Steps to Higher Local SEO Rankings for Law Firms.

Transcription

1 6 Steps to Higher Local SEO Rankings for Law Firms. BY CALIN YABLONSKI

2 Table of Contents About the Author 3 Introduction 4 Who is this ebook for? 5 What is Local SEO 6 1. Keyword Research 7 2. Localized Website Content 8 3. Local Citations 9 4. Local Backlinks Google My Business Local Reviews & Reputation Management 13 Closing Thoughts 15 2

3 About the Author Before we get into the good stuff, I think it s only fair that I introduce myself and explain what makes me the right person to talk about the intricacies of local SEO. My name is Calin Yablonski. I m the founder and lead digital marketing strategist at Inbound Law Marketing. I am a Google Certified Individual in Google Search and Display. And, an Unbounce Certified Partner. Since 2009, I have been providing digital marketing services to attorneys across Canada. About Inbound Law Marketing I created Inbound Law Marketing with one objective in mind: To help entrepreneurial attorneys and law firms generate more revenue for their firms using the web. Inbound Law Marketing works with leading attorneys and small to midsized law firms to create highly effective lead generation campaigns. We do it by developing actionable website traffic strategies. Improving your practice s visibility in Google s search results. Optimizing the performance of your website and landing pages. And, automating your sales and marketing processes. If you would like more info, visit us online at: Or send me an at: info@inboundlawmarketing.com. 3

4 Introduction Thanks to the Internet, law firms can now reach and communicate with almost anyone looking for their services in their practice area and beyond. Today s customers have swapped local business listings and classifieds for the comfort of their smartphones, tablets and laptops. More importantly, users now turn to Google in increasing numbers to research local law firms and legal services. In fact, according to a study conducted by FindLaw 71% of people looking for a lawyer think it is important to have a local attorney. It comes as no surprise then how much effort firms put into improving their local search rankings. They create websites targeting relevant keywords; seek positive online reviews; build business citations; and invest in the development of useful content. To achieve the coveted top three positions in Google s search results (the results that generate roughly 60% of all clicks), you first need to understand what local SEO is and how it works. Luckily, that s exactly what I m going to share with you in this ebook. 4

5 In this ebook you ll learn: What is Local SEO, What are the most critical elements of a successful Local SEO campaign and How you could use them to generate more online leads. Who is this ebook for? Entrepreneurial Attorneys If you are a leading attorney in your practice area and are searching for opportunities to increase your qualified leads and sales revenue, this ebook is for you. Partners at a Small to Mid-Sized Law Firm If you re a partner at a small to mid-sized law firm (2-50 employees) who has been tasked with increasing the number of online sales leads generated for your company, this publication will help you as well. Marketing Managers for Law Firms If you re employed by a law firm or run a marketing agency that services the legal industry and you offer services to the client types listed above, you ve come to the right place. Let s begin! 5

6 What is Local SEO? Local SEO is the process of increasing a firm s website rankings in Google s local search results. These results can be identified by a map, local businesses, contact information, hours of operation and reviews. They are triggered when a user searches for a practice area that has a local intent. For example, Criminal defence lawyer in Boston or Toronto Family Lawyer. In short, local SEO is a set of practices that help a firm appear in the search results when someone in their geographic area is searching for their services. What law firms need local SEO? Not every law firm serves local customers. Some focus their attention nationally or even internationally. Recognizing this, Google allows two categories of companies into its local search results: Businesses with a physical location (i.e. law firms, garages, restaurants) and Businesses that deliver the service at the customer s location (i.e. plumbers, electricians). For our purposes, we ll review the techniques used by firms with a physical address in the city in which they serve who are attempting to attract local customers. 6

7 Step 1: Keywords Research Keyword research is the process of identifying variations of words potential customers use to search for your firm s practice areas. For example, think about how you describe your law firm s services. I bet you use words or phrases you feel define it best. You might say you re a criminal defence lawyer, that your firm provides impaired driving services or is involved in corporate litigation. However, your potential customers might use different phrases when searching for what you offer. They could search criminal drug offence lawyer, DUI Lawyer or Corporate Dispute Law Firm. In many cases, what you believe your customers are searching for may not be the terms they re actually searching. That s why to succeed in ranking your business in local search and generate qualified traffic to your website, we first need to uncover phrases and keywords your customers use to search for your firm s services. We call this process Keywords Research. It involves various practices that help identify the most popular phrases relevant to your practice areas that have the lowest amounts of competition (making them easier to rank for). Using free and paid research tools (such as the Google Keyword Planner, UberSuggest and SEMRush), a list of relevant keywords are discovered. This data helps to define the ideal structure of a website; produce content optimized for terms your audience uses to find you; select the most appropriate Google My Business categories; and implement many other aspects of a campaign. 7

8 Step 2: Localized Website Content It goes without saying, a website is your most important online asset. Local customers will use it to learn about your firm; find your firm s contact details; review and download important documents; check hours of operation; and inquire about your services. In fact, according to BrightLocal, 36% of customers believe a clear and engaging website gives a local business more credibility. For this to happen, you must create relevant local content. This can include a variety of content types such as: Local information regarding your services, Contact pages that list your firm s telephone number, address, hours of operation and a map, Case studies and your results, Video content explaining your services (in terms your customers can understand). One common mistake most firms make is attempting to consolidate all of their content into a limited number of pages. It may seem counter intuitive, but it is a best practice to develop a dedicated web page for each practice area your firm offers, for each city or location your firm serves and for each of the various other pieces of content you intend to create on your website. 8

