Why do lawyers need SEO?

It can be easy for lawyers to forget why they need to maintain an online presence, especially if most of their customers come from word-of-mouth referrals. Each day your business isn’t ranking toward the top of the organic results means you are losing leads to your competitors. Every day prospective customers search for legal services in their area. In fact, according to the National Law Review, 96% of people use search engines to search for legal advice and 74% do it with an intent to convert. This should not come as a surprise to anyone. Especially considering how much we depend on search engines. SEO helps your business connect with people in need by ranking at the top of the organic search rankings. The next time a customer searches for “legal services near me,” your business will have a better chance of landing that client.

Why should lawyers focus on SEO rather than paid ads?

Paid ads can be a good way for new and upcoming attorneys to get visibility, but that’s about all they are good for. Since users are well aware attorneys can influence their paid rankings, they ignore paid listings. Prospective customers skip over the paid rankings and check the organic listings. Customers want to work with reliable attorneys who have years of experience in the field. To find these attorneys, customers turn to Google’s organic listings. Customers believe organic rankings are Google’s suggestions for the best attorneys in their area and schedule an initial consultation based on the organic listings. While paid ads can be a good way for new and upcoming attorneys to put their business on the internet, it doesn’t get nearly the attention and traffic as the organic listings. Improving your organic rankings through SEO can help your business meet customers looking for legal services.

Is SEO cost-effective advertising for lawyers?

Traditional marketing practices advertise to many people, people who don’t necessarily need legal services. They focus on increasing brand awareness but do little to connect your business with prospective customers. Not only are traditional marketing practices costly, but they also offer little return on investment since everyone you advertise to is not looking for your services.

On the flip side, SEO only targets those customers who are actively looking for legal services. Instead of focusing on increasing brand awareness, SEO focuses on maximizing conversions. Since customers believe that organic rankings are a credible source of information, they schedule an initial consultation with the top-ranked lawyers in their region. This often results in higher conversions and a larger return on your investment.

Should lawyers focus on local SEO?

Each state has different legal requirements and statutes. When people want legal services, they want a local lawyer who is knowledgeable of their state’s laws and regulations. Receiving a lead outside a lawyer’s state can be of little use unless the attorney is licensed to practice in that outside state. Due to this, many lawyers find that local leads within their state are the most beneficial.

Since most local customers are searching for lawyers on Google, that’s where you need to be. By focusing your SEO efforts on improving local organic rankings, you begin to pull traffic away from competitors and onto your website.

Should lawyers work with an SEO agency?

Let me ask you this, should people work with a lawyer? While someone could always fight their own case, hiring a lawyer makes a lot of sense if you are going to be in court. It’s the same with SEO. While you could always read guides on SEO and get started, it makes sense to work with an expert SEO agency. Enhancing user experience, improving organic rankings, keyword research, and website structure have become an everyday topic in the legal business. Unfortunately, not every SEO company will get you the results you need. There are some fantastic SEO companies and others, not so much. We have the knowledge and decades of experience to connect your website with locals searching for your services.