seo law critical thinking question

SEO Law Program

A diversity program offering scholarships, academic prep, and internship opportunities for underrepresented incoming law students.

Welcome to the application site for the SEO Law Fellowship and Scholarship Program! The SEO Law Fellowship Program is a program that offers training and paid internships for underserved incoming law students. The SEO Law Scholarship include three scholarships to incoming law students. For more information, please visit our website here . 

Should you have any questions about the application process, please feel free to reach out to us at [email protected] . 

We look forward to receiving your application! 

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2017-2018 SEO Law Fellowship Applicants Forum

2017-2018 SEO Law Fellowship Applicants

• Anonymous reply with quote

Post by Prudence » Tue Jan 02, 2018 11:09 pm

brinicolec wrote: Sites recommended for SEO partners research prior to interview: http://www.chambers-associate.com/home http://www.nalpdirectory.com/ *Above the Law also has a law firm directory* Basic interview info. Length of interview seems to vary (shorter of times being around 15-20 minutes) Not a "stress interview" (unlike previous years) -- some who have interviewed report it being somewhat tense, but that wasn't my experience Conducted via Skype (I don't think they do in-person anymore) Know their firms No case reading Time between application submission and interview request is ~ 2 weeks according to most applicants Basic SEO info (website, some program details, etc.) http://seolaw.org/ 10-week-long fellowship (First two weeks are more educational, take place in NYC; next eight weeks take place at whatever firm you're placed at) Majority of placement is in NYC, followed by DC; most other placement is just a couple people Housing is NOT provided (except the two weeks in NYC for people who aren't placed in at a NYC firm) $$$ = up to $1500/wk Placement is highly-dependent on what the firm is asking for (they give list of schools they prefer) HENCE seat deposit is a MUST before they can place you For anyone who is trying to negotiate schollies and thus, hasn't submitted a seat deposit by the deadline, LET SEO KNOW Resume MUST be ONLY one page!

charlie90 wrote: Congrats on all of your interviews! I mentioned this to a couple of people through DMs but just a couple of things: - $1100-1500 salary is on some pay scale that is completely the discretion of law firms. There was an anecdote going around that if you're one of the few SEOs at a firm (looking at TX, OH, and CA people), you're probably going to be making that full amount. No idea if this is true or not. If finances are a concern, you can ask SEO for a short-time loan if necessary and SEO did give out three scholarships at the end of our SEO network, get a SEO mentor who will tell you how to email people, and it'll help you out job-wise as a 1L. - If you are concerned about $ (completely understandable), once again... Perhaps try choosing cities close to/where you will be going to school. No matter what you decide to do, its probably going to be chaotic. Some firms may help you "travel" to the city (e.g. you're a HYS student that will be a SEO Fellow in NYC) and most firms will cover your time spent during SEO's NYC institute. (Again, completely at firm discretion). I know there would be people who would want to disagree with me, but I would be willing to take out a loan to make it work for a short term summer. If someone had told me that a year ago I probably would have thought they were crazy, but seriously. SEO is not really about the money but the number of doors that will open once you say you're SEO (especially in NYC) or that you "clerked at insert Big Law firm" before 1L. - As much as SEO Law does, it's a very small team that is putting this on. No one can say with confidence how many people are interviewed but chances are, you have a good chance to get in if you are being invited to interview. Just don't be weird and have rational answers to questions.

Re: 2017-2018 SEO Law Fellowship Applicants

Post by AvatarMeelo » Tue Jan 02, 2018 11:51 pm

Post by Prudence » Tue Jan 02, 2018 11:57 pm

AvatarMeelo wrote: I might be messing this up but the fellowship part doesn’t have a LSAT/GPA requirement I think?

Post by AaronCarter » Tue Jan 02, 2018 11:58 pm

Prudence wrote: AvatarMeelo wrote: I might be messing this up but the fellowship part doesn’t have a LSAT/GPA requirement I think?

Post by Prudence » Wed Jan 03, 2018 12:05 am

AaronCarter wrote: Prudence wrote: AvatarMeelo wrote: I might be messing this up but the fellowship part doesn’t have a LSAT/GPA requirement I think?

Post by LawShopeful » Wed Jan 03, 2018 7:46 pm

Post by principalagent » Wed Jan 03, 2018 11:12 pm

Post by Aspire » Wed Jan 03, 2018 11:54 pm

Post by Prudence » Thu Jan 04, 2018 12:16 am

Aspire wrote: Checking in. What markets are you all most interested in?

Post by Aspire » Thu Jan 04, 2018 12:18 am

Prudence wrote: Aspire wrote: Checking in. What markets are you all most interested in?

Post by AaronCarter » Thu Jan 04, 2018 12:42 am

Aspire wrote: Prudence wrote: Aspire wrote: Checking in. What markets are you all most interested in?

Post by heylookitsthatguy » Thu Jan 04, 2018 2:00 pm

Post by Prudence » Thu Jan 04, 2018 2:21 pm

heylookitsthatguy wrote: Not a current applicant but was wondering does anyone know if the GPA requirement is the LSAC GPA or your University's GPA? Good luck everyone!

Post by AvatarMeelo » Thu Jan 04, 2018 4:44 pm

This year’s fellows will be attending 17 different law schools: Harvard Law School (22), Columbia Law School (19), New York University School of Law (8), University of Chicago Law School (7), Yale Law School (7), Stanford Law School (5), University of California–Berkeley School of Law (5), Cornell Law School (4), Georgetown Law School (4), University of Pennsylvania Law School (3), University of Michigan Law School (3), Duke Law School (3), University of Texas School of Law (3), University of Virginia School of Law (3), Fordham Law School (2), USC Gould School of Law (1), Northwestern Law School (1).

Post by ChiaOut » Thu Jan 04, 2018 4:48 pm

Prudence wrote: heylookitsthatguy wrote: Not a current applicant but was wondering does anyone know if the GPA requirement is the LSAC GPA or your University's GPA? Good luck everyone!

Post by AaronCarter » Thu Jan 04, 2018 4:50 pm

AvatarMeelo wrote: Found this article: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/liti ... e-law.html Here’s the breakdown of the 2017 class that could be useful to the most neurotic of us: This year’s fellows will be attending 17 different law schools: Harvard Law School (22), Columbia Law School (19), New York University School of Law (8), University of Chicago Law School (7), Yale Law School (7), Stanford Law School (5), University of California–Berkeley School of Law (5), Cornell Law School (4), Georgetown Law School (4), University of Pennsylvania Law School (3), University of Michigan Law School (3), Duke Law School (3), University of Texas School of Law (3), University of Virginia School of Law (3), Fordham Law School (2), USC Gould School of Law (1), Northwestern Law School (1).

Post by Mikey » Thu Jan 04, 2018 5:43 pm

Post by Prudence » Thu Jan 04, 2018 5:49 pm

ChiaOut wrote: Prudence wrote: heylookitsthatguy wrote: Not a current applicant but was wondering does anyone know if the GPA requirement is the LSAC GPA or your University's GPA? Good luck everyone!

Post by Aspire » Thu Jan 04, 2018 5:59 pm

Prudence wrote: ChiaOut wrote: Prudence wrote: heylookitsthatguy wrote: Not a current applicant but was wondering does anyone know if the GPA requirement is the LSAC GPA or your University's GPA? Good luck everyone!

Post by principalagent » Thu Jan 04, 2018 8:57 pm

AaronCarter wrote: Looking at UChi specifically. Their 1L class only had a total of 9 black people (they were all women).

Post by Prudence » Thu Jan 04, 2018 9:44 pm

principalagent wrote: AaronCarter wrote: Looking at UChi specifically. Their 1L class only had a total of 9 black people (they were all women).

Post by OakBrook2021 » Fri Jan 05, 2018 1:41 am

Post by AaronCarter » Fri Jan 05, 2018 9:43 am

Prudence wrote: principalagent wrote: AaronCarter wrote: Looking at UChi specifically. Their 1L class only had a total of 9 black people (they were all women).

Post by principalagent » Fri Jan 05, 2018 10:27 am

OakBrook2021 wrote: Checking in! What did you guys put for law school on the resume? The most likely one you'd attend? I'm pretty sure I know where I'm going but haven't deposited yet so idk

AaronCarter wrote: I wonder if it's an issue of blacks not applying or simply not attending when accepted or just not being admitted for the most part.

Post by selmangh » Thu Jan 11, 2018 9:44 pm

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• SEO for Lawyers

SEO for Lawyers: Your Ultimate Guide to Law Firm SEO

You’ve spent years building up your law practice’s reputation through hard work and excellent client service. But having solid online visibility is just as important as a list of successful cases. That’s where SEO for lawyers comes in to improve your search engine rankings.

With law firm SEO services , you can ensure the right audience finds your website and establish your law company as a credible, authoritative resource. In this guide, we explain why SEO is a must for law firms these days. You’ll also discover the factors Google uses to rank websites and the main steps you need to take to get real results from your SEO campaign.

• Ranking highly on Google can drive a steady stream of new clients.
• Law firm SEO provides more cost-effective and long-term value than paid ads alone.
• Given the legal field’s strict marketing rules, law firms often partner with agencies well-versed in the field’s specifics.
• Setting clear, measurable SEO goals around organic traffic, keyword rankings, and lead volumes and monitoring progress is vital for justifying SEO ROI.
• Doing SEO yourself is possible, but partnering with a law firm SEO company is typically more efficient.

What Is Law Firm SEO?

Law firm SEO is the process of optimizing a law firm’s website to rank higher in search engine results for relevant keywords. But SEO doesn’t stop at driving more traffic. With high-quality content and technical website optimization, SEO for lawyers can help you convert visitors into loyal clients.

In addition, SEO isn’t limited solely to your website. When someone searches for a lawyer, they might also check out a law firm’s listings on directory sites and review platforms to see what others say. Optimizing and updating your company’s Google Business Profile is another aspect of law firm SEO practices.

With all the different pieces that go into a full-fledged SEO campaign for law firms, the potential advantages are extensive. But what specifically makes SEO so valuable for lawyers looking to grow their practices?

Why Is SEO So Important for Legal Professionals?

Law agencies have many marketing options these days — both offline, like networking events and print ads, and online, like social media marketing and email campaigns. But SEO is an approach that deserves a special focus.

According to this study, about 73% of people who looked for legal information on the internet used search engines to find solutions. Every month, there are nearly 500,000 searches with keywords that contain “lawyer near me” or “law firm near me.” That’s an incredible number of people looking to hire legal help locally through search engines.

A few queries that stand out are:

• “Personal injury lawyer near me”
• “Divorce lawyer near me”
• “Immigration lawyer near me”

For law companies, showing up at the top of search engine results pages is absolute gold. But, as we’ve mentioned, driving traffic isn’t the only reason why SEO is important for lawyers. Here are some other reasons why SEO matters:

• It establishes credibility and authority : People tend to trust and click on the top search engine results more, assuming these sites must be credible sources to rank so highly. A law firm’s website optimized with content that demonstrates legal expertise can also have a major positive impact.
• It attracts prospects before they’re ready to hire : Perhaps someone is just researching a legal issue out of personal interest. If your content ranks well, you can get on their radar early as a knowledgeable resource. Then, when they do require legal services, you’ll have a head start over other firms they haven’t encountered.
• It makes your website an inbound marketing engine : When you rank highly for relevant keywords, your website becomes a 24/7 digital marketing channel working to capture interested prospects at the precise moment they have a legal need.
• It improves user experience : Law firm SEO helps you enhance your site structure, content, page loading speed, etc. When a website is optimized this way, it keeps users engaged longer, gets more inquiries from prospective clients, and leaves a better impression overall.
• It manages online reputation : One or two bad reviews may not seem like a big deal but can be extremely harmful if they are the first results someone sees when searching a law firm’s name. Smart attorney SEO tactics push positive content to the top of organic search results, mitigating the impact of negative reviews.

As the benefits above illustrate, an investment in SEO for attorneys can pay big dividends. However, firms often consider paid advertising, like Google Ads, as another digital marketing strategy. Let’s compare the two approaches.

SEO vs. Paid Ads for Lawyers

Both paid advertising and SEO have their merits. Paid ads offer instant results. With platforms like Google Ads, you can bid on keywords and have your firm’s ads displayed at the top of search engine results pages.

However, with such services, you have to pay when someone clicks on your ad. You rent prime real estate, and the more competitive the keywords, the pricier the clicks get. In fact, for some competitive legal keywords, the cost per click can reach $300 .

What’s more, as soon as you stop paying, your traffic disappears.

On the other hand, the fruits of your legal SEO efforts compound over time. Once you’ve earned a coveted spot on the first page for your target keywords, you’ll continue to reap the benefits of organic traffic and lead generation with only minimal maintenance required in most cases.

Take Ben Crump’s law firm, for example, which gets around 264,000 organic visits from Google monthly according to Semrush’s organic research tool . Now, let’s imagine for a second that Ben Crump didn’t have a great organic presence and had to pay for each of the visits through Google Ads. How much would these visits cost them? Well, Semrush estimates the average monthly cost for the law agency to rank through paid ads is $14.9 million!

Every single click on Ben Crump’s website costs around $56.44. And that’s just the cost of getting visitors to the site — there’s still no guarantee any of the visitors will become paying clients.

In fact, visitors from organic search are more likely to convert. This study found that organic traffic in the legal industry had a conversion rate of about 4%, while only 1.8% of paid traffic led to conversions.

While paid ads certainly have their place in marketing, relying solely on this approach for a high-cost industry like legal services can drain a firm’s budget. Building a strong local search presence through SEO may take more time and effort upfront, but it will be more cost-efficient in the long run compared to continuously shelling out a fortune just for clicks.

If you’ve decided to focus on SEO as your main digital marketing strategy, let’s look at the major factors that impact your search engine rankings.

Lawyer SEO Ranking Factors

Search engines like Google use complex ranking algorithms that evaluate hundreds of different factors. However, some factors carry much more weight than others on law firm websites. Here are the major ones to focus on.

High-Quality Content

Good attorney SEO starts with a great content strategy. Google is extremely selective about which websites earn prime rankings. So, the content should break down complex subjects into easy-to-understand language and provide angles that set it apart from what’s already saturating the web.

Here are some of the main types of content for law firms:

• Blog posts : Articles exploring various legal concepts.
• Frequently asked questions : Dedicated FAQ pages answering common questions about legal processes, law services, the firm’s fees, etc.
• Case studies and firm updates : Content highlighting successful cases, firm news and updates, community involvement, and more.
• Legal guides and ebooks : Long-form downloadable content that provides a thorough analysis of legal topics.

In addition, the performance of this content in Google search results depends on how well it is optimized with keywords.

Another SEO ranking factor is the links pointing to your website from other sites. Backlinks inform Google about the reliability of your content. The more reputable sites that link to your web pages, the higher your pages are likely to rank.

Let’s take a look at the search engine results page (SERP) for the query “ Los Angeles personal injury lawyer ”. The websites that take the first positions have high domain rankings (DR) and quite powerful backlink profiles.

To have a chance of competing with such sites, you would have to at least reach the same results. This makes link building especially important for newly launched websites that haven’t yet established their authority.

User Experience

How user-friendly your law firm website is plays a big role in your search engine rankings. Google wants websites that load quickly, work well on all devices, and have clear navigation.

In addition, most lawyers’ websites have almost identical designs. This means that they won’t stand out for the user who might be browsing different sites and considering several options. Not to mention, most of them are seriously outdated.

If your website loads slowly, doesn’t look good, or is hard to use, your visitors will most likely quickly return to the search results, increasing your bounce rate and lowering your rankings. If they do stay on your page a bit longer, poor usability might discourage them from performing the necessary action (booking a consultation, filling out a form, etc.).

On the other hand, a modern, user-friendly website makes your agency appear much more trustworthy. It keeps visitors engaged longer and guides them toward the final goal.

Local Relevance

If you’re a lawyer looking for clients in a specific city, focusing on local SEO tactics is also a must. Your firm’s information must be complete and consistent across listings and local directories. Getting positive reviews from past local clients is also critical. These steps help Google know where your practice is located and who your target audience is.

Getting links from local websites is also a part of local SEO for law firms, as is making sure location keywords and the cities or neighborhoods you serve are included in your website’s content, titles, and location landing pages.

However, Google Maps and Google Business Profile are arguably the most critical things to optimize for local relevance. In local search results, Google often shows users a “Local Pack”, a special section that shows relevant businesses on Google Maps. For example, here’s what the SERP for the “personal injury lawyer Boston” query looks like:

An optimized and frequently updated Google Business Profile listing is a key factor for ranking in such local results and on Google Maps in general.

Technical SEO

Pages that load quickly, a safe browsing experience with HTTPS, and a logical site architecture and URL structure also provide positive signals to Google.

After working with numerous websites in this field, we’ve determined that the most typical technical SEO issues on legal websites are:

• Duplicate content
• Keyword cannibalization
• Broken pages and redirects
• Low loading speed
• Problems with indexing and crawling
• Missing, duplicated, or not optimized meta tags.

There are many SEO best practices to follow that can help you improve your website’s performance in all these areas. Let’s dive deeper and explore SEO tips to take your website to the first page of Google search results.

How to Improve Your Law Firm SEO

SEO can provide a consistent flow of leads from organic local search traffic, but only if done right. Here is how to ensure your legal SEO efforts are successful:

Create the Right Law Firm SEO Strategy

There’s no one-size-fits-all strategy that works across the board. What gets results depends heavily on your specific practice area and geographic market.

You can start by researching how your top local competitors execute SEO for law firms. Analyze their content, backlink building tactics, on-site optimizations, and more. This way, you can understand what it will take to compete with and eventually outrank them.

Your strategy should also align with the search intent and behavior patterns of your potential clients. For example, personal injury lawyer SEO will look quite different from SEO for an immigration law practice.

The strategy should also be adaptable and include the monitoring of your results. You can conduct regular SEO audits to identify areas for improvement in your on-page optimization, technical SEO, backlink profile, and local SEO factors.

Plus, the legal industry has strict rules around marketing. For example, the American Bar Association aims to prevent misleading advertising claims, aggressive solicitation tactics, unclear payment models, and more. For this reason, law companies tend to partner with digital marketing agencies experienced in the legal field so as not to raise any ethical red flags.

Our law firm SEO company takes a fully customized approach aimed at improving your business performance:

• Thorough research into your local market, top competitors, and target audiences
• Creating ethical, keyword-rich content that converts visitors into leads
• Detailed weekly reports showing your progress.

Optimize Your Google Business Profile

Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) is a free listing that allows businesses to manage their online presence across Google’s services like Google Search and Google Maps. Having a Google Business Profile is a must for lawyers who rely on local clients.

Once you claim and verify ownership of the listing, be sure to fill it out with all your business details, such as:

• The official name, address, phone number, and website
• The specific cities and areas you serve
• Your hours of operation
• Your price ranges
• The payment options you accept.

Also, consider adding photos and enabling direct messaging.

Encourage satisfied clients to leave ratings and reviews on your listing. An optimized, frequently updated Google Business Profile packed with positive customer reviews lets potential clients see you’re a legitimate option before they even visit your website.

Prioritize the User Experience

Many legal websites haven’t received a design refresh in years. While law companies certainly don’t need flashy, bright websites, a clean and modern professional look instantly elevates the user experience.

Therefore, it’s always a good idea to invest in a website redesign that takes into account these aspects:

• Mobile-friendliness and responsiveness
• Fast page loading
• Convenient navigation on all devices.

An efficient design should also include a well-thought-out hero section with an understandable call to action and important contact information displayed prominently. It should also factor in the structure of the content, allowing for a clear demonstration of your services and the advantages of your law firm.

