You know that you must expand your presence online to attract new business. Long gone are the days of putting an ad in the Yellow Pages or throwing up a billboard and expecting the clients to come rolling in. More and more, potential legal clients are firing up their computer to find an attorney. More specifically, they are starting on one website: Google.
Figuring out how to increase your presence in Google searches can be a hair-pulling frustration. “Search Engine Optimization” (SEO) can seem like a magical process, shrouded in mystery. It does not need to be. The right SEO professionals will put their expertise to work for you, while being open and honest about their process.
The best legal SEO firms can answer your questions very specifically, helping you to understand the method to the madness. In that way, you can feel confident in the work being done on your behalf and the strategy being advanced. When talking with potential SEO companies, here are a few questions to ask…
What You Need to Know
- What search terms will be targeted? And what is their search volume?
You want to rank for the top searched terms to increase your exposure. The exact terms matter. Ultimately, what is important is getting your phone to ring, and ranking on the first page for a term that no one searches will not accomplish that. There are many tools that can be used to get an idea of what the most competitive terms are and their search volume. One way to do this is to use the rank tracker in Google Ads. Here is a helpful video that explains more of this process: Watch.
- Which attorney’s have you ranked? And for how long?
Results matter. Do not focus much on how the SEO company ranks themselves. Do research on this yourself and call their clients to see if they are happy.
- What else will you handle for me? Local SEO, blogs, social media, PPC, etc.
Staying competitive in online marketing requires a comprehensive approach. Be clear from the start with your SEO company to understand the full scope of their work.
- Will you optimize internal pages as well?
Optimizing internal pages as well will give you the best exposure. Usually the homepage is optimized to rank for the type of law you practice and internal pages for more specific areas. If you are a criminal defense attorney in Los Angeles, your homepage would be optimized to rank for “Los Angeles criminal defense attorney” but you DUI page should be optimized for when someone searches for a DUI attorney in Los Angeles.
- Will you optimize other cities?
Geography is critical in online searches. The best SEO plans optimize each page for individual city searches. Incorporating a personalized plan that accounts for all areas from which you would like to draw clients is the best strategy.
- What is your price?
It is important to shop around and get a market average range. Then compare companies based on value and results. Cost is a key component to any business decision, but price alone should not be the determining factor. Do not hire someone based solely on price. The reality: A firm willing to do SEO for “cheap” is unlikely to rank you. Why? Because we know what a lead is worth (to an attorney) and we know how hard it is to rank. I just spoke to a potential client who spent $600 a month for two years. They never ranked past the 4th page, and they received zero leads. That’s over $14,000 for very little work and a lot of hope. His return on investment was zero but he thought $600 a month was a great deal! The bottom line: compare prices, but keep the big picture in mind.
- Do you only market attorneys?
SEO for attorneys is extremely difficult and competitive. You want someone that specializes in this environment, with a proven track record in ranking attorneys. Why? Search engine marketing is very industry specific. A firm with some success with one type of business may not have a clue about drawing in potential legal clients. You want an expert in the field. Just as you wouldn’t hire a family law firm for your criminal defense case, do not accept just any SEO company.
Talk to SEO Professionals
Want to learn more? Our SEO team at Inside Market Strategy is here to help. Contact us for a free evaluation.