8 Law Firm Marketing Tips to Rank on Google

An astounding 96% of people seeking legal counsel begin their search online. What are the chances of them finding your business on the first page of Google?

If your law firm marketing doesn't include local SEO, then the answer is likely zip, zilch, nada.

But you can change this around.

Let's review 8 law firm marketing tips you can use to boost your rank on Google.

1. Optimize Your Site with a Responsive Design

It doesn't matter how great your law firm website looks. If it isn't accessible to mobile users, then you're leaving money on the table.

Most people (likely you included) are consistently on their mobile devices, especially when they're on the go. For example, you offer legal services to accident victims, then there's a high chance prospects will use a mobile device to look for lawyers after a crash.

It's also worth noting that mobile searches outnumber desktop searches.

You can address this by creating a website using a responsive design. This will ensure your site adjusts to whatever screen size and device your visitors are using.

2. Optimize Your Web Pages with Local Keywords

You want to demonstrate your expertise in the legal field. And while this will help convince visitors to choose your law firm, it's not going to help with getting more eyes on your web content.

To get that, you'll need to optimize your site with local keywords. These are search terms your prospects use to find your law firm—but with a city and/or state tied to it.

For example, "real estate lawyer in Dallas, Tx."

Choose keywords that relate to your firm and the search intent of your prospects. This will also help Google identify your location, which gives your pages a higher chance of showing up on mobile search.

When a user searches for a business or service on a mobile device, a box appears with a map and a list of three local businesses (based on their location). In other words, locals can still find you even if they don't use city-based keywords.

If you can make it to Google's Local 3-Pack box, then you can increase your click-through-rates exponentially. Remember, this box sits above the #1 spot on Google.

3. Publish Highly-Informative Blog Posts

When visitors land on your site, they want to see more than your credentials and history of court wins.

Put yourself in their shoes.

Odds are if you're looking for legal services, you're also looking for advice. One way to provide this is through your blog. Not only will this educate your prospects about their problems, but it'll position you as a leader in your field as well.

Then if you're properly optimizing your blog posts with local keywords, then you'll also drive more traffic to your site.

You'll need to publish highly-informative blog posts regularly—at least once or twice per week. Ideally, every day.

4. Show Your Expertise as a Guest On Other Sites

There's a win-win-win scenario when you choose to publish a guest blog post on a third-party website.

The site owner gets fresh content their audience likes, you get to attract more visitors to your own site, and the end-user receives excellent legal advice.

You'll need to find blogs that are in your niche, but not direct competitors. For instance, if you assist clients with work-related injury cases, then writing for a disability or health blog would be ideal.

The idea is to choose sites that are high-authority, so there's a fair amount of organic traffic coming to it.

5. Claim Your Local Business Listings

There are dozens of business directories you can use for your law firm marketing strategy. This includes Google My Business, Yelp, Angie's List, and Yahoo Local.

The more listings you claim, the higher the chance of prospects finding your business.

You can use the tools offered by GoSite to easily claim and update your business listings across the top directories—all from one platform.

6. Create a Referral Program to Drive Business

Getting repeat business is great, but the chances of that happening depend on the field you're in. It's unlikely that a disability client will need your service in the near future.

So, to help keep business flowing in through your existing clients, you can offer a referral program. You can set it up so that they receive a future discount for referring someone who becomes a client.

7. Make Online Reviews a Part of Your Law Firm Marketing

Consumers like to do business with law firms they can trust. One way to determine the credibility of your legal office is to look at the online reviews.

It's a fact: people trust their peers when it comes to choosing a service provider. Reviews are shown with local business listings, which means it's the first thing consumers see.

So it makes sense to pay close attention to the reviews posted online about your law firm.

There are two parts to this equation—asking your clients to leave a review on Google My Business (and other platforms), and get reviews.

Responding gives you an opportunity to ease tensions and possibly even lead to the negative review being removed or changed to a positive one. The better your stars and reviews, the higher you'll rank in Google. And the more business your law firm will receive.

8. Advertise Your Law Firm On Social Media

There are two ways you can use social media in your law firm marketing. After setting up a business page or profile, you can publish posts and engage in conversations.

And you can also use certain platforms to advertise or boost your posts. Facebook and Instagram both offer these options. You'll have to set up a daily spending limit, so you don't go over-budget. The good news is you can set your budget as low as $1 per day.

It's a good idea to use both paid and free methods to promote your firm on social media when you're first starting out. Then once your site gains traction, you can stop the paid campaigns.

Improve Your Law Firm Marketing Today

There are a number of tools you can use to help with your law firm marketing. You have Google Keyword Planner to assist with finding local keywords.

And you have Answer the Public to help you find leading questions your prospects are asking so you can write about it on your blog.

But let's not forget the power of business listings and their prominence in search engines. With GoSite, you can manage all of your business citations in one place. This includes claiming, adding photos, managing reviews, and updating your business details.

Ready to learn more? Then check out our increase your web presence to see how it can help grow your law firm!