Search engine rankings are big business for attorneys looking to generate leads online. If you’re not on Page 1 of a search result, you can pretty much forget about being found online (80% of online searchers don’t go past Page 1 to find what they’re looking for). From content marketing to SEO to PPC to social search, there does not seem to be a shortage of opportunities to increase a law firm’s online ranking. The big question is: Is what you’re doing working?
Moz, a web-based company dedicated to studying the science of search, recently released their 2015 Local Search Engine Rankings Factors report. This report indicates that, not surprisingly, Google places more weight on certain factors than others… So what are those factors and how can you improve your law firm’s search engine ranking?
Google Local
First, there’s Google Local (your Google+ profile). Many attorneys are interested in marketing their services to a specific geographic area. You would, therefore, likely be most interested in how your site ranks among the top 3 local search results for search terms relevant to your practice area(s) and location(s). According to Moz, what Google is most likely to look at when determining Google Local placement is:
- Physical Address in City of Search
- Consistency of Structured Citations
- Proper Category Associations
- Proximity of Address to the Point of Search
- Quality/Authority of Structured Citations
- Domain Authority of Website
- Product / Service Keyword in Business Title
- City, State in Landing Page Title
- HTML NAP Matching Location NAP
- Click-Through Rate from Search Results
The list continues, but hopefully you get the picture: maintaining an active, strategic presence on your Google+ page will benefit your law firm in term’s of local search.
Organic Search
If you’ve been focusing on organic search, do not despair — it is still very important! Organic search results are those non-local results in Google that do not list the business name, address, phone number, website, and reviews. They are the rankings in Google under the local results, and the results that appear if local results (also referred to as “Stack” or “Snack Pack” results) do not appear for that particular search query.
When it comes to organic placement in search results, Google is looking closely at your website. And here’s what the search engine giant is looking for:
- Domain Authority of Website
- Quality/Authority of Inbound Links to Domain
- City,State in Google+ Landing Page Title
- Click-Through Rate from Search Results
- Topical (Product/Service) Keyword Relevance of Domain Content
- Diversity of Inbound Links to Domain
- Geographic (City/Neighborhood) Keyword Relevance of Domain Content
- Physical Address in City of Search
- Quality/Authority of Structured Citations
- City, State in Most/All Website Title Tags
Again, the list continues… It is more important than ever to have a professionally designed website that takes the 50+ search ranking factors into close consideration, ensuring your law firm has the greatest likelihood of appearing on the Holy Grail of search — Page 1.
The Takeaway
The takeaway for both Google Local and Organic Search is:
- On-page website signals (name, address, and phone number listed on website; local and practice area keywords in page titles and headlines; alt image tags; etc.) are a must
- Link signals (anchor text of inbound links; quality of websites linking to your firm’s site; number of inbound links; etc.) are key
Image Courtesy of MOZ
- ‘My Business’ signals (proper categorization of your Google+ Local business page; name, address, and phone number on Google+ Local business page matching law firm name, address, and phone number on website; etc.) are not to be ignored
- External location signals (ensuring that your law firm name, address, and phone number appear the same on all trusted citation sites; quality of citation sources; etc.) are still relevant
- Behavioral and mobile signals (click-through rates; mobile click-to-calls; etc.) matter
- Review signals (number of reviews; review scores; diversity; etc.) are important (learn more about the value of a strong client testimonial here)
- Social signals (amount of Google+ authority; number of Facebook likes; followers on Twitter; etc.) still count — so how is your law firm’s social media marketing campaign working?
For more information on how to secure Page 1 placement on Google, or to determine whether your website and online presence meets the criteria listed above, contact our legal marketing professionals for a complimentary website audit today.
