Local SEO for Law Firms

When we use Google or any other search engine to research a business, service, or product, we’re shown two types of search results. The list taking up most of the space on a page is the main list of search results which will include everything from corporate sites to informational articles, news articles, and review sites. In the case of a business, service, or product, there will also be a secondary box containing local businesses. The businesses that find their way to the top of this list do so with a type of search engine optimization (SEO) we call local SEO. As you can imagine, most local SEO strategies vary from industry to industry. Law firms that find their way to the top of the local legal listings do so by mastering a form of local SEO for law firms.

Achieving good local search results can make a huge difference in how many potential clients you may have contacting your firm. Folks in need of legal aid aren’t likely to search through pages and pages of search results. They’re likely to do the exact opposite—pick the first couple at the top and make a decision between those two or three firms (and this, by the way, is where having an awesome web design comes in handy).

Potential legal clients are also more likely to favor local search results over traditional listings due to the fact that the local listings are guaranteed to be within driving distance. Front page local listings also conveniently come with review stars if available, office hours, and a handy map, giving folks a quick way to find out facts about your firm without even having to visit your website. For those of us who are always on the go, having access to a quick fact list can make a troublesome decision a whole lot simpler.

How Local SEO Affects your Law Firm’s SEO Strategies

In order to obtain high rankings on both local and traditional listings, local SEO and traditional SEO strategies must be in place. Local SEO for law firms works differently than traditional SEO for law firms in one critical way. Unlike regular search engine listings, local search listings are based on the searcher’s location first and foremost. If your firm isn’t one of the closest law firms to a potential client, you’re not likely to appear in that client’s first few results. Each searcher’s results will vary based on their exact location.

What you can control is how well you rank in comparison to other law firms which are located in an area that’s similarly close to a given potential client. Traditional SEO and local SEO both take keyword usage into consideration, but local SEO mainly depends on location-based keywords. Likewise, it’s important for any law firm wishing to show up in local search results to be visible on Google maps and feature a map on the firm’s website.

Similar to traditional SEO, local SEO requires both on-page SEO and off-page SEO. On-page SEO strategies for local listings tend to include placing a law firm’s physical location and address in several easy-to-locate spots on that firm’s website. Off-page strategies include links, reviews, citations, and more.

Starting to see a trend yet? It all boils down to one word: Location, location, location. Location is central to local SEO. That’s why the legal SEO experts at Legal InSites personalize our SEO services to the exact needs and location of each and every law firm or lawyer we work with. In order to create local SEO-optimized content that potential legal clients are interested in, one must first understand the location, its legal community, and its client base. Our personalized ideation process aims to do just that—and that’s why it works.