SEO for Lawyers: Your Ultimate Guide to Law Firm SEO

With SEO, you can ensure the right audience finds your website and establish your law company as a credible, authoritative resource. In this guide, you’ll learn how to optimize your Google Business Profile, build links, improve technical aspects, and create valuable content that turns website visitors into new case leads.

What Is Law Firm SEO?

Law firm SEO is the process of optimizing a law firm’s website to rank higher in search engine results for relevant keywords. But search engine optimization doesn’t stop at driving more traffic. With high-quality content and technical website optimization, SEO for lawyers can help you convert visitors into loyal clients.

In addition, SEO isn’t limited solely to your website. When someone searches for a lawyer, they might also check out a law firm’s listings on directory sites and review platforms to see what others say. Optimizing and updating your company’s Google Business Profile is another aspect of law firm SEO practices.

With all the different pieces that go into a full-fledged SEO campaign for law firms, the potential advantages are extensive. But what specifically makes SEO so valuable for lawyers looking to grow their practices?

Why Is SEO So Important for Lawyers?

Law agencies have many marketing options these days — both offline, like networking events and print ads, and online, like social media marketing and email campaigns. However, SEO is an approach that deserves a unique focus.

This is because SEO gives a sustainable way to improve your law firm’s website visibility. According to this study, about 73% of people who looked for legal information on the internet used search engines to find solutions. Every month, there are nearly 500,000 searches with keywords that contain “lawyer near me” or “law firm near me.” That’s an incredible number of people looking to hire legal help locally through search engines.

A few stand-out queries are:

• “Personal injury lawyer near me”
• “Divorce lawyer near me”
• “Immigration lawyer near me”

Additionally, search engine optimization can have a great impact on your revenue. Ruler Analytics research suggests that organic search generates up to 66% of the call conversion in the legal sector.

The long-term benefits are even more impressive. On average, a law firm can expect a whopping 526% ROI from SEO over a three-year period, with some firms realizing as much as a 266% increase in cases within the first year alone.

If we compare these results to traditional ads and social media, their effectiveness is much harder to track. They help to build brand awareness but often struggle with direct client acquisition. With law firm SEO, however, you can reach people who are actively searching for legal services. This targeting helps attract high-quality leads and increase conversion rates compared to traditional ads and social media.

However, firms often consider paid advertising, like Google Ads, as another digital marketing strategy. Let’s compare the two channels in more detail:

SEO vs. Paid Ads for Lawyers

Both paid advertising and SEO have their merits. Paid ads offer instant results. With platforms like Google Ads, you can bid on keywords and have your firm’s ads displayed at the top of search engine results pages.

However, you also have to pay when someone clicks on your ad. You rent prime real estate—and the more competitive the keywords, the pricier the clicks get. In fact, for some competitive legal keywords, the cost per click can reach $300.

What’s more, as soon as you stop paying, your traffic disappears.

On the other hand, the fruits of your legal SEO efforts compound over time. Once you’ve earned a coveted spot on the first page for your target keywords, you’ll continue to reap the benefits of organic traffic and lead generation with only minimal maintenance required in most cases.

What’s even better: SEO tends to drive higher conversions than paid ads. Data shows that organic visitors convert at a rate of 4%, compared to just 1.8% for paid traffic.

Now that you understand the difference between these channels and their possible impact on your revenue, let’s summarize the pros and cons of each for your law firm:

While paid ads certainly have their place in marketing, relying solely on this approach for a high-cost industry like legal services can drain a firm’s budget. Building a strong local search presence through law firm SEO may be more beneficial for long-term results.

Look for ways to balance SEO and PPC marketing tactics. You might begin with a stronger focus on PPC, increase your SEO efforts over time, and then reduce your PPC spending as your organic reach grows.

If you’ve decided to focus on SEO as your main digital marketing strategy, let’s look at the major factors that impact your search engine rankings.

Lawyer SEO Ranking Factors

Search engines like Google use complex ranking algorithms that evaluate hundreds of different factors. However, some factors carry much more weight than others on law firm websites. Here are the major ones to focus on:

High-Quality Content

Effective attorney SEO starts with a great content strategy. As you probably know, Google pays close attention to quality and is extremely selective about which websites earn prime rankings. So, whenever you’re creating content for your law firm SEO, make sure your information is accurate, relevant, and helpful for your visitors.

