SEO is the most effective and powerful form of marketing for personal injury lawyers.
But for most lawyers, SEO goes untapped.
In this article we will cover everything from what SEO is, how to implement it, and tracking your progress.
So grab a coffee, sit back, and uncover the secrets to ranking your site on Google.
Why Is SEO Important For Personal Injury Firms?
Search engine optimization, or SEO for short, is the process of optimizing a website to improve its visibility and ranking in search engine results pages.
This involves various techniques that aim to help search engines understand the content and structure of a website, and to present it as a relevant and valuable resource to users who are searching for information on a particular topic.
By focusing on SEO, you can turn your personal injury website into a lead generating machine that consistently delivers new clients to your door.
Increased Visibility
Over 80% of respondents from a study performed by ilawyermarketing said that when finding a personal injury lawyer online, they use Google. Meaning that if you aren’t actively trying to show up for search terms around personal injury law, you’re missing out on a huge portion of your addressable market.
Personal injury law is a highly competitive field, and there are likely many firms competing for the same potential clients.
By implementing SEO best practices, personal injury firms can improve their visibility and increase their chances of appearing at the top of search engine results pages for relevant search queries. This can lead to increased traffic to their website and more potential clients.
Targeted Traffic
SEO allows personal injury firms to target specific keywords and phrases that potential clients may be searching for. By optimizing their website for these keywords, they can attract more targeted traffic to their site, increasing the chances that visitors will convert into clients.
For example, someone who may have recently been involved in a car accident might type “car accident lawyer near me” into Google.
By building out a dedicated service page targeting this keyword, searchers are far more likely to discover your business and convert into a client.
By performing detailed keyword research, you can discover thousands of searches just like this one which will drive high intent traffic to your site.
If you don’t have a page built out to target these individual terms, the likely hood people will find your firm online is low.
Credibility
Ranking at the top of search engine results pages can give personal injury firms a sense of credibility and authority in the eyes of potential clients. Most people view businesses that rank on the first page of Google as high quality, and for good reason.
Businesses that have taken the time to optimize their sites and provide high quality information show searchers that they care. This can trigger a phenomenon known as “reciprocity“. Reciprocity is the idea that by providing something valuable with no expectation of something in return, people are more likely to give something back, i.e. become a client.
By building out high quality content that adresses your clients questions like, “Can I sue for a car accident in (enter location)” “cost of a personal injury lawyer in (enter location)” and “personal injury laws in (enter location), you provide value first.
This is known as “content marketing” and is one of the most important parts of SEO.
Cost-effective Marketing
Compared to other forms of marketing, SEO can be a cost-effective way for personal injury firms to reach potential clients.
Unlike other forms of online marketing like PPC (Pay-Per-Click), SEO is “evergreen“, meaning that the traffic it provides is continuous and free.
When running a PPC campaign, constant money is spent in order to show up on the first page of Google, in combination with low click through rates ( 2% compared with SEO’s 31%) and conversion rate optimization, PPC can be a costly expenditure.
SEO on the other hand, provides constant traffic to your site with little to no upkeep, and no extra expenditure.
Once a page is ranking on the first page of Google, it can stay there for months or even years, constantly generating fresh, high quality traffic.
So, for personal injury law, SEO is the best and most cost effective approach to marketing available.
Understanding Personal Injury SEO
SEO can be a complicated and arduous topic to understand, thats why we have broken the process down into a consumable and easy to understand process.
Although SEO may seem boring, we assure you that implementing these strategies will provide the greatest investment opportunity for your law firm.
So, stick around and learn about how SEO works and how it can help you grow your firm.
Keyword research and selection
Finding the right keywords is an essential tool in your SEO arsenal. These must have a high search volume and low competition. Tools like SEMRush are vital for keyword research.
Keyword research for personal injury firms involves identifying and targeting the most relevant and high-value keywords and phrases that potential clients are using when searching for legal services related to personal injury.
