Nowadays, whenever someone wants to purchase something or requires a certain service, the very first thing they do is a search on Google. And whether or not your website shows up first on the search engine results page (SERP) makes a difference in how much organic traffic and potential customers you receive (without spending huge amounts on paid advertising!). For solicitors and law firms, most people searching for these services are clients who either currently need your services or will need them soon, making it crucial to capture interest at the browsing stage. SEO helps you do just that, but how? Aidan Dhaliwal, Digital Marketing Manager at the digital marketing agency Get Found, explains how SEO can help double your solicitor business in 2023.
Why Do Solicitors and Law Firms Even Need SEO?
“Capturing the attention of your potential clients when they have started searching for solicitor services hits the sweet spot in the buying process. They are interested and committed enough to do research and probably even book several calls, but they are not yet set on a certain firm or expert. It’s most likely they will look through the first – or maximum second – page of search engine results to choose the perfect match, and this is exactly why you want your website to come up as high as possible in their search results,” – shares Dhaliwal.
Over 28.5% of users click on the first Google search result, which drops to 15.7% for the second place and 11% for the third. That’s a rather drastic difference, isn’t it? These statistics clearly show why local SEO for solicitors is so important and the massive increase in incoming leads you may experience every time your website moves up the ranks in search results.
The Importance of the Targeted SEO Approach
When designing an SEO strategy for any business, it’s important to learn their specifics and how they work with their clients. For example, solicitors and law firms are most likely to receive higher conversion rates when appearing in the search results related to their local area – because this is where their potential clients are. Trying to rank for general keywords such as “solicitor” without specifying your geographical area makes you compete with an infinite number of websites worldwide – and doesn’t bring the desired results.
“Often, the clients think that if they only focus their efforts on smaller geographic areas, they are missing out on opportunities, so they try to rank for general industry terms, hoping for increased interest. However, the result is exactly the opposite. It’s true that the search volume for the keyword ‘solicitor’ will be much higher than the one for ‘solicitor Birmingham’, for example. Still, it also means that you will compete with all types of websites, from Wikipedia to huge international law firms, with virtually unlimited budgets. Under this scenario, it might take years and ongoing investments to move closer to the first page of the search. Instead, what we always do with our clients at Get Found, is define their service-specific and area-specific keywords to ensure their SEO is targeted so when their potential clients search, they will be among the first ones to come up in the results. This strategy also helps us ensure their clients are searching for exactly the type of service our client provides in the exact area they operate. If executed right, this effort can easily double the conversion rates for solicitors and law firms,” – adds Dhaliwal.
Fulfilling Clients’ Expectations
Ensuring a potential customer discovers your website and clicks on your link in the search results is just part of the job. Making sure customers see what they’re looking for and stay on your page is just as important as ranking. High bounce rates make search engines think your website needs to be more relevant to the keywords searched, so they will lower the ranking, which will negatively affect all other SEO efforts.
“Once the potential customer clicks on your website URL, it is crucial to retain their attention. Properly designed and planned websites, keyword-specific pages, and landing pages are essential for overall SEO success. For example, solicitors may try creating area-specific landing pages or service-specific subpages on their website to ensure the person sees what they’ve been looking for – which further raises your chances of gaining new clients,” – concludes Dhaliwal.
