Local SEO For Lawyers & Law Firms: How to rank higher than your competitors in 2023

If potential clients start their search on the internet, they will look for resources to provide answers by visiting the blog or website that the search engine offers. If your firm has a well thought out strategy with your client in mind, your content will be delivered on the first page.

 As a result, you will be the first attorney to add value and you have positioned yourself above competing firms.

Organic and Local Search drive 69% of website traffic. Let’s stop and take a moment to define each. Organic search refers to the process of finding websites by inputting search terms in a search engine and having those results delivered on the search engine results pages (SERPs).

The results are delivered based on relevancy and without the use of paid advertising. Organic search rankings are determined by algorithms employed by search engines that factor in various elements, such as content relevance, website quality, and the number of backlinks directed to the site.

Local search is the process of locating and ranking businesses and services based on the user's location. These results are often presented in a map format, containing the business name, address, phone number and reviews. The outcome of local search is determined by the relevance and distance of the query to the user's given location.

Attorneys can benefit from a local SEO strategy. Local SEO can increase visibility and connect lawyers with potential clients in their specific geographic region.

Optimizing their website and online presence for local search terms can help position law firms higher in search results for those seeking legal services nearby. Local SEO involves optimizing for local search results.

There are several benefits of local SEO, from enhanced traffic to improved visibility in your niche. It does not just bring prospects to your website but can also help turn them into paying clients.

Google makes algorithm changes often. However, the good news for those trying to rank for Local SEO in 2023, not much has changed. Here are some ways to rank your legal website for Local SEO.

The Google Map Pack or Google Local Pack or Google 3-Pack is a rich result that Google shows to searchers to help them find the best result based on location. It appears at the top of SERPs.

For example, when a searcher uses a search query to find a local law firm like yours, Google thinks they want to find a business in a particular location. This triggers Google Map Pack.

Given that apart from ads, Google Map Pack is the first thing searchers see, ranking for it dramatically increases your chances of being discovered. We don’t know how exactly local ranking works; what we know is that three factors can contribute to ranking in Google Map Pack:

➢    How well a business profile matches the meaning of the search query used

➢    Online reviews and rankings and links to the website

➢    The distance between the business specified in the query and the searcher 

Here are some things you can do to increase your chances of showing up in Google Map Pack:

➢    Create and Optimize Your Google My Business Profile: Go to Google My Business Gateway, select a business category and add your business address for your business profile. Provide contact information and other details such as business hours. Add relevant photos, business description, and the link to your website to your GMB profile.

➢    Encourage Clients to Leave Reviews: Google considers businesses with a healthy positive-to-negative review ratio reputable and trustworthy.

To get more reviews:

❖    Simplify the process of writing and leaving reviews

❖    Create a Google reviews page on your website or include a Google review CTA in your footer

❖    Try running a Google review email campaign

❖    Promptly respond to positive and negative reviews

If getting reviews seems daunting, hire a digital marketing agency that focuses on local SEO service near you to develop an action plan that encourages customers to leave positive reviews.

➢    Get Listed on Local Citation Sites and Directories: Getting listed in a reputable local citation site or directory increases your chances of ranking higher in Google Map Pack. Submit up-to-date information to directories. Keep information consistent across the web. 

To maximize the visibility of your website in local searches, it is important to incorporate relevant local keywords into your website's title tags, meta descriptions and content. This will help search engines understand the relevance of your website to local searchers.

There are numerous tools that can be used for keyword research, such as Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Moz Keyword Explorer. These tools allow you to enter a research keywords related to your business and will return a list of related keywords.

In addition, to keywords and keyword phrases, they also provide search volume, competition, and cost-per-click (CPC) for each keyword. It is important to evaluate long tail keywords with lower volume as they might provide the opportunity for you to leap over your competitors.

It's also important to consider the intent behind the keywords that you choose. For example, a keyword like "best law firm in Georgia" may indicate that the searcher is in the research phase and looking for information, while a keyword like "finding a good lawyer in Georgia" may indicate that the searcher is in the purchase phase and ready to hire an attorney.

By understanding the intent behind the keywords, you can optimize your content to better meet the needs of your target audience. 

Conducting a competitive analysis for Local SEO involves researching and analyzing the strategies of your competitors to gain insight into their strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities. Here are some steps to take to get started:

• Identify your competitors: You may already have an idea of who your offline competitors are, but you may have an additional set of competitors online.  Start by identifying the businesses that are competing with you for local search traffic. These can be businesses in the same industry or offering similar products or services.
• Analyze their online presence: Visit your competitors' websites and social media profiles to see what they're doing. Make an honest assessment of what they are doing well and what areas they might be neglecting. Pay attention to their website design, content, and engagement on social media. You are not trying to steal what they are doing. You are gathering information on what areas you see as opportunities to improve your own site based on their perceived successes and failures.
• Check out their keywords and backlinks: Leverage tools like Bright Local, Moz Local, and Ahrefs to understand your competitor’s visibility, reviews, and backlinks.

By conducting a competitive analysis, you can identify areas where your local SEO is lacking compared to your competitors and develop a strategy to improve your visibility in local search results.

WSI Biggs Digital offers a range of SEO services for lawyers. Our digital marketing experts have hands-on experience helping lawyers and law firms build a strong digital presence with sustainability at its core. To learn more, call (404) 682-2991.