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Lawyer's Guide to Search Engine Optimization

I created this article to explain the basics of search engine optimization (SEO) to lawyers or law firms interested in the topic.

In my opinion, any lawyer or firm serious about their growth should take this stuff seriously, because there is a world of potential clients online ... but that means nothing if they can't find your website.

In this article, I will start with the basics of how search engines work — how they find, evaluate and rank law websites (or any other website, for that matter). From there, we will advance to more advanced topics, such as the proper way to conduct an SEO program.

So off we go!

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How Search Engines Operate

A search engine is an Internet-based tool that identifies (and ranks) websites based on the search terms entered. These search terms are also known as keywords and key phrases.

Google is the most well-known search engine. Yahoo is both a search engine and a directory. Other search engines include MSN, Ask and AOL. There are also a wide variety of lesser-known search engines out there, but we will limit our discussion to the big three: Google, Yahoo and MSN.

Search engines create databases (or "indexes") through the use of robotic crawlers. These robotic web crawlers are often called "spiders." Both terms — crawler and spider — signify the way these robotic components scour the web automatically in search of websites to index.

When search engine crawlers find your law firm's website, they will then crawl through the various pages of your site to determine what it's about. If your website has good structure and navigation systems in place, crawlers can follow the hyperlinks from page to page, much the same way as a person would.

In this way, the search engine can identify what your website is all about (or what it thinks the website is about) and thus how to categorize it.

Although they determine their results differently, all search engines operate the same:

1. The searcher enters a key phrase into a search engine.
2. The search engine searches its database (or "index") to find matches.
3. The search engine displays the results in a ranked order based on relevancy.

All search engines perform steps one and two in basically the same fashion. Step three is where they differ. Each search engine uses a different formula (or "algorithm") to determine which results get the highest ranking, the second-highest ranking, third-highest and so on.

These algorithmic factors represent things you can do to improve your search engine ranking (the brass ring of SEO). In this book, all the actions you take will be two-fold: they will improve your search engine ranking over time, but they will also improve the overall quality of your website.

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Search Engine Optimization Explained

In my definition, search engine optimization (SEO) is the act of improving a website for better search engine visibility, usability and conversion rates. You might have noticed that my definition differs from most people's definition of SEO. In my opinion, thinking of SEO in search engine terms alone is a mistake. That's why my definition of search engine optimization includes things like usability and conversion rates.

Sure, SEO can help people find your law firm website. But when you take a holistic approach to SEO the way I do, it can also help those people interact with your site and — ultimately — respond in some positive way.

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The Point of SEO for Lawyers

Some people will tell you the goal of search engine optimization (SEO) for lawyers is to improve the lawyer's ranking in the search engines. I say these people are shortsighted. By themselves, search engine rankings are worthless. But rankings can be a path to bigger and better things, and that's the important thing to remember.

So what's my definition of search engine optimization? I define it this way:

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Benefits of Search Engine Visibility

You've probably heard the expression, "If you build it, they will come." Unfortunately, this expression does not apply to websites. The Internet is home to millions of websites and billions of individual documents. So a single law website is like a grain of sand on a long beach.

That's where search engine visibility comes in. Search engine optimization (SEO) has become big business in the online marketplace, and with good reason. Proper SEO — and the search engine visibility that results — can differentiate one law firm website over another. It can lead to one website's success and another website's obscurity. Aside from having a quality website, search engine visibility is the most important tool in the web marketer's toolbox.

Here, then, are the primary benefits of search engine optimization and visibility:

1. Targeted exposure to your key audience.
2. No-cost advertising.
3. Credibility (because people find you naturally).
4. A steady stream of qualified website traffic.
5. A steady stream of potential leads.
6. A fast-track to online success!

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Why Lawyers Need SEO - Illustrated

When I enter the phrase "Dallas lawyer" into a major search engine, how many returns do you think I get? Ten thousand? One hundred thousand? Think bigger! Try 2,760,000. And out of those 2.7 million returns (web pages), how many do you think will ever be noticed? Ten, maybe twenty. Why? Because most search engines give ten returns per page, and statistics show that few people venture beyond Page 2 of a search engine results page in order to find a lawyer or law firm.