Here’s a content creation checklist you can follow:

1. Review existing content to identify gaps and opportunities for updates
2. Identify relevant keywords and create diverse content types
3. Show EEAT with credible sources and attorney qualifications
4. Adhere to legal marketing regulations and focus on user experience
5. Track content performance and adjust your strategy accordingly

When it comes to the content types for law firms, you could be focusing on:

• Blog posts: Articles exploring various legal concepts
• Frequently asked questions: Dedicated FAQ pages answering common questions about legal processes, law services, the firm’s fees, etc.
• Case studies and firm updates: Content highlighting successful cases, firm news and updates, community involvement, and more
• Legal guides and ebooks: Long-form downloadable content that provides a thorough analysis of legal topics

In addition, the performance of this content in Google search results depends on how well it is optimized with keywords.

Backlinks

Another ranking factor in SEO for attorneys is having quality backlinks. These are the links that are pointing to your website from other sites. Backlinks inform Google about the reliability of your content. The more reputable sites that link to your web pages, the higher your pages are likely to rank.

Let’s take a look at the search engine results page (SERP) for the query “Los Angeles personal injury lawyer.” The websites that take the first positions have high domain rankings (DR) and powerful backlink profiles.

To have a chance of competing with such sites, you would have to at least reach the same results. This makes link building especially important for newly launched websites that haven’t yet established their authority.

User Experience

How user-friendly your law firm website is plays a crucial role in your search engine rankings. Google wants websites that load quickly, work well on all devices, and have clear navigation.

In addition, most lawyers’ websites have almost identical designs. This means that they won’t stand out for the user who might be browsing different sites and considering several options. Not to mention, most of them are seriously outdated.

If your website loads slowly, or is hard to use, your visitors will most likely quickly return to the search results, increasing your bounce rate and lowering your rankings. If they stay on your page a bit longer, poor usability might discourage them from performing a necessary action (booking a consultation, filling out a form, etc.).

On the other hand, a modern, user-friendly website that is also mobile responsive makes your agency appear much more trustworthy. It keeps visitors engaged longer and guides them toward the final goal.

Local Relevance

If you’re a lawyer looking for clients in a specific city, focusing on local SEO tactics is also a must. Your firm’s information must be complete and consistent across listings and local directories. Getting positive reviews from past local clients is also critical. These steps help Google know where your practice is located and who your target audience is.

Getting links from local websites is also a part of local SEO for law firms, as is making sure location keywords and the cities or neighborhoods you serve are included in your website’s content, titles, and location landing pages.

However, Google Maps and Google Business Profile are arguably the most critical things to optimize for local relevance. In local search results, Google often shows users a “Local Pack,” a special section that shows relevant businesses on Google Maps. For example, here’s what the SERP for the “personal injury lawyer Boston” query looks like:

An optimized and frequently updated Google Business Profile listing is a key factor for ranking in such local results and on Google Maps in general.

Technical SEO

Pages that load quickly, a safe browsing experience with HTTPS, and a logical site architecture and URL structure also provide positive signals to Google.

After working with numerous websites in this field, we’ve determined that the most typical technical SEO issues on legal websites are:

• Duplicate content
• Keyword cannibalization
• Broken pages and redirects
• Slow loading speed
• Problems with indexing and crawling
• Missing, duplicated, or unoptimized meta tags

There are many SEO best practices to follow that can help you improve your website’s performance in all these areas. Let’s dive deeper and explore SEO tips to take your website to the first page of Google search results.

How to Improve Your Law Firm SEO

SEO can provide a consistent flow of leads from organic local search traffic, but only if done right. Here is how to ensure your legal SEO efforts are successful:

Create the Right Law Firm SEO Strategy

There’s no one-size-fits-all strategy that works across the board. What gets results depends heavily on your specific practice area and geographic market.

You can start by setting goals for your SEO strategy. For example, are you trying to increase organic traffic, improve local search rankings, or generate more client inquiries?

Next, research how your top local competitors execute SEO for law firms. Analyze their content, link building tactics, on-site optimizations, and more. This way, you can understand what it will take to compete with and eventually outrank them.

Your strategy should also align with the search intent and behavior patterns of your potential clients. For example, personal injury lawyer SEO will look quite different from SEO for an immigration law practice.

The strategy should include the monitoring of your results. You can conduct regular SEO audits to identify areas for improvement in your on-page optimization, technical SEO, backlink profile, and local SEO factors.

Some of the tools you could use for tracking your outcomes are Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and paid tools like Ahrefs. They can help you monitor key metrics like organic traffic, keyword rankings, and conversion rates to check if your strategy’s working and delivering the results.