Conduct Thorough Keyword Research

Identifying the right keywords is foundational to SEO for lawyers. When performing keyword research , take into account the following factors:

• Practice areas : Make a list of the specific legal practice areas your firm handles, like personal injury, family law, criminal defense, etc. These areas will provide a base for relevant keywords.
• Location : Since most law firms serve specific geographic areas, location-based keywords are critical. Think about cities or regions your firm covers and how potential clients search with geographic terms.
• Search intent : People’s search intent falls into two main categories: searching for legal information and searching for legal services. A person searching for “best divorce lawyers in Chicago” is more likely to hire a lawyer than someone who is just looking for “divorce laws in Illinois.”
• Search volume : Use keyword research tools to evaluate the monthly search volume for different terms. Higher volumes can mean more potential website traffic targeting popular queries.
• Competition : Keyword research tools can also show how competitive certain keywords are based on how many other sites target them. More competition makes it harder to rank highly.
• Long-tail keywords : Also consider long-tail options that add more specificity, like “Chicago personal injury car accident lawyers.”
• Related terms : Subsets of your main practice areas may uncover more relevant keywords to target as well. For example, “medical malpractice lawyer” under personal injury.

With the right keywords targeted properly, you’ll make it easier for potential clients to find your website.

Nail On-Page SEO Optimization

Once your keyword list is finalized, it’s time for on-page SEO — making each web page as relevant as possible for these terms. This covers both the visible content elements and behind-the-scenes technical SEO factors.

Title tags and meta descriptions are the first things potential clients see in local search results, so optimize them with keywords to improve click-through rates.

Throughout the actual page copy, work in your target keywords within headers, body paragraphs, image alt text, and internal link anchors. Yet, avoid awkward keyword stuffing at all costs, as it makes content less readable. Plus, the overuse of keywords is a violation of Google’s guidelines, as it’s a clear sign you create content solely for online search, not the human eye.

On the technical SEO side, fast web page loading, secure HTTPS connections, mobile responsiveness, and user-friendly URL structures also provide positive signals to search engines.

Build a Diverse Backlink Portfolio

Even with stellar on-page optimization, your law firm’s website won’t be able to rank as competitively without third-party websites linking back to it. However, don’t aim for a high quantity of backlinks alone. The quality and relevance of the links also matter a great deal.

Links from spammy, low-quality sites can hurt your search engine ranking if Google detects link buying or other manipulative tactics. The links need to come from legitimate, respected sources related to the legal industry.

As our experience shows, most law firm websites that rank highly for different keywords don’t use aggressive link building strategies or black-hat techniques. If you want to achieve lasting results and remain competitive for a long time, you should focus on ethical link building methods, such as:

• Getting listed in trusted local directories
• Pursuing featured content or guest posting on other reputable legal blogs/publications
• Publishing research (studies, surveys, statistics, etc.) relevant to your field, which will attract backlinks naturally
• Earning media mentions and links from authoritative news outlets when showcasing firm expertise
• Having location/practice area resources linked by relevant local/regional websites.

But it’s not just about Google — mentions from quality sources also drive referral traffic as people discover and click through to your law firm’s website naturally.

Showcase Your E-E-A-T

Google’s algorithms put a big emphasis on expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness, which are known as E-E-A-T. These factors are especially crucial for legal practices — people need to be able to trust the lawyers they hire to handle important, often life-changing legal matters.

So, how can you demonstrate strong E-E-A-T signals? Some of them will be improved if you implement the tips we mentioned earlier. A big factor is the content, quality backlinks, client testimonials, and overall website experience.

A detailed “About Us” page with extensive information about your law firm is one of the best ways to improve your E-E-A-T. Attorney profiles are some of the most clicked pages of legal websites, so they are the perfect place to show your credentials, like education, years of experience, awards, and recognition in your field. If you or your firm’s attorneys are members of prestigious legal associations, be sure to highlight these memberships on your website too.

In this screenshot, you can see a great example of an attorney profile from scapicchiolaw.com that demonstrates the expertise of the firm’s criminal defense attorney:

Work to Hit the Featured Snippets

Google often displays quick answer boxes known as featured snippets. They aim to resolve a searcher’s query without the need to click through to a website. Here’s what featured snippets look like:

While getting content featured is great for your law firm’s online presence, you might be thinking, “If Google already answers the query, why would people need to visit my website at all?” That’s a fair point. However, featured snippets only provide a short overview or quick answer. For more details on complex legal matters, people will still want to go directly to your website.

Getting your content featured in snippet boxes can be tricky, but there are some proven tactics. First, research the types of queries that typically trigger featured snippets. Understand what people’s intent is behind those searches — are they looking for quick factual answers, steps for how to do something, comparisons, or definitions?

Next, use concise paragraphs that directly answer common questions. Search engines tend to pull snippets from content that gets straight to the point with helpful responses. In addition, use descriptive headers, bulleted lists, and simple tables or charts that neatly summarize important information. This gives Google well-organized content to potentially turn into snippets.

Set Measurable SEO Goals

Search engine optimization for lawyers is an ongoing process, so it’s critical to establish clear, measurable goals to track your progress and return on investment. Some common SEO KPIs for law companies include:

• The amount of organic traffic : Remember to separate website traffic going to your main landing pages from traffic going to informational content pages. Getting visits to your service pages is ultimately more valuable for lead generation.
• Positions on targeted queries : The ideal scenario is for your law firm’s website to appear on the first page of organic search results for phrases related to your practice. If you don’t currently rank on the first page, continue tracking the improvements. Moving up even a few spots every month indicates your SEO for law firms is working.
• The number of leads : This is arguably the most meaningful SEO metric for your law firm to watch closely. How many form fills, phone calls, or other signals of prospective client interest do you get each month from organic search? This metric directly shows the return on your SEO investment.

Use tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, rank trackers, or any other marketing software to monitor these metrics. With a bit of patience and the right approach, you’ll see the SEO wins steadily roll in. However, effectively implementing a law firm SEO strategy also raises an important question — should you try to do it all yourself, or is it better to hire an attorney SEO expert?

DIY SEO vs. Hiring a Lawyer SEO Expert

Taking on SEO yourself can seem appealing at first. You avoid extra marketing costs and maintain full control over the process.

Yet, SEO for law firms involves many nuances. You’ve got to perform keyword research, create search-friendly content, do link building, analyze data, and keep up with Google’s frequent algorithm changes.

For many legal professionals, it quickly becomes a full-time job on top of their existing casework. And if you don’t see your rankings climb to the top, with so many aspects, it might be difficult to understand why your SEO efforts are not paying off .

That’s why so many organizations opt for law firm SEO services. Our law firm SEO agency can be your strategic partner, focused on driving more leads and cases through search traffic. Meanwhile, you can keep delivering exceptional legal services.

Of course, hiring an SEO expert comes at a cost. This leads to another question — how much do companies typically invest in SEO for law firm websites?

How Much Do Law Firms Spend on SEO?

The amount you’ll need to invest depends on a few key factors, such as the size of your business, practice area specialization, and geographic market. The broader and more competitive your market, the more you’ll need to invest.

Here’s an overview of the typical price ranges for SEO for lawyers, depending on the location:

The current state of your website is another factor that impacts the cost of law firm search engine optimization. If you’ve just started with a brand-new website, you’ll likely need to budget more for upfront local SEO work.

On the flip side, if you have an established law firm website that’s been around for years, you may require less of an initial SEO investment. Your efforts can focus more on updating content, advanced link-building strategies, and so on.

Bottom Line: Things to Keep in Mind about SEO for Lawyers

Optimizing your law firm website for search engines is critical if you want to succeed online. However, Google constantly updates its algorithms, and your competitors are likely working hard to outrank you. To appear at the top, maintain your hard-earned rankings, and keep leads flowing in, you’ll need to:

• Follow all the marketing rules and regulations for the legal field. Law firms have to be extra careful to avoid misleading claims or being too aggressive in trying to get potential clients.
• Determine the exact words and phrases prospective clients use when they need a lawyer.
• Create search-optimized content that shows off your expertise without keyword stuffing.
• Get high-quality websites to link back to your site.
• Make sure your law firm’s website loads quickly, has simple navigation, and makes it easy for visitors to take action.
• Set clear goals and metrics, so you know if your SEO efforts are actually paying off.

If this all sounds a bit overwhelming, you don’t have to go it alone. Consider SeoProfy, an experienced SEO agency that specializes in marketing for law firms. We know all the latest SEO best practices and can help you move toward SEO success.

Andrew is the Head of SEO at SeoProfy. He has been involved in search engine optimization since 2016, gaining practical SEO experience across various niches and countries.

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Mastering Law Firm SEO: The Ultimate Blueprint to Elevate Your Legal Practice

Law Firm SEO Guide For 2023

Jacqueline Coombe* – In today’s digital era, the success of your law firm largely depends on your online presence and visibility. With more and more people turning to the internet to find legal services, having a solid Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy in place is imperative and yet many law firms overlook some often basic and very straight-foward ways to boost their online SEO.

This article will walk you through the essential elements of law firm SEO, empowering you to attract prospective clients actively seeking legal advice and establish your firm as a dominant force in the digital landscape.

Understanding Law Firm SEO:

Law firm SEO entails a series of techniques and practices designed to enhance your website’s visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs).

By optimizing your online presence, you can improve your rankings, making it easier for potential clients to find you when they search for relevant legal services.

The LawFuel article on Digital Marketing for Lawyers provides some key information about legal marketing and what you can do and is recommended reading. But let’s consider some of the basics of law firm SEO.

Law Firm Marketing (1 of 4) Law Firm Marketing Law Firm SEO (2 of 4) Law Firm SEO How Can You Use Local SEO For Law Firms To Get To No. 1 on Google law marketing (3 of 4) law marketing SEO (4 of 4) SEO

Optimizing Your Law Firm Website:

The foundation of a successful law firm SEO campaign is a well-optimized website. Your website is the face of your firm in the digital world, and ensuring it is search engine-friendly is crucial.

Start by conducting thorough keyword research to identify the most relevant and high-traffic keywords that potential clients might use to find legal services in your practice area.

Incorporate these keywords strategically into your website’s content, titles, meta descriptions, and headings to improve its relevance to search engines.

User Experience and Mobile Optimization:

Apart from keyword optimization, providing an exceptional user experience is equally important. Make sure your website is easy to navigate, loads quickly, and is mobile-friendly.

There is an excellent article on web optimization here while SEMRush also have a top featured post on how to optimize your website.

A responsive design ensures that your site adapts to various devices, including smartphones and tablets, making it convenient for potential clients to access your services on the go. Search engines value user-friendly websites and often rank them higher on SERPs.

Speed is another key essential.

Website speed is an important factor for user experience and search engine rankings. You can improve your website speed by compressing images, minifying code, using a content delivery network (CDN), and optimizing your website’s code.

Ensure the site works as fast as possible to comply with both users’ expectations and Google’s.

Local SEO for Law Firms:

For law firms targeting a specific geographic area, local SEO is a game-changer. Many potential clients search for legal services in their vicinity, and local SEO can help you tap into this market effectively.

Start by claiming and optimizing your Google My Business listing, ensuring that your firm’s name, address, and phone number are accurate and consistent across all online platforms.

Encourage clients to leave reviews, as positive reviews can boost your firm’s credibility and visibility.

Crafting a Blogging Strategy:

Publishing high-quality, informative content through a blog is an integral part of law firm SEO. Regularly posting relevant articles on legal topics and answering frequently asked questions can position your firm as an authoritative source in your practice area.

Search engines reward fresh, valuable content, and a consistent blogging strategy can significantly improve your website’s rankings.

Creating content that is useful and relevant to your target audience will help improve your search engine rankings and user engagement, particularly in the legal arena where cases and legislation change regularly.

You can do this by conducting keyword research, creating buyer personas, and using analytics to track user behavior – and writing great, useful law-related content.

Link Building Tactics:

Link building remains a powerful SEO strategy. It involves acquiring high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites, signaling to search engines that your website is a reliable and trustworthy source of information.

You can build high-quality backlinks by creating shareable content, guest posting on other websites, and participating in online communities relating to legal matters.

Focus on building relationships within your legal community, contributing guest posts to reputable legal blogs, and seeking opportunities to be featured in legal directories.

Generating Positive Client Reviews:

Client reviews and testimonials play a vital role in law firm SEO. Positive reviews not only inspire confidence in potential clients but also impact your local search rankings.

Encourage satisfied clients to leave feedback on platforms like Google, Yelp, or legal-specific directories. Responding to reviews, both positive and negative, demonstrates your firm’s commitment to client satisfaction.

Remember that the best way to get positive reviews is to provide top service.

Consider offering incentives such as discounts or free consultations to clients who leave reviews. This can encourage clients to leave positive reviews and help build your online reputation.

Remember, getting good reviews takes time and effort. By providing excellent service and actively seeking out reviews, you can build a strong online reputation for your law firm.

Conclusion:

Mastering law firm SEO is an ongoing process that requires dedication and adaptation to the evolving digital landscape. k

Undertaking law firm SEO requires some focus and attention and there are also a large number of law firm marketing companies and agencies that will be more than happy to help in that process, for a fee.

By understanding the fundamentals of SEO, optimizing your website, engaging in local SEO practices, crafting a blogging strategy, building quality backlinks, and encouraging positive client reviews, your law firm can achieve top rankings and attract prospective clients actively seeking legal advice.

Stay committed to providing valuable content and an exceptional user experience, and your firm’s online success will undoubtedly flourish.

Jacqueline Coombe is a professional business and personal development writer who has written on a range of topics from business, marketing and finance to travel and lifestyle. Jacqueline is also a Principal Consultant specialising in Search + Content Marketing at international digital marketing agency Web Profits. She can be contacted at [email protected]

Law Firm Marketing 2023

About The Author

Jacqui Coombe

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Table of Contents

Those who manage law firms have undoubtedly done some research into how your clients find you. Many law firms have relied on loyal, long-term clients and consistent referrals for years, and many still do. Others prefer the classic law firm advertisements using television, radio, and local signage. However, the reality is that, outside of referrals, search results and visits to law firms’ websites are the primary method for prospective clients to find a lawyer. In other words, you need to make sure your site pops up at the top of the Google search results when potential clients are searching for a lawyer. Search engine optimization (SEO) is especially important for firms that represent individual clients, such as personal injury lawyers or criminal defense attorneys, as these clients may be searching for an attorney in a pinch. If your firm has not yet optimized its website – or created a website at all – it is time to consider a search engine optimization strategy for your firm. 

WELCOME TO THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO LAW FIRM SEO . This article is long and well, “ultimate.” It is meant to be a comprehensive guide for you to bookmark and share to have as a resource for all of your SEO questions. Of course, as always, if you ever want to increase your online presence and digital footprint for your law firm or business through SEO, consider setting up a free consultation with Annette Choti, Esq . – President and Owner of Law Quill. 

Legal Marketing Trends and Law Firm SEO 

The way clients connect with lawyers is changing. Small law firms, solo practitioners, and plaintiff’s firms, especially, need to consider how their clients are finding them – or not finding them. According to the National Law Review , here are a few jawdropping law firm marketing statistics over the past decade. 

• 96% of people looking for legal advice start with a search engine to find a law firm’s website
• 31% of legal search traffic is via a mobile device
• 74% of potential clients visit a law firm’s website to take action (such as to initiate contact)
• 85% of people researching legal topics use online maps
• 71% of searchers believed it was important to find a local attorney, which is why local searches are so important

All of this is to say that legal advertising has largely shifted online, and if your firm isn’t taking advantage of this shift, you are probably missing out on a significant pool of prospective clients.

Law Firm SEO Basics

Websites take a lot of work to design and manage, but, in the grand scheme of things, your site is one of hundreds of billions of pages on the internet. Search engines work hard to organize and parse through these countless websites to provide the most useful information possible to searchers. Because search engines have come so far, web searches are the primary way people navigate the web. While your site may feel like a needle in a haystack against the thousands of other law firms and legal services providers out there, know that there are ways to help your site compete against other websites to reach the top of the search engine results pages (SERP).

Law firm SEO is the process by which a website ensures that its web pages appear high up in the list of a search engine’s results. This is critically important for any site attempting to increase traffic. Google alone generates over half of all web traffic on the internet. In other words, if you follow the webmaster’s guidelines and create high-quality, authoritative content that answers users’ questions, you are more likely to consistently attract internet users, which, for law firms, means more leads and referrals. The best part of having an optimized site is that almost all of the traffic is free, meaning that it was not generated by an ad. Compared to the cost of paying for Google ads, the cost of optimizing a web page is fairly cheap. 

Indexing and Crawling

How does Google decide which pages make it to the top of the search results? Before we dive into the elements of a successful law firm SEO, here is a bit of background on how Google’s queries work for context. 

The index is where the search engine stores all of its web pages. The first step to having a site appear in Google’s search results is for it to be indexed, which is when bots read a page and add it to the index. The process of looking for new and updated web pages is called “crawling,” which Google does with an automated software called a “crawler,” which fetches the pages from the internet and adds them to the index. One way to quickly check to see if your site has been indexed is by doing a “site:” search – simply type “site:” followed by your law firm’s URL. If your URL appears in the search results, congratulations! Your site is already on its way to being optimized. 

If it is not in the Google search results, you should consider consulting with whoever manages your web page to improve the design or update any policies that may be blocking the crawlers from crawling and indexing it.

Your firm’s webmaster should be familiar with the Google Search Console tool. This is a free tool offered by Google to allow users to monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot the website’s presence in Google’s search results. This is the best way to confirm that Google is able to crawl your website, fix indexing problems, view search traffic data, and show you which sites link to your content. (Note: this will come in handy when you are working on link building, which will be covered later in this article.) This is one the best tools you can have for law firm SEO. 

The ultimate goal of law firm SEO is to have your page highly ranked among search engine results. Algorithms automatically evaluate the billions of pieces of content on the internet, and their algorithms rank which sites are most likely to be useful to users. 

Keep in mind as you read on throughout this article that you do not need to be a professional web developer to optimize your online presence or your  law firm SEO . Google does much of the heavy lifting in this process. Lawyer SEO does not always require a complete redesign of your page. For most sites, SEO is accomplished through a series of small, incremental changes that improve the quality and user-friendliness of the content. And yes, Google takes all of that into account as it ranks sites. Ultimately, Google will only put forward links that it thinks will help the user. The automated search engines use algorithms to determine if your page is relevant to the user, and if the page is difficult to read, it won’t make it to the top. In other words, the better your site is for the users, the better it will be for the search engines. Next, we will discuss what factors search engines look for when ranking their sites, and how that translates into your law firm’s SEO strategy.

What Do Google’s Algorithms Look For When Returning a Query?

To better understand what it takes to run an optimized website, it is helpful to have some insight into what Google looks for in a webpage when it returns a user’s query . These characteristics include:

• The meaning of the query
• Relevance of the websites
• Quality of the content 
• Usability of the information
• Context and settings

Read on for a brief overview of each of these factors and how they relate to  law firm SEO.

Meaning of Query

Before Google can give a user helpful results, it needs to understand what the user is looking for. Google’s technological advancements in the last several years have allowed its algorithms to glean the user’s intent, whether that means fixing simple spelling mistakes or reinterpreting the user’s search based on natural language research. Algorithms consider potential synonyms for words entered in the query, as well as any additional information the user might find helpful based on the context of the search. The algorithms also prioritize the freshest possible context to avoid providing outdated information. 

Relevance of Page

The algorithms then try to pull up the most relevant web pages possible. One of the clearest indicators of relevance is keyword matches. When keywords in the user’s search query appear within the title, headings, and body of the text, this signals to Google that this is likely to be a relevant page. There are far more complicated methods that the algorithms use to tell whether a page is relevant for a user. For example, Google also analyzes anonymous user data to tell how helpful a webpage was to the user. If the aggregate data suggests that users do not spend a lot of time on the page, for example, this will factor into the search engine’s estimation of the site’s relevance and your  law firm SEO . If you have used a search engine regularly over the past decade, you have probably noticed an exponential improvement in the quality of your searches. This is the result of years of experience in machine learning that allows the search engine to get into its users’ minds.

Quality of Content and SEO for Law Firms

Even if Google narrowed down search results to just those that are relevant to the user’s search, there would still be an unworkable number of results. The algorithms go further, and instead of presenting all results in a random order, the SERP will prioritize the most reliable content. The system is designed to find pages that provide authoritative and trustworthy information on the user’s topic of interest. Part of the process of discerning high-quality content also means weeding out low-quality spam content. This is why  law firm SEO is so important . In some cases, it is a great idea to go through all of your law firm’s content with an SEO Content Audit . 

