Whether you’ve hung your own shingle or run a larger practice, it’s important to market your law firm to prospective clients. They have to know that your firm exists before they can hire you to represent them in a legal matter. And, those potential clients have to be convinced that you are the attorney they need to trust with their case. It could be critically important to their financial health, safety, or even their life. So, it’s not just about being present, but also making an impact and really selling your brand. So, how do you increase your digital presence and, ultimately, grow the number of leads you get?  In today’s increasingly digital world, your marketing efforts should be focused online. When someone has a legal question or needs an attorney, there’s a very good chance that they’re going to turn to Google for answers and help. That means your law firm website needs to show up in the search results – and the earlier you appear, the better. Most people choose one of the first three organic results. Next to no one clicks through to the second page of search results. Here are 20 strategies that you should be implementing to get the best possible results.

1. Find Your Voice; Build Your Law Firm’s Brand

Whether you’re just beginning your marketing journey or you already have an established presence but want to further build your brand, start by finding your voice. Who are you? Why should clients trust you when they need legal services? For example, if you’re a personal injury attorney, you might want to showcase what sets you apart. It’s not just your winning record, but also your commitment to your clients. You’re willing to listen to their specific needs and support them as they move toward a resolution of their claims. Or, if your firm is focused on family law, you may want to display your commitment to helping clients achieve the best possible outcomes to their custody disputes or divorce cases. Show your willingness to aggressively go after the support they really deserve. All your marketing materials should contain your voice. Your law firm may have a specific tagline or motto that you adhere to when dealing with your cases and your clients. You might have a reputation as a specific kind of lawyer. Some lawyers want to be known for being supportive. Others want to be known for their aggressive defense of their clients. What you choose to focus on will depend on the values that are most important to your brand as a whole. In order to build your brand, however, you need consistent messaging and branding. Create a solid voice your clients can count on – and make it heard.

2. Refresh Outdated Content

If you’ve invested in SEO and understand the importance of content marketing, you might already have a great deal of content on your law firm’s website. If that information is outdated and stale, however, you may find that those pages no longer do you any good. If you want to optimize your law firm’s website for SEO, you need fresh, relevant content. How long has it been since you refreshed the content on your evergreen practice area pages? Do they include outdated statistics? Advice that no longer fits the letter of the law? Do they lack specific precedents that have developed since your content was first written? Make a habit of reviewing that content annually, if not more frequently. This ensures that users are getting current information and advice. Google places great emphasis on content freshness – you might see your rankings tank if your content is stale. In addition to your actual content, make sure you also look at the other areas of your website that impact SEO. These include:

• Keywords
• Meta description tags
• Header tags
• Title tags
• Alt tags
• H1 tags
• Internal links

You should also revisit your content any time the laws in your specific industry change, or you notice a specific change in legal trends. Furthermore, update your pages as you notice a shift in the keyword traffic that’s bringing users to your website.

3. Add (High Quality) Content More Consistently

Content is one of the most important Google ranking factors. When it comes to content, make sure you prioritize quality over quantity. Publishing high-quality content consistently will have more of a positive impact than churning out tons of mediocre blogs and practice area pages every day. If you want to improve your law firm’s SEO results, make sure you’re updating your content library on a regular basis. The more often you post, the more users will come to rely on you, and the more they’ll trust the information you provide. Make sure that you’re publishing articles, blogs, and resources that clients and potential clients can count on. You don’t just want to throw out generic, short-form content that doesn’t even really address the questions searchers have when they visit your page. Instead, focus on providing high-quality content that solves problems, builds relationships with your clients, and improves the services you offer. And remember, Google puts law firm websites and legal content into a special category – YMYL (your money or your life). Why? When someone’s searching for an attorney (or law-related advice), Google understands that the information they get could affect their money or their life. So, Google wants to make sure that the best content is displayed. Typically, this means up-ranking content that conveys Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-A-T).