Data-Driven SEO for Lawyers to Grow Your Practice

Our law firm SEO company takes a fully customized approach aimed at improving your business performance:

• Thorough research into your local market, top competitors, and target audiences
• Creating ethical, keyword-rich content that converts visitors into leads
• Detailed weekly reports showing your progress.

Talk to our SEO specialist

Optimize Your Google Business Profile

Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) is a free listing that allows businesses to manage their online presence across Google’s services like Google Search and Google Maps. Having a Google Business Profile is a must for legal SEO, as it helps you to reach local clients.

Once you claim and verify ownership of the listing, be sure to fill it out with all your business details, such as:

• The official name, address, phone number, and website
• The specific cities and areas you serve
• Your hours of operation
• Your price ranges
• The payment options you accept

You can also encourage satisfied clients to leave ratings and reviews on your listing. An optimized, frequently updated Google Business Profile packed with positive customer reviews lets potential clients see you’re a legitimate option before they even visit your website.

Last but not least, you can strengthen your law firm’s SEO strategy by listing your firm in attorney directories, such as Avvo, FindLaw, and Justia. This will put your practice right where your ideal clients are and increase your chances of attracting new cases.

Prioritize the User Experience

Many legal websites haven’t received a design refresh in years. While law companies certainly don’t need flashy, bright websites, a clean and modern professional look instantly elevates the user experience. In addition to a polished presentation, be certain to pay attention to mobile-friendliness and performance:

1. Keep your law firm website fully responsive on both mobile and web and make sure it adapts nicely to different screen sizes.
2. Test your load times using various tools like Google PageSpeed Insights. Compressing your images will help improve your speed.
3. Organize your website so visitors can easily find information. Use clear menus, visible contact buttons, and a simple structure to guide users.
4. Your hero section should immediately tell visitors what to do next. Check if your CTA is clear (e.g., “Book a consultation”) and your contact info is visible.

To take your attorney SEO even further, you can conduct a UX audit to see how easy it is for visitors to use your site:

• Check your website’s structure. Can a user reach the services page, contact page, or FAQ in three clicks?
• Review the copy on your site. Is it concise, informative, and easy to skim? Do headings guide users well?
• Is your contact information easy to find on all of your pages?

The results of carrying out such an audit can help you enhance the visitor’s experience, engage them, and even lead to more conversions.

Conduct Thorough Keyword Research

Identifying the right keywords is foundational to SEO for lawyers. When performing keyword research, take into account the following factors:

• Practice areas: Make a list of the specific legal practice areas your firm handles, like personal injury, family law, criminal defense, etc. These areas will provide a base for relevant keywords.
• Location: Since most law firms serve specific geographic areas, location-based keywords are critical. Think about cities or regions your firm covers and how potential clients search with geographic terms.
• Search intent: People’s search intent falls into two main categories: searching for legal information and searching for legal services. A person searching for “best divorce lawyers in Chicago” is more likely to hire a lawyer than someone who is just looking for “divorce laws in Illinois.”
• Search volume: Use keyword research tools like Ahrefs or Semrush to evaluate the monthly search volume for different terms. Higher volumes mean more potential website traffic targeting popular queries.
• Competition: Keyword research tools can also show how competitive certain keywords are based on how many other sites target them. More competition makes it harder to rank highly.
• Long-tail keywords: Also consider long-tail options that add more specificity, like “Chicago personal injury car accident lawyers.” These usually have lower difficulty scores and can drive the right visitors to your practice.
• Related terms: Subsets of your main practice areas may uncover more relevant keywords to target as well. For example, “medical malpractice lawyer” under personal injury.

With the right, properly-targeted keywords, you’ll make it easier for potential clients to find your website.

Nail On-Page SEO Optimization

Once your keyword list is finalized, it’s time for on-page SEO—making each web page as relevant as possible for these terms. This covers both the visible content elements and behind-the-scenes technical SEO factors. Here’s how to approach it:

• Title tags and meta descriptions: These are the first things your potential clients see in local search results, so optimize them with keywords to improve click-through rates. If your firm is focused, say, on estate planning, then use “estate planning attorney” in your meta tags and description.
• Content optimization: Include your target keywords naturally within your header, body text, image descriptions, and other content elements. Be certain to avoid keyword stuffing because it can worsen readability and can be penalized by Google.
• Internal linking: Link internally in order to take visitors to other relevant pages within your website. This will help in enhancing user experiences, spreading page authority, and optimizing the site for better search engine optimization.
• Technical SEO: Improve loading speed, use HTTPS for safety, and make your site more mobile-friendly. Also, define a proper URL structure. That way, search algorithms will consider your website reliable and friendly for users.

