Search engine optimization of your law firm’s website can provide advertising and marketing that cuts through the clutter inherent in phonebook advertising. An unlike billboards and yellow pages, the internet allows people in a legal crisis to reach an attorney privately and immediately.

Traditional forms of lawyer advertising have included business directories, billboards, and yellow pages ads and covers. While these forms of advertising can work, most law firms realize a website and search engine optimization are also neccessary to promote their law practices. In the age of technology a law firm that does not have a website is at a big disadvantage compared to modern firms since more people than ever use the internet to find professional services. ANd it’s not just the convenience of websites that are attractive to potential clients. Websites offer a great deal more information to potential clients than a simple ad in the Yellow Pages.

According to Lawyernomics, 21.9% of prospective clients search for a lawyer on search engines. In order to take advantage of this traffic, you need to optimize your online presence to embrace it. Search engine optimization is an important strategy for getting in front of users searching online and converting them into legal clients.  Below are 4 ways to embrace SEO for your practice.

Keyphrase to Page Targeting

Google typically ranks one page of a website for any given query in the search results. Therefore, you will need to take a look at your law firm’s website and determine which page will best represent your personal injury practice. You can do this by either taking a look at your website to see if you already set up a page that is exclusive to your practice. If you do, then you are already half way there. Another way is to perform a site query in Google for: http://yourlawfirm.com: ‘personal injury’. You will be adding your law firm’s website there obviously. Doing this will show you what Google thinks are the most authoritative and relevant pages of your website. Taking this information, you can designate the best page as your landing page.

Google Places and Various Directories

Strive for driving in local traffic. When you are marketing locally, you should consider securing inclusion in various local directories, especially Google Places. By having a listing in Google Places, your website will appear on the SERP prominently in the Local Carousel and Google Maps. You want your website to rank in Google Maps for your immediate location since it will be a huge source of traffic. The citations you build will land you in more popular attorney directories and improve your ranking.

Website Design

The design of your website should be handled by a team of professional designers. They will focus on crafting your site so that it is appealing and easy on the eyes, but will also be constructed with a solid structure which includes things like HTML readability and a site map. Other things the designer will handle is the search engine optimization, a regular flow of relevant keywords, an evaluation of your website’s technical setup and inbound link building.

Create Sharable Content

Create content that will speak of your experiences, your clients’ experiences and provide real proof of your past successes. This will help to display the value your services provide. Your content should be sharable and include things like YouTube videos, Infographics and other content that provides useful information. Social media is your doorway for getting your content out there and building lasting relationships with both potential and current clients. It enhances your reputation and increases visibility. Also, search engines are putting more emphasis on social links and how much your content is shared to decide how to rank your sites.

For more information on search engine optimization services for your personal injury practice, please contact us.