Usability of Law Firm Websites

Search engines have incorporated user feedback over the years to come up with a formula for an easy-to-use website . This is a critical component for  law firm SEO.  Pages that are usable will be ranked higher on organic search results pages, and users will spend more time there. Google’s algorithms identify and flag sites that appear incorrectly in browsers, are not mobile-friendly or do not load quickly. Owners are responsible for making their sites more usable and for increasing their  law firm SEO . 

Context and Settings

It’s no surprise that Google has access to an almost unlimited amount of users’ personal and browsing data. By using the users’ location, search, history, and settings, Google is able to target results more specifically. This means that what appears on a user’s SERP will depend on where they are and what type of information they typically search for. This is yet another way the search engine tries to provide the most useful information possible. 

Essential Elements of a Law Firm SEO Strategy

Now that you have a high-level understanding of how Google’s algorithms work, it’s time to connect the dots to your on-site  law firm SEO . Typically, a law firm SEO strategy will be targeted toward meeting Google’s guidance and creating a website that the algorithms will consider helpful.

When first starting out,  law firm SEO and  optimization may seem overwhelming. Lawyers are busy, and for many, marketing is not always top of mind. However, keep in mind that these changes do not have to be done at once, and it doesn’t always require a complete overhaul. Instead, SEO success depends largely on targeting Google’s ranking factors. Through regular updates of content, keyword analysis, and slight changes to formatting and navigation, you can boost your  law firm SEO, your  site’s credibility and generate leads from brand new sources. 

High-Quality Content and Law Firm SEO 

One of the most important aspects of law firm SEO success is to create content that is helpful for users . This typically takes the form of descriptions of your practice areas, blog posts about relevant topics, or FAQ pages addressing some of your potential clients’ most common questions. 

Although your goal is to make the site easy for Google to navigate, the usefulness to your readers is more important. Make sure the content is easy to read and written for general readership. Avoid spelling and grammar mistakes, sloppy formatting, and unnecessary legalese. The content should be regularly refreshed because a dated site with inaccurate legal information can only hurt your  law firm SEO . 

Longer pieces of content tend to perform better than shorter ones. While not every post needs to be a full-length treatise, remember that the basic tenant of law firm SEO is to make your site a one-stop-shop for your site visitors. This means that you should address a topic fully and not leave a reader wanting more. Not only will your readers prefer content with more depth and breadth, but so will Google’s ranking algorithms. 

The call to action is one of the most critical components of your content. As of 2014, 74% of potential clients who visit a law firm website end up making contact by phone. This is why at the end of every page, and intermittently throughout, you must remember to remind your reader about your services and how to get in touch with you. Your ultimate goal is to drive the reader to engage your firm, so be sure to close out with a call to action with the next steps. Many law firms list their phone numbers, email addresses, or a link to a page to submit a consultation form, for example. This call to action is what ultimately turns law firm website traffic into leads, so be sure to use your webpage to convey to potential clients what makes your business special.

One word of warning as you draft  law firm SEO  content: do not forget that your site is subject to your state’s rules of professional conduct. When writing content about your products and services, while it is fine – and encouraged – to promote your firm’s work, do not make any promises, guarantees, or misleading assertions that could violate your state’s advertising and solicitation rules. 

Keyword Analysis for Law Firm SEO 

The content you put forth on your page should not only be driven by your personal experience of what your clients want to learn about, but also by keyword analysis. Keywords are words or phrases a user may type into Google’s search bar to discover information about the topic. By knowing and anticipating these keywords, an optimized site can anticipate what users are looking for. Research and analytics can help your firm target its content toward the type of clients you’re looking for and increase your  law firm SEO . 

To start the process of keyword analysis , you may first want to consider how people are currently finding you. Is local advertising, such as TV, radio, and billboard, driving people to search for your law firm’s website? Or are users going straight to the internet? Start by using any digital tools available to you to glean this information, or simply ask your clients how they discovered you.

Next, you should do some keyword analysis. Are there popular keywords people are searching for that your site is currently not addressing? If so, you could be missing out on a huge pool of potential leads that are being directed to your competitors’ sites. AHRefs and Google Keyword Planner are two examples of tools that can help you conduct research about relevant keywords and plan content to target those topics. 

Law firm websites’ content should be targeted not only at your firm’s services and practice areas, but it should also try to attract local searches.  Local SEO should also be targeted at the geographic regions in which you practice. If you are a small office that practices mainly in one city, then you may only need one practice area page. However, larger firms with offices in multiple cities and states may want to consider implementing local SEO. Local SEO means creating multiple versions of each page targeted at each geographic location. For example, you may find that your clients are searching for “car accident lawyer in Las Vegas.” If you practice in multiple cities across Nevada, however, you may want to create separate pages for “Reno, NV Car Accident Lawyer,” “Las Vegas, NV Car Accident Lawyer,” etc. to ensure you are attracting clients by location. 

Again, though, you are writing for your readers, not for Google’s bots. Successful content will get inside the searcher’s mind.  What is another way a potential client might phrase the question, even if it is not technically or legally accurate? For example, imagine you operate a personal injury law firm. You might want to develop content about “Accepting Liability at the Scene of the Accident.” However, a prospective client, unfamiliar with the terminology, might phrase their question like “What if I apologized after I hit someone’s car?” Your keywords should reflect the searcher’s intent by using natural variations of the keyword phrase. 

How to Incorporate Keywords  for Law Firm SEO 

In short, keywords should be incorporated evenly across the content for your  law firm SEO . Keep in mind that using keywords is more of an art than a science. Incorporating keywords into your webpage’s content should never hurt the overall quality of the writing. Avoid awkwardly “jamming” keywords into a sentence. Instead, you should always try to smoothly integrate the keywords using natural language. It is especially helpful if the body of the content is organized using headings. The headings should be short, easy to read, and, when appropriate, they should contain keywords that catch the eye.  

Outside of the body of the text, there are a few places you should consider incorporating keywords, both for the benefit of your readers and Google’s crawlers. 

The “title tag” refers to the name of the page as it appears in the SERP. This title should clearly reflect the topic of the webpage, including your primary keyword. The “meta description” is the short piece of text below the title tag. The keyword should also be naturally incorporated in this short description. Keep the tags and descriptions short – there are character limits, and studies show that shorter title tags draw more traffic.

The reason title tags and meta descriptions are so important for your law firm’s SEO is that they are the first thing the user sees after submitting a Google search. If the helpfulness of the webpage is not immediately apparent to the user, they will pass over it until they find a page that seems more relevant. Google’s algorithms take these clicks – or the absence thereof – into consideration. This is why it is extremely important to include compelling titles and descriptions in your design. 

One overlooked location to incorporate keywords: in the title of images on your page. When you upload an image, it needs to have a name. Rather than uploading a photo labeled 10283910192.jpg, consider incorporating the keyword into the label, such as RenoCarAccidentLawyer.jpg. Also include alternate text describing each image. This is a win-win, because it not only serves as another opportunity to incorporate a keyword in your content, but it also makes the page more accessible for visitors with visual impairments, as the screen reader can describe the photograph aloud.

Finally, the actual site URL should make it immediately obvious what the page is about. Incorporate keywords in the URL if possible. 

In sum, research the keywords that will draw the right type of clients to your firm. Then, incorporate those keywords – and their variations – naturally throughout the content, title tag, meta description, and even the URL. 

Domain Authority and SEO for Law Firms 

Your web page is an opportunity to show your readers that you know what you are talking about. Not only do you want your readers to know that you are competent in your practice areas, but you also want to prove to Google that you are only citing from reliable, authoritative sources.

Each piece of content should incorporate external links from very reliable sources.  If you are citing a study, link to an authoritative source, such as a government page or well-known organization, to support your assertion. When incorporating these external links into your content, it is advisable to hyperlink directly to the source using relevant “anchor text.” The anchor text is the word or phrase that is highlighted to hyperlink to the external link. The anchor text should be relevant to the source you’re linking to, which helps Google assess how helpful and authoritative that link is to your readers.

There are ample opportunities to link to trustworthy sites from a law firm’s website. For example, you can support your legal statements with links to relevant statutes or case law from trustworthy sites, especially sites on a .org or .gov domain. Before adding an external link, ensure it has a high “domain authority.” Domain authority is a score out of 100 that illustrates how relevant or reliable a page is, which is a helpful predictor of how high that page is to be linked in search engine results pages. Tools like Moz’s Domain Analysis SEO Tool and AHRefs Website Authority Checker can give you a high-level understanding of how well your site is ranking compared to other similar sites.

To improve domain authority, and your  law firm SEO,  your firm’s site should not only include trustworthy links, but you should also be striving for “backlinks,” or “inbound links.” This process is called “link building.” Inbound links are off-page citations to your page. In other words, the more your page is linked across the internet, the higher your domain authority is likely to be. Examples of places where your page might be linked include online legal directors, your Google business page, and shares on social media. The best way to promote inbound links to your page is to create highly shareable content, like blog posts and other informational articles. 

As a lawyer, you probably have countless connections and networking opportunities in your area. Networking has always been a cornerstone of successful law firm marketing. Think of law firm SEO as a way to help bring your networking practices into the digital age by moving your connections online. 

Technical Considerations

Another critical component of your law firm’s SEO strategy has to be optimizing technical functionality. Though, as discussed, you do not need to be a professional web developer to do this, whoever manages your firm’s site should ensure that the page is up to Google’s specifications.

If you are wondering why there is such a focus on adhering to Google’s guidelines rather than other search engines, the simple answer is that Google is essentially the only search engine. Google holds about 94% of the market share for searches, and it makes its guidelines very straightforward. For more information about Google’s Webmaster’s guidelines, read on here . 

The first and most important consideration is making sure the user has a great experience. Although these steps are important to make your site more accessible via Google, you should never design your site entirely for the benefit of the crawlers. These are for people, and at the end of the day, that is who you should be directing your website to. If a prospective client can’t easily navigate your site to find what they are looking for, they will close the webpage and start their search from scratch. Search engines pay attention to how long users stay on your page, and a frustrated user will not spend very long on a poorly-designed site. 

What does a well-designed website look like? Make sure the basics are covered. 

• Are the links still live, or do you have broken links scattered throughout your site? 404 errors can be frustrating for users, but in case of broken links, be sure that your 404 error page is customized to help the user navigate back to the live page. 
• Are your pages optimized to load quickly? Page speed is critical to ranking high.
• Does your page look correct in different browsers? Wonky formatting or page errors are a surefire way to dissuade users from spending time on your website. 
• Google offers a tool called Lighthouse to allow developers to audit metrics like  performance, accessibility, progressive web apps, SEO, and more.

In addition to the behind-the-scenes upkeep, the page should be visually appealing on the front end as well. At the surface level, the font, size, and color of the text shouldn’t strain your readers’ eyes. The site should also be easy to navigate, with intuitive menus and hyperlinks. Consider features like breadcrumb menus to help users easily navigate to a prior page, especially if your site is organized in a hierarchical structure with multiple categories. For example, if your site is organized by city, then by practice, then by sub-area, you should consider incorporating a small, compact menu at the top that tells readers where they are and how to get back to where they were. A personal injury page might have a breadcrumb navigation menu that looks like “Reno Personal Injury Lawyers > Car Accidents > What If I Accepted Liability for a Reno Car Accident?” 

Also consider including features to help readers with visual impairments, such as including a screen-reader to read the text aloud. In other words, do whatever you can to make your website run like a well-oiled machine to impress your prospective clients and allow Google to easily search and index your page. 

One of the most important and often missed opportunities that law firm SEO strategies do not address is mobile. At this point, making your website mobile-friendly is not optional if you really want to invest in digital marketing. If your law firm has not invested in mobile, consider the following:

• In 2020, there were 211 million mobile search users – yes, that is over half of the country
• In 2016, the influence of mobile devices on retail was over $1 trillion 
• Over 60% of Google searches are on a mobile device

If you are not sure if your site is optimized for use on mobile devices, use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test . If it is not already, then make sure mobile-friendliness is incorporated in your law firm SEO strategy.

Structured Data

Structured data is a way for sites to provide detailed information about their pages to a search engine. The purpose of structured data is to allow the query to return “rich snippets” to users that provide immediate helpful information right in the search results. A rich snippet, or rich result, is an enhanced search result. Perhaps you have noticed the difference between a result that simply shows the title tag and description of the page versus a result that pulls out information pertinent to your search and presents it right in the SERP. The more detailed results, which may contain photos or short answers to your questions, are examples of rich snippets. Featured snippets are a type of rich snippet that attempts to answer the user’s question right on the search results page. In response to the question “Do I need a lawyer for a car accident?”, Google returns the following result near the top of the page:

If Google thinks a featured snippet is likely to answer a user’s question, it will pop up to the top of the results. If it does, in fact, begin to answer the user’s question, the user is likely to continue on to the web page. It is no surprise that rich results and featured snippets typically have higher rates of clicks, and they can be extremely helpful for SEO purposes. 

Although marking up a web page to provide structured data requires some technical knowledge, this should be something a lawyer SEO expert or your site’s webmaster can help with. To create structured data, your site must conform to the vocabulary used by the major search engines. Schema.org is a community project that creates and maintains “schema” for structured data on the internet. These schema are incorporated throughout the webpage’s HTML, and it allows web crawlers to understand the context of the content and provide users with a more useful and efficient browsing experience. Structured data is an advanced element of  law firm SEO , but it can make the difference between a plain-looking search result and an extremely helpful snippet that attracts a potential client to your firm.

Black Hat vs. White Hat and Law Firm SEO 

If it seems like search engines may be easy to trick, think again. Sneaky tactics to try to deceive the search engine are not only discouraged, but they are also ineffective. The algorithms are smart, and they know how to weed out sites that use disapproved techniques to boost your  law firm SEO . 

“Black hat” is the term used to describe these shortcuts. They are discouraged because they violate the search engines’ terms of service. Some of these tactics include “keyword stuffing” or sneaky redirects. Do not attempt to increase your law firm’s traffic using these techniques, because they do not work, and they tend to make your site less user-friendly. 

The best way to improve your search engine results is by working to make it a trusted and reliable source of information using white hat SEO techniques. White hat techniques are those discussed above: creating high-quality content, linking to reliable external sources, using keywords organically throughout the page, and organizing your site so users find what they are looking for easily.  

If you are unsure whether you are using white hat or black hat  law firm SEO  practices, ask yourself whether what you’re doing is intended to help your prospective clients find information, or is it a back-end feature that is secretly trying to drive people to your page? If it is a tactic you wouldn’t be proud to describe to a colleague, it probably violates the search engine’s guidelines, and you should reconsider using it. Look out for SEO companies who offer quick turnarounds, cheap services, and guaranteed  law firm SEO  success – they may be engaging in shady practices as well, and it is best to avoid them. 

How To Take Your Law Firm’s SEO to the Next Level

While  law firm SEO  is becoming the way of the world, SEO for lawyers is a unique art. Not only does your website need to address the topics that site visitors want to read about, but the content must also build confidence in your professionalism as an attorney. Attorney SEO content should be assertive, reliable, and understandable, and it should convey who you are as a firm as well as the services you provide. Below are a few tips on how to get started – or improve – your process.

Develop Client Personas

Before you can begin targeting your content at site visitors, you need to first understand who are the type of clients you want to attract. One way to brainstorm the content you want to develop is to imagine a persona of an ideal client. What is their age? Profession? Type of case? Type of fee arrangement? Plaintiff or defendant? Redesigning your site for search engine optimization is an opportunity to revamp your marketing strategy and make sure your firm is attracting the right kinds of leads based on how you want to grow your business.  If you currently represent personal injury victims but want to transition your practice area more to criminal defense, then the content and keywords on your site should reflect that. If you want to grow or minimize a particular practice, SEO is an opportunity to do that. 

Audit the Existing Site  for Law Firm SEO 

Sometimes, websites are used as a stagnant page that primarily serves to list contact information and practice areas. It is possible that your site has not been reviewed in years. Before beginning the SEO process, you need to know what’s out there, what you want to keep, and what you want to change. Broken links, outdated information, incorrect contact information, and an out-of-style design can be major detractors, especially when for so many site visitors, your website is their first impression. 

While You Are At It, Audit Your Social Media Presence 

Lawyers and social media don’t always seem to go together, but more and more, a business without any social media accounts may seem detached and inaccessible. Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn are helpful for law firms for multiple reasons. First, they allow your law firm to communicate directly with prospective clients by promoting events, sharing success stories and testimonials, and answering inquiries. Second, social media platforms also allow you to share backlinks to your firm’s website, which in turn boosts your site’s authority. If you are operating a firm with no online presence outside of your website, consider creating new social media accounts to expand your network. If you have existing accounts but don’t use them regularly, consider refreshing your pages and using your accounts more actively.

Keep Google My Business Up to Date

Google My Business is a free tool that allows businesses to update their information on Google’s platforms. Many search engine users rely on business information, such as phone numbers and addresses, that are readily accessible via Maps and Search. If you operate a business, it is in your best interest to keep this information up to date to help clients reach you. Updating this information is the responsibility of the business owner, so make sure your law firm’s online presence is accurate across all platforms. Beyond the basic, the information included in Google My Business may also include a link to your site, a listing of your hours, and other pertinent information about how your business is running, such as COVID protocols. Google My Business also allows customers to leave reviews, and, as most law firm management knows, testimonials are an important marketing tool. GMB is a massive tool to help your  law firm SEO.

Research Your Competitors

Most law firms know who their top competitors are within their region and practice area. Take a look at your highest-ranking competitors’ websites and compare them to yours. Are theirs easier to navigate? Do they provide more helpful information? Do they cover topics or services that yours does not? This is a cheap and easy way of putting yourself in a potential client’s shoes. If you were looking for an attorney, which would you choose based only on the websites? While your firm is worth much more than its online presence, it is a growing reality that a poorly designed website can make or break a lead.

Conduct Keyword Research for Law Firm SEO 

The best blog in the world won’t help your business thrive if people can’t find it. You need to start by determining what it is people want to read about. One simple way to decide on relevant and highly-searched topics is to delve into keyword research , as discussed briefly above.

There are numerous tools online to look up highly searched keywords and phrases, but a simple way to start is by looking at what types of questions your ideal clients would typically ask. Scroll through discussion boards and forums as well as your high-ranking competitors’ sites, and make a list of some of the common words and phrases that come up.

You can then use one of the many online tools to identify which of these phrases is getting the highest amount of traffic. A few of the most popular keyword research sites include:

• Keyword Planner
• Search Console
• AHRefs Keywords Explorer

There are many others, and if you consult with a  law firm SEO  expert, they most likely already use one of these tools religiously.

By identifying commonly-searched topics to write about, you can be sure that the content you put out will drive a lot of organic search traffic to your website and may even be shared across other platforms, like social media sites. All of the content posted on your website should be designed to attract prospective clients. Be sure to monitor the success of the content and adapt appropriately.

Implement Your Law Firm’s SEO Strategy

Each firm’s strategy will be unique. Using the numerous factors discussed earlier in the Essential Elements chapter, develop a strategy that is customized to your firm’s and your clients’ needs. Whether this includes a full redesign, or gradually republishing content, it is important to make a plan that works for your firm’s needs and budget. We understand that law firms are made up of lawyers and legal staff, and many law firms do not have full-time marketing professionals on their payroll. This is why many lawyers, especially with smaller practices, choose to hire an SEO consultant to support this initiative. For more information about whether hiring an SEO company is right for you, read the following section entitled “When It’s Time to Hire an SEO Consultant.”

Monitor Your Law Firm SEO Progress 

You’ll want to regularly check on how your site is performing. Tools like Google Analytics allows website owners to track how users are interacting with their page. Among the many features of this powerful tool, website owners can monitor the number of active users, how users move through their website, and whether website referrals or advertisements are significant factors in driving traffic. SEO for lawyers can be a time-consuming and costly process, so you want to make sure your investment is paying off with more website traffic and a higher rate of lead conversions. 

When You Know It Is Time to Hire an SEO Consultant

If  law firm SEO  is a brand new concept to you and your firm, it might make sense to start out with an SEO consultant. Some law firms try to take on the SEO beast by themselves, and while DIY is certainly possible, lawyers and legal professionals are busy enough as it is. Drafting new content, communicating with web developers, conducting keyword research, and monitoring success metrics probably do not fit in most lawyers’ daily schedules. 