Here are some steps involved in keyword research for personal injury firms:
1. Brainstorm
Start by brainstorming a list of potential keywords and phrases that are relevant to your personal injury law firm. Think about the types of cases your firm handles, the locations you serve, and the services you offer. You can also look at your website analytics to see what keywords visitors are using to find your site.
2. Research
Use a keyword research tool such as Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, SEMRush or Moz to identify related keywords and phrases that potential clients are using. These tools can help you identify search volume, competition, and potential traffic for each keyword.
3. Competitor analysis
Look at your competitor’s website to see what keywords they are targeting. This can give you ideas for keywords to target that you may have missed in your initial brainstorming.
4. Long-tail keywords
Consider targeting long-tail keywords, which are longer and more specific phrases that potential clients may be searching for. Long tailed keywords are search terms like “car accident lawyer in baltimore” vs short tail keywords like “personal injury lawyer”. While long-tail keywords may have lower search volume, they can be easier to rank for and can lead to more targeted traffic to your website.
5. Keyword grouping
Group keywords into themes or categories. This can help you organize your content and ensure that each page on your website is optimized for a specific set of keywords.
For example, instead of simply posting blogs about car accidents, slip and fall accidents, and work place injuries, you would group these one by one, covering all queries for each group topic.
Group one: Car Accidents
- “What to do after a car accident”
- “Car accident settlement calculator”
- “How to prove fault in a car accident”
- “Average settlement for car accident injuries”
Group two: Slip and Fall Accidents
- “Slip and fall settlement amounts”
- “How to prove fault in a slip and fall case”
- “Slip and fall accident compensation”
- “Premises liability and slip and fall accidents”
You would continue in this manner until you have exhausted each topic thoroughly.
Not only does this provide an immense value to searchers, it helps search engines understand that you are a trusted authority in the space, making it easier to rank for higher intent search terms, which are more likely to cause a visitor to convert into a client.
This is all part of building an effective “Sales Funnel“.
6. Use keywords in content
Once you have identified your target keywords, incorporate them into your website’s content, including the titles, headers, meta descriptions, and body text of each page. This will help search engines understand what your website is about and improve your chances of ranking for your target keywords.
By conducting keyword research and incorporating relevant keywords and phrases into your website’s content, personal injury firms can improve their search engine rankings, attract more targeted traffic to their website, and ultimately, generate more clients and revenue.
On-Page Optimization
On-page optimization is an important component of a successful search engine optimization strategy. This technique involves optimizing the content and structure of a web page to make it more appealing to both search engines and human users.
The process of on-page optimization includes a range of techniques, such as optimizing the page’s title tag, meta description, headers, and body text for specific keywords and phrases. In addition, it may involve restructuring and redesigning the page’s layout to make it more user-friendly and visually appealing.
The primary objective of on-page optimization is to ensure that a web page provides visitors with a high-quality, relevant, and user-friendly experience, while also communicating its significance and value to search engines.
By implementing these optimization techniques, businesses and website owners can increase their chances of ranking higher in search engine results pages for relevant keywords and phrases, and ultimately, attract more traffic and potential customers to their website.
Content Creation and Promotion
As stated above, content is the heart and blood of every SEO campaign. Aside from the nitty gritty technicals of SEO, content is what provides value to searchers and increases your sites traffic.
In order to devlope an effective SEO content strategy for personal injury law, follow these steps.
1. Define the target audience:
This is the first step in developing an SEO content strategy.
In the case of a personal injury firm, the target audience could be individuals who have been injured in accidents and are seeking legal representation. Understanding their demographics, interests, and pain points can help tailor the content strategy to their needs.
2. Identify relevant keywords:
Once the target audience has been defined, the next step is to identify the relevant keywords that searchers are likely to use when looking for legal services. Keyword research can help identify the high-volume, low-competition keywords that are most likely to bring traffic to the website.
