk about your services, how great your practice is, and why many people trust you, they won’t trust you. So, keep your content focused on what your target audience wants to strengthen your attorney SEO.
3. Ignoring Voice Search Optimization
Voice search is on the rise. Nearly 71% of users prefer conducting queries via voice search than normal typing. Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s Assistant, and Apple’s Siri are probably the most popular voice assistants. And their popularity is only going to increase in the future.
Voice optimization needs to be at the front and center of your SEO for attorneys. However, it’s going to be different from your routine SEO. For starters, you will need to focus on conversational keywords. People are going to use natural phrases when using voice searches.
This means conversational long-tail keywords need to be a part of your SEO strategy. You will also need to rely on real-time data on consumer behavior to improve your voice search results. A few other things you must keep in mind include:
- Create compelling persona-based content.
- Ensure context with the schema markup.
- Add an FAQ page.
- Keep your SEO focused on local and mobile search optimization.
4. Neglecting Site Loading Speed
Websites are an integral part of SEO for attorneys. Research shows that 74% of consumers visit a law firm’s website to take action. That’s great but if your website is slow, those visitors will leave soon and probably never come back again.
When page load time goes from 1 second to 3 seconds, the probability of bounce increases by 32%. This is also a critical search ranking factor. In other words, a slow website will kill your attorney SEO faster than you can imagine.
Take a few minutes to check your website’s loading speed. Google offers online tools to test the loading speed of desktop and mobile sites. Once you get the results, hire professional attorney SEO services. They can help you optimize your website for loading speed.
5. Disregarding Local SEO
While a fast-loading website is necessary, it alone isn’t enough to increase conversions. Your attorney SEO also needs to consider local SEO. Disregarding it would be a disaster. You need to treat your Google Business Profile the way you treat your website.
With “near me” searches increasing, this strategy only makes sense. The “near me” searches for local places have grown 150%. In short, local SEO can help you target and attract a lot of local traffic to your GBP profile, website, and even office.
Optimize your GBP profile right away. Use the keywords you want to rank for, including conversational keywords. They can help rank for voice search. Moreover, add information that sets you apart from your competitors. Spend some time working on your GBP profile summary, FAQs, and posts. It can help you tap into a broader pool of local web traffic.
Contact Someone Who Understands Attorney SEO
Attorney SEO is an inevitable part of your digital marketing strategy. Unfortunately, many lawyers and law firms still can’t get it right. And if you make mistakes, it will negatively affect your online presence. By avoiding these five simple mistakes, you will be able to unveil the true power of your SEO marketing.
But balancing your SEO marketing and your practice isn’t going to be easy. That’s where a seasoned digital marketing agency like ENX2 Marketing comes in. We can help you implement SEO tactics that’ll boost your web traffic and sales conversions. Contact us today to know how we can help.