If you are considering hiring a law firm SEO professional to support your firm’s website, below are some of the services they may be able to offer.

• Conducting an audit  for law firm SEO . Remember that pesky and time-consuming site audit? This is usually an SEO expert’s first step. They will want to get to know your site to determine what is working, and what isn’t. In addition to familiarizing themselves with your business, they will want to get to know the structure of your site and make recommendations about how to reformat for improved navigation and readability.
• Developing client personas. Your lawyers know your practice areas best. A law firm SEO expert, however, can help you refocus your business to help target the right clients for you. By asking thought-provoking questions about the future of your firm, a consultant can help design content to attract leads.
• Technical improvements. One of the most valuable services a law firm SEO expert can offer is improving the technical quality of the website. As discussed, page speech, page design, and adherence to search engines’ guidelines are critical. This involves some level of technical expertise, which is why many law firms opt to work with an outside consultant to make their firm’s website as “Google-friendly” as possible. 
• Keyword research and content road mapping. How many lawyers have time to keep a blog post in addition to hours of meetings, drafting, and litigation? Not many. A law firm SEO consultant can conduct all of the research needed to outline a plan for posting refreshed and optimized marketing content. Though there are countless tools on the market, a consultant will take care of that so you don’t need to spend any time getting up to speed. 
• Optimized formatting for law firm SEO. Outlining and drafting content is an important element of on-site optimization, but the formatting is equally important. Your title tag, meta description, headers, and keyword use should follow a somewhat rigid formula to get your pages in tip-top shape for SEO. This is another service a law firm SEO expert can provide. 
• Brainstorming link-building. Once you’ve begun posting optimized content with authoritative sources, your law firm will want to focus on inbound links. A law firm SEO consultant can help you develop a strategy to boost backlinks to your pages from trustworthy external pages. 

What To Look for in an SEO Consultant

There are a lot of “experts” on the internet. The good news is, as a legal professional, you know the danger of failing to conduct due diligence before turning over your website to a stranger. While SEO for lawyers is a growing field with a number of highly qualified professionals, there are some red flags to look out for before entering a contract. 

Ask for References

Just like you would before hiring any employee or contractor, ask your SEO expert for references. You do not want a brand new consultant experimenting with your business. Look for examples of past projects and ask the potential consultant whether they have had success in reaching key performance indicators with previous clients. For law firm SEO projects, the consultant should be able to illustrate how they’ve improved their clients’ search engine rankings, improved traffic to your website, or developed highly-viewed content and blog posts. 

If you contact the consultant’s references, ask how the project went, how well the consultants communicated, and whether the client saw any quantifiable results. Also, inquire as to how the work on the project was divided between the consultant and their client. Did the client have the opportunity to provide input on the plan? Was it customized to the business’s needs? Did the client have final authority in the content that was posted on the site? These questions can provide valuable insight into how easy this consultant will be to work with and how likely they are to meet your firm’s needs. 

They Can Explain their Strategies and Timeline

Your expert should be able to explain their decisions and why they are right for you. Not only should they understand the process to build an optimized website, but they should also understand the technical reasons behind it as well. A consultant should also be up-front about how much time the project will take. Large-scale changes to a site usually do not have a quick turnaround time; rather, many of the changes will follow a gradual roll-out plan as new content is developed and published.

They Never Use Unfair Tactics

Low-quality SEO or sneaky black hat tactics can result in severe penalties, such as de-indexing. (De-indexing is just about the worst-case scenario for SEO, because that means your site will not appear in search results at all.) If an expert promises fast and cheap results, this is a red flag that they are using less-than-favorable techniques to trick search engines into boosting the page. Buying links, keyword stuffing, and sneaky automation and redirects are bad SEO practices, and they are more likely to hurt your site than help it. Make sure you vet your consultant’s SEO strategy before implementing their suggested changes.

They Are Clear Communicators

An important characteristic of a good law firm SEO consultant is communication. Much like lawyers have a duty to communicate with their clients and allow them to be the ultimate decision-maker, SEO companies should do the same. Before making significant changes to your website or posting new content, consultants should provide your firm with regular updates and the opportunity to preview and approve content. Ultimately, the content is being posted on your behalf, so make sure your SEO understands your jurisdiction’s rules as to advertising and solicitation. Finally, make sure that your consultant is responsive to your questions. Law firm SEO projects can be fast-paced and constantly changing, so you will want a consultant who is dedicated to keeping you in the loop.

They Know What Success Metrics to Look For

What good is a law firm SEO expert if they cannot tell you how your website is performing after the changes are made? Ask your SEO consultant how they measure the success of their work. If they cannot explain the key metrics, then they might not be the right consultant for you. Some of the most important success metrics to know include:

• Organic search traffic and law firm SEO. Google Analytics offers a dashboard that shows owners how much organic search traffic they received over a set period of time. Organic search traffic, as opposed to traffic from paid advertising, is a strong indicator of how well the law firm SEO strategy is working. 
• Click-through rate . Click-through rate is a valuable metric because it shows how often a user clicks into your webpage after seeing it on the results page. Not only is click-through rate a helpful indicator of your page’s ranking, but it also suggests whether your title tags and meta descriptions are compelling to readers. If your page has a low click-through rate, chances are you will need to revamp the way your site appears on the SERP. 
• Bounces. A dreaded “bounce” is when a user leaves your page after seeing the first page. Therefore, the site’s bounce rate is the proportion of visitors who immediately left your page. Usually, this is an indicator that the first page was not helpful to the user. The search algorithms use metrics like bounce rate to determine how relevant the page is, so a high bounce rate means your site will probably drop down in the rankings.
• Link building. Your SEO consultant should be able to monitor the number of new inbound links . Inbound links are a critical component of establishing reliability, and an SEO strategy should consider ways to earn new backlinks on other reliable sites. 
• Domain authority and law firm SEO. As discussed briefly in an earlier section, domain authority is an estimate of how reliable Google finds your website. A successful SEO strategy will see a rise in domain authority as you put out helpful and authoritative information.

Their Services Meet Your Budget

Know your budget before you start shopping around for a consultant. Treat search engine optimization as part of your firm’s regular marketing budget, because, as discussed earlier, SEO is often a cheaper way to generate organic traffic without having to pay for ads. Optimizing your website is a long-term investment that will teach you the tools and strategies to keep a beautiful, user-friendly page that ranks at the top of the results pages. Depending on how much you are willing to spend, an SEO consultant can play a small or large role in that process. Ask your potential consultant how their payment arrangements work, which services are included and whether you can expect any additional fees or expenses associated with the project. Law Quill always provides upfront and full disclosure on all services, right on our website. 

They Put People First

So much of our lives take place online that it can sometimes feel like we are interacting with robots instead of people. At the end of the day, SEO for lawyers is about reaching people and helping them find what they need. The team that you ultimately choose to improve your website should understand this too. If your firm is like most client-facing firms, you probably prioritize your firm’s ability to provide a personal touch to your representation. Whether you represent personal injury victims, families facing divorce, small businesses, or any other client in need of your advice and support, your SEO campaign should reflect your mission. Make sure your SEO consultant understands your firm’s mission and vision and incorporates it throughout your redesigned website. Just because your page is being revamped, it does not mean that your firm has to lose its personal touch.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you are feeling overwhelmed by the search engine optimization/SEO process, you are not alone. SEO for lawyers is a new and growing field, and many firms are still unsure if investing in SEO is right for them. Below are some of the most common questions that lawyers and law firms have when starting out the SEO process. 

How do I know if our page needs to be optimized?

While there are many quantifiable metrics to tell how well your website is performing, such as the number of visitors, the proportion of clients that found you by search engines, or other indicators, there may be some immediately apparent clues that your law firm’s website is in need of updating. Some questions you may want to consider to determine whether your firm should take the leap:

• When was the last time our content was refreshed? An old website with years-old content is a red flag. If your firm hosts a blog, make sure there are regular contributions, as the search feature will try to provide users with up-to-date results. If any of the information is inaccurate, such as the description of your fee arrangement or services, it is likely that your site is not going to rank particularly high because ultimately, it is not helpful to users.
• Can your site be accessed on mobile? If your site is incompatible with mobile devices or certain browsers, chances are it is not optimized for search engine results.
• Is your page’s loading speed slow? Recall that search engine optimization relies on high-quality web pages. If your website does not load quickly, it probably needs to be optimized so it meets the technical requirements for SEO. 
• If you were a client, would you find the content helpful? If you find it frustrating to navigate your own site, or feel that your firm has a website just for the sake of having one, this is another sign that users are not likely to spend a lot of time on your page. The algorithms will factor in the length of time users spend on your page, and if users click out quickly, your site’s SEO ranking will drop. 
• Does your site make it easy for the potential client to contact you? The purpose of your website should be to connect readers to your firm’s services. If your firm does not offer an online contact method, such as a consultation form or a chat function, chances are you are not maximizing your leads.
• Does it look and feel like it belongs in the 21st century? A visually appealing and intuitive website can make all the difference. Your website is an opportunity to show prospective clients that you are a modern and tech-savvy firm, which is an ever-important skill.

What do we do once an SEO project is complete?

It is critical to discuss the duration of the SEO project with a consultant to make sure both parties understand what is expected of them before they begin work. In all likelihood, your SEO expert or experts will come on board for a limited duration and work with your firm to build processes to ensure your site meets Google’s guidelines and remains continuously refreshed. However, even after the SEO consultant’s work is done, the firm must continue to refresh its content, monitor its progress, and stay up-to-date on any necessary changes to the technical or on-site SEO. The best possible outcome of your SEO project is that your firm – whether you are a solo practitioner or a larger firm with an in-house marketing department – builds an understanding of what it takes to run a successful website and implements processes to keep your site performing well. 

How much does hiring an SEO consultant cost?

The cost of hiring an SEO company varies based on the experience level, location, and level of involvement necessary, among other factors. SEO agencies can charge based on an hourly rate, by project, or by month. Make sure you understand the type of fee arrangement up front so you can compare apples to apples when deciding on an agency. A typical hourly estimate for an SEO expert is $100 to $200 per hour. It is important to note that the price of an SEO package will tend to vary based on the services included. Simple keyword research, for example, may cost less than a full-scale website redesign and ongoing content creation. Work with the SEO agency to find a range of services that fits within your budget. Law Quill always provides upfront and full disclosure on all services, right on our website. 

Why should our firm spend money on SEO instead of paying for online ads?

While paid ads seem like a more certain way to direct traffic to your firm, it is usually a short-lived investment. Paid ads, or “pay-per-click” (PPC) are certainly a faster way to skyrocket your site to the top of the search results, but the downside is that once you stop paying for the ads, it immediately drops back down. 

In a pay-per-click arrangement, the advertiser pays the search engine each time the link is clicked. Google Ads is a PPC marketing system, where advertisers essentially bid on keywords, and then every time a site visitor clicks on the link, the advertiser pays a fee. Yes – Google literally auctions off keywords! The term “attorney” is, unsurprisingly, one of the most sought-after keywords, so law firms could end up spending a significant chunk of change per click. Of course, if these clicks lead to conversions – i.e. new clients – then paid ads can provide a solid return on investment. However, if the underlying site is not helpful or attractive, chances are the site visitor won’t spend much time there anyway, and that cost for the click will be lost.

On the other hand, SEO for lawyers focuses on holistically improving the helpfulness of your content. These are typically changes your firm should be making anyway, regardless of whether you pay for Google Ads or not. Ultimately, you want to help your site visitor, whether they found you through organic traffic or through a paid ad. And once your site is optimized, you will likely not even need to pay for ads because of the uptick in organic traffic.

My law firm prides itself on being a traditional local firm. Do we still need an optimized website ?

The short answer is yes. Let’s face it – many law firms are old-fashioned brick-and-mortar offices, which rely heavily on networking and personal referrals to obtain new clients. Beyond that, some law firms may prefer old-school advertising methods, like local television ads, direct mailings, and billboards. While these methods may be working for you, investing in a solid, optimized website is a way to build a foundation for the future. Emphasizing internet marketing does not mean moving away from attracting local clients. In fact, local searches are critically important, since most people looking for a lawyer want someone local. The SEO process will make local searches a priority and work with your firm to target the geographic regions you want to reach. Compared to the cost of printing brochures and business cards, planning an SEO campaign and paying for SEO services can be a relatively cost-effective way of boosting your marketing initiatives. 

What kind of content should we post on our website?

The short answer: informative, high-quality content. For law firms, the type of content on your website is usually going to be either a practice area page or a blog post. Practice area pages should specifically describe the services provided and anticipate what types of questions users may have about what types of cases you take. Remember that this is a great opportunity to implement local SEO as well. Blog posts can be a bit more flexible and conversational, and these should address a variety of interesting and helpful topics.

Creating optimized content starts with identifying proper keywords. The content your firm posts on its website should be correlated to the types of clients you are trying to draw. If you are a family lawyer, for example, you should by now know which cases you accept and what type of client you want, and more importantly, which types of cases and clients you don’t want. Therefore, you shouldn’t post generic blog articles, but rather target them to anticipate the needs of those most sought-after clients. Instead of writing “What You Need to Know About Family Law,” think about who you are speaking to. You may tend to represent women with minor children in your city going through a divorce. In this case, you would want to develop content like “How Will Child Custody Be Determined After My Divorce in Pittsburgh?” This topic is more likely to be searched by a prospective client than a generic term like “family lawyer.” Ultimately, the keywords should be a major factor in what your firm posts. 

Other firms near us are posting videos. Do videos help SEO?

Yes! Videos are crawled and indexed just like written web content. Firms that post videos are offering just one more type of content to attract users. Video makes up a huge portion of all traffic on the internet, and many people rely on videos for a fast and easy way to learn new information. A mix of media, like video, photo, and written content, can boost the authority of your site and help build credibility within your community. Videos are helpful and memorable, and they are also usually very cost-effective. Look out, though – videos can also be frustrating if they are too long, not engaging, poorly made, or if the site does not support fast page speeds. In other words, video can be a huge benefit, but make sure they are done correctly! You don’t want to go viral for the wrong reasons, and law firm video ads sometimes have a reputation of being of poor production quality. 

As long as the video itself is good, this medium can be a great opportunity to include more keywords in the video’s label, transcript, and alternative text. Talk to an SEO consultant about creating a strategy for developing video content. Law Quill now provides this as a service to all clients. 

Should we hire someone in-house to handle SEO?

Some larger firms with in-house marketing departments may consider hiring a professional in-house to handle all aspects of the firm’s digital marketing, including search engine optimization. There are certainly pros to this choice. Above all, having a person on staff to handle content development means you will have that person’s full attention dedicated to your firm, rather than handling multiple clients.

On the other hand, though, sometimes an in-house SEO specialist is not the right choice. First, hiring a person, or training an existing employee up, can be more expensive than necessary. Though SEO for law firms is a long-term process, it is not always a full-time job. Your law firm may find that it is more cost-efficient to contract with an agency to handle these projects. Another benefit of going with an agency is that in addition to the services provided, you also get years of experience. It is rare for one person to have the knowledge and computer science expertise to handle all aspects of a firm’s SEO campaign. With an agency, you will likely get the benefit of a team with years of experience and expertise in each of the essential elements of law firm SEO. 

How fast can we expect SEO to work?

Search engine optimization for law firms is a long game. You may start to see results, such as an uptick in the number of site visitors, within a month or two, but it is impossible to guarantee results. This means you should be wary of any so-called SEO “experts” who guarantee fast results. The science of SEO continues to evolve. Do not expect a one-and-done project to last forever. If you continue to put out great content, comply with webmaster guidelines, modernize your website’s accessibility, and stay up to date with SEO ranking factors, you should see steady growth over time.

How do we ensure the tone and voice of our website stays true to our firm?

If your project with an SEO agency involves the agency drafting and posting content on your behalf, you may be concerned about losing control over your unique voice. The good news is that there are usually multiple ways for the law firm to maintain oversight in the process. First, you should always be sure that the agency allows you an opportunity to review and edit content before posting. This way, you can feel confident that the post is legally accurate, consistent with your firm’s vision, and meeting quality standards. Another way to keep your site close to the vest is by having attorneys regularly contribute content. Your attorneys likely have a unique perspective, and if anyone knows how to help your clients find what they are looking for, it is the attorneys themselves. Work with the SEO agency to come up with a regular posting schedule, and if you’d like a hand in developing the content yourself, make sure to plan on consistent updates and refreshers.

SEO for Law Firms is the Way of the Future

Whether your business is new to SEO or looking to take your firm’s digital marketing strategy to the next level, the process can be demanding. The important thing to remember is that cost associated with implementing SEO for lawyers is a long-term investment, one that is becoming more and more necessary as law firms rely on online conversions to attract new clients. 

Lawyers are busy, and sometimes old-fashioned in terms of their marketing style. Don’t think of search engine optimization as a total overhaul of your marketing plan, but rather one of many pieces. If you are finding traditional marketing techniques to be effective, investing in attorney SEO does not mean you have to pull the plug on other forms of solicitation. Law firm SEO is especially recommended for firms marketing directly to individuals, but not exclusively. It is also important for just about any type of business to build a credible and accessible online presence. Instead, it is just a way to pave a foundation for success in the digital age.

Even if your law firm has an in-house marketing department, you should think critically about whether it makes sense to engage an external agency to help your law firm design and implement your SEO strategy. While the process may mean straightforward, there is much more to SEO than simply putting out updated content. A consultant provides law firms with the technical expertise necessary to start boosting their website’s metrics. 

There is no surefire, fast-track way to boost your website’s search engine optimization, but through time, patience, and an upfront cost, SEO for law firms is well worth the investment.

How Law Quill Can Help With Your Law Firm SEO 

Using law firm SEO strategies can give your law firm an organic boost in the Google rankings and cause your law firm to stand out in the sea of competition. When individuals start searching for an attorney, most people start looking online, so it is crucial that your law firm stands out and gets noticed. Once you have SEO in mind, you can move ahead, creating content and maximizing your use of on and off-page strategies. Building links, watching metrics, and keeping a user-friendly, updated website are more ways you can make SEO an effective part of your law firm’s marketing plan. 

We are here to help and would welcome the opportunity to visit with you for free regarding your law firm website’s content, and how we can take these tasks off your plate! Schedule a free visit with us by scheduling a quick phone or zoom call at your convenience on our calendar today. You can also email us at [email protected] .

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70 Tips To Improve Your Law Firm SEO Rankings

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This SEO for Lawyers Guide gives you over 70 actionable steps that you can take to improve your SEO.

You can implement most of these changes yourself, while some may require the assistance of a developer. You can also use this guide to audit your current SEO campaign.

Whether you’re a do-it-yourselfer or you have a digital marketing company , this guide will give you amazing insight into your project.

Table of Contents

What is SEO For Lawyers?

Search engine optimization for lawyers refers to the strategies and tactics that an attorney or law firm uses to improve their positions on search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo. This typically includes the following categories:

• On-site SEO : This refers to actions you take on your site to improve your search engine rankings . This includes content , internal linking, and technical SEO.
• Off-site SEO : This refers to the strategies you use offline to improve your rankings and visibility. This includes link-building , outreach, and paid placements in legal directories.

Do both well and you’ll set yourself up for great results.

Why Does Law Firm SEO Matter?

• 96% of people seeking legal services use a search engine in their process
• 74% of consumers visit a law firm’s website to take action
• 62% of legal searches are non-branded
• 31% of all law firm related website traffic comes through mobile search (FindLaw Aggregated Hosted Site Data 2014)
• 71% of people looking for lawyers think it is important to have a local attorney (FindLaw U.S. Consumer Legal Needs Survey 2014)

What are the Three Most Critical Components of Attorney SEO?

In our opinion, it’s:

• Is your site fast? Does it have errors that negatively impact the user experience? Is your navigation intuitive for your users? We cover technical SEO below and the steps you can take to make sure your site is running at an optimal level.
• Content is the cornerstone of SEO. Without content, there’s nothing for which you can do SEO. Great content is critical for the long-term success of your project. But what is great content? Find out below.
• You can go a long way with great content. But to dominate in your market, you will need a link-building strategy. We cover several proven strategies below.