3. Plan the content:
With the target audience and relevant keywords in mind, the next step is to plan the content. Some examples of content that could be created for a personal injury firm include blog posts, case studies, FAQs, and resource guides. The goal of this content should be the always fulfill user intent as fast and clearly as possible.
4. Optimize the content:
As covered above, the content should be optimized for both search engines and human readers. This includes using relevant keywords in the title, URL, and throughout the content, as well as including internal and external links to other relevant resources.
5. Promote the content:
Once the content is published, it’s important to promote it through various channels. One mistake we often see is clients expecting traffic to come rolling in once a blog is published, unfortunately this is rarely the case. By performing activities like sharing on social media, or sending out email newsletters you can reach a wider audience.
Additionally, Google monitors social accounts attached to your website, and non organic visitors. This means that the more active you are on your other marketing channels, the better chance you have of ranking content organically.
Local SEO For Personal Injury Lawyers
Local SEO, or local search engine optimization, is a type of digital marketing strategy that is focused on improving the visibility and ranking of a website in local search results. Local SEO is particularly important for businesses that have a physical location or serve a specific geographic area.
When a user performs a search with local intent, such as “personal injury lawyers near me” or “car accident lawyer in[city name]”, search engines like Google and Bing display a set of results that are tailored to the user’s location. These local search results typically include a map, along with a list of businesses that match the user’s search query and are located nearby. This is known as the “Local Pack“.
Appearing in the Local Pack
As stated above, when users perform a local search, the local pack is the first result to appear. This looks like a map next to a series of businesses.
Showing up in the local pack and organic search results is a two for one combo and a great way to maximize SERP real estate. Follow these steps to ensure you appear for localized searches.
- Claim and optimize your Google My Business (GMB) listing:
- Your GMB listing is the most important factor in determining whether your business will appear in the local Pack. Make sure that your listing is complete, accurate, and up-to-date with your business name, address, phone number, hours of operation, website URL, and other relevant information. You should also add photos and videos to your listing and encourage customers to leave reviews.
- Ensure NAP consistency:
- NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone number. It’s important to ensure that your NAP information is consistent across all online directories and citation sources. Inconsistencies in NAP information can negatively impact your local search rankings.
- Build local citations:
- Local citations are mentions of your business name, address, and phone number on other websites. Building local citations can help to improve your visibility in local search results. You can build citations by submitting your business information to local directories, industry-specific directories, and review sites.
- Get online reviews:
- Online reviews can impact your local search rankings, as well as influence potential customers’ decisions. Encourage your customers to leave reviews on your GMB listing and other review sites. Be sure to respond to all reviews, both positive and negative, in a timely and professional manner.
- Create locally-focused content:
- Creating content that is specific to your local area can help to improve your visibility in local search results. This could include blog posts, videos, and other types of content that highlight local events, landmarks, and other relevant topics.
By following these steps you are already doing more than 90% of personal injury firms and as a result will dominate the landscape for local search.
Link building and Backlink Analysis
Link building is a crucial component of search engine optimization (SEO) that involves the process of acquiring hyperlinks from other websites to your own. Essentially, link building is the practice of obtaining backlinks (getting other websites to link to your website), with the aim of improving the visibility and ranking of your website on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Think of backlinks like votes from other websites attributing your credibility. The more high quality backlinks you obtain, the more “authoritative” your site becomes in Googles eyes. In fact, there is a direct link between the number of backlinks and a websites organic traffic.
However, not just any backlinks will help you.
In the past Googles algorithm was much less advanced. This meant that people could spam their website with hundreds of thousands of backlinks from low quality sources like PBN’s and directories.
As a result, low quality websites began to rank on the first page of Google. In turn Google has rolled out numerous updates to combat unethical link acquisition.
For this reason, we always recommend attempting to obtain backlinks in a natural and organic manner.
One of the best ways to do this is by posting high quality content. This type of content will naturally obtain backlinks with you performing little to no extra work.