9 Step 3: Local Citations Citations are references to a firm s business Name, Address and Phone Number (also referred to as a business s NAP) in directories, media websites and blogs. A firm needs a combination of both structured and unstructured citations to rank in Google s local search results. Search engines are extremely data sensitive. They re effectively listening for references to a local firm s business information in an effort to verify that the firm is located in the city that it claims to be. What most people won t tell you is that search engines, for all their complexity, are easily confused. Take your location for instance. Even though you include your business address on your website a search engine is still looking for additional signals to confirm that your locations details are correct. And rightly so. Law firms move, phone numbers change and firms can close or go out of business. Aiming to deliver the most relevant information to users, Google requires confirmation that your information is accurate. Citations, or local hooks as I call them, give it that reassurance. Citations are one of the strongest local ranking factors. In fact, all other factors being equal, a website with the most consistent citations will almost always rank higher in Google s local search results. 9

10 Step 4: Local Backlinks Here s an interesting fact for you: Google uses over 200 factors to determine how to rank a site. Not one of them, however, is more important than a website s authority. No one is certain how search engines assess authority, however, one thing is certain, a website s popularity (measured by the amount and quality of backlinks pointing to it) is a key factor. But what is a backlink? A backlink is a link pointing from one web page to another. Every time a website (be it a blog, media outlet or any other online property) displays a link to your site, you earn a backlink. Historically, backlinks have been the strongest search engine ranking factor. You can think of backlinks like rocket fuel, propelling your website to the top of the search results. However, Google s release of the Penguin update in 2012 caused a monumental shift in search engine optimization. Google started paying more attention to links that were passing authority. If a link was created for increasing a website s rankings alone, it was devalued. For example, link farms were created that served only one purposed: to provide backlinks. The content was low quality; these websites received a negligible amount of traffic; and provided a poor user experience. 10

11 This however doesn t mean that backlinks no longer influence rankings. Quite the contrary in fact. It s just that today you have to be more selective about what links you build. Especially when positioning a site in local search. When improving the site s local rankings, you should first focus on local backlink sources: Newspapers, both local and national, Local bloggers, Local and national business associations (i.e. local chamber of commerce, national industry association, etc.), NGOs, Local colleges, universities and other educational institutions, Industry profiles, Local business listings. All of these will send a quality signal to Google, helping your website to achieve higher authority and gain better rankings. 11

12 Step 5: Google My Business Account Your website isn t the only online property you need to manage in local search. There are also Google Maps, the local search results and Google Local pages. Luckily Google offers one platform through which you can manage the information Google will display in the local search results - Google My Business. Google My Business, in its simplest form, is a local business s direct connection to Google s local search results. Google My Business allows you to: 1. Create and manage your firm s information in the Local Search Results, Google Maps and Google+. From its name, address and contact details to proper description, hours of operation and other relevant info. 2. Assign your firm to the appropriate business categories. The search engine will then use them to display your business in search. 3. Add photos and upload a virtual tour of your office. 4. Post updates on your Google Local page. 5. Manage online reviews and 6. View reports to better understand how your firm performs on Google. For your campaign to succeed, at a minimum you need to include correct and up to date business information in Google My Business. Enhance your profile with relevant photos. And use it to manage your online reputation. 12

13 Step 6: Local Reviews & Reputation Management With so many options to choose from, how do you think customers decide which firm to choose over another? One way is to look at what others are saying about it. According to BrightLocal, 88% of consumers read reviews to determine the quality of a local business. And 90% of them admit that their buying decision is influenced by what they read. Therefore it goes without saying, what your customers say about your firm online shapes its future success. Online reviews help establish your firm s credibility. And, the number of positive reviews provides proof and validation of your firm s quality. Reviews help attract clicks to your listing. When five or more reviews are received on your Google My Business account a star rating will display beside your local listing, making your firm stand out from its competition. But Google isn t the only source of reviews. Websites like Lawyer.com, FindLaw, Avvo and Yellow Pages are also important review sources. Customers frequent these sites to evaluate law firms they re interested in hiring. 13

14 Therefore, as part of your campaign you should develop strategies to gather positive customer feedback: Ask customers to leave reviews on sites Include a link to your Google+ Page in s. Ask customers for a review after the delivery of service. 14

15 Closing Thoughts Hopefully by now you have a good idea of what elements affect your local search marketing success. The next logical step is to implement this advice and start generating leads from the local search results. If you ve found this information valuable, don t forget to visit our blog at blog.inboundlawmarketing.com where we share tons of useful advice about marketing a law firm. Finally, if you have any questions regarding this publication, make sure you connect with me and the Inbound Law Marketing team at: info@inboundlawmarketing.com Phone: (403) Looking forward to hearing from you. Calin Yablonski Founder & Lead Strategist 15