Ready? Let’s get started!

1. Onsite SEO for Lawyers (Technical SEO, User Experience – UX)

Onsite SEO refers to the actions you take on your site to improve the overall quality for better search engine rankings. Many of these factors don’t directly impact your lawyer SEO but rather improve the user experience, which in turn helps your rankings.

Get WordPress

The first thing you’ll want to do is get set-up on WordPress. WordPress is a free CMS (content management system) platform that you can use to build your website.

Why do we recommend WordPress? Simple. You need a platform that will allow you to easily add content.

To rank competitively for your target keywords, you’ll need to produce high-quality content that satisfies the user’s intent. WordPress makes it easier to produce content.

Better yet, you can also install plugin-ins (more on that later) that will allow you to create a better user experience.

The best way to get WordPress is by using a managed WordPress host like WPEngine.com .

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Install Yoast SEO – WordPress Plugin

This WordPress plugin provides the following features that are important for SEO:

• Set title tags
• Set meta description
• Gives you an SEO score based on your onpage optimization
• Gives you a readability score
• Creates an XML Sitemap (see below)
• Add breadcrumbs

While there are other plugins that do similar things, we like how easy Yoast makes it to get up and running.

Check out the Yoast guides on Installing Yoast and Configuring Yoast .

Further Reading :

• How to Setup Yoast Correctly – Neil Patel

Submit Your XML Sitemap to Google Search Console

• What is an XML sitemap and why should you have one?

Use Schema Markup – (Structured Data)

You want to make sure that your site has schema markup. It helps Google better understand your site. Where this really comes into play is for local SEO.

While there is schema markup for other components of your site, that should be handled by a developer.

Where can you get legal schema for your site?

Merkle created a Schema Markup Generator .

Once you have this code, insert it in your <head> tags on your site.

Here’s a link to the Install Headers and Footers WordPress plugin.

Test your schema :

Make sure you test your schema after uploading it. Google provides a tool so that you can confirm that you have valid schema markup on your site: https://search.google.com/test/rich-results

When you test your Schema, don’t worry about the “priceRange” category unless you want to enter a price.

Improve Your Title Tags

Title tags are critical for rankings.

With Yoast (see above), you can set each title tag for maximum SEO benefit.

As an attorney, you typically want to make the title the same as what you’re trying to rank for. For example, let’s say you’re trying to rank for “Los Angeles restraining order lawyer.”

In Yoast, you might enter something like this: “Los Angeles Restraining Order Attorney | [BRAND].”

You can also flip the order “Restraining Order Attorney Los Angeles,” as putting “restraining order” near the front puts the keywords at the beginning of the title ( which could provide a slight SEO benefit ).

IMPORTANT : You usually want to include the CITY and/or STATE in the title tag.

Check with your State Bar rules before applying superlatives to your title tags. You might be able to say, “Top-Rated Los Angeles restraining order attorney.” But you may be prohibited from saying, “Best Los Angeles restraining order attorney.”

Improve Your Meta Descriptions

Your meta description gives users a preview in the search engine results of what your page is about. According to Google , a meta description tag should “generally inform and interest users with a short, relevant summary of what a particular page is about.”

While meta tags aren’t a direct ranking factor, a great meta tag makes it more likely that a user will click on your result. And click-thru-rate is a ranking factor. So take the time to write solid meta descriptions.

Make sure you include your keyword, as Google highlights it in search results. If you offer a free consultation, try to work that into the meta description as well, in a natural way.

Remember, keep this short and appealing. Yoast will tell you if you’ve written more than Google will display.

Improve Your Site Speed

Site speed has long been considered a ranking factor. Whether it actually is or not, slow site speed has a tremendous negative impact on users. This in itself is a great reason to make sure your site loads fast.

Further, Google has announced that it will begin to consider site speed as a ranking factor through what they call the Core Web Vitals .

If you’re familiar with site speed and want to skip to testing your site, we recommend the following tools (with a brief explanation on each below):

• Google Page Speed
• Webpage Test

Core Web Vitals

What are the Core Web Vitals ? According to Google:

Web Vitals is an initiative by Google to provide unified guidance for quality signals that are essential to delivering a great user experience on the web.

The Core Web Vitals consists of the following:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) – Speed
• First Input Delay (FID) – Responsiveness
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) – Visual Stability

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): This measures loading performance. In other words, this measures when the largest visual element in the viewport becomes visible. It should download in under 2.5 seconds . For most attorney sites, this will be the large hero image (picture of you) under the top-level menu.

First Input Delay (FID): “ FID measures the time from when a user first interacts with a page (i.e. when they click a link, tap on a button, or use a custom JavaScript-powered control) to the time when the browser is actually able to begin processing event handlers in response to that interaction.”

FID can easily be confused with Time to Interactive (TTI). Here’s the difference. TTI measures how long it takes for a page to become interactive, while FID measures how long a page takes to respond to a user interaction . FID applies more to pages like contact forms, where user interaction is key.

As you can see, a good score is under 100 ms.

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): “ CLS measures the sum total of all individual layout shift scores for every unexpected layout shift that occurs during the entire lifespan of the page.”

Have you ever downloaded a webpage and it seems to jump around while downloading? You commonly see this in the top level menu or large hero image. This is the CLS.

In this category, a good score is under 0.1 seconds.

When Will Core Web Vitals Become a Ranking Factor?

May 2021 ( click here for more information).

How Can I Check My Core Web Vitals?

Here are four ways to check it.

1. Using Google Page Speed Insights to Check Your Core Web Vitals

First, you’ll want to go to Google Page Speed Insights .

Once you’re there, simply enter the URL you want to test. For an attorney site, the most important page will usually be the homepage.

Remember, the test results are page specific, so it’s a good idea to test different pages to get a sense of how you’re doing: Home, About Us, Practice Area Page, Contact Us.

2. Using Google Search Console to Check Your Core Web Vitals

First, go to Google Search Console for your site and click on “Core Web Vitals” on the lefthand side.

Next, you’ll see two sections on the right-side. It will show you a report for Mobile and Desktop.

To get more information per section, click on “Open Report” and you can see which pages are receiving poor scores.

Click on the area under details to get more information per page.

After you fix the low scoring pages, click on “Validate Fix” to have Google re-crawl those pages.

3. Using Lighthouse in Chrome to Check Core Web Vitals

To do this, you’ll need to open up Google Chrome Incognito.

Then, go to your website. Once you’re there, click on View (top bar) –> Developer –> Developer Tools

Next, you’ll see a developer screen below. Once you see it, click “lighthouse,” then mobile or desktop (depending which score you want), and then “Generate Report.”

4. Use Pingdom to Check Your Site Speed

Pingdom is another great tool to check your site speed. Just add your URL and pick the city closest to you.

Ideally, you want to shoot for a download speed of under 2 seconds.

5. Using Webpage Test to Check Your Site Speed

Webpage Test (WT) will give you a great overview of various important metrics. When using WT, make sure you look at your Time To First Byte (TTFB). That’s how long it takes for the user to get the first byte of data when downloading your site.

While it’s debatable whether site speed is a direct ranking factor, TTFB is widely considered a ranking factor.

Tips to Speed Up Your Site

• Get better hosting . Your site speed will depend largely on the quality of your hosting. We recommend using WPEngine.
• Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN) . A CDN duplicates your site on servers all over the world. When a user goes to your site, they will receive the files from the server nearest them.
• Avoid large images . If you do use large images, make sure you use an image compression plugin to minimize the file size.
• Avoid embedding maps in the footer . Instead, save the embedded maps for the Contact Us page.
• Scripts . Minimize scripts and/or async or defer them.

WordPress plugins to speed up your site

• WP Rocket : Great all-around plugin to help you speed up your site. It handles just about every critical aspect like lazy-loading images, deferring JS, and minimizing html files.
• Using this plugin is more complicated than WP Rocket, but worth checking out if you have any stubborn pages for which you can’t improve the site speed.
• One feature worth mentioning is the criticalcss.com add-on. With Critical CSS, you can remove render blocking CSS.
• Imagify : Large, unoptimized images will kill your site speed. Imagify does all the work for you. It will compress all your images. That alone can significantly increase your site speed.
• What are Core Web Vitals? – Backlinko
• WP Speed Fix – 3rd Party Vendor

Secure Your Site Using an SSL Certificate

An SSL (secured socket layer) Certificate encrypts any data sent to you by your user. This assures that they can send confidential information to you via your website. When a site has an SSL cert, you will see the “https” instead of “http.”

How do you get an SSL Certificate? Most hosting providers offer this service for an extra fee.

Once you order it, your hosting provider typically handles setting this up for you.

Fix Site Errors

Site errors can negatively impact the user experience. You’ll want to run a site audit using Ahrefs. The Ahrefs’s site audit will give you a comprehensive list of any errors. You can also use Screaming Frog to look for errors.

Pay special attention to the following errors:

• A 301 redirect occurs when a user clicks on a link but is sent to a different page. While this creates slight latency, the real problem occurs when an user is sent to a page that isn’t a great match for the link they clicked. Fix your 301 redirects by either removing the link or changing it to another page on your site.
• A 404 error occurs when a user clicks on a link on your site and is taken to a page that doesn’t exist. That results in an awful user experience. Prioritize fixing any 404 errors.
• Your site probably has outbound links to authority sites. Sites delete pages all the time. If they don’t do a redirect, your user will get a 404 error on that external site. That hurts the user experience, as your user didn’t get the resource they expected to see.
• Avoid having pages buried deep in your site for two reasons. First, your users can’t find them. Second, Google has a limited crawl budget to crawl your site. By having pages buried that require a lot of clicking to get to, you risk Google not crawling your site. Ideally, you don’t want any page to be further than 4 clicks away from the homepage.
• Screaming Frog
• Broken Link Checker

Fix Broken Inbound Links

A broken inbound link refers to a link to your site from another, but that link goes to a page on your site that no longer exists.

Why does this matter? Because if a link goes to a non-existent page, you don’t get credit for that inbound link.

You also create an awful user experience. The user clicked on a link from another site, but now ends up on a 404 error page on your site.

To check your broken inbound links, you’ll need an Ahrefs account.

Once you’re logged in, enter your URL, then click “Broken” under Backlink profile.

Next, you’ll see a report like the one below. Go through each link and determine if you want to set up a redirect to a relevant page. If you get Yoast Premium, they have a redirect tool. If not, you can use another WordPress plugin for creating redirects.

Remember, when setting up a redirect, make sure you send the user to a page that makes sense.

Tool : Ahrefs

Improve Your Site Structure

When setting up your site, you’ll want to consider if you want to set it up using a flat site structure.

Flat architecture means that users and search engines can get to any page in 4 clicks or less .

As an attorney, you’ll typically want to set up your site using a flat architecture as it’s considered better for SEO and the user experience.

Example of a flat structure :

• site.com/baltimore-car-accident-lawyer/
• site.com/blog/
• site.com/steps-to-take-after-car-crash/ (blog post)

Another consideration is whether you have one target location or multiple offices.

Single-location Practices

For a single location firm, your homepage will usually be the main page that you’re trying to rank for a given keyword. For example, if you’re a personal injury lawyer in Baltimore and you only have one office in Baltimore, your site might be structured like this:

• site.com (homepage targeting: Baltimore personal injury lawyer)

Multi-location Practices

If you practice in several locations, we recommend using location pages with the location-specific practice areas siloed underneath each location.

This lets your users know exactly where they are on the site and how to get back to the “main” page, which is usually the location page for the city they reside in.

Let’s use an example where the homepage is focused on Maryland. Each city (location) page might look like this:

• site.com/baltimore/car-accident-lawyer/
• site.com/annapolis/car-accident-lawyer/

PRO-TIP : We recommend that you create separation between the blog posts and the homepage. The pages closest to your homepage in terms of structure should be your practice area pages or city pages (for multi-city sites).

Having your practice area pages closer to your homepage signals to Google that your practice area pages are more important. You also create a better user experience because all of the blog posts will be clearly siloed under “/blog/.”

site.com/blog/latest-blog-post/ vs. site.com/latest-blog-post/

Tool : Screaming Frog

Sample Site Architecture

Below you will find a sample site structure for a multi-location project. The homepage can be for whatever city you want.

Here’s a sample site architecture you can use (family law site):

• About the firm
• Attorney Bio 1
• Attorney Bio 2
• Testimonials
• Client Reviews
• Child Custody
• Child Support

You should also research your competitors. How did they layout their site structure? If you look at most attorney sites ranking on the first page, they will have a structure similar to what you see above.

Remember, the exact structure you use doesn’t matter. What matters is that your site is easy to navigate for your users.

Have you ever been lost on a site? Have you ever found yourself wondering, “how do I get back to that page I was on?” Make sure that doesn’t happen to your users.

If you get lost on your own site, your site visitors are probably lost as well.

Don’t accept excuses from your marketing company. If you can find your way around Amazon, which has millions of pages, you should be able to find your way around your own site.

• Website Architecture – Backlinko

Make Sure Your Site is Mobile Friendly

Almost 50% of searches are now conducted on mobile. As such, you want to make sure that your site is mobile friendly. You should consider this a non-negotiable.

Fortunately, Google makes it easy to test whether your site is mobile-friendly.

Just head over to Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test .

Remove Zombie Pages

By this, we mean you should remove pages that get little to no traffic. The only exception is when these pages are well-written articles on low-traffic topics.

In other words, you may have written an in-depth scholarly article on the felony-murder rule. Assuming it’s well-written for your target audience, you may want to keep that page.

You can either delete or de-index (see below) low-quality pages.

For an advanced content audit that you can do yourself, check out this Content Audit from Ryan Stewart.

De-Index Thin Pages

Does your site contain thin pages that provide little to no value to your users? If so, you might want to consider de-indexing. If you installed Yoast, all you have to do is scroll down to the Yoast settings and change “YES” to “NO” under “Allow search engines to show this Post (or page) in search results?”

Does Your Site Pass The 5-Second Test?

Can your users tell what your site is about in 5-seconds? If not, you could be losing out on potential leads. Recent studies show that we have an 8-second attention span .

By sticking to the 5-second rule, you ensure that you don’t lose potential business because they couldn’t figure out what you do.

Want to try the 5-second test? Here’s what you do.

• Find someone (friend, neighbor, whatever) who has never seen your site,
• Pull up your site on your laptop,
• Let them look at it for 5-seconds and then close your laptop.

They should be able to tell you the name of the business, what you do (personal injury, family law, etc.), and have a sense of where you’re located.

If not, you’ll want to work with a designer to make sure that these three items are instantly apparent.

Compress Your Images for Better Load Time

The easiest way to make your images faster is install a plugin that compresses images. We recommend Imagify , but you can also try:

Tools: Imagify

Improve Your Navigation

Your site should have 3 main navigation areas so that your users can move around easily.

Top-Level Menu

• Breadcrumbs, and
• Sidebar Navigation

Your top-level menu should consist of the most important pages on your site.

For most attorney sites, the top-level menu should consist of:

• This could be a drop-down menu choice that shows the user the practice area pages most important to you.
• Spanish (or other language)

Another option is to populate the top-level menu with your main practice areas.

For a personal injury lawyer, that might look like this:

• Pages dealing with car accidents
• Pages dealing with motorcycle accidents
• Pages on different types of truck accidents
• This could list various injuries
• Language (Spanish, Russian, etc.)

Regardless of the approach you take, we recommend keeping the top-level menu succinct.

Why? Two reasons.

First reason : You don’t want to overwhelm the user with too many choices. Instead, lead with the pages that matter to your firm. If you mainly do medical malpractice, lead with those pages in the Practice Areas drop-down.

For the remaining practice areas, create a page where you list all your practice areas in alphabetical order.

Second reason : The pages you include in your top-level menus signals to Google that those are your most important pages. Therefore, make sure that your top-level menu actually contains your most important pages.

Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs are a great way to let your users know where they are on your website. Breadcrumbs usually reside at the top of the page and show the user the path from the homepage to the page that they are currently viewing.

If you use the Yoast plugin WordPress, it gives you an option to add breadcrumbs.

SideBar Navigation

Another great place to include navigation is in your sidebar. A common example would be to include a “Practice Areas” sidebar in all the practice area pages. That way, your users can easily maneuver around your site.

Interlink between articles

Have you even been on Wikipedia reading about one topic, and next thing you know its two hours later and you’re on a completely different topic?

If yes, it’s because of their amazing internal linking. They take the time to link to an internal page for every relevant concept mentioned in the article.

For example, look at the first few paragraphs on Tort Law .

You see how every legal concept is a link that takes the user to a relevant page? (links in blue)

You want to spend time internal linking for several reasons.

First , solid internal linking creates an amazing user experience. Your users will inevitably have questions regarding terms like “damages,” “loss of consortium,” and “plea bargain.”

Instead of sending the user elsewhere to find the meaning, why not create a page like “What is a Plea Bargain” and link to it every time you mention “plea bargain”?

Second , solid internal linking forces you to make a better website. You can’t link to your page explaining what a plea bargain is unless you have it.

By looking for all the terms that require further explanation and creating that content, you are making a more complete site.

Third , internal linking lowers bounce rate. What is bounce rate? Bounce rate refers to when a user goes to a page on your site and leaves without interacting with your site further. In other words, bounce rate is a single page session on your site.

Depending on the nature of your page, a high bounce rate could be considered a negative SEO factor. On other pages, it might not be a negative factor.

For example, a page on “how to tie a tie” will probably have a high bounce rate. And that’s ok. It’s meant to be a page that the user lands on, gets what he needs, and moves on.

But if the topic is “motorcycle accidents” or the “consequences of a domestic violence conviction,” it makes more sense that the user clicked elsewhere on your site (about us page, legal term that links internally to an explanation page, etc.).

Link Whisperer : Check out Link Whisperer. They do a great job analyzing your content and giving internal linking ideas. Yoast also offers an internal link suggestion tool, but we find Link Whisperer to be much better.

Have a Call to Action Button that Stands Out

When users go to your site, you want them to do one thing – contact you. To encourage them to contact you, you want your site to have a call-to-action button that starts them down the conversion process.

By having a call to action (CTA) button that stands out from the rest of the site, we activate that part of the brain that notices differences. This is referred to as our “lizard brain.” According to this article, “ part of our survival instinct is to notice differences in our environment .”

If your CTA stands out, your users are more likely to focus on it and make a decision based on interacting with it.

While it’s common to see a CTA that says something like “Free Consultation”, you also want to make sure that the CTA “pops” out from the images and text around it.

Add a Call Button to Your Mobile Site

Your mobile site should have a prominent call button that remains visible as the user scrolls.

This allows your users to call you at any point.

Jay Murray Personal Injury Lawyers

Create Videos of Your Law Firm

Videos are a great way to connect with your users. They also help your SEO by increasing your onsite dwell time (how long a user stays on your site).

Once you have videos, make sure you create a YouTube channel and upload your videos there. Also, add your contact info and a link to your site in the video description.

Lastly, embed your YT videos on your site (don’t embed your videos directly on your site).

Pro Tip : Invest in high-quality videos. Don’t record videos on your cell. That’s not going to cut it. If you want amazing videos, check out Crisp Video .

Upload Media Clips – If You Have Them

If you’ve been in the news or on TV, add those appearances to YouTube and embed them on your site.

There’s no better way to get instant credibility with your site visitors than to let them see you on TV as an expert.

Add Trust Logos

Adding trust logos is a great way to give your site visitors visual cues that build trust. When choosing trust logos, include logos from your State Bar and the BBB if you’re an accredited member. Also include logos from any other local attorney bars that you’re a member of.

Improve your URLs by Adding Keywords

Make sure you add keywords to your URL for your practice area pages.

As an example, consider your page for car accidents.

If your URL is www.smithfirm.com/car-accidents, that’s ok.

But a better approach is to include the geographic area you’re targeting.

So if you’re in Phoenix, AZ, you may want to change your URL to: www.smithfirm.com/phoenix-car-accident-lawyer.

This approach incorporates every keyword into the URL. This is a powerful signal for both users and search engines.

With that said, shorter URLs are typically better. Try to keep your URLs to no longer than five words .

Remove Dates From Your Blog Permalinks

Does your blog posts have dates in the URL structure? If yes, we recommend you remove the dates.

