Five Tips on Hiring an SEO Firm for Your Law Practice

by | Mar 31, 2017

A business consultant friend just sent me the link to a very good article on SEO for Law Firms, because he knows I’m very familiar with good SEO. I read and liked the article but I think they left out a couple of other tips that would be helpful.  Here the are. 

SEO Tips

1) I would argue that not all “Content is King”, but good content is still important. A well written article means nothing unless it has SEO structure designed to attract specific traffic. I’ve come up with a point system to help people understand the value of different parts of a page or article.

2) Readers should know that good SEO page structure will increase the “Domain Authority” of your website. The Domain Authority is the overall score given to your site on a scale of 0 to 100, with the average score between 15 and 25. The Domain Authority of attorneyatwork.com is 50, which is very good. Congratulations. The higher the Domain Authority, the higher you tend to be listed higher in Google Searches.

3) In working with your SEO company, demand “Transparency” of their work. The goals should be set and you should have a way to see that list and verify the activity has been done. As an SEO guy myself, I’m tired of seeing people getting ripped off because the work paid for was not verifiable or completed.

4) Last tip – a good SEO Directory on your website will improve your Domain Authority and inbound traffic. Do a Google Search on any main keyword phrase and you will most likely see 1/2 of the resulting websites are directories. There is a very effective way to add a directory to your own site to help you rank higher than your competitors.

If anyone has questions regarding good SEO, I can be reached at 805-456-6011, located in Santa Barbara, California

Below is a excerpt from the original article.


While there are infinite ways to spend money marketing your law firm, only some will deliver the right return on investment. In my experience, especially in today’s digital marketing environment, working with the right search engine optimization (SEO) provider is still one of the best investments a small firm can make.

Set clear SEO campaign goals (and be patient).

As Google’s algorithm has gotten smarter, ranking well for competitive keywords in organic search has required a lot more work. It is so hard that many SEO firms refuse to commit to trying to rank your business for specific keywords. Hard, however, doesn’t mean impossible — and the payoff is worth the effort. A true SEO pro understands that organic search rankings are a huge part of any well-rounded SEO strategy, and knows how to identify and optimize site keywords to improve your rank, driving targeted traffic to your site and generating a much greater ROI for your SEO budget. If a provider won’t discuss its plan for helping your firm rank well for a specific keyword set, find another provider.

Set up proper tracking for your SEO Campaign

One of my business mentors always tells me, “You only get what you inspect, not what you expect.” Make sure tracking software is installed on your website so you can track the calls and contact forms that are generated from your SEO campaigns. And if you don’t already have a Google Analytics account, make sure your SEO firm helps you set it up. Google Analytics is the gold standard when it comes to viewing and analyzing traffic to your website. Understanding how to read the data it provides will ensure you can keep a careful eye on the value you are getting out of your SEO investment.

read the full artcile by Josh Gerben from ATTORNEY AT WORK

Designing a website with SEO in mind is crucial for improving its visibility in Google searches. Here are some key aspects to consider for optimizing your website design for SEO:

### 1. **Keyword Research and Implementation**
– **Conduct Comprehensive Keyword Research**: Identify relevant keywords and phrases your target audience is searching for. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs.
– **Strategic Placement**: Integrate these keywords naturally throughout your website, including in titles, headings, meta descriptions, and body content.

### 2. **Responsive Design**
– **Mobile-Friendly**: Ensure your website is optimized for mobile devices as Google uses mobile-first indexing. Responsive design makes your site accessible and functional on both desktop and handheld devices.

### 3. **Site Structure and Navigation**
– **Logical and Intuitive Structure**: Organize content using a clear, hierarchical site structure. This helps search engines understand the organization of your content and improves user experience.
– **Breadcrumbs and Internal Linking**: Use breadcrumbs and a robust internal linking strategy to enhance navigation and authority distribution across your pages.

### 4. **Page Speed Optimization**
– **Fast Loading Times**: Optimize images, leverage browser caching, and minimize HTTP requests to improve page speed. Tools like Google PageSpeed Insights can help assess and improve load times.

### 5. **Content Quality and Originality**
– **High-Quality Content**: Regularly update your site with high-quality, original content that provides value to your audience. This engages users and encourages sharing and backlinking.
– **Content Freshness**: Updating content with the latest information can improve its relevance and ranking.

### 6. **Meta Tags and Descriptions**
– **Compelling Meta Descriptions**: Write concise and compelling meta descriptions that incorporate primary keywords to improve CTR (click-through rates).
– **Title Tags**: Ensure each page has a unique title tag that includes keywords and accurately describes the page content.

### 7. **Use of Headers and Formatting**
– **Proper Use of Headers**: Utilize header tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to structure content and highlight important information, making it easier for search engines to understand the hierarchy of your content.

### 8. **Optimized Media**
– **Alt Text for Images**: Add descriptive alt text to images using relevant keywords to improve image search ranking and accessibility.
– **Video Optimization**: If you use videos, ensure they’re properly optimized for fast loading and include transcriptions or captions.

### 9. **Secure and Accessible Website**
– **HTTPS**: Ensure your website runs on HTTPS to secure user data and improve trust and ranking signals to Google.
– **ADA Compliance**: Make sure your website is accessible to all users, which can also positively affect your SEO.

### 10. **XML Sitemaps and Robots.txt**
– **Submit an XML Sitemap**: Submit a sitemap to help Google understand the structure of your website and prioritize crawling.
– **Optimize Robots.txt**: Use the robots.txt file to guide search engines on which pages to crawl and index.

### 11. **Local SEO Considerations**
– **Google My Business**: Ensure your business is listed and updated on Google My Business if you target local audiences.
– **Local Keywords**: Include location-based keywords and create content relevant to your local audience.

By implementing these strategies, you’ll lay a strong foundation for your website to be more easily found and ranked by Google, ultimately increasing your site’s visibility and organic traffic.

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