Attorney Search Engine Marketing - What SEO Can and Cannot Do
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by Brandon Cornett
All throughout this website, I've offered tips and advice regarding attorney search engine marketing (SEO in particular). After all, search engine optimization is a big part of what I do for a living.
But I would be negligent if I failed to point out certain limitations of SEO (as it relates to attorney search engine marketing). Search engine visibility can do a lot for your online marketing success and your business in general. But it can't do everything.
What SEO Can and Cannot Do - Three of Each
Some people talk about search engine optimization as if it were a magic ingredient for attorney marketing success. Just toss in a dash of SEO, and voila ... instant leads and inquiries!
While SEO can certainly bolster an attorney search engine marketing campaign by increasing website traffic, it is not a magic ingredient for web success in general. For optimum results, SEO should be part of a larger online marketing mix. Simply stated, there are some things SEO can do for your marketing program, and other things it cannot do. I offer you three of each.
Three Things SEO Can Do
Let's start with the positive before we get to the negative. Let's talk about the merits of search engine optimization, and how they can help you grow your business online. Here are three things that a proper SEO program can do for you:
1. Can Increase Your Ranking in Search Engines
This is the most fundamental goal of an attorney search engine marketing program — to increase a website's search engine ranking for phrases relevant to the attorney's services. A well-rounded SEO program — one that is built around content development, networking, link building and the like — will surely help you boost your search engine visibility. And online visibility paves the way for the next thing that SEO can do for you.
2. Can Drive Traffic to Your Law Firm Website
The goal of an SEO campaign is to increase the amount of qualified traffic to your law firm website. In fact, this is the whole point of attorney search engine marketing in general. In this context, the word "qualified" is critical, because unqualified traffic is practically useless from a business-development standpoint. Qualified visitors are those who are actively seeking the kind of legal services you provide.
These are the kinds of visitors you want, because they are the ones most likely to contact you about your services. When done right, SEO can increase the amount of qualified traffic to your law firm website — often dramatically.
3. Can Increase Awareness of Your Services
When you increase your traffic levels through search marketing / SEO (as mentioned above), you will also increase public awareness about your company and your legal services. It's an indirect result of search engine optimization, but it can still be traced back to the act of SEO.
I probably don't need to tell you that the benefits of public awareness go far beyond website traffic. When people are familiar with your law firm website and your company, they are much more inclined to mention it to others, link to it, etc. This can have far-reaching effects on your business success in general.
Three Things SEO Cannot Do
You might think me daft for compiling a list of SEO weaknesses. After all, search engine optimization for attorneys is part of my livelihood.
But I like to be absolutely frank with my clients (and readers) about all things related to search engine optimization. While SEO can certainly help you grow your, there are certain things it cannot do. Here are three of those things:
1. Cannot Motivate People to Act
Search engine optimization (and the visibility that results from it) will help people find your law firm website. That's what makes SEO an integral part of the attorney search engine marketing program. But SEO has virtually no effect on how people will react once they find your law firm's website. The burden of motivating people to respond falls on the professionalism, usability and marketing capability of your website. Search engine optimization can deliver traffic ... but you still have to convert that traffic into business.
2. Cannot Build Your Reputation
A law firm website that ranks high in the major search engines is not necessarily the best firm within its area of practice. Search engine rankings are determined by a website's age, volume and relevance of content, link popularity and other factors. Rankings are not determined by client satisfaction or attorney competence. So while SEO will make people aware of your website, it will not convince them of your quality, dependability, professionalism, etc. You'll have to do that yourself.
3. Cannot Generate Leads
This is actually an extension of item #1 above. But it's an important point, so allow me to reiterate. I often see search engine marketing firms singing the praises of SEO from a sales standpoint. "Generate tons of leads and sales through search engine optimization," these companies proclaim.
Let me be the first to tell you that SEO is not a sales tool. It never has been, and it never will be. SEO is a traffic generator — not a lead generator. If you quadruple the amount of traffic to a law firm website that has no lead generation tactics in place, you will have four times the amount of unconverted web traffic. Or to put it more simply:
- SEO + good lead generation = leads
- SEO + poor lead generation = no leads
Conclusion
Search engine optimization has plenty of merits. Thus, it should be a primary part of an attorney search engine marketing program. But SEO also has limitations. If you understand the difference between these, you will have a much more satisfying (and fruitful) SEO experience.