Local SEO Optimization Checklist for Lawyers to Get Ahead In Google SERPs

The world around us is moving closer or say shifting completely to digital mediums for all the needs. Similarly, when people need law advice or legal counsel, they would turn to Google to find the best attorney or law firm in their local area.

Now what you can do about it is optimize your online business listings and law website to rank higher on local search engine result pages (SERPs). Whether you practice law in a metropolitan city or a suburban area, local SEO optimization is vital to help clients find your law firm easily.

But what does local SEO for lawyers look like? Let’s clear that out of the way:

What is Local SEO for Lawyers?

Local SEO for lawyers is a tailored approach to improve rankings for your website and business listings across the web by implementing strategic regional SEO. The process involves complying and modifying your listings and website to search engine algorithms.

For the same, you need a sophisticated local SEO strategy that helps increase your web presence and brand awareness. Doing so will also help drive more organic traffic from Google Map listing as well as the website.

However, implementing a local SEO checklist for your lawyer’s website & listing can be overwhelming considering you have clients to take care of. That’s why you must call an adept team of local SEO service providers to be your beacon of light.

Why Should Lawyers Pay Heeds to Local SEO?

Search Engine Optimization for Lawyers matters a lot today more than ever. A survey by Martindale-Avvo in 2019 found over 43% of users in the USA used an online directory/review site or Google to find an attorney.

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This number has increased to 57% in 2021 who look for a lawyer on their own by searching online. Such researches show that customers who value word of mouth or referral, still use online mediums to seek legal help.

That’s where Local SEO optimization for your lawyer website can help you meet new clients at the rendezvous i.g. Google SERP. Local search engine optimization plays an enormous role in helping clients find your law firm online.

The first way to rank is in Google Local Pack or Map listings and then rank for organic search rankings. Here’s an image showing the difference between the two:

Law firms must pay heed to local optimization tactics for both local pack and organic search because if you don’t rank for one, chances are you can rank for the other. Now let’s see how you can rank for each individually:

Simple Local SEO Checklist for Lawyers to Rank High on Google Map

1. Claim & Update Your Lawyer Profile on Google

Optimizing your law firm’s listing on Google Business Profile is key to ranking high on the local pack. The first step for the optimization starts with adding or claiming your business listing on the Google Map or Search.

Let’s see how you can start with the optimization:

Claim & Verify Your GBP

• See if your law firm is already listed on the GBP. Claim the listing of your lawyer profile or add a fresh one.
• Use Map or Search functions from your Android or desktop browser to add a new listing and proceed to verify via postcard, email, phone, Search Console, or Video. Choose the suitable mode to verify your lawyer profile.

Update the GBP Info

• After you have claimed and verified your listing, next is to correct or update your law firm’s information such as Name, Address, and Phone Number.

• Also, update your working hours and location marker info for users to know when and where to reach you.

Optimize for High Ranking

• GBP optimization includes assigning the right primary and additional categories to your lawyer profile.
• Get more reviews for your GBP by offering the best possible experience to your clients.

2. Get More Local Links, Citations, & Reviews

The amount and quality of citations, backlinks, and reviews for your GBP listing affect your local pack rankings. They establish your law firm as authoritative and trustworthy in the eyes of Google which ultimately helps improve your position in SERP.

Here’s how you can get started with it:

Generate Quality Links

• Create a localized link-building strategy to get quality links from relevant sources.
• Reach out to relevant local businesses, publishers, and media houses and pitch them to give your law firm a mention.

Build More Local Citations

• Create detailed citations on relevant local review sites with accurate information such as Name, Address, and Phone Number.
• Add your lawyer profile on local directories such as Yelp, Facebook, Apple Maps, and other suitable local places.

Get More Reviews

• Get more reviews on your GBP and other local business listings.

• Improvise and offer clients the best possible user experience when they get in touch with you.
• Respond to all the negative reviews and handle negative reviews aptly. Here’s an example of how you can do so:

3. Optimize Listings for Searcher’s Proximity

Searcher’s proximity is one of the important and top local SEO ranking factors that Google considers when ranking local pack listings. Even though it’s the most influential factor, it’s out of your hand to control the searcher’s distance from your location.

Still, here’s what you can do:

Optimize for the Distance

• Establish your business as an authority figure in your niche & clients can avail tremendous services that no other law firm offers.
• Keep your location info always updated and possibly nearest to the city you want to rank in.
• Since you can’t control the distance factor, direct your efforts into optimizing your organic search rankings.

Local SEO Checklist for Lawyers to Boost Organic Search Rankings

1. Build a Rank-Worthy Law Website

Ranking high on organic search results requires building a rank-worthy website that is well-optimized with location-specific keywords, follows the best website architecture pattern, and has unique, high-quality content.

