Marketing for lawyers online is very competitive and requires an ongoing commitment to be successful. It requires a balance of art and science when it comes to getting your website to rank high within search engines. While lots of lawyers have websites for their law firm (filled with company information and areas of practice), many still do not take full advantage of promoting their website correctly. Below is how we approach attorney SEO marketing for practice area pages to boost online leads and create long-term success.
One Page Per Practice Area
Often times when we take over the SEO marketing for a law firm, we see all the practice areas listed on one page with very little information. It is critical that each area of practice has its own webpage. Each practice area page will target specific keywords and will have ample relevant information and engaging content.
Clean Design Layout
Your practice area pages (and the entire website for that matter) should have a clean layout. There is no need to reinvent the wheel with unique design schemes. Start with a white background, select a professional font with a dark color and make sure the font is at least 17pt or larger. Organize your content to make it easier for the reader to scheme through and quickly find the information they need. Writing short paragraphs and making use of bullet points is strongly recommended as well.
Engaging Content
The secret sauce for attorney SEO marketing will be your website copy. Creating quality content with relevant facts about the law with a specific practice area is a recipe for success. While getting a page to rank on the first page of the search engines isn’t solely based on word count, it is important to only add text to each page if it benefits the reader. Resist the urge to add fluff and avoid keyword stuffing.
Each practice area page will serve as an overview landing page. Eventually, these pages will have subpages that will dive deeper into a specific aspect of each area of practice. Providing quality content on a granular level will provide your firm a competitive advantage over your competitors.
Keeping readers on your page is important for search engine rankings. It shows directories like Google that the visitor has found content that is relevant. Adding video to your website, is a great way to keep visitors engaged. Investing in quality video production is worth every penny, if it keeps people on your site and offering you their undivided attention. Video is powerful, can create a connection and effectively convert people into leads when done correctly.
Add Credibility
Often you will have very little time to engage a potential client on your website. At the same time you need to convey your skillset and show that you are an authority in your field. Strategically adding awards, customer testimonials and successful case studies will convey credibility to the reader. The goal is to have a complete stranger peruse your website and within seconds instinctively feel that you are the attorney they need representing them.
The Journey
The goal of each practice area page should be to educate perspective clients and guide them through the page. Add headlines for readability as well as adding keywords naturally. Utilize internal linking to other relevant pages that helps the reader find the answers they need. Throughout the page it is important to display your call to action (CTA), which for attorneys will be a lead capture form as well as a contact phone number. It is okay to display your phone number and/or a schedule an appointment link multiple times on pages that have long form content.
Markup The Page
Schema Markup is essential to attorney SEO marketing. It provides all the technical page details to the search engines in a language they understand and desire. While schema has been around for years, there are still many law firms who do not take advantage of this SEO advantage. Investing in schema could be the difference in your website showing up on the first page of Google.
If you would like more information about how to develop successful practice area pages for your website or have questions about SEO marketing for your firm, send us a message below.