So how do the lucky few lawyers and firms get onto the first page of search engines? The answer is that it's not luck at all, but a constant application of SEO strategies — the very strategies outlined on this website. Sure, you could pay your way to Page 1, and maybe that's an option for you. But depending on how expensive your key phrases are, that could cost you a lot of money fast!

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Improving Your Search Engine Visibility

When thinking about search engine optimization, think of it as the sum of many parts. Sure, you can focus on just one of those parts, and any improvements you make will improve your law firm website in general. But to truly maximize your search engine performance, you need to improve all of the parts.

Here are some of the ingredients of a proper law firm SEO program, at least by my standards:

• Key Phrases
  Key phrases are the starting point for any SEO program. Researching words and phrases through a tool like WordTracker.com can reveal the search behavior of your target audience. Armed with this information, you can create the kind of web content they're after!
• Website Structure
  Site structure plays a big role in helping search engines find and index all the pages of your website. For instance, dynamic Javascript menus and Flash-driven menus can slow search engine crawlers down considerably. But an alternate text-based menu can help them along their way.
• Inbound Links
  Inbound links (from other sites to yours) are a key part of search engine visibility - especially with Google. One of the goals of a proper SEO program should be to make your site easier for people to link to, and to steadily increase the quality and quantity of links you receive over time.
• Tools & Resources
  Web-based resources improve your website in three ways: (1) They give your visitors useful info, (2) they increase your website's "buzz" factor, and (3) they make your site easier to link to. An example might be a legal library or a comprehensive Q&A section related to your legal specialty.
• Blogging
  Lawyer blogs / law firm blogs can play a major role in search engine optimization because they make web publishing quick and easy. Blogs are easy to use, making website owners more likely to create new content on a regular basis. Blogs can also attract inbound links, especially if you're an authority.
• Web Directories
  Web directories can strengthen your link popularity and make you less susceptible to ranking fluctuations caused by search engine updates. I recommend to clients that they add their websites to at least a handful of general directories (such as Best of the Web), and to as many niche directories as possible.
• Competitor Analysis
  Study competitors who already rank well in the search engines to find out what they're doing right. You can learn a lot from a top-ranked legal website within your niche (if you know what to look for).
• Quality Content
  Quality content helps your SEO efforts in three ways: It makes your link-building efforts much easier. It tells search engines what your website is all about. And most importantly, it keeps visitors on your site longer (giving you a better chance of turning them into clients).
• Press Releases
  A law firm press release submitted online will often get picked up by respectable news websites, RSS feeds, blogs and more. If you hyerplink some of your key phrases, all of those blogs and websites will be pointing toward your website with key phrase hyperlinks, which can boost your search engine ranking.
• Online Articles
  Online article publishing is one of my favorite ways to gain a lot of inbound links with only a little effort. Using websites like EzineArticles.com, you can tap into a large distribution network. You can also find dozens of niche websites who need quality content to publish.

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The Unifying Factor of SEO Success

The law firm SEO strategies listed above all have one thing in common. It is the underlying current that ties everything together, and you should keep it in mind at all times. That unifying factor is simply this: You need to build a quality website that offers relevant content to your primary audience. In other words, don't build a website just for the search engines.

If you build a website for your key audience — people looking for the legal services your provide — the search engines will follow. Why? Because if you build a quality website with content that's relevant to your readers, you've built the kind of website that search engines love. You've also built the kind of website that people respond to, and that's the ultimate goal, right?

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Full-Service Search Engine Optimization for Lawyers

I know this is a lot of information to take onboard at once. But I want you to see that SEO is not some kind of mysterious magic. It mostly revolves around research, content developing and networking. SEO can be a lot of work, but it's not complicated or hard to understand.

But therein lies the rub. Most lawyers don't have time to sit in front of a computer writing content for the website, or pursuing link opportunities. They have more important things to do, such as legal work! That's why I offer a full range of SEO services for lawyers ... to take all of that burden off your plate.