Search Engine Optimization is an important part of digital marketing for Legal Firms in the US. It improves website visibility and shows your firm as most relevant search results to prospects.
What is Search Engine Optimization?
A search engine is software that collects data from websites and indexes this data in order to show relevant results to users. This software uses ‘spiders’ or ‘crawlers’ to navigate through web pages and capture this data. Back in the search engine index, this data is indexed and sorted with the help of certain variables. When users search for information on the search engine, it uses algorithms to determine which data are the most relevant for this search and makes a list of the web pages to show on the search engine result page (SERP).
Once understanding the cornerstones of the algorithm, your firm can optimize its webpages to assure relevance and show up more on the SERP, increasing your online visibility and website traffic. This is SEO, search engine optimization. The foundation of SEO is the use of keywords, as this is used by search engines to index the information on your web pages. Other ranking signals are, but not limited to, content quality, backlinks, user experience and technical SEO.
This is where our competence and experience can support you, shape up and get ahead.
Why Localized SEO?
46% of all searches in Google have a local intent, meaning that almost half of the time a consumer is searching for a store or organization within their area. Although there is overlap with the standard SEO, local SEO has unique ranking signals. These consist of the location of the user, presence of Google My Business listing, keywords from the Google My Business profile, sentiment of online reviews and their keywords, number of check-ins at that location and star rating on Google Maps.
With these ranking signals, Google includes a local pack in 29% of all Google Search Engine Results Pages, so called SERPs.
A map pack is an overview of the top 3 results in the area with a small map, showing their location, business information and reviews. If we look at the users behavior with regards to searching for a business near them, they tend to look at the first couple of options. That is why it is so important to focus on optimizing a website and online presence to increase your visibility in local search results. The goal is to ensure that your firm can be easily found by local customers when they search for relevant services in your geologic area.
The Steps
Here are initial steps to optimize your online presence for local searches and get found by your potential clients.
- Make your website mobile friendly. Create a website that has a clean design with prioritized content. Make sure the design is convertible with any type of screen and ensure proper website speed.
- Create a Google My Business profile. This is an easy but important step. Provide uptodate information, including the address, phone number, opening hours and the type of organization. Do not limit yourself to Google, but add your firm to other platforms like Bing, Apple Maps and listings. Make sure that all information is consistent and up to date.
- Having your organization profiles shaped up in the digital sphere, you can start acquiring online reviews. You can get listed on Yelp, Glassdoor, Angie’s List, etc, but Google Reviews will carry the most weight in regards to ranking. Did you know that each start is a 5-9% increase in revenue? Engage in your reviews, it shows an actively managed business profile, improves online visibility, and increases the likelihood that your client will come back. Do not forget to handle negative reviews as well, read them, reply to them personally and honestly, and take the conversation offline if necessary.
- Engage in link building, these are the reviews from third party websites and are just as important than reviews from clients. However, not all backlinks are created equal. It is crucial to focus on building high-quality backlinks from reputable, relevant websites in your industry that experience genuine quality traffic of min 2-3k visitors a month.
- Create local content and keywords. Create content that is of value to your location. Post about local events or efforts of CSR for local charity and include keywords that make sense in your geological location. Do not forget to include these keywords in titles and meta descriptions on your website.
It takes time and effort to compete on the local Map Pack, especially if you have multiple competitors in your area. SEO is an ongoing process and an essential part of digital marketing. Boost your online visibility and attract more clients by following these steps and partner with Bylaw Media for an effective and bespoke SEO strategy.