Strategic Law Firm SEO: A Guide to Modern Search Engine Optimization Strategy for Law Firms
Given the very real limit to how many keywords for which you can truly optimize your website, you should concentrate on search terms that have a demonstrated history of driving traffic. There are several criteria that you should use to judge keywords. Do not skip this step, because starting with the right keywords is a necessary early step for a successful law firm SEO campaign. I highly advise that you focus on keywords that meet four primary criteria:
1. They create some traffic. Regardless of how relevant a keyword, if it represents a search phrase that is NEVER used, you're not really accomplishing anything. You're not going through all this trouble for fun. You're doing it to generate traffic to your website. No traffic, no leads, it's as simple as that. But a warning: don't get greedy. You have to balance the potential traffic against the amount of effort required to achieve a high search ranking for the keyword. It would be great if your law firm's website were ranked number one for "lawyer," but trying to do that would be a very poor use of your time. Think big, but think strategic.
2. They are related to the services you provide. This seems obvious, but many lawyers and business owners tend to fall in love with the wrong keywords. If you specialize in personal injury cases in Chicago, Illinois, "personal injury" is not an appropriate keyword. "Personal injury lawyer" is better, but still extremely difficult; "Chicago personal injury lawyer" is way more relevant and more realistic. Keep it real.
3. Competition is not out of hand. If you search Google for "social security lawyer," it will return 21 million results - astronomical, but not a true representation of competition. If you do an "allintitle:" search for the same thing, you get 395 thousand results. That is much better, but still a very heavy level of competition. If you do the same type of search for "Baltimore social security lawyer," you get 322 results. That represents a very realistic level of competition.
4. If you already have search engine rankings for any keywords that meet the traffic criteria, then those are excellent candidates for optimization. Any good keyword for which you are in the top 30 or 40 should be targeted, unless it is a keyword that does not generate any traffic, as discussed above.
If you look for keywords that match the above criteria, you will be more likely to be successful using search engines to drive traffic to your website. Always keep in mind that search rankings with no traffic do you no good. You've got to approach search engine optimization strategically. Otherwise, you can work yourself to death and not see results. Doing your research and picking the right keywords is a critical first step that you must not skip in your SEO campaign.
This article has been based on content in the book, Strategic Law Firm SEO, which can be purchased at Amazon.com or by visiting www.lawfirmseo.biz. The book is also available in Kindle format.
1. They create some traffic. Regardless of how relevant a keyword, if it represents a search phrase that is NEVER used, you're not really accomplishing anything. You're not going through all this trouble for fun. You're doing it to generate traffic to your website. No traffic, no leads, it's as simple as that. But a warning: don't get greedy. You have to balance the potential traffic against the amount of effort required to achieve a high search ranking for the keyword. It would be great if your law firm's website were ranked number one for "lawyer," but trying to do that would be a very poor use of your time. Think big, but think strategic.
2. They are related to the services you provide. This seems obvious, but many lawyers and business owners tend to fall in love with the wrong keywords. If you specialize in personal injury cases in Chicago, Illinois, "personal injury" is not an appropriate keyword. "Personal injury lawyer" is better, but still extremely difficult; "Chicago personal injury lawyer" is way more relevant and more realistic. Keep it real.
3. Competition is not out of hand. If you search Google for "social security lawyer," it will return 21 million results - astronomical, but not a true representation of competition. If you do an "allintitle:" search for the same thing, you get 395 thousand results. That is much better, but still a very heavy level of competition. If you do the same type of search for "Baltimore social security lawyer," you get 322 results. That represents a very realistic level of competition.
4. If you already have search engine rankings for any keywords that meet the traffic criteria, then those are excellent candidates for optimization. Any good keyword for which you are in the top 30 or 40 should be targeted, unless it is a keyword that does not generate any traffic, as discussed above.
If you look for keywords that match the above criteria, you will be more likely to be successful using search engines to drive traffic to your website. Always keep in mind that search rankings with no traffic do you no good. You've got to approach search engine optimization strategically. Otherwise, you can work yourself to death and not see results. Doing your research and picking the right keywords is a critical first step that you must not skip in your SEO campaign.
This article has been based on content in the book, Strategic Law Firm SEO, which can be purchased at Amazon.com or by visiting www.lawfirmseo.biz. The book is also available in Kindle format.