Why? Because you don’t want your content to be dated unless it’s date-specific. A news article about a current event might be date specific. But a blog post titled “What is Negligence?” is not.

Evergreen content like the example above becomes less relevant overtime if dated.

To update your blog links, click on “Settings” in your WordPress Admin menu and then “Permalinks.”

You’ll then see the screen below. Once you’re there, click on “Custom Structure.” After that, add “/blog” before “/%postname%/” (without the quotes).

IMPORTANT : Once you do this, you’ll need to create redirects from the old posts with dates to the new posts.

2. Content for Lawyers

Make the content about the user.

At all times, your content should be focused on the user. Remember, the user wants the WIIFM (What’s In It For Me?).

Your content should focus on:

• Shedding light on their situation,
• Your experience, and
• How your experience will benefit them

As an example, see the car accident page we did for Rosenbaum & Rosenbaum in NYC. We lead with information about the attorney and how their experience can help you.

We then move on to answering questions people might have after a car accident.

Keep the content focused on the user at all times and you’ll do great.

Answer Questions – Make Users Happy

When people search online, they are usually searching for answers. When you develop your content, think about the questions a user has and answer them.

Example 1: Car Accident Page

Potential Questions

• Should I Hire a Lawyer?
• How Much Money Can I Get?
• What If I’m Partially At-Fault?
• How Long Do I Have to File a Claim?

Example 2: Divorce Lawyer Page

• How Long Does a Divorce Take?
• What are Grounds for Divorce in [STATE]?
• What are the Residency Requirements for Divorce?

PRO TIP : When you answer the question, get to the point quickly. Don’t write a three paragraph intro to each answer. Users want the answer quickly. If you don’t answer the question quickly, someone else will.

Tools: Ahrefs to find questions.

How to Find Questions Users Are Asking Using Ahrefs

When we search on Google we often start by asking a question.

To find what questions people are asking that relate to your practice type, we recommend using AHREFs . You can get a trial account for only $7.

After creating an account, login and click “keyword explorer” in the top menu.

Then enter a keyword (we used “car accident lawyer”), and then click the orange button (see below).

The next screen will show you relevant keywords and questions. In the example below, you have several questions you can start with today if you’re a personal injury lawyer:

• How to get money from a car accident without a lawyer (yes, it’s a good topic for a lawyer to answer)
• When to call a lawyer after a car accident (try to use this phrase in the article when answering the questions above).

Remember, use the question as your (1) title tag, (2) <h1> tag, and (3) URL (/when-to-get-a-lawyer-for-car-accident/).

SEO Keyword Research To Improve Your Content

When you’re developing content, you want to include variations of your keyword to capture as much traffic possible for your target search term.

To do this, we recommend several tools below. Once you find additional keywords, work them naturally into your content.

An amazing paid tool for doing keyword research. We use SEMRush for keyword ideas for all the content we produce. This tool is to legal SEO what Lexis/Nexis or Westlaw is to attorneys – indispensable.

Once you enter your main keyword, you’ll get a ton of ideas and insight like you see below.

Click on “View full report” to see more keyword options that you can incorporate into your content.

Another great tool for keyword research is Ahrefs. To use Ahrefs, you’ll need to login and click on “Keywords Explorer.”

Then enter your target keyword and scroll below for useful info like “Keyword ideas by search volume” and “Questions.”

You might be able to work the questions into your article or create a separate article addressing that question.

SEO Keyword Research for Lawyers: An Alternative Method

A lot has been written on the topic of “SEO keyword research for lawyers.” Here’s the problem.

Often times, you have no idea where to start. An SEO expert tells you “do keyword research!” And you’re thinking, “which keywords do I research?”

Don’t Start with Keyword Research – Start With Finding Topics to Write About

Start with competitor research to find out what topics your competitors are writing about.

For example, using the method below, ( Steal Your Competitors’ Traffic ), you’ll be able to find the topics your competitors wrote about and how much traffic they are getting from those topics.

When using SEMRush for competitor, you’ll see which keywords result in a particular page or post getting traffic.

Make sure to include those keywords in your headers or in the content paragraphs.

Don’t stop by just looking at your local competitors. Using the method shown below, look at the top ranking sites in all major markets in your state.

Should I Ever Do Keyword Research?

Yes, but not the way most online guides recommend it.

Instead, find a topic you want to write about based on competitor research.

Before you publish it, do an SEO content audit with SEMRush (see: Use SEMRush to Improve Your Content ), or use a tool like SurferSEO to find out which keywords you should include to capture more traffic and increase your rankings.

Steal Your Competitors’ Traffic (in an ethical way)

You’re not going to actually steal anything. Instead, you’re going to find out what content drives traffic to your competitors and do it better.

To do this, we will use a method we learned from Ryan Stewart .

You will need a SEMRush account. We guarantee that this strategy is worth every penny of SEMRush’s monthly subscription fee.

See the video below for more information.

Use SEMRush to Improve Your Content

SEMRush has an awesome tool that you should consider using when developing your content.

Once you’re in SEMRush, click on “Content Marketing” and “SEO Content Template.”

After that, insert your target keyword. If you’re a Boston car accident lawyer, you would enter that into the “Enter your target keywords” box.

After you enter your password, you’ll get the following screen (see below). The “SEO Recommendations” tab gives you a list of competitors and keywords you should use.

The real magic happens in the “Real-time Content Check” tab. Enter your content there to see how it stacks up against the competition.

Tools: SEMRush

Further Reading:

https://www.semrush.com/kb/812-content-toolkit

Use Hemingway App To Check Your Legal Content’s Grade-Level

According to one study, the average American reads at the 7th to 8th grade reading level .

When you create content, you’ll want to make sure it’s accessible to all users. To do this, use the Hemingway Editor to make sure you’re content is at about the 8th to 9th grade level.

Tool: Hemingway App

Link Out to Authority Sites

One of the biggest mistakes we see attorneys make is not link out to authority sites in their content. Whenever you list a statistic or fact, it’s a good idea to cite your source via a link.

This increases user trust because you allow the user to independently verify the information you presented.

Linking out to authority sites helps Google build a relationship between your site and the sites you’re linking out to.

Add Images and ALT Tags

Pictures help bring your article to life. Make sure you add images whenever relevant. That includes pictures of you.

Do not use images you find online without the proper permission. You will inevitably get a letter one day from a company asking for money for infringing on someone’s copyright.

Here’s a great place to find images: https://www.istockphoto.com .

Don’t forget to add ALT tags to images. While we don’t recommend spamming the ALT tag with exact match phrases like “Boston personal injury lawyer,” we do recommend trying to use keywords in the ALT tag.

Content-Length

Studies show that longer content tends to rank better. With that said, we don’t recommend trying to hit any particular word count.

Instead, start with an outline of the sub-topics you plan on discussing (See “Proper Use of H Tags” below for how to create an outline).

Then, make sure you cover each sub-topic with a sufficient amount of detail.

For example, a “car accident lawyer” page might include a discussion on “What Types of Damages Can I Recover After a Car Accident?”

We recommend you provide an overview of damages (economic, non-economic) and create a new page just on damages that’s more in-depth.

That way, your visitors get a general overview on your car accident page and can get more in-depth info if needed.

Proper Use of H Tags

An H tag is an html tag that indicates a heading on a page. Think of H tags like your outline.

H tags are numbered 1 – 6, with 1 being the most important.

You can (and will) have multiple instances of H2 – H6, but you should only use the H1 tag once (at the beginning of the article).

IMPORTANT : Your H1 should contain your main keyword. If you’re trying to rank for “New York City Car Accident Lawyer,” that should be your H1 (or a variation of that).

Before writing a long article, we recommend that you first create an outline. That outline will become your H tags.

If you’re not sure what to write about, we recommend you do the following:

• Google the term you’re trying to rank for (let’s use NYC car accident lawyer)
• Next, take the URL of the first result and put it in https://www.browseo.net . This will give your H tag outline on the right.
• The Headings outline you see in Browseo will give you a good idea of what sub-topics you should focus on.
• Pay attention to the keywords used in the H tags . In the example above, do you notice how almost every H tag has a GEO modifier?
• We recommend you look at the top 5 ranking pages so that you can make a comprehensive outline.
• Remember – the goal is to make a better page than the ones already ranking (if you don’t, you’ll never outrank them).

Additional Resources

• Google Developer Documentation Style Guide – H Tags

Improve Your About Us Page

Typically, the 2nd most visited page on your website will be your ABOUT US page.

Put time into this page. Don’t make it 800 words about where you went to college and law school.

Instead, make it about how your experience will help your prospective client.

Use Google Search Console To Get More Traffic to Existing Articles [Video]

One overlooked tool to get more traffic to your site is Google Search Console (GSC). In the performance report, you can see what keywords are driving traffic to your pages.

What you want to do is find the low-hanging fruit and work those keywords into your content. By low-hanging fruit, we mean keywords for which you’re ranking on the second page.

See this video for a brief explanation.

Blog the Right Way

If you did the competitor research above, then you should have plenty of ideas for new content. When you’re adding blog posts to your site, keep the following in mind:

Add value :

• What is the purpose of your blog post?
• Does your blog post answer a question you get often from clients?
• Is the information in your post useful to your readers?

Geographic relevance : Does the post add geographical relevance to your site? If you’re a personal injury lawyer in Houston, then you should have blog posts that are customized to fit your audience. Try to regionalize the topic as much as possible.

Informational intent – no selling : Blog posts are a great place to give your site visitors useful information. Don’t try to sell them on your services in a blog post. It’s annoying.

Instead, wow them with great info. If you do that, they’ll want to learn more about you and your services. If you don’t wow them with your blog posts, your competitors will.

Create Linkable Assets : Blog posts are a great way to create linkable assets. By that, we mean pages that you can link to when guest-posting or that users will link to as a resource.

Important : Do NOT do short blog posts regurgitating news stories about local car accidents. Unless you’re providing legal analysis regarding a particular event, you’re better off not having those posts on your site.

Here’s why. Those posts are usually short, low-quality, and provide no further insight than the original article from which it was essentially copied. They age poorly, and someone searching for a car accident lawyer is not likely to find you because of that post. Instead, focus on answering questions that a motor vehicle accident victim is searching for.

Incorporate LSI Keywords

LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) Keywords are conceptually related words that search engines use to better understand your content.

LSI keywords are not variations of your keywords. An example would be an article about Apple. For Google to understand that that article is about Apple the computer company rather than the food, it would look for conceptually related terms like “Mac,” “computer,” “iPhone,” and so on.

Incorporating LSI keywords is a great way to immediately improve the relevance of your content for a given term.

To get started, we recommend:

After you enter your keyword, you’ll get LSI keyword recommendations.

PRO TIP : If you don’t get results for the long-tail version of your keyword (Miami car accident lawyer), try it for “car accident lawyer” and “car accident.”

Below is a screenshot of “car accident.”

Create Content Topic Clusters

If done correctly, a content cluster helps you increase the authority of a page that you’re trying to rank for a given keyword.

For example, let’s say that you’re trying to rank for “Austin Car Accident Lawyer.”

You want to start by doing a great page on that topic.

Next, you want to think about all the related topics that you may have briefly addressed but can now expand on.

If the hub is “Austin car accident lawyer,” then supporting pages could be:

• Car Accidents FAQ
• Head-on Crashes
• Highway Crashes
• Hit-and-Run Crashes

Pro Tip 1 : Link from the the supporting pages back to the hub page.

Pro Tip 2 : Now that you have supporting pages, build links to those pages. The link equity will flow to those pages and then to the car accident page (which is what you’re trying to rank).

Improve Your Internal Links

When talking about internal linking, we’re discussing two different things.

Internal Linking for Users

First, there’s the normal internal linking you do to improve the user experience. Think Wikipedia. They link every time there’s a word and/or concept that expands or is related to the topic you’re reading about.

That’s the right way to link internally. I’ve found myself on Wikipedia for hours just by following the links.

The benefit of this approach is that it tends to increase dwell time on your site (meaning how long users stay on your site). A dwell time longer than your competitors is a positive SEO signal for Google.

Internal Linking for Rankings

Whether it’s wise to link internally to let’s say the homepage with exact match anchor is debatable.

Say you’re a Phoenix personal injury lawyer. The internal links would be from internal pages on your site back to the homepage using variations of the terms you’re trying to rank for.

For example, “Phoenix personal injury lawyer,” “personal injury lawyer in Phoenix,” etc.

Should you do it? While we have found this tactic to be effective, we encourage you to use it lightly.

For example, create a list of every keyword permutation of your main keyword (personal injury lawyer in Phoenix, accident attorneys in Phoenix, Phoenix personal injury attorney, etc.) and use each one no more than 2 – 3 times each.

From our experience, websites get diminishing returns when they overuse the same exact match anchors over and over.

Another approach is to use an 80/20 ratio of exact match keywords to branded/misc anchors.

PRO-TIP : When you link internally from a page to your homepage (or whatever page you’re trying to rank), try to surround the link with relevant content. For example, let’s say you’re a Tucson personal injury lawyer and you’re trying to rank the homepage for that term.

From the slip and fall page, you could have a paragraph about why someone should call your personal injury firm after an accident. And the H2 for that paragraph could be something like, “Why Call a Personal Injury Lawyer at BRAND firm After a Slip and Fall Accident”.

The H2 and surrounding text around “Tucson personal injury lawyer” creates a wall or relevancy around that link, thereby making the link more powerful.

Further Reading on Internal Linking

Matt Diggity on internal link-building

Neil Patel on internal link-building

Ryan Stewart on internal link-building

Tools to Improve Internal Linking :

Link Whisperer

Improve Your Content – Make it better for users

The average American reads at about a 7th to 8th grade level . Further, people don’t read online, they scan.

Therefore, you’ll need to create content that is both accessible and easy to scan.

Here a some best practices to improving readability.

• Focus on getting the reading level between Grade 9 – 10th.
• Bucket Brigades are: “phrases or words that add conversational value to your content and attract more and more people to your content.”
• The optimal length is between 50 – 60 words per line . If you go over that, you risk tiring out the reader.
• Remember, you want to make it as easy as possible for your site visitors to stay on your site.
• Internal Links ( covered above )

Add a Table of Contents

Adding a table of contents (TOC) results in several benefits to you and your users. First, it gives your users a clear roadmap of your article. It allows them to jump right to the section they’re interested in reading about.

How does a TOC benefit you? It allows you to scan your headers quickly and make sure that they flow in a logical way.

Tool : Easy Table of Contents plugin

3. Offsite SEO for Lawyers

Offsite SEO refers to strategies and tactics to improve your SEO that do not involve making changes to your website.

This includes link-building, citation building, social media engagement, and more.

Review Your Inbound Links Anchor Ratio

When building links to your homepage, you want to make sure you don’t over optimize your anchor text.

Here’s a good distribution to keep your backlink profile looking natural:

• Brand anchors refers to anchors that contain your brand name. In this category we also include miscellaneous (MISC) anchors and URL anchors (naked).
• Partial refers to anchors that include part of a keyword term in them. For example, if your target keyword is “Clearwater personal injury lawyer,” a partial match would be: “personal injury lawyer,” “Clearwater law office,” “BRAND + personal injury lawyers.”
• You want to be careful with exact match anchors. An exact match anchor refers to the specific term you’re trying to rank for like, “Clearwater personal injury lawyer,” or a permutation of that.

The safe play is build your anchors around your brand, and sparingly add partial and exact match anchors.

IMPORTANT : The ratios above apply to a homepage. For internal pages, you’re usually safe going much higher on exact and partial match.

Link to spreadsheet

• SEO Jet Anchor Text Ratio Guide
• How to Build the Proper Anchors Text Ratios
• Ahrefs Anchor Text Ratio Guide
• Matt Diggity’s Guide to Anchor Text Ratio

How to Determine Link Quality?

You can use several tools like Ahrefs, Majestic, and SEMRush to determine the quality of a link. But before using those tools, consider if the link is either topically relevant or geographically relevant (discussed in more detail below).

Also, natural media mentions (like the New York Times, CNN, Fox, etc) are always a good thing. In case you’re wondering, this does not include press releases.

Topical Relevance

If the link is topically relevant to your site, then it’s usually a “good” link. For example, a legal directory link will usually help or at least not hurt your rankings. With that said, some directories are better than others (the ones that rank and actually get traffic vs those that don’t).

Geographical Relevance

You’re a small business. Small business get links from local sites. As a law firm, you should be getting local links like sponsorships or from your local chamber of commerce.

Another example would be for a personal injury lawyer to reach out to local auto repair shops. They might accept a guest post from you regarding car accidents.

Find the Links That Helps Your Competition

To improve your rankings, you’ll want to figure out what links your competition has that you don’t. In the video below we explain how you can use Ahrefs’ link intersect tool to find the links helping your competitors.

Get Listed on Legal Directories

Legal directories provide powerful links for attorneys because they are the most relevant type of links you can acquire.

Think about it. What link could be more relevant for an attorney than a directory of attorneys?

Here are some of top site you wanted to get listed on:

• USNews – Lawyers Directory
• SuperLawyers
• Just Great Lawyers
• Courthouse Square

Additional Link Opportunities

Sponsorships

A great way to get local links to is to find organizations in your area looking for sponsors. To find them, you can use operators like:

• Houston intitle:sponsor
• Houston intitle:sponsorship

Just replace Houston with your city.

Also check out ZipSprout – they’ll find local opportunities for you.

Non-Legal Directories

Non-legal directories are a great way to get more exposure to your site. You will usually find these opportunities by researching your competitors. Here’s a few ideas to get you started:

• crunchbase.com
• goodfirms.co
• topratedlocal.com

HARO stands for Help a Reporter Out. In a nutshell, HARO is a portal through which you can receive requests from journalists looking for information and/or a quote regarding a particular topic.

To sign up, go to https://www.helpareporter.com and click on “I’m a source.”

When signing up for HARO, you’ll want to create custom alerts for words like “lawyer” or “attorney.”

• How to Get High Quality Backlinks in 2021
• HARO Link Building
• How to Get Backlinks and Press Using HARO – Ahrefs

Chamber of Commerce

Your local chambers are a great way to not only get local links, but to get involved in your community. To find chambers in your area, search for “CITY chamber of commerce.”

Most cities also have many other chambers: LGBTQ, Black, Asian, etc.

In large cities like Los Angeles, you’ll find chambers for the surrounding cities like Santa Monica, Hollywood, etc.

Pro Tip : Before signing up with a chamber, make sure their directory gets indexed by Google. Find a lawyer listed in their directory. When you’re on that page, type “site:” (without the quotes) before the URL. Is it indexed? If not, skip that chamber.

Press Releases

We don’t recommend using this as a link-building tactic. However, it’s a good idea to use them when you have something newsworthy like launching a new office. A few pointers regarding press releases:

• Don’t include exact match keywords (don’t link to your home page with “CITY personal injury lawyer” – where CITY is your location).
• Do link to your site only using your homepage URL
• Do include your Name, Address, and Phone (NAP) info
• Don’t abuse press releases. It won’t help your rankings.

Infographics

Infographics (IG) are a great way to display complex information. You can find hundreds of infographic designers on UpWork .

Once you have your IG, embed it on a page and look for link-building opportunities. Try something like: “submit” “infographic.”

Source: Laird Hammons Laird Personal Injury Lawyers

• Submit Infographic Service on Fiverr
• 40 Infographic Submission Sites
• 21 Websites You Should Leverage to Promote Your Infographic

Guest Posting

As an attorney, you want to find relevant guest post opps to showcase your expertise. Here’s a list of legal blogs accepting guest posts .

If you want to invest considerably more time into this, check out this guide that covers outreach .

You can also use these search operators to find opportunities:

• Legal + “write for us”
• Legal + “become a contributor”
• Legal + “blog for us”
• Legal + “guest post”

Additionally, you can search for terms like “guest post provider” and “best guest post provider” to find done-for-you options.

• 10 Blogger Outreach Tools You Should Us Today
• PitchBox – Outreach Tool for Guest Posting
• How We Use Pitchbox For Link Outreach
• 200 Websites and Blogs that Accept Guest Posts
• 150+ Sites Accepting Guest Posts
• 700+ Guest Post Sites
• List of 300+ Sites Accepting Guest Posts

Scholarships

Whether scholarships are still a good idea is debatable. We can tell you that many schools no longer accept them and will refer you to a third-party scholarship clearing house. Here is one opinion on why you should avoid scholarships from Search Engine Journal .

