In digital marketing, there are many scenarios where smaller firms compete against larger ones, and a prime example of that is within the legal sector where small law firms try to outrank larger law firms on Google using SEO, which they often do very successfully.
Whilst a larger legal business may have more resources, including finances, thankfully none of Google’s ranking factors for the results on its search engine is how big a company is or how much money it has in the bank. Indeed, every website, regardless of who or what owns it, has as much chance of ranking on Google’s top positions as any other.
What differentiates law firm website rankings, is not the size of the law firm, but how well that law firm has carried out its SEO strategy. What this can mean is that, even if your law firm is not the biggest in your area, you still have every opportunity to generate new clients via the internet by ranking well on Google.
Be aware, that this is not necessarily an easy task. It requires you to follow several tried and tested tactics, and the seven most effective of these are outlined below. Follow them, and you can outrank even the biggest law firms in your area.
#1 – Ensure Your Google Business Profile Is Optimised
Google allows every business, including your law firm, to claim their Google Business Profile. This is a listing within Google that can show up for search terms you are trying to rank for. In it, you can have your business details plus client reviews, images, map location, and information on your legal services.
#2 – Create Multiple Local Citations
The more places that identify your business online and link back to your website, the more Google pays attention. This is why local citations such as business directories should be sought and the basic details for your law firm submitted to them all with the proviso that you make each one identical and 100% accurate.
#3 – Identify Low Competition Keywords
A big mistake many smaller businesses make is they try to compete for high-volume keywords which are the most difficult to rank for. You can have quicker and more success aiming for less competitive keywords and ranking for them, which in many cases can generate as much traffic cumulatively.
#4 – Maximise The Local Identity Of Your Website
The fact that you are a local law firm competing for local clients should not be forgotten. That is why making your website unquestionably one targeting your local catchment area should be a priority with actions such as dedicated pages for individual areas and location-based keywords throughout your content.
#5 – Acquire Backlinks From Well-Established Websites
You might be a smaller law firm than others, but that does not mean you cannot utilise the authority of other legal websites that are not necessarily competing with you. In particular, acquiring backlinks from high authority and well-established legal websites gets Google’s attention and boosts your website’s authority.
#6 – Ensure Every Element Within Your Website Is User Friendly
This is something where you can gain an advantage over larger law firms. By remaining focused on your website giving visitors the best possible experience, you fit Google’s ranking criteria perfectly. You achieve this via great content, a well-designed website, and making it easy to navigate throughout it.
#7 – Never Stop Analysing And Optimising
Larger businesses tend to be slow to change their ways, which gives you another advantage when it comes to outranking them. If you continuously analyse and optimise your website and other aspects of your SEO, it will bear fruit in terms of Google repeatedly ranking it higher.