I talk to a lot of lawyers.
Some prefer big cases that are fun, challenging, and rewarding. Other attorneys have a specific ‘niche’ case that they like. They're usually smaller, but easier to manage, and can pay the bills.
When developing a legal SEO strategy, you choose what keywords to target, and in turn, choose the types of calls that come into your office. In this article, I’m going to teach you how to use SEO to get more of your favorite case types.
Basic SEO Foundation
Before you read any further, I am assuming that your site has a basic SEO foundation. That means you probably paid a web designer to set it up, and hopefully they made it SEO-friendly. Here are my key assumptions:
Assumption 1:
You are already getting organic visitors to your website
This is important, because the strategy I am going to share will work best if you already get some traffic, and your website has decent authority.
Assumption 2: You don’t have any critical website errors
Critical website errors carry a huge penalty in search rankings. If you have critical errors on your website, fix those now (if you need help finding critical errors, get a free website analysis here)
Assumption 3:
You have a basic form or call now button for visitors
The following strategy will get you more website visitors, but those will only translate into calls if you have some sort of ‘call now’ button or form set up on the website.
Ok, let’s jump into the strategy!
Step 1
Create a New SEO-Optimized Services Page
So the first step is figuring out the type of case you want more calls for. For the purposes of this article, let’s assume you want more Child Guardianship cases, and you’re an attorney based in Denver, Colorado.
We'd start by choosing a focus keyword. A focus keyword, is basically the search term you want to rank you page highly for. In this case, our focus keyword will be Child Guardianship Attorney Denver.
Next, you need to create a URL that includes the focus keyword.
For example: www.yourlawfirm.com/services/child-guardianship-attorney-denver
Your page Meta Title should also include the focus keyword, as well as either a call to action, the name of your firm, your tagline, or whatever you think will help your result stand out for the rest.
For example: Child Guardianship Attorney Denver | Free Consultation, Call Now
Your page Meta Description should include the words, 'Child Guardianship Attorney' but should also speak directly to your potential client. Resist the urge to speak only about yourself, and instead tell your potential client how you can help them.
For example: Establishing a legal guardianship for a minor child is a complex process, so it is important to have a Denver child guardianship attorney by your side.
At this point, our web page will look something like this on Google:
Not bad.. but if we really want to rank on Google, we need to optimize the rest of the page as well.
Your page heading (in the H1 style on your website builder) should be Child Guardianship Attorney Denver
Pro Tip: Below the H1, you can write a sub title in H2 that has ‘long-tail’ keywords. Example: Our Firm has 16 Years Experience with Legal Guardianship in the Denver Colorado Area
It might look something like this
Child Guardianship Attorney Denver
Our Firm has Over 16 Years Experience with Legal Guardianship in the Denver Colorado Area
And then you get into your main content.
For the main content, a simple writing strategy is to imagine you are sitting across from a potential client who has done no research on the topic, but knows they have a problem, and write as if you are speaking to them directly. Break your writing up into 300-400 word ‘chunks’ (similar to this article) and use 1-2 different colors on your web page to make things more interesting.
Example sections could be:
- What is a legal guardian?
- Legal responsibilities of a guardian
- Do I need an attorney for child guardianship
- How to choose a guardianship attorney
Now it’s important to note that you are writing much more content than the average visitor will read, but surprisingly, some people DO read all the content. Google tracks how long your visitors stay on your website, and when they stay for a long time, your rankings go up.
Step 2
Create an Opt-In Form or Call Now Button
Now normally I would assume you already have this section in place, but it's so important that I'm going to talk about it anyways.
It's one thing to get visitors to your website, but it's another (and more important) thing to get them to actually call you or fill out a form and request your services.
The art and science of getting more people to convert from website visitors to clients is called Conversion Rate Optimization, or CRO, and without getting too deep into it right now, it's an essential piece of the puzzle.
Step 3
Write 4-5 Blog Posts Answering Common Questions
This is what separates 10 visitors a month from 100.
This is the final step that you can do over a week or a month or two depending on how much time you have to dedicate to writing. I highly recommend setting a content release goal (maybe 1 article per week) and sticking to it. The goal with these articles, is to write useful content that genuinely helps people searching for answers on Google.
Even if people viewing the articles don’t convert to clients, if you link your ‘main’ service page to the blog pages, it will increase its authority and rank your main services page higher on Google.
Going back to the example of Child Guardianship, some articles you might write could include:
- What to do when your disabled child turns 18
- What is permanent guardianship of a child?
- How to get guardianship back of your child
These are just some ideas, but in each article, you would write a minimum of 500 words (ideally 1,000) and include a link at the very beginning to your Child Guardianship Denver page. By doing this, you are helping people with real questions, and also promoting your own services.
Step 4
Sit Back and Let the Calls Come In
Congratulations! You did it. Want to track your results? Sign up for Google Search Console and monitor your progress. If you created a brand new service page, I predict it will take 1-2 months for the effects to fully take place, but it all depends on your website's overall authority, as well as a few other factors.
With Google Search console, you can track (for free) how many people are visiting your new page, and what searches they're typing before they click on your page. This can help you create future content, if you choose to.
Closing Thoughts
These are the exact steps you can take to self-direct your own client flow. These days, it's easier than ever before to create content and get clients from Google. More people than ever before are using Search Engines before they need expensive services, such as legal counsel.
Want more traffic, but hate the idea of doing it yourself?
At Magnetic 28, we've helped lawyers climb to the #1 position on Google, and can do it for a fraction of the price it would cost you (based on your billable rate *wink*).
We know your time is valuable, and if you want to learn more about how we can help you grow your business without the headache, book a free website consultation and speak to one of our legal SEO experts today.
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