For more information on launching a scholarship, check out How to Create and Run an Effective Scholarship Outreach Campaign from Moz.

Linkable Asset

Create an asset that other sites want to link to. This usually involves creating some form of data visualization.

For example, a criminal defense attorney could create an interactive map of the most dangerous cities in his/her state.

For more information, check this out on Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com/blog/the-trust-formula/ .

Please note that this is an advanced technique that will most likely require a significant amount of your time.

Get more 1st-page Real Estate – Legal Directories, Local SEO, Google Ads

We see this mistake often. An attorney ranks great organically but is nowhere else to be found on the first page.

Ranking on Google’s first page is hard. Once you get there, maximize the opportunity by showing elsewhere on the page.

Here’s a breakdown of where you can appear on the first page as an attorney:

• Local Service Ads (LSA)
• Organic SEO
• Legal Directories: FindLaw , Justia , SuperLawyers
• Non-Legal Directories: Yelp

It’s powerful to be on Google’s first page. But it’s a lot more powerful to appear seven times on Google’s first page.

If you are going to get directory listings, we recommend you get a top placement in that directory. Being at the bottom of FindLaw’s first page won’t help much.

The biggest benefit you’ll receive from being listed several times on Google’s first page is the repetition factor when people are searching for an attorney.

Does it help?

We’ll put it this way. Have you ever been to a professional sports game and seen the same Coca-Cola poster 200 times. Next thing you know, you’re drinking a Coke.

Prospective clients who see you multiple times when searching for an attorney are more likely to call you than if they only see you once.

Check Your Lawyer SEO Rankings – Organic and Local

How are you doing in rankings?

Instead of depending on your marketing company for monthly reports, you can get your own search engine rankings.

To track your rankings, we recommend ProRankTracker (PRT). With this tool, you’ll be able to track both your Organic and Local SEO rankings. Best part, you’re getting the information directly from Google.

If you want more insight into how you’re doing on Local SEO, we recommend Local Falcon . After you sign up for an account, all you do is enter your business name, set the search radius, and enter your keyword.

So, if you’re an NYC personal injury lawyer, you’ll want to enter your firm name (as it appears on your GMB), enter a key term like “NYC personal injury lawyer,” and set a .5 mile radius or 1 mile radius (the denser your city, the lower your radius should be).

Don’t forget to also search for terms like “personal injury lawyer” and “personal injury lawyer near me.”

Improve Your Complete Online Presence – 3rd Party Sites

Make sure that your online presence reflects on your properly. As an attorney, you may have profiles on 3rd party sites without your knowledge.

We recommend that you Google your law firm name to see what comes up.

Update any old profiles with your current contact info and consider updating your pictures.

When you update your BIO on prominent 3rd party sites like Avvo, FindLaw, etc., make sure you include compelling reasons to call you, like experience and results.

Get Listed on Attorney Award Sites – National Trial Lawyers, etc.

This is an easy one. When you receive notification that you’ve been selected, ask them how much it costs to get listed.

PRO TIP : When you submit your bio, try to include links to different pages to get the most benefit from your listing.

Improve Your Local SEO

If you’re interested in local SEO, check out our Local SEO for Lawyers Guide .

If you want to check your local rankings, check out Local Falcon .

Bonus Resources – Learn SEO

Check out some of the top influencers in SEO. If you’re serious about learning SEO, check out the following:

Ryan Stewart

What we love about Ryan is that he tells it like it is and holds nothing back. If you want to learn advanced strategies, reading his blog is a must.

Check out :

• How to Optimize Your Blog Post for SEO
• 19 Link-Building Strategies that Work in 2021
• Step By Step Guide to Technical SEO

Matt Diggity

Like Ryan, Matt puts it all out there. We’re constantly impressed by his methodical approach to SEO.

• Anchor Text Optimization
• The Black Sheep – Why You’re Stuck on Page 2

Rand Fishkin – Moz

If you want to learn SEO, start with anything put out by Moz. This is where a lot of people we know started their SEO journey – with the Moz SEO for beginners guide and Moz’s Whiteboard Fridays.

• Moz SEO For Beginners
• The Essential Local SEO Strategy Guide

You could probably learn almost everything you need to know about SEO from Brian Dean. He’s established himself as one of the top SEO gurus out there. You will gain valuable insight from every article he writes.

• On-Page SEO: The Definitive Guide
• Local SEO: The Definitive Guide

If you’re serious about SEO and don’t know about Neil Patel, you’re probably not that serious about SEO. Improve your SEO skills immediately by following Neil Patel’s blog. For more “Neil Knowledge” (he calls it that),

• How to increase your traffic using Google Search Console

Local SEO Resources

Check out these resources if you want to learn more about Local SEO.

• LawRank’s Local SEO For Lawyers
• Moz Local SEO Cheat Sheet
• BrightLocal’s Complete SEO Guide

Auditing Your Current SEO Campaign

Phone calls/contact forms.

The success of an SEO campaign ultimately depends on:

• Are you getting more calls than before you started the campaign?
• Are you making more money than before you started the campaign?

We’ll explain how to measure the first component.

To do so, you’ll need to install call tracking on your website. We recommend using CallRail .

CallRail allows you to track phone calls and forms sent through your site.

With CallRail, you’ll know how many relevant leads you received monthly.

We aren’t considering the “quality” of the lead, as that is a subjective measure. One firm’s trash is another’s treasure.

What you’ll want to know is how many calls are you getting monthly through your SEO campaign that are relevant to your practice area.

You can also implement call recording. Doing so allows you to listen to your intake team. Why? You need to make sure that your team is handling intakes the way you want them handled.

Tool(s) : CallRail to track calls and contact forms via your website.

Organic SEO Rankings

How do you rank? It’s important that you keep an eye on your organic rankings. We recommend ProRank Tracker .

When looking at your keywords, make sure that you’re focusing on the ones that actually bring business to your office.

For example, a divorce lawyer in Miami might want to track:

• Miami divorce lawyer
• Miami child custody lawyer
• Miami child support lawyer

Make sure that your SEO agency provides you a list of keywords and search volume per keyword. You don’t want to waste your time ranking for keywords that have no search volume.

Tool(s) : ProRank Tracker (or any other organic ranking tool)

How many links are being built monthly (quality over quantity)

There’s a lot of confusion over what counts as a link. When we say a “link,” what we really mean is a referring domain. We’ll explain.

Justia.com is a legal directory. When they link to you, it counts as one referring domain. However, because it’s a directory, Justia could link to you thousands of times. So you could have 1 referring domain and 2,000 links.

Google has publicly stated that they stop giving you credit for links at a certain point (we don’t know what that point is). In other words, the first link from Justia is what really matters. After the first one, you get diminishing returns.

So when you’re inspecting your SEO campaign, you should focus on how many new referring domains you’re getting, not how many links.

Want to know how many referring domains your project has? It’s easy. Head over to Ahrefs and copy and paste your URL in that box and hit the magnifying glass.

You’ll then get a report that looks like the image below. As you can see, this site has 161 referring domain and over 7k backlinks. The important number is the referring domains.

Tool(s) : Ahref

Is Your Site Traffic Growing?

There are two ways to look at your site traffic: Google Search Console (GSC) and SEMRush. We’ll show you how to look on GSC because it’s your site and you should have access.

After you login to GSC, click on performance on the left side. On the middle chart, you’ll see your traffic (the default is a 3-month period). Is it going up, down, flat?

Just to be clear, we’re only looking at your organic search traffic. If you want to see your traffic from all channels (paid ads, directories, etc.), you’ll want to use Google Analytics.

The “Total clicks” box is how many times users have clicked on your result in Google. The “Total impressions” refers to how many times your page has appeared in the results (independent of whether the user clicked on your result).

Are You Getting Content Monthly?

Ideally, your marketing team adds content monthly to your site.

While we don’t advocate content for the sake of content, they should have a game plan and you should be aware of what that game plan is.

How is the Quality of the Content?

When doing a content quality assessment, we suggest you start with your practice area pages. A few items to consider:

• Is the article long enough? Most pages ranking well are in the 1.5k+ word count range.
• Does the article fully cover the topic?
• Is the reading level appropriate for my target audience (usually 9th – 10th grade level)?
• Does the article have header tags (H tags) to break up the content?
• Is the article easy to scan?
• Does the article use images?
• Does the title tag have all the necessary components (CITY + practice area + lawyer)
• Is my article better than the people outranking me? (remember, you have to read these pages like a lay person, not a lawyer).

How is Your Local SEO?

You need to stay on top of your local SEO visibility. Using a tool like Local Falcon , you’ll want to target a 1/2 mile to 1 mile radius using different permutations of your main keyword.

Let’s say you’re a personal injury lawyer in Boston, MA.

You might want to check:

• Boston personal injury lawyer
• Personal injury lawyer
• Personal injury lawyer near me
• Best personal injury lawyer near me

Tool(s) : Local Falcon

Create SILOs for smaller locations near you

If you’re in a competitive city, consider making silos for nearby locations that might not be as competitive.

Example : Los Angeles Divorce Lawyer

You could try making a Burbank silo. How would that look? This is one possible structure:

• yoursite.com/burbank/ (this would be the “family law” page)
• yoursite.com/burbank/divorce-lawyer/
• yoursite.com/burbank/child-custody-lawyer/
• yoursite.com/burbank/child-support-lawyer/

SEO For Lawyers FAQ

Can you guarantee rankings?

No. If a company tells you they guarantee rankings, read the fine-print.

What they usually mean is that they will improve your current rankings. Most companies can do that.

What you probably mean when you ask that question is “Can you guarantee first page rankings?” There’s not one single reputable SEO for lawyers agency that will guarantee rankings.

Ask this instead : Can you show me samples of projects that you’ve ranked on the first page for terms like: “CITY divorce lawyer,” “CITY personal injury lawyer,” and “CITY criminal defense attorney.”

Can I call your current clients?

Reputable SEO agencies have no problem with you calling their existing clients.

With that said, you should only take this step if you are serious about signing with that agency.

Why is SEO for lawyers so expensive?

The real question you should consider is whether the return on investment (ROI) is there. Organic SEO may seem pricey in the beginning before your project gains traction. But once the project gains traction and you start receiving leads, then it should ideally pay for itself several times over.

How long does it take to rank?

We have ranked projects for highly competitive keywords in 3 months. However, it can sometimes take up to 18 months to rank. It really depends on:

• The level of competition in your market
• Your budget
• Your starting point

Why is my competitor outranking me?

SEO boils down to 3 things: Content, Links, and User Experience (UX).

When someone is outranking you, they have you beat on one if not all three of those areas.

I heard SEO doesn’t really work, is that true?

That is not true. We had a potential client say that to us. We asked him, “Who told you that SEO doesn’t work.” His answer: “One of my competitors.”

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Product Management

What is MoSCoW Prioritisation & How to Use it?

Created on:

June 14, 2024

Updated on:

18 mins read

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MoSCoW prioritisation is a prioritisation technique that product managers can use for constructing a hierarchy of priorities during the course of prioritising feature requests or backlogs. MoSCoW prioritisation framework is based on the agile project management method. Product managers use this prioritisation method to identify many factors  as early as possible, such as quality, product pricing, and requirements. 

Product managers can define clear definitions for each priority level, where specifically the MoSCoW prioritisation tackles one of the key drawbacks of less robust prioritising methods. When anything is marked as a “must-have” feature in MoSCoW prioritisation framework, everyone on the product team understands that no one can disregard it throughout the project’s development.

The product team and customer stakeholders work together to fill in the levels of the MoSCoW prioritisation model. Not only should features and concepts be assigned to each level of the MoSCoW prioritisation model, but each level should also have a set amount of resources given to it.

What is MoSCoW Prioritisation ?

When running a prioritising session, MoSCoW is an acronym to help you remember four separate categories. “MoSCoW” stands for “must-have, should-have, could-have, won’t-have” in general.

Let’s take a good look on these acronyms:

This category highlights the requirements or tasks that must be completed for the project to be completed successfully. There’s no avoiding them. It outlines non-negotiable requirements for achieving the desired result. Failure to finish these responsibilities on time may result in negative consequences.

Here are a few questions to consider and ask yourself as a product manager to help you figure out whether tasks or requirements fall into this category:

• Is the project still viable if you don’t finish this task?
• Is it possible to complete the entire project without this requirement?
• Is there any way you can avoid undertaking this task by devising a workaround?

If you answered no, this task would serve as the foundation for the entire project.

As a result, it falls under the “must-have” category. For example, if you’re creating an app, you’ll want to make sure it’s secure to protect users’ personal and sensitive information.

Should-Have

In terms of priority, should-have tasks come after must-haves. Once the product manager is done with both these quadrants a value is added to the project to make it more successful. However, the project will still work if the product manager leave out the should-haves. Put another way; these tasks are significant but not critical to the project’s success.

Should-have category in the prioritisation framework can be created by asking yourself if the project can still move forward if the requirements aren’t met or if there is a workaround. Product managers should, for example, incorporate social networking features within their app, but a product manager can do so without them as well.

Completing could-haves in the MoSCoW prioritisation framework is necessary, but they don’t bring as much value to the project as should-haves, and they also cause less harm if they’re skipped. Product managers can also refer to them as nice-to-haves to fit them into their budget and schedule.

To build this category, read over the list of chores to see what will have the most significant impact (should-haves) and what would provide the most negligible value (could-haves). If possible, a product manager may include a dark mode option in your app.

This category represents the MoSCoW prioritisation method’s lowest priority. It contains tasks that are completed within a given budget and deadline. The absence  or presence of won’t-haves has no bearing on the project’s completion and success. But there may be chances of bearing in the future of this particular project or on another project.

Won’t-have category allows the product managers to focus their attention and resources. For example, if a product manager can add a new security feature to their app through an update to patch software vulnerabilities.

How Does MoSCoW Prioritisation Work?

Do you as a product manager find it challenging to perform your tasks regularly? Organising and prioritising them may be the answer, and the MoSCoW prioritisation approach might assist you with this. 

When a product manager has an extensive list of tasks to complete, multitasking appears to be the best way to manage the time. However, juggling many tasks has the disadvantage of leaving the product manager with a pile of incomplete tasks and a sense of irritation at the end of the day.

The MoSCoW prioritisation method is typically applied early in a project’s life cycle. The team, project managers, department heads, high management, and stakeholders collaborated to create the final list. Everyone with a stake in the project is expected to participate in the process of classifying the various products into distinct categories. This ensures that the project runs well, with everyone understanding and aligned with the project’s and stakeholders’ priorities and objectives.

As a result, the MoSCoW prioritisation method enables projects to work with a broader perspective and obtain consensus on many tasks, allowing for more effective decision-making.

To get the most out of it, there are a few things to bear in mind when utilising the MoSCoW prioritisation method.

1. Balancing MoSCoW Priorities

It’s critical to know precisely what the must-have priorities are before deciding. Defining a product’s minimum usable subset is one way to determine must-haves. This is a statement of a project’s minimum criteria for it to be viable, functional, and, by all accounts, a success.

Other priorities, as a result, automatically become a contingency, with no direct impact on a project’s functionality or success beyond the must-haves.

When using MoSCoW prioritisation to manage a project, balancing all categories of prioritising becomes critical. Having more must-haves than a team can handle or afford is a recipe for disaster. A reasonable rule of thumb is that must-haves should account for no more than 50% of your tasks and team effort. This gives the team time to gain confidence in their work and their ability to meet deadlines.

2. Defining MoSCoW Prioritisation Categories

When discussing priorities with a group of individuals, must-haves are usually obvious to spot. The distinction between “Should-Have” and “Could-Have” priority, on the other hand, is subjective and can be a matter of conflict if there are sharply opposing viewpoints.

As a result, it’s always a good idea for the product managers to be very explicit about the definitions and extent of the categories in question and discuss them with each stakeholder upfront. 

3. Prioritisation Right Time

Prioritisation is vital, and this primarily refers to any new requirements that arise during the course of the project’s development. New requirements will need to be classified using the MoSCoW prioritisation method, but they cannot be too disruptive to the current process. Most importantly, they should not go beyond the previously agreed-upon limit of 50% of work being covered by must-haves since this can quickly demoralise the workforce.

Knowing the right time to prioritise any new requirements is critical to a project’s success.

4. Reviewing Priorities

All priorities must be re-examined and discussed with stakeholders at the end of each deliverable or project increment. The working process frequently reveals incorrect and missing priorities, which must be addressed in the following deliverable. It’s also good for the product manager to go over all of the priorities again because a low-priority task could suddenly become more crucial in the project. 

MoSCoW Prioritisation Rules

The MoSCoW prioritisation rules or principle states that the “musts” should be completed in 50-60% of the time allotted, and the “Must and Should” should be completed in 60-70% of the time. The product manager can satisfy his/her client or boss with 80% of his/her available time, leaving 20% for delighting them. It also means that a product manager can still complete “Must and Should” if they take longer than expected.

So, here’s what you as a product manager should do. Have a discussion about the MoSCoW prioritisation strategy with your clients, stakeholders, or boss. Make sure you’re both on the same page regarding what belongs in which category. 

At first, you’re almost probably not going to be. 

Next, figure out how much time you’ll need for “Must and Should”, and make sure you’re not going over the 60% and 80% limits. This is critical for a few reasons.

To begin with, if “Must and Should” are predicted to use more than 80% of your time, they will require more than 100% if things become sticky, in which case you will fail. 

Second, regularly delivering on “Must and Should” does not usually lead to advancement. They advance by regularly delivering on “Must and Should” while simultaneously pursuing some interesting “Could” opportunities. 

So, how are you going to make your 20% time, and what will you do with it?

When Do We Use This MoSCoW Prioritisation Method?

Prioritisation using the MoSCoW method is utilised early in the project management cycle, but it isn’t always the first step. Before the team begins organising the needs by priority, they must first define the project requirements.

Although the team will categorise all of the project’s requirements by priority during the initial phase of MoSCoW, this is not the end of the process. Reevaluate the remaining milestones after each one is completed.

For example, during the initial MoSCoW prioritisation framework discussion, the product team may have requirement X that falls into the could-have group. However, when they’ve completed a few must-haves, they might reconsider requirement X, concluding that it needs to be implemented sooner rather than later or doesn’t provide any value.

During development, some flexibility is beneficial, but the product team try not to change the MoSCoW prioritisation model so much that it becomes redundant.

How to use MoSCoW Prioritisation?

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when faced with an endless to-do list and other external pressures. Conducting a MoSCoW prioritisation strategy session can assist a product manager and the team in reducing this early stress and formulating a successful strategy! 

Meet the following requirements:

• a team with a compelling reason for creating a product vision 
• defining a shared problem space
• a product description

If possible, an agenda (1-page maximum) to inform everyone about this iteration’s success.

If a product manager lacks several of these crucial components, their prioritisation is likely to be inefficient. Pre-fill the MoSCoW grid with the earlier discussions made by the team while creating this shared understanding. For each item in the grid, use a basic visual code. Before the meeting, be sure to attach the MoSCoW prioritisation matrix or share it on the team communication platform.

Make everyone feel at ease. Explain the procedure and why the group has gathered in the room. Ask questions regarding MoSCoW prioritisation framework and make sure the definitions are clear. Make careful to include the exercise’s time frame: the next release. I’d also like to point out that nothing is ever permanent, and the product team can alter their minds at any time.

The benefit of the MoSCoW prioritisation technique comes from the incredibly stimulating conversations it will elicit. The discussions serve as a coercive tool for quickly bringing the team together. The product manager will also see the areas of misalignment or indecision. On the MoSCoW prioritisation matrix, these points will be easily visible.

Least Aligned Quadrants

It would help to begin with the quadrants that are the least absolute—specifically, the could-have and should-have options.

The suggested path will assist the team in honing their prioritisation skills.

On the left, the product team can see the intended path.

• Could-have: Try to transfer things from the could-have quadrant to the won’t-have or should-have quadrant.
• Should-have: same as above, except criteria, should be moved to the must-have / could-have quadrant.
• Must-have: It’s OK to devote some time and thought to this area.

