Even law firms need to get a consistent number of clients for the business to survive, and in today’s time, going online is an excellent way to achieve that.
There are hundreds of search engines on the web that use different algorithms, and Google is by far the most popular. SEO or search engine optimization helps your firm rank higher on these search engines, which will increase traffic to your firm’s website, helping you generate more leads.
Since the majority of your clients are likely to find you online through a search engine, your law firm will significantly benefit from hiring an SEO expert. Whether you plan to do that or do things on your own, here are some of the common SEO mistakes that you should avoid.
Mistake 1: Not Allowing Google’s Web Crawler Bots to Index Your Business’ Website
Google Web Crawlers visit your legal website, read the content, and rank your website. It happens every time a new page is added or an existing page is modified. If the website is not indexed, Google will not know about the website, and it will not show up in search results.
If you don’t let Google know that there’s new content every time you update your website, it will not be able to tell. As a result, Google will continue to show your old content ranked in the search engines.
Mistake 2: Not Using Local SEO for Attorneys
Today, local SEO is essential since people search for local businesses on Google. Local SEO is good for on-page SEO, which helps your pages rank on search terms users look for within your specific location.
For local SEO to be effective, you need to include your firm’s phone number and address in your website or blog so that Google knows that you’re a local business.
Mistake 3: Not Improving Your Site Speed
Search engines give a higher ranking to fast sites, as having quick loading times will drastically improve user experience. There are several things you can do to make your site faster. These include:
- Optimizing your images, videos, and fonts
- Reducing server response times
- Caching content on your web server
- Avoiding flash intros on landing pages
- Using a content delivery network (CDN)
In general, the better your site speed, the better your ranking on Google.
Mistake 4: Targeting the Wrong Keywords
Millions of keywords can help you drive traffic to your website. Unfortunately, most of these keywords have low search volumes. That’s why you must choose the right keywords before you begin your SEO campaign.
You should start by creating several keyword lists and then doing keyword research to determine which keywords will provide the most traffic. That way, you can increase the traffic to your website and generate more leads from organic search traffic.
Mistake 5: Ignoring Mobile SEO
More than half of the world’s population uses smartphones nowadays, so you’ll lose out on a huge audience if you ignore mobile responsiveness and SEO. Mobile SEO is vital for attracting potential clients who use their phones or tablets to browse the internet. Getting your site optimized for mobile will not only help you rank on Google but will also increase your traffic.
Mistake 6: Failing to Release Quality Content
It would help to create high-quality content such as blog posts, videos, and infographics. This will help with building trust and authority, as well as incorporating valuable keywords in your pages.
The content you release should be unique and relevant to your business. It should not be copied from any other source, especially unreliable ones. You risk getting penalized by search engines if you do.
Mistake 7: Not Optimizing Your Blog
Blogs are important for helping your website rank on Google. That means you should regularly update your blog with high-quality content. You should also ensure that your blog has a good design and is optimized for mobile.
Mistake 8: Not Using Social Media
Social media is another crucial marketing channel for law firms. You should get your social media profiles optimized with your law firm’s name, photos, and description. By sharing your blog posts on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Twitter, you’ll be able to drive more traffic to your website. Find which sites are more relevant to your target audience.
Mistake 9: Not Paying for Ads
In this day and age, you can’t ignore PPC advertising. Pay-per-click advertising is another easy way to drive organic traffic to your website. When you advertise your website on Google Adwords, you’ll be able to get your website listed when people are searching for specific keywords. The good thing about this is that you’ll be able to attract potential clients who are already interested in your services.
Mistake 10: Not Involving SEO in PPC Campaigns
Having your SEO and PPC teams work together will help increase your firm’s search engine exposure. For instance, when you have an SEO expert make changes on your website, the SEO expert can ensure that your PPC campaigns are relevant to the changes.
Mistake 11: Not Tracking Your Progress
You should use Google Analytics to track your progress. It is the best way to know what’s working and what isn’t. You should also make use of Google Search Console to identify any issues that might affect your website’s performance.
How SEO Can Help Your Law Firm
The most important thing to consider when you want to grow your law firm is to make sure your firm can be found by your potential clients online. That means you need an excellent online presence and that you rank on the first search results page of Google and other search engines.
SEO is a process that helps your law firm rank higher on search engines. The higher your firm ranks on search engines, the more organic (unpaid) traffic you’ll get from them.
If you’re not getting organic traffic, you’re missing out on many potential clients. Keep in mind that people will visit your website and follow you on social media when you have a good online presence.
In addition, search engines don’t just rank your firm’s website; they also rank videos, articles, blogs, and many other things. If your firm owns a website, blog, or social media profile, you’ll get higher rankings on search engines.
While SEO isn’t a quick fix, it can help your legal firm generate more leads. You should consider hiring an SEO expert if you’re currently not doing SEO. It’s something that can help your firm rank higher on Google and generate more leads.
Why Hire an SEO Expert?
Most law firms do SEO on their own. Even if that’s the case, you’ll still reap the benefits of hiring an SEO expert. An SEO expert can improve your law firm’s organic search rankings.
If you’re worried about hiring an SEO expert and whether you can afford it, you should know that you don’t have to spend a lot of money on a consultant. An SEO consultant can charge you an hourly rate or a retainer depending on their experience and your budget.
SEO is a long-term strategy that can improve your legal firm’s organic search rankings and drive more traffic to your website.
Boosting the ranking of your website on search engines is hard, and it takes time. You need to regularly update your website and blog, create quality content, and do other things to improve your law firm’s organic search rankings.
Conclusion
It’s essential to avoid these SEO mistakes for your law firm to enjoy the benefits of having the best search engine rankings in town. Also, if your goal is to help your law firm generate more leads from inbound marketing, you’ll need to learn some strategies to help you grow your clients.
Are you not sure if your firm makes any of these SEO mistakes? Why not get a free analysis of your law firm’s website from a top SEO expert? With it, you’ll know exactly where your firm is doing things right and where you need to improve. New Digital Marketing houses SEO experts for lawyers. We are a Toronto-based digital marketing agency that can help you optimize your website. Let us turn that high traffic into actual clients by contacting us today.
