Do Personal Injury Law Firms Really Need SEO?
Whenever you're seeking clients in a highly competitive marketplace, the answer will always be
"YES"
You do need SEO.
Search engine optimization isn't some witch's brew or placebo that'll magically make a difference if you're a
true believer.
SEO is based on search engine indexing and how users interact with and search for information. All that to say, SEO is how you'll reach not only a broader audience, but also the right audience.
When it comes to
personal injury law firm SEO, your website's objective should be no different. Don't just cast out a wide net and hope to catch a single species of fish.
Here are some tips for going after local fish using the right bait—and yes, we are aware of all the fish metaphors.
Personal Injury Law Firms MUST Focus on Local SEO
When it comes to finding clients with potential personal injury claims, the most obvious consideration is geography. Potential clients living in
Squamish, BC, don't necessarily want a
personal injury lawyer in Toronto, because,
a) they're just too darn far,
and
b) differences in provincial law pose a bit of a problem.
More to that second point, clients want lawyers they can trust and word of mouth plays a big role in the selection process. Therefore, the smaller your radius the more likely you are to reach the right audience.
If you haven't heard of
local SEO already, it's about time you did. If you're in charge of your
law firm's marketing, do your firm a favour and
set up local SEO as soon as possible.
Need help implementing the following techniques? Why not contact Awkward Media today. Our SEO team has worked with some of the most respected and well-known personal injury law firms in the GTA.
Keeping Content Local Has a Higher Impact
Potential clients are not only looking for lawyers to win their personal injury claims. They want to work with human beings that understand them. A simple way to connect with your audience is to produce high-quality content that exhibits your knowledge of your community.
Trying to attract more car accident claimants? There are plenty of Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley gridlock horror stories and tips to share that will entertain and educate your audience as well as establish yourself as an authentic member of the community.
Not only that, your ability to empathize with your target audience is a major SEO plus.
Create well-written content that appeals to a local audience, which contains long tail keywords that naturally exist in your sentence structure.
In other words, overstuffing your content with keywords or phrases will look and read spammy. Not only that, but Google and the other major search engines will lower your ranking because of it.
Finding the right keywords requires research and a clear business model.
As per Main Street ROI, "the keywords that will serve as the foundation for your SEO campaign will be directly related to the legal services provided by your practice."
For personal injury law firms, you will obviously focus on key phrases that involve the major types of claims that victims can make, such as neck and spine injury, sports injury, dog bites, traffic collisions, etc.
[caption id="attachment_1331" align="aligncenter" width="480"]
Well written content proves you're not one of these guys[/caption]
Online Directories Engender Trust From Local Audience
According to Law Firm Suites, "Most of your future clients will be researching legal services online before they pick up the phone to schedule a consultation."
Make sure to register your business on local directories so that your potential clients can find you and rate your services. It's actually less suspicious to have 3.5 stars on Google directories than to not have a listing at all. Plus, registering your business this way allows your future customers to easily find you on mobile searches. The more visible you are, the better you'll be ranked.
Here are some quick set up tips for online directories:
- Register your business everywhere, not just on Google, Bing and Yahoo. Get your name out there as much as you can.
- Make your information consistent. This is especially true of your business name, address, and phone number.
- Make sure you link to a mobile-friendly website. Don't annoy your potential clients by making it difficult for them to view your website on the go.
- Interact with your reviewers. If someone has left a bad review on your site, your polite response will show that you actually care about your clients. Don't forget to acknowledge reviewers who sing your praises either.
Tip of the Iceberg
When it comes to local SEO, we've only scratched the surface. There is enough information here to get you started down the path of local SEO success.
The truth is, maintaining your website to keep up with current SEO standards can seem like a full-time job. If your personal injury law firm doesn't have a dedicated marketing staff to take care of your website, then ensuring proper SEO can feel like a daunting task.
But if you want to stand out from the rapid current of cutthroat competition, these techniques are necessary. There's an easy solution.
Hiring a
professional SEO firm to turn your website into a well-oiled machine allows you to attract the right audience and grow your business.
Awkward Media has helped some of the city's biggest names in personal injury law.
Contact us today to discuss your firm's SEO needs or to see examples of
our work.