Build Only Trusted Backlinks

Even with stellar on-page optimization, your law firm’s website will not be able to rank well in search engines if other authoritative sites don’t link to it. However, don’t aim for a high quantity of backlinks alone. The quality and relevance of the links also matter a great deal for legal SEO.

Links from spammy, low-quality sites can hurt your search engine ranking if Google detects link buying or other manipulative tactics. The links need to come from legitimate, respected sources related to the legal industry.

As our experience shows, most law firm sites that rank highly for different keywords don’t use aggressive link building strategies or black-hat techniques. If you want to achieve lasting results and remain competitive for a long time, you should focus on ethical link building methods, such as:

• Getting listed in trusted local directories
• Pursuing featured content or guest posting on other reputable legal blogs/publications
• Publishing research (studies, surveys, statistics, etc.) relevant to your field, which will attract backlinks naturally
• Earning media mentions and links from authoritative news outlets when showcasing firm expertise
• Having location/practice area resources linked by relevant local/regional websites

You could also participate in legal forums, or collaborate with other local businesses, which would increase your chances of getting valuable links for your law firm’s site.

Such mentions from quality sources can also drive referral traffic as people discover and click through to your website naturally.

Showcase Your E-E-A-T

Google’s algorithms put a big emphasis on expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness, (E-E-A-T). These factors are especially crucial for legal practices—people need to be able to trust the lawyers they hire to handle important, often life-changing legal matters.

So, how can you demonstrate strong E-E-A-T signals in your SEO for lawyers strategy? Some of them will be improved if you implement the tips we mentioned earlier. An important factor is the content, quality backlinks, client testimonials, and overall website experience.

A detailed “About Us” page with extensive information about your law firm is one of the best ways to improve your E-E-A-T. Attorney profiles are some of the most clicked pages of legal websites, so they are the perfect place to show your credentials, like education, years of experience, awards, and recognition in your field. If you or your firm’s attorneys are members of prestigious legal associations, be sure to highlight these memberships on your website too.

In this screenshot, you can see a great example of an attorney profile from scapicchiolaw.com that demonstrates the expertise of the firm’s criminal defense attorney:

Work to Hit the Featured Snippets

Google often displays quick answer boxes known as featured snippets. They aim to resolve a searcher’s query without the need to click through to a website and are one of the tactics you can use in your SEO for lawyers. Here’s what featured snippets look like:

While getting content featured is great for your law firm’s online presence, you might be thinking, “If Google already answers the query, why would people need to visit my website at all?” That’s a fair point. However, featured snippets only provide a short overview or quick answer. For more details on complex legal matters, people will still want to go directly to your website.

Getting your content featured in snippet boxes can be tricky, but there are some proven tactics. First, research the types of queries that typically trigger featured snippets. Understand what people’s intent is behind those searches—are they looking for quick factual answers, steps for how to do something, comparisons, or definitions?

Next, use concise paragraphs that directly answer common questions. Search engines tend to pull snippets from content that gets straight to the point with helpful responses. In addition, use descriptive headers, bulleted lists, and simple tables or charts that neatly summarize important information. This gives Google well-organized content to potentially turn into snippets.

Set Measurable SEO Goals

Search engine optimization for lawyers is an ongoing process, so it’s critical to establish clear goals to effectively track your progress and return on investment. Some common SEO KPIs for law companies include:

• The amount of organic traffic: Remember to separate website traffic going to your main landing pages from traffic going to informational content pages. Getting visits to your service pages is ultimately more valuable for lead generation.
• Positions on targeted queries: The ideal scenario is for your law firm’s website to appear on the first page of organic search results for phrases related to your practice. If you don’t currently rank on the first page, continue tracking the improvements. Moving up even a few spots every month indicates your SEO for law firms is working.
• The number of leads: This is arguably the most meaningful SEO metric for your law firm to watch closely. How many form fills, phone calls, or other signals of prospective client interest do you get each month from organic search? This metric directly shows the return on your SEO investment.

Use tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, or any other marketing software to monitor these metrics. With a bit of patience and the right approach, you’ll see the SEO wins steadily roll in. However, effectively implementing a law firm SEO strategy also raises an important question—should you try to do it all yourself, or is it better to hire an attorney SEO expert?