This type of content is commonly known as “link bait” and usually comes in the form of:
- Infographics:
- Infographics are a popular type of link bait content that presents information in a visually appealing and easy-to-understand format. They are often shared and embedded on other websites, resulting in a high number of backlinks.
- Interactive content:
- Interactive content, such as quizzes, surveys, and games, can be highly engaging and shareable, leading to a high number of backlinks.
- Guides and tutorials:
- Guides and tutorials that provide valuable and comprehensive information on a particular topic can be highly useful to other websites and their readers, resulting in links back to the original source.
- Controversial or opinionated content:
- Controversial or opinionated content can generate strong reactions and discussions, leading to a high number of shares and links.
- Original research or data:
- Original research or data that provides new insights or statistics can be highly valuable to other websites and their readers, leading to a high number of backlinks.
Although there are other types of link acquisition such as buying backlinks, content syndication, or guest posting, we advise using these techniques in a limited manner as they have come across increased scrutiny by Google.
Common SEO Mistakes to Avoid
Some people mistakenly believe that SEO relies on tons of content. Of course, content helps, but your SEO for personal injury must focus on that specific topic while avoiding common errors.
Duplicate content
Duplicate content can often occur with location pages when a business creates multiple pages on their website targeting different cities or regions, but the content on each page is nearly identical. For example, a personal injury law firm with offices in multiple cities might create a separate page for each location, but if the content on each page is mostly the same, this can create duplicate content issues.
Ignoring local SEO
Local SEO is vital for business. So, as a personal injury lawyer, you should focus on the local area. So ignoring this means you won’t show in local searches, and you won’t appear on Maps.
Not optimizing images and videos
Uncompressed content will slow down your site, negatively impacting your user experience (UX) and, therefore, your Page Speed score and Search Engine Results Page (SERP) ranking.
Not regularly updating content
One of the most essential tools for climbing SERPs is creating consistent content. This means new content and updating old content. This shows Google that you are dedicated to your users.
Measuring SEO Success
Measuring return on investment (ROI) from SEO can be a complex and challenging task, as there are many factors that can impact the value and effectiveness of an SEO campaign. However, there are a few key metrics that can help businesses to measure the ROI of their SEO efforts.
- Organic traffic:
- One of the most basic and important metrics for measuring SEO ROI is organic traffic. By tracking how much traffic a website is receiving from organic search, businesses can get a sense of how well their SEO efforts are working. If organic traffic is increasing over time, this can be a good sign that the SEO campaign is generating a positive return on investment. Although there is not a direct one to one relationship between organic traffic and revenue, the more traffic your site receives, the greater odds there will be that some of those visitors will convert into clients.
- Conversions:
- Another important metric for measuring SEO ROI is conversions, or the number of visitors who take a desired action on a website, such as filling out a contact form or calling to set up a consultation. By tracking how many conversions are generated from organic search traffic, businesses can determine how effective their SEO efforts are at driving leads and revenue.
- Keyword rankings:
- While keyword rankings are not a direct measure of ROI, they can be a useful way to track the progress of an SEO campaign over time. By tracking how a website is ranking for specific keywords and phrases, businesses can get a sense of how well their content and backlink strategy is performing.
- Revenue:
- Ultimately, the most important measure of SEO ROI is revenue. By tracking how much revenue is generated from organic search traffic, businesses can determine whether their SEO campaign is generating a positive return on investment.
Personal Injury SEO Conclusion
Developing an SEO strategy is a complicated and time consuming task that involves advanced knowledge of how search engines work, website development skills, and constant attention to the ever changing SEO landscape.
However, if done correctly, SEO will provide the greatest return on investment of any marketing expenditure.
If you’re a personal injury law firm looking to improve your online visibility and attract more qualified leads and clients, it’s time to consider working with 7ten marketing for your SEO needs. As a professional digital marketing agency with years of experience in the industry, 7ten marketing has the expertise and skills to help your firm stand out from the competition. Contact us today!
