What Makes SEO for Lawyers Different From Other Industries?

SEO for lawyers isn’t the same as SEO for those in another industry. It just isn’t. It’s more important and has to be executed differently. When you understand why it’s different, you’ll know what you have to do to stand out from the rest. 

More People Use Search Engines for Lawyers Than Other Industries 

Studies have shown that more than 95% of people who need legal advice use a search engine to find it. That’s higher than many, many other industries. While other forms of advertising can be effective, there are so many people who need legal advice in your area looking for law firms online that SEO for lawyers is a necessity. 

Additionally, other attorneys understand this. So, that means the competition is even fiercer. In some other industries, business owners may have the luxury of choosing to take time off from SEO or to only invest a bit in it. Attorneys, to succeed, need an effective SEO strategy. 

Paid Search Isn’t as Effective for Lawyers 

Attorneys, understandably, sometimes opt for paid search as opposed to SEO. It’s something that can be bought with rewards that can potentially be attained quicker. Even the best SEO for lawyers strategy can take a few months to get some traction, and many lawyers may go with paid search instead. 

However, paid search just isn’t as effective. That’s true in both the short and long term. Studies have also shown that 80% of folks who go online to look for attorneys ignore paid search results. So, even if you dump a bunch of money into it, odds are that you’re unlikely to get the results you’re looking for. Yes, you may get some clicks, some conversions. But, that isn’t sustainable nor is it as fruitful as SEO. 

As part of a full-service digital marketing strategy, Paid Search can be very effective. However, as your sole digital marketing strategy, it’s likely to be lacking. Paid traffic prices rise often. SEO, on the other hand, over time, can bring you consistent, rising results. 

Lawyers Have to Be Seen as Authorities Online 

If you’re a retail location, you have to show that you offer great products. Your website, content marketing, social media, and more will be filled with pictures, videos, and other forms of content showing that you make fashionable shirts, great pants, or some other similar product. Lawyers aren’t like that. 

To succeed with SEO, lawyers have to show that they’re authoritative. They need to be able to demonstrate to potential clients that they, quite literally, know what they’re talking about. This makes sense when you think about it: there are much higher personal stakes when someone needs a lawyer versus when they’re looking for fashionable shirts online (or something similar). 

For example, lawyers’ SEO can be greatly helped by being seen as a “topical authority.” With that, it means it is all the more likely that they’ll receive relevant, organic backlinks. Moreover, users will spend that much more time reading their content and more. Speaking of that content, it can appear in the “People Also Ask” section. 

Just as important (if not more so), topical authority will make it possible for lawyers to be seen as specialists instead of generalists. Another key difference between lawyers and other industries online: lawyers are best served by being seen as specialized workers. 

Very rarely does someone need “an attorney.” Instead, what they need is a bankruptcy attorney. Or perhaps a personal injury attorney. Better still: a motorcycle injury attorney in their area, and so forth. Best SEO practices, including being established as an authority and more, can help with exactly that. 

SEO for Lawyers Partners

As attorneys’ SEO needs are different from that of other industries, if you’re going to hire a digital marketing agency, you want a digital marketing agency that’s familiar with what attorneys need. There are other agencies that may say that they can help any company with their SEO, but, as we’ve seen, a law firm is not like any other company. 

That’s where we come in. Here at Website Depot, we offer SEO packages that are just for attorneys. For a free consultation with our SEO for lawyers experts, call (888) 477-9540.