Here are a few things you can do to make your law website rank-worthy:

Structure Your Content

• No one would like to read out-of-format content, thus, structure your content for both Google and your audience to make it more readable & desirable.
• Format your content with proper heading tags, title tag, URL structure, meta descriptions, and alt image text.
• Optimize your content with location-specific keywords to appear in the local SEO searches.

Improve On-Page Experience

• Today, users may come from a variety of devices that have a variety of screen sizes and form factors. Offering the best experience on each device is crucial.
• Implement a responsive design that can easily adapt to each device’s form factor.
• Improve page load speed, core web vitals, site security, mobile responsiveness, and limit intrusive interstitials.

Optimize Internal Linking

• Linking internal pages throughout your website helps search engines identify the most important pages to rank on SERP.
• Further, it helps your audience to discover vital pages and information that can help them in their conversion journey.

2. Optimize Your Law Website for Local Keywords

Keywords are search terms that your customers and visitors use to find relevant legal services or information online. They are immensely important for search engines to determine the relevancy and context of the content with the searcher’s query.

Including and optimizing for these keywords help you rank higher in local organic searches. Let’s see how you can start with local keyword research:

Research Local Keywords

• Find the most common & basic keywords that clients most often use. Here are some examples:
  • Lawyers/Attorneys
  • Family attorney
  • Tax lawyer
  • Business lawyer
• Find local keywords that include a city or a particular area of the city your law firm operates in. Here are a few examples:
  • Lawyers/attorneys near me
  • Family attorney in Austin
  • Law firms in Chicago
  • Business lawyers near me
• Along with the primary keywords, find some modifiers that represent your law firm in a better way. Here are some keyword modifiers you can use:
  • Top
  • Best
  • Experienced
  • Trusted
• You can go a step further to dig out LSI or long-tail keywords that clients may use to find your lawyer services. Use the below tools to find suitable keywords:
  • Ahrefs
  • SEMrush
  • Moz
  • Google Keyword Planner
  • Google Trends
  • Google Search Bar (for long-tail keywords)

Optimize Keywords Appropriately

• Optimizing your website with keywords is as important as finding the right ones.
• The most essential website elements to optimize with keywords include URL, Title Tag, Headings, Content body, and meta description. Here’s an example of the “Attorney in Austin” keyword:

• Avoid stuffing keywords or inserting them forcefully. Use keywords naturally and sparingly.

3. Execute Link-Worthy Content Marketing

Link-worthy content is the one that people would want to link back to and refer to throughout their own content. Content marketing is one of the link-building strategies that help your law website to get quality backlinks from reputable sources that too at the free of cost.

(Source)

However, creating such high-value content is somewhat difficult at first. Still, here’s how you should approach content marketing for your law firm:

Use Several Content Types

• Create content using several different content types such as infographics, slideshows, videos, and tutorials to explain different law practices.
• Pack as much value as possible in your content, which encourages others to mention your content within theirs.

Write Expert Local Guides

• Apart from the common blogs and articles that you create, write expert local guides explaining best law practices for different segments of clients.
• For example, if you offer business law services, then explain all the legalities for small, local businesses to start their business in your area.

Maintain Consistency

• Achieving success in any industry requires consistency and content marketing is not different from the others.
• Be consistent with posting new blogs, cover industry news, do more guest posting, and publish high-value content on a regular basis.

4. Optimize Social Presence & Social Proof

Apart from link and citation building, you should also be concerned with your law firm’s social presence and social proof. Being present on social platforms builds trust in clients for your firm and helps them reach out to you for urgent needs.

Here’s how you can build a brand presence and social proof for your local law firm:

Build Your Lawyer Brand Presence on Social

• Presence on social media acts as citations or business listings for your firm.
• Create social profiles to optimize your local presence on relevant platforms.

(Source)

• Run attractive campaigns such as contests, giveaways, and quizzes to better your engagement and local rankings.

Increase Social Proof for Higher Rankings

• Social proof in the form of the rating, reviews, testimonials, and case studies are always helpful.

(Source)

• Ensure the social proof is authentic and presents a positive picture about your law firm.

Increase SERP Ranking with Local SEO for Your Law Firm

Local SEO implementation ensures that your Google lawyer listing and website rank higher in the local pack and organic search results. Optimizing your GBP and website to rank higher can get you great dividends in the long run. However, doing it yourself can bury you under a lot of work and technicalities.

That’s where local SEO experts from Ronkot can swoop in. Our team of professionals has an ironclad proficiency in implementing strategic SEO for small businesses that want to taste digital success in their regional market.

Get in touch with our team of specialists for local SEO optimization with all your requirements and get your favorite hot beverage from us.

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