4. Improve Your “About Us” and “Attorney Profile” Pages

Your website is one of your most powerful marketing materials. It helps tell potential clients exactly who you are and what you bring to the table. Consider what clients are looking for when they seek a lawyer in your field. They want to know about your experience, your expertise, and your results. The “About Us” and “Attorney Profile” pages provide the details they want to know. That’s probably why the “about us” section of a lawyer’s website gets a ton of traffic, second only to the homepage. So, take advantage of this traffic and take the time to really build a solid About Us page (or pages). Don’t just provide a generic overview of your firm! Instead, use those pages to give clients a real idea of who you are, what you’re about, and why they should trust you. Tell your story. Don’t be afraid to make it personal! Those pages are a great way to connect with clients who are genuinely considering your legal services.

5. Highlight Your Community Involvement

Many law firms are actively engaged in their local community. You might give back in a variety of ways, from participating in local fundraisers or sponsoring local events to offering free or reduced-cost legal services to needy members of your community. Make sure you highlight those contributions on your website. Show your community what you’re doing. Today’s clients are focused on more than just their individual needs. They also want to know that you’re supporting the community as a whole. Highlight community involvement as part of your local SEO for lawyers strategy to get optimal results.

6. Focus on Core Web Vitals

Google encourages all website owners to focus on Core Web Vitals in order to track the overall performance of their pages. Core Web Vitals include:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), or the amount of time needed to render the largest content element visible on the page, usually an image or video
• First Input Delay (FID), or the time from when a user first tries to visit your page to the time when the browser responds
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), or the sum total of layout shift occurrences during an interaction with the page

These three elements are critical to your users’ experience on your website. Keeping up with them will ensure that users have a good experience with your website, which is critical to increasing the odds that users will hire your law firm. If potential clients have a bad experience on your website, they’ll be less likely to trust your firm and, therefore, less likely to choose your brand.

7. Invest in a Redesign and Get a Website That’s Built to Convert

Is your website built to convert visitors? Many law firms are surprised to learn that their websites are not necessarily built with conversions in mind. Today’s users may not call in to talk with a representative. They might prefer to walk through the sales funnel on their own, often without direct interactions with any member of your team. Your website’s design is critical to that process. Does it offer clear calls to action? Does it contain easy contact links and forms? As you can see, Stephens Law, a personal injury law firm in Fort Worth, TX, has no fewer than 6 prompts for users to contact the attorney – and that’s just at the very top of the homepage. Plus, the content on the page makes all of the following crystal clear:

• Who they are (firm name)
• What they do (personal injury law)
• Why potential clients should call them for help (they’re top-rated attorneys with decades of experience behind them)

With those simple strategies, you can significantly increase your ability to convert leads and improve their trust in your brand.

8. Make Sure Your Site is Mobile Optimized

Mobile continues to account for an increasing percentage of online traffic. In early 2021, an estimated 54.8 percent of website traffic came from mobile devices. Potential clients may access your website from anywhere. This includes while they’re sitting at home on the couch watching TV, during their morning commute, or on their lunch break at work. If your site isn’t mobile-optimized, those mobile searchers will quickly become frustrated by slow load times, clunky screens, or a lack of available information.

9. Update Attorney Photos as Part of Your Marketing Strategy

Keep the photos on your website current! It could help immensely with your law firm’s brand and marketing efforts. Consider investing in headshots, action shots, and photos of the office and staff, as well. The more a potential client can get to know your law firm through your website, the more comfortable they can feel in trusting you with an important legal matter. Updated photos will help improve that sense of connection clients feel to you when they come through the doors of your office. If you have an expertly designed website, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to show them off – the homepage, your firm about us page, individual attorney bio pages, and more.

10. Create High-Quality, Brand-Centric Videos

If you want to reach potential clients, don’t shy away from videos. There are a number of advantages to video that your law firm can’t afford to ignore.

