Local SEO for Law Firms – 2022 Comprehensive Guide

Like any other SEO strategy, the purpose of local SEO is to bring more clients to your site and therefore give you more business.

Local SEO for law firm websites is especially important since lawyers typically target clients in their geographic area and can offer services regarding local issues and policies. 

Local SEO will benefit your law firm’s physical location advantage, so potential clients can find you easier. 

Here are some strategies your firm should be implementing in order to be seen by clients in your area.

NAP

The first thing you can do to improve your local SEO for attorneys is to ensure your name, address, and phone number (NAP) are accurate, complete, and consistent across all your online directories and listings. 

Name

You should ensure your firm name contains the same abbreviation or format on your website everywhere it’s listed. 

For example, if on your website your firm name is listed as “The Law Offices of John Doe,” and your other directories list your firm name as, “Doe Law Firm,” you’ll want to update those so that they all match with each other. 

If you ever update your firm name, one of your first items of business could be to update the name across all listings.

Address

Your address should also be consistent. If you’ve recently moved office spaces, be sure to update that information everywhere. This will help Google pinpoint a clear location on Google maps for your business, and you’ll want to include your address and a map on your website itself (you could have this at the bottom of every page and/or on your contact page). 

Phone Number

Keeping your phone number consistent on listings can be difficult, especially if you have multiple numbers for your firm. However, in order to build your credibility in Google’s eyes, you’ll want to make sure the number is consistent.

You may also want to have your phone number clickable on your law firm website. 

Online Presence

You may be wondering what websites and platforms you should be checking to make sure your information is consistent, here are a few places to consider:

• Social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
• Niche directories, such as legal directories your firm is listed on
• Review sites, such as Yelp
• Map listing sites, such as MapQuest

Keeping your NAP consistent is your first step to building your lawyer SEO, and after you do this, you’ll want to claim your Google Business listing. 

Google Business Listing

If you Google your firm name and look to the right-hand side of the search results, you may see something that says, “Claim this business,” or “Own this business?” 

You’ll want to claim your business to increase your credibility and SEO for attorneys. Below are some things you can customize on your listing, and if you’ve already claimed your listing, you can double-check that the information is accurate and (of course) consistent. 

• Your firm’s NAP (name, address, phone number)
• A URL link to your current website’s home page
• Your firm’s category of business (Google has a provided list to choose from)

After you claim your Google My Business lawyer listings, here are some other things you can customize:

• Additional descriptions that show your firm’s unique approach and services
• An additional phone number (after your primary one is already listed)
• Images that are shown
• Business hours (especially if business hours temporarily change)
• Responses to both good and bad reviews

Reviews for Lawyers

Once you’ve claimed your Google Business Listing, you’ll want to encourage your clients to leave reviews on the listing. You can encourage your current and past clients to leave a review (just make sure you don’t promise anything in return except for your gratitude).

Google will take these reviews into consideration when pointing an online user to a law firm or business. 

You may want to check on your lawyer reviews on a regular basis, and you will want to respond to both negative and positive reviews. This will show an online user that you’re responsive and helpful.

Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization (SEO) is becoming more essential every day. If you want to attract more local business to your law firm, you need to use local law firm keywords in your SEO. By using local keywords, you let Google, Bing, and other major search engines know when to direct a search in your direction.

When most people search for legal help, they don’t simply search for “divorce lawyers.” They search for “divorce lawyers in Little Rock” or “defense attorneys in Memphis, TN.” 

So if your lawyer sites do not have local keywords in your blog posts, meta descriptions and elsewhere on your professional website, you are missing out on business.

You’ll also benefit from creating a location page for each geographical area you service, just make sure you don’t duplicate the content because Google will see you’re trying to manipulate the system. 

These pages should include specific location keywords and reference the services you provide. Consider these pages like mini-homepages for each and every town and zip code for which you provide legal services.

Online Directories

You will also benefit from listing your law firm on online directories and listings because Google views these directories as established venues for vetting a business. 

These include other search engines like Yelp and YellowPages, social sites like Facebook and Twitter, industry-specific lawyers directory like avvo.com or lawyers.com, and government directories like your local chamber of commerce. Just think of it like this: the more your law firm’s name is spread around the internet, the better.

Let Us Help with Your Local SEO

Local SEO can be extensive and can take a while to update, but it’s well worth it considering what these steps can do for your attorney SEO marketing. Law Firm Sites is dedicated to creating successful websites for lawyers, and we can help you improve your local SEO.