DIY SEO vs. Hiring a Lawyer SEO Expert

Taking on SEO yourself can seem appealing at first. You avoid extra marketing costs and maintain full control over the process.

Yet, SEO for law firms involves many nuances. You’ve got to perform keyword research, create search-friendly content, do link building, analyze data, and keep up with Google’s frequent algorithm changes.

For many legal professionals, it quickly becomes a full-time job on top of their existing casework. And if you don’t see your rankings climb to the top, with so many aspects, it might be difficult to understand why your SEO efforts are not paying off.

So, how do you decide between DIY SEO and outsourcing? Let’s break down the pros and cons to help you make an informed choice:

Pros of DIY SEO:

• Saves money: By doing it yourself, you can save agency fees that could be as low as $500 or as high as $30,000 per month depending on the services required and the agency’s expertise.
• Total control: You will have full oversight over your SEO strategy and can immediately make changes once you find a problem.

Cons of DIY SEO:

• Time consuming: SEO consumes much time, which reduces your ability to focus on your practice.
• Steep learning curve: The complexities surrounding SEO, from technical elements to algorithm updates can be difficult to understand.
• Ineffective strategies: Not being a professional, your efforts may be counterproductive, leading to wasting resources.

Pros of Hiring an SEO Professional:

• Expertise and experience: SEO experts possess both knowledge and experience that is more likely to render effective strategies.
• Time efficiency: When you outsource search engine optimization, you can dedicate more time to your legal practice while experts take care of the technicalities involved in optimization.
• Access to tools and resources: SEO agencies often have more advanced tools and analytics that can further improve your strategy.

Cons of Hiring an SEO Expert:

• Cost: Hiring an SEO agency can be quite costly and generally will range from $1,500 to $20,000 per month, according to the scope of services provided.
• Less control: You’ll need to trust the agencies to make their own decisions and build strategies, which may differ from what you initially had in mind.

Now that you know these differences, the choice is yours whether to opt for law firm SEO services. In case you decide to delegate, our law firm SEO agency can be your strategic partner, focused on driving more leads and cases through search traffic. Meanwhile, you can keep delivering exceptional legal services.

Of course, hiring an SEO expert comes at a cost. This leads to another question—how much do companies typically invest in SEO for law firm websites?

How Much Do Law Firms Spend on SEO?

The amount you’ll need to invest depends on a few key factors:

• Your business size and practice area: Some areas like personal injury and corporate law can be more competitive and therefore the price can also be higher.
• The SEO performance of your current website: This is another factor that impacts the cost of law firm search engine optimization. If you’ve just started with a brand-new website, you’ll likely need to budget more for upfront local SEO work.
• Competition in your geographic market: The broader and more competitive your market, the more you’ll need to invest.
• Your goals and expected results: If you are planning to rank for highly competitive keywords, you might need a bigger budget for your SEO.
• The expertise level of your SEO provider: The prices are usually on the higher end if you decide to work with a more experienced agency.
• Types of services you require: Tactics like link building and content creation cost more than, say, keyword research.
• SEO tools: Specialized software like Ahrefs and Semrush can also add up to your overall cost.

Here’s an overview of the typical price ranges for SEO for lawyers, depending on the location:

Bottom Line: Things to Keep in Mind about SEO for Lawyers

Optimizing your law firm website for search engines is critical if you want to succeed online. However, Google constantly updates its algorithms, and your competitors are likely working hard to outrank you. To appear at the top, maintain your hard-earned rankings, and keep leads flowing in, you’ll need to:

1. Follow all the marketing rules and regulations for the legal field. Law firms have to be extra careful to avoid misleading claims or being too aggressive in trying to get potential clients.
2. Determine the exact words and phrases prospective clients use when they need a lawyer.
3. Create search-optimized content that shows off your expertise without keyword stuffing.
4. Get high-quality websites to link back to your site.
5. Make sure your law firm’s website loads quickly, has simple navigation, and makes it easy for visitors to take action.
6. Set clear goals and metrics, so you know if your efforts are actually paying off.

If this all sounds a bit overwhelming, you don’t have to go it alone. Consider SeoProfy, an experienced law firm SEO company that specializes in marketing for law firms. We know all the latest SEO best practices and can help you move toward SEO success.

Author

Andrew Shum

Andrew is the Head of SEO at SeoProfy. He has been involved in search engine optimization since 2016, gaining practical SEO experience across various niches and countries.