• Videos are engaging. Many consumers are more likely to watch a video than they are to read through a dense wall of content.
• Videos are accessible. Personal injury lawyers, in particular, may find that their clients cannot read a wall of text well. However, clients can check out the information presented in video format.
• Video helps improve memory. Many clients may prove more likely to remember what they saw in a video than what they read in a blog post.

Invest in branded videos that tell potential clients a story: who you are, what you do, who you help, and why they need to call you. The return on your investment in this type of marketing can be significant.

11. Harness the Power of Social Media 

Social media is an incredibly powerful marketing tool, and it only grows more powerful as the years go by. An estimated 82 percent of the US population has a social media account. Build your social media marketing profiles. Learn which platforms your target audience is most likely to use, the times of day they’re most likely to use them, and the type of content they’re looking for. The best SEO company for lawyers can help give you a better idea of where to find your target audience online and the type of content they respond to best. Build your profile to show who you are and what you have to offer. Include contact information and a link to your website. Then, interact with people who visit your social media pages. Be present on those platforms. Post regularly. The more available you are, the more connected potential clients will feel.

12. Run Paid Ads on Social Media

Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube are all great platforms for reaching out to potential members of your target audience. Thanks to the high levels of ad targeting available on those platforms, you can use ads to connect with potential clients who genuinely need your services. Those clients may be the ones who are searching for specific legal terms online, who have interacted with you or your competitors, or who have taken other specific actions recently. For example, someone who has suddenly started searching for information about wheelchairs might need the services of a personal injury law firm. Run ads regularly to help expand your reach and get your firm in front of a wider target audience.

13. Get Local: Run Local Services Ads

Pay attention to your local audience. Most law firms operate within a highly specific geographic area. It’s more convenient for both you and your clients, and laws change from state to state or as you cross county lines. Get in front of clients in your backyard by running Local Services Ads. What’s the benefit of Local Services Ads (LSAs)?

• You’ll show up at the very top of search engine results pages (SERPS) – above other paid ads, the local three-pack, and organic results.
• You’ll be “Google verified” – which can help to persuade users to trust and turn to you for help.
• You’ll only have to pay for legitimate leads related to your practice – not just for clicks.

If you’re not running Local Services Ads, you might not be maximizing your presence in the community you’re trying to help.

14. Run a PPC Campaign (Or Several)

Organic SEO takes time. In some cases, particularly for firms targeting high-volume keywords in competitive markets, it can take several months to see results. But, you don’t have to wait to get your law firm to the top of search result pages. Pay-per-click ads show up before organic results – which means that a properly configured PPC campaign can help you get in front of potential clients right now – not months from now. Often, a good PPC campaign is a great supplement to an investment in white hat SEO for lawyers. PPC Google Ads position your brand in the sponsored links section of the specific search terms you want to highlight. That can get you temporary results right now, while a strategic and successful SEO campaign can yield more cemented results for the long haul. You may want to run several PPC campaigns based on the keywords you want to target. If your campaign isn’t working, consider increasing your budget to show your website to a higher percentage of interested searchers.

15. Create Dedicated Landing Pages for Your Ad Campaigns

If you want to boost your digital presence over time, it’s important to know how your campaigns are performing. Dedicated landing pages are one of the most highly effective ways to measure the performance of an individual campaign. Instead of bringing potential clients who click on an ad to your homepage, bring them to those specific, dedicated landing pages. Here, they will receive both a clear look at the exact information they were searching for and a call-to-action that tells them how to take their next steps. Your landing page can be much more “salesy” than other pages on your firm’s website. Since this page is specifically created for your campaign and you’re not trying to rank it, you can focus more on the sales pitch than SEO.