Prepare a TO-DO list of all the necessities that will not be implemented in this release. This is usually the easiest of the two.

Strong Alignment

The Must-Have and Won’t-Have quadrants should be firmly defined if the product manager already has a good alignment. Begin with the points that have previously been agreed upon.

Must-Have: 

Begin there since this quadrant is where the team’s alignment is formed. Don’t leave any need unaddressed; instead, concentrate on the one marked with a question mark. These can either be aligned or moved to a different quadrant.

Won’t-Have: 

It should also be obvious and quick. Don’t be afraid to rearrange and clarify things.

Should-Have: 

This is where the team should spend most of the time. There will be a lot of intriguing talks to have. The majority of the discussion will revolve around the should-have vs. could-have needs.

3 Tips to run a Successful Prioritisation Meeting  

1. Feel free to prioritise based on the importance of several requirements: start with the team’s most pressing needs.

2. Another option is to go in order: Each participant selects one requirement that they believe is in the incorrect quadrant, one requirement in the correct quadrant, and one absent requirement. The final solution ensures that everyone participates fairly and is very remote-friendly.

3. Ensure that your team devotes adequate time to each quadrant

When to Apply the MoSCoW Prioritisation Method?

There are various uses for MoSCoW prioritisation method, but the common thread is that it brings together stakeholders from across an organisation. Primarily when those teams represent various departments, levels of commitment, and enthusiasm for the project under development. 

Other advantages include:

• Consensus-building
• Framing the project establishes a clear direction.
• It helps in gaining a larger perspective.
• Ensures that everyone’s expectations are met.

1. Developing New Projects

The use of MoSCoW prioritisation method aids in the breakdown of the crucial early steps. When a product needs to return on investment rapidly, this method is especially critical when there is a limited budget and a short schedule.

MoSCoW prioritisation is an excellent framing method. When done correctly, it can assist in defining the important core qualities and re-calibrate thinking. The MoSCoW prioritisation process provides advantages that go beyond simply prioritising the development of a product.

2. Keeping Expectations in Check

Prioritisation ’s overall purpose is to keep you focused on what counts - to keep the product manager on track to ensure that he/she meets particular deadlines for specific deliverables. However, it’s easy to get sidetracked along the road as people’s opinions shift and new obstacles emerge.

MoSCoW prioritisation method establishes the tone for a product schedule and serves as a source of accountability for all interested parties. Everyone at this point knows what needs to be accomplished and what may be expected during each sprint. As a result, scope creep is less likely to stymie development, and unreasonable expectations are less likely to arise.

Below is an example of prioritising product backlog using MoSCoW method.

Best Practices for Using MoSCoW Prioritisation

Project managers can use the MoSCoW prioritisation technique to prioritise work. The work that can be completed quickly in a limited timeframe. If the team lacks budget or has limited resources, for example, MoSCoW prioritisation method can be used to evaluate which tasks can be completed within those constraints.

This is especially valuable for managers who are responsible for multiple projects or cross-functional teams. This is because cross-functional teams are frequently bound by the priorities of another organisation or department. While the team is working on a new product release, there are chances that the other project manager may pressurise them to meet a deadline for a different customers’ project.

And as we all know, things come up during the course of a prioritisation life cycle.

Although effective planning helps teams remain nimble, the MoSCoW prioritisation approach may assist product teams in dealing with even the most challenging and unanticipated hurdles.

Let’s imagine the product manager outsourced the responsibility of making the goodie bag to one of its team members. That’s the small bag that each participant gets when they arrive at the location, and it usually contains a few freebies. The team member’s responsibility is to collect and physically produce the goodie bag’s precise needs.

The team members will want to know the expectations of the product manager and what they must present to you being the product manager at the end of the assignment when you delegate it. It would help if you as a product manager adequately conveyed all of the required facts to them, such as:

The requirements (MUST):

There must be 200 goody bags available. Include a copy of the event program in each bag, and both the bag and the event program must be made of recyclable materials.

The deliverables (SHOULD):

There should be three free branded products inside, such as a sheet, pencil, and stencil if at all possible.

The explanations (COULD):

If a right sponsor does the funding, the goody bag could contain something delicious, such as candy bars. As an added bonus, the bag could include a small soda can.

The specifications (WOULD):

There will be no alcohol in the bags, and the total weight will not exceed one kilogram.

MoSCoW Prioritisation Real Time Example

MoSCoW prioritisation strategy can practically be used in any industry or project type because it has more to do with project decision-making than the topic matter itself. Here is a example of MoSCoW prioritisation method to get the product manager and the business analyst started on their very first draft:

Let's look at a simple real-time scenario. How do the PM and BA classify the features that go into making a child's bike?

Two wheels and a frame are required.

• Pedals for ability to adjust the saddle
• Brakes for safe stopping
• Chain safety cover to stabilise or to fit them if needed (the last two features can be classified as "could-haves" depending on how important they are to the child/parents). 

Horn to warn onlookers; lovely bike colour; front suspension; and Presta valves for inflating tires are all options.

Won't-Have

Valve caps to cover the tire valves are not included, nor is a Bluetooth bike speaker.

Although it may appear weird that the pedals and brakes are not included in the "must-have" category, they are not required for a child's bike. A bike is a two-wheeled transportation device by definition; therefore, it must have two wheels and a frame to connect the wheels, but everything else is up for debate and negotiation. 

Small children, for example, can learn to ride a bike by merely using their feet, eliminating the need for pedals and brakes. This basic example also demonstrates how expectations and requirements are frequently at odds. People frequently have high expectations, but these are not the same as must-have needs, which are essential and non-negotiable.

The MoSCoW prioritisation technique can be applied to various project areas.

MoSCoW Prioritisation Advantages

1. Developers can be confident that they aren't missing any essential requirements when requirements that don't satisfy the "must-have" level are placed only slightly above things that won't be produced at all. Because if something vital comes up, it can be pushed up the priority list, this higher level of trust helps to reduce project risk.

2. MoSCoW distinguishes between "must-have" and "won't-have" features because each represents a unique business case that necessitates a unique approach to analysis and solution building. With this distinction, it's easy to decide which features are essential for the product to function and which are great but not necessary.

3. Rather than building a single list of everything that needs to be included, using MoSCoW to prioritise requirements allows product managers to include or eliminate items from their backlog as they are discovered.

4. The MoSCoW technique provides a consistent vernacular for discussing needs during backlog grooming sessions or sprint planning meetings. This helps developers focus on what is genuinely important, improving estimation accuracy and allowing them to fulfil sprint goals with fewer compromises.

5. Customers will feel less frustrated with the development process as they see their feature requests executed, even if many of their suggestions were never intended to be created in the first place. They are more likely to accept what was completed because it met their requirements.

6. When a product manager uses MoSCoW to prioritise requirements, he/she can start with the highest-value items and subsequently go on to the lower-value items. This helps the product manager better grasp the problem space and provide a better solution by allowing them to learn more about themselves and the problems they need to tackle before committing to their development.

7. The prioritisation process guarantees that all stakeholders are on the same page regarding the most significant backlog items. Because developers know which items will be implemented, providing consistent estimates at each product backlog grooming session or sprint planning meeting over the development life cycle becomes easier.

8. As previously stated, the MoSCoW method is a simple and effective way to prioritise needs to match development costs. If any adjustments are needed as the story progresses, product managers can make them without worrying about how they will affect other things on the backlog.

MoSCoW Prioritisation Drawbacks

Although the MoSCoW prioritisation approach is reasonably simple, it does have certain shortcomings.

1. Because the MoSCoW prioritisation classification rules are subjective, an imbalance exists between the necessary (must have or mandatory) and the slightly desirable. When it comes to “must-have” and “should-have” lists, the blurring edges between categories make it difficult to discern which category a feature belongs in. 

2. However, “should-haves” and “could-haves” can equally be said.” This occurs as a result of the subjective nature of requirements. As a result, features or stories assigned to different categories should be addressed with considerable care and consideration, and the classification chosen should be agreed upon (or clearly explained to) all stakeholders.

3. One of the most prominent criticisms of MoSCoW is that it lacks an impartial framework for comparing initiatives. The product team will need to apply this process to their analysis. The MoSCoW prioritisation method only works if the product team along with the product manager employs a consistent scoring system for all of their projects.

4. The technique is inconsistent in its application and lacks detailed planning for each feature. Even though it may define priorities fast, the MoSCoW prioritisation  technique prioritises backlog items in four categories (similar to the Kano model, which prioritises features in separate categories). 

5. Therefore, it does not add any feature/backlog item sequencing and lacks specific planning. This makes it difficult for product managers to determine the relative importance of one feature over another within the same category. Eventually, this vulnerability in MoSCoW prioritisation approach might jeopardise the entire release.

6. To figure out which of your team's activities are must-haves for your product and just nice-to-haves, a product manager will need as much context as possible. Someone from their sales staff, for example, could be able to tell the product manager how crucial (or irrelevant) a proposed new feature is to potential purchasers. One disadvantage of the MoSCoW method is that the product manager may make poor decisions about where to slot each initiative unless the product team receives input from all relevant stakeholders.

7. Their opinions about individual efforts may sway the product team members of the product manager because MoSCoW lacks an objective evaluation procedure. One concern of utilising MoSCoW prioritisation is that a team may assume it is an objective means of measuring the things on their list. They discuss one effort, determine that it is a "must-have," and then move on to the next. On the other side, the product managers’ team will demand a clear and objective structure for ranking all activities. This is the only method to reduce the entire team's pro- or anti-item biases.

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The MoSCoW method of prioritization

Anne-Laure Le Cunff

Whether you are trying to decide which product feature to ship first, or what task to place at the top of your to-do list, it can sometimes be hard to decide on the right prioritization. That’s when a strategic approach can be helpful. The MoSCoW method is a simple, effective way to bring order to potential requirements by placing them into four distinct categories: must, should, could, won’t.

Bringing order to potential requirements

The MoSCoW method was developed by Dai Clegg, a specialist in data modelling who was working as a consultant at Oracle. The acronym is derived from the first letter of each of the four prioritization categories, with interstitial O’s added to make the word pronounceable. The goal was to create a more explicit semantic that was not as vague as the traditional “high, medium, low” method of prioritization. The four categories are as follow:

• Must. These are the non-negotiable requirements, to tackle as soon as possible. For instance, this category could include crucial features for a minimum viable product, or preparation you must absolutely undertake before a client meeting. These requirements are considered critical for the project to be successful.
• Should. This category includes important requirements that are not as critical, and that can potentially wait until another work session. Working on these would improve the project’s chances of success, but is not essential.
• Could. This is where you can include all the “nice to have” potential requirements which are desirable but can be safely ignored in case of lack of time and resources.
• Won’t. Anything in this category can be removed from your task list. These potential requirements are either not appropriate to tackle at this time, or not aligned at all with your overall goals.

While the MoSCoW method is incredibly simple to explain, it does come with a few limitations. But once you apply some caveats and combine it with other productivity methods, it does shine as a quick way to tackle a long task list.

How to use the MoSCoW method

While the MoSCoW method emerged within the context of project management, it can be used to bring order to any kind of list of requirements, whether it’s a list of potential product features, or a list of personal tasks. However, placing these requirements into one of the four categories is only the beginning of the prioritization process. Follow these steps to make the most of the MoSCoW method and avoid its common pitfalls.

• Place items in one of the four categories. When you are unsure, always place requirements in the lower category — for example, should rather than must . You will be able to upgrade or downgrade requirements in the future, so don’t worry if you are not certain about the placement of a few items.
• Block time in your calendar. Start with items in the must category, then go through items in the should category, but do not fill your whole calendar . Stop whenever your calendar starts getting busy. It’s important to keep some wiggle room in case some tasks take longer than expected.
• Regularly review the four categories. Priorities can change. During your weekly review, have a look at the four categories and consider whether the prioritization still makes sense. In doubt, it can be helpful to combine the MoSCoW method with the Eisenhower method , which includes a time component to decide what’s urgent and important, important but not urgent, urgent but not important, or neither urgent nor important. The Eisenhower method can also be used to decide what to work on between multiple requirements with the same category.

That’s it — the MoSCoW method is a straightforward technique to add to your productivity toolbox. You can use it on your own, or to bring order to your team’s goals. Just don’t be fooled by its apparent simplicity: it does require regular reviews and time boxing in order to work best.

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MoSCoW Prioritization

What is moscow prioritization.

MoSCoW prioritization, also known as the MoSCoW method or MoSCoW analysis, is a popular prioritization technique for managing requirements. 

  The acronym MoSCoW represents four categories of initiatives: must-have, should-have, could-have, and won’t-have, or will not have right now. Some companies also use the “W” in MoSCoW to mean “wish.”

What is the History of the MoSCoW Method?

Software development expert Dai Clegg created the MoSCoW method while working at Oracle. He designed the framework to help his team prioritize tasks during development work on product releases.

You can find a detailed account of using MoSCoW prioritization in the Dynamic System Development Method (DSDM) handbook . But because MoSCoW can prioritize tasks within any time-boxed project, teams have adapted the method for a broad range of uses.

How Does MoSCoW Prioritization Work?

Before running a MoSCoW analysis, a few things need to happen. First, key stakeholders and the product team need to get aligned on objectives and prioritization factors. Then, all participants must agree on which initiatives to prioritize.

At this point, your team should also discuss how they will settle any disagreements in prioritization. If you can establish how to resolve disputes before they come up, you can help prevent those disagreements from holding up progress.

Finally, you’ll also want to reach a consensus on what percentage of resources you’d like to allocate to each category.

With the groundwork complete, you may begin determining which category is most appropriate for each initiative. But, first, let’s further break down each category in the MoSCoW method.

Start prioritizing your roadmap

Moscow prioritization categories.

1. Must-have initiatives

As the name suggests, this category consists of initiatives that are “musts” for your team. They represent non-negotiable needs for the project, product, or release in question. For example, if you’re releasing a healthcare application, a must-have initiative may be security functionalities that help maintain compliance.

The “must-have” category requires the team to complete a mandatory task. If you’re unsure about whether something belongs in this category, ask yourself the following.

If the product won’t work without an initiative, or the release becomes useless without it, the initiative is most likely a “must-have.”

2. Should-have initiatives

Should-have initiatives are just a step below must-haves. They are essential to the product, project, or release, but they are not vital. If left out, the product or project still functions. However, the initiatives may add significant value.

“Should-have” initiatives are different from “must-have” initiatives in that they can get scheduled for a future release without impacting the current one. For example, performance improvements, minor bug fixes, or new functionality may be “should-have” initiatives. Without them, the product still works.

3. Could-have initiatives

Another way of describing “could-have” initiatives is nice-to-haves. “Could-have” initiatives are not necessary to the core function of the product. However, compared with “should-have” initiatives, they have a much smaller impact on the outcome if left out.

So, initiatives placed in the “could-have” category are often the first to be deprioritized if a project in the “should-have” or “must-have” category ends up larger than expected.

4. Will not have (this time)

One benefit of the MoSCoW method is that it places several initiatives in the “will-not-have” category. The category can manage expectations about what the team will not include in a specific release (or another timeframe you’re prioritizing).

Placing initiatives in the “will-not-have” category is one way to help prevent scope creep . If initiatives are in this category, the team knows they are not a priority for this specific time frame. 

Some initiatives in the “will-not-have” group will be prioritized in the future, while others are not likely to happen. Some teams decide to differentiate between those by creating a subcategory within this group.

How Can Development Teams Use MoSCoW?

  Although Dai Clegg developed the approach to help prioritize tasks around his team’s limited time, the MoSCoW method also works when a development team faces limitations other than time. For example: 

Prioritize based on budgetary constraints.

What if a development team’s limiting factor is not a deadline but a tight budget imposed by the company? Working with the product managers, the team can use MoSCoW first to decide on the initiatives that represent must-haves and the should-haves. Then, using the development department’s budget as the guide, the team can figure out which items they can complete. 

Prioritize based on the team’s skillsets.

A cross-functional product team might also find itself constrained by the experience and expertise of its developers. If the product roadmap calls for functionality the team does not have the skills to build, this limiting factor will play into scoring those items in their MoSCoW analysis.

Prioritize based on competing needs at the company.

Cross-functional teams can also find themselves constrained by other company priorities. The team wants to make progress on a new product release, but the executive staff has created tight deadlines for further releases in the same timeframe. In this case, the team can use MoSCoW to determine which aspects of their desired release represent must-haves and temporarily backlog everything else.

What Are the Drawbacks of MoSCoW Prioritization?

  Although many product and development teams have prioritized MoSCoW, the approach has potential pitfalls. Here are a few examples.

1. An inconsistent scoring process can lead to tasks placed in the wrong categories.

  One common criticism against MoSCoW is that it does not include an objective methodology for ranking initiatives against each other. Your team will need to bring this methodology to your analysis. The MoSCoW approach works only to ensure that your team applies a consistent scoring system for all initiatives.

Pro tip: One proven method is weighted scoring, where your team measures each initiative on your backlog against a standard set of cost and benefit criteria. You can use the weighted scoring approach in ProductPlan’s roadmap app .

2. Not including all relevant stakeholders can lead to items placed in the wrong categories.

To know which of your team’s initiatives represent must-haves for your product and which are merely should-haves, you will need as much context as possible.

For example, you might need someone from your sales team to let you know how important (or unimportant) prospective buyers view a proposed new feature.

One pitfall of the MoSCoW method is that you could make poor decisions about where to slot each initiative unless your team receives input from all relevant stakeholders. 

3. Team bias for (or against) initiatives can undermine MoSCoW’s effectiveness.

Because MoSCoW does not include an objective scoring method, your team members can fall victim to their own opinions about certain initiatives. 

One risk of using MoSCoW prioritization is that a team can mistakenly think MoSCoW itself represents an objective way of measuring the items on their list. They discuss an initiative, agree that it is a “should have,” and move on to the next.

But your team will also need an objective and consistent framework for ranking all initiatives. That is the only way to minimize your team’s biases in favor of items or against them.

When Do You Use the MoSCoW Method for Prioritization?

MoSCoW prioritization is effective for teams that want to include representatives from the whole organization in their process. You can capture a broader perspective by involving participants from various functional departments.

Another reason you may want to use MoSCoW prioritization is it allows your team to determine how much effort goes into each category. Therefore, you can ensure you’re delivering a good variety of initiatives in each release.

What Are Best Practices for Using MoSCoW Prioritization?

If you’re considering giving MoSCoW prioritization a try, here are a few steps to keep in mind. Incorporating these into your process will help your team gain more value from the MoSCoW method.

1. Choose an objective ranking or scoring system.

Remember, MoSCoW helps your team group items into the appropriate buckets—from must-have items down to your longer-term wish list. But MoSCoW itself doesn’t help you determine which item belongs in which category.

You will need a separate ranking methodology. You can choose from many, such as:

• Weighted scoring
• Value vs. complexity
• Buy-a-feature
• Opportunity scoring

For help finding the best scoring methodology for your team, check out ProductPlan’s article: 7 strategies to choose the best features for your product .

2. Seek input from all key stakeholders.

To make sure you’re placing each initiative into the right bucket—must-have, should-have, could-have, or won’t-have—your team needs context. 

At the beginning of your MoSCoW method, your team should consider which stakeholders can provide valuable context and insights. Sales? Customer success? The executive staff? Product managers in another area of your business? Include them in your initiative scoring process if you think they can help you see opportunities or threats your team might miss. 

3. Share your MoSCoW process across your organization.

MoSCoW gives your team a tangible way to show your organization prioritizing initiatives for your products or projects. 

The method can help you build company-wide consensus for your work, or at least help you show stakeholders why you made the decisions you did.

Communicating your team’s prioritization strategy also helps you set expectations across the business. When they see your methodology for choosing one initiative over another, stakeholders in other departments will understand that your team has thought through and weighed all decisions you’ve made. 

If any stakeholders have an issue with one of your decisions, they will understand that they can’t simply complain—they’ll need to present you with evidence to alter your course of action.  

Related Terms

2×2 prioritization matrix / Eisenhower matrix / DACI decision-making framework / ICE scoring model / RICE scoring model

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