16. Optimize Your GMB

Your Business Profile, or Google My Business listing, is critical to raising awareness about your law firm. Business profiles appear in Google Maps or as part of local searches on Google. Take a look at your Google My Business listing as part of your legal marketing strategy. It should always be current, providing an accurate phone number to reach you, a recent photo of your business, and relevant information about your firm. Optimize it by including:

• The type of law you practice
• Your geographic area
• Specific keywords related to the searches potential clients perform most often

Invest time in improving your GMB. Come up with informative service and product descriptions. Request attorney reviews from former clients. The more you can tell potential clients about your law firm and brand, the more likely it is that they’ll trust and hire you when they need help.

17. Claim and Optimize Legal Directory Profiles

Legal directories are a great place for interested clients to find a large list of potential lawyers all in one place. Directories allow them to filter searches by their local area, by the specific type of lawyer they need, and even by the lawyer’s rating within that directory. Some of the top legal directories in 2021 include:

• FindLaw
• Avvo
• Justia
• Nolo
• Martindale-Hubbell
• SuperLawyers
• Lawyers.com
• Legal Zoom
• Best Lawyers

Claim your legal directory profiles and optimize them. Share information about your firm. Highlight the reasons potential clients might want to choose you to represent them. By claiming and optimizing your listing in as many directories as possible, you help control what potential clients see when they search for you.

18. Make it a Point to Get Reviews (and Respond to All Feedback)

Don’t underestimate the power of online reviews. Research shows that 3 out of 4 consumers trust online reviews just as much as they trust reviews from their own friends and family. Nearly 90% of people check out online reviews before hiring a service or making a purchase. So, it’s important to build up the number and the quality of the reviews you have online. Make it a point to ask satisfied clients for reviews. Encourage them to provide feedback–and then make it easy for them to do so. You might, for example, consider adding a link to review platforms, such as your Google My Business and social media pages, as part of your final emails to your clients. The easier you make it, the greater the likelihood that they will post those vital reviews. Then, respond to the feedback you’re given. If you receive positive reviews, your response will show that you care about your clients and are engaged with them. On the other hand, responding to negative reviews can give interested clients a better idea of how you might respond to potential challenges in their case. It can also provide them with more information about what really happened in a given situation.

19. Cultivate Relationships With Your Clients – Word of Mouth Referrals are Powerful

If you really want to increase your leads, it’s not just about what you do online. It’s also about the way you connect with your clients. Cultivate relationships with them. Go the extra mile, both in your professional relationship and in your other interactions with them. When you have a deeper relationship with your clients, they’re more likely to recommend you to others in the future. Word of mouth referrals remain one of the most powerful tools in a lawyer’s arsenal–and you don’t want to miss out on it!

20. Hire an SEO Company for Lawyers – or Get a Better One if Your Current Partner Isn’t Cutting It

Your expertise is in the law. For most lawyers, it’s in a relatively specific area of the law. Your team needs to be able to focus on your clients: on supporting them, building their cases, and providing them with the legal representation they need to prevail. You shouldn’t have to worry about attorney SEO or building your online presence. That’s where a company that specializes in attorney SEO comes in. When you work with the best SEO company for lawyers, they can help build your digital presence, increase your leads, and raise awareness of your brand–all while you focus on those important elements of client care. If your existing law firm SEO company isn’t cutting it – whether you’re working with an SEO provider who simply doesn’t understand the unique needs of a law firm or you’re struggling to get the results you’ve hoped for – it’s time for an upgrade. You deserve to work with an SEO company that focuses on what lawyers need to get their names out there and get noticed. At LawRank, we specialize in getting law firms and attorneys just like you to rank for competitive keywords in competitive markets. In other words, our lawyer SEO specialists know how to get law firms to rank when and where it matters most – and we have the results to prove it. Contact us to learn more about how we can help to improve your rankings, ultimately, your firm’s bottom line. Our team would be happy to discuss your SEO needs at a time that’s convenient for you. Give us a call or reach out to us online to get started today.     About the author: LawRank™ was founded with one goal in mind – to get attorneys on Google’s first page. Our co-founder and SEO expert is Mariano Rodriguez, a graduate of UCLA School of Law.