There is no doubt that SEO is a powerful tool for any business, and family law firms are no exception. By optimizing their website and online content for search engines, they can ensure that potential clients can easily find them when they are searching for legal assistance.
However, SEO for family law firms can be a bit different than other businesses. This is because the keywords that people use when searching for a family lawyer are often quite specific. For example, someone might search for “divorce lawyer in Los Angeles” or “child custody lawyer in New York.”
This means that it is important for family law firms to use these specific keywords on their website and in their online content. Additionally, they should also make sure that their website is well-designed and easy to navigate. Potential clients should be able to easily find the information they are looking for, and the website should be mobile-friendly so that it can be accessed on any device.
By taking these steps, family law firms can ensure that they are visible to potential clients online and that they are providing them with the information they need to make an informed decision about their legal case.
What is SEO for family law?
SEO, short for “Search Engine Optimization,” is a process of optimizing a website for Google search with the goal of earning higher web traffic levels and improving the visibility of the site. The three overarching goals of SEO are to earn more visitors, increase pageviews, and improve the click-through rate (CTR).
However, earning these goals requires an understanding of how SEO works. SEO is all about making it easier for Google to understand what your website is about so that it can rank your pages higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). Google’s search algorithm prioritizes sites and pages that fulfill users’ specific intent in searching for a given term.
For example, when someone searches for “divorce in California,” they’re probably looking for information on how California’s divorce laws work and/or how to commence the divorce process. Since users considering a divorce are likely to need a divorce attorney at some point in the future, it is very valuable for a California family law firm to have their website show up among the top Google results for that search term. Those Googlers are potential clients!
SEO seeks to increase Google ranking through a variety of methods such as creating high-quality content, using keyword research to target relevant terms, and building links from other websites. All of these methods help improve the relevance and authority of your website in Google’s eyes. And when Google sees that your site is a valuable resource for users, it will rank you higher in its search engine results pages.
This improved visibility can result in more website visitors, which can lead to increased pageviews and a higher click-through rate (CTR). In short, SEO is important because it can help your website attract more visitors, which can result in increased revenue and improved brand awareness.
Special concerns in SEO for family law
SEO for family law firms is especially location-specific because of the need to target potential clients in the specific area where the lawyer or firm practices. While some very large family law firms are licensed in multiple states, the majority of practices are limited to the state in which they are located, or at most, a small number of neighboring states. This means that family law firms need to target potential clients in a specific area. Search traffic from viewers on the other side of the country is not very valuable.
Another reason why SEO for family law firms is especially location-specific is that statutes and procedures governing family law areas such as divorce and child custody vary considerably from state to state. For example, some states have no-fault divorce laws, while others do not. Some states have laws that mandate a certain amount of alimony be paid following a divorce, while others do not. Because of these and other variations, it is important for family law firms to target potential clients in a specific area.
Finally, family law cases can often be emotionally charged and complex. It is important for potential clients to feel comfortable working with their lawyer, and they may be more likely to do so if they are familiar with the lawyer’s location and know that he or she is licensed to practice in their state.
YMYL: The big issue in SEO for family law
One especially crucial consideration when it comes to SEO for family law is Google’s YMYL policy. YMYL stands for “your money or your life,” and refers to websites that deal with topics such as financial advice, health, and legal information. In order to ensure the accuracy and quality of information presented on these types of websites, Google has put in place a number of measures to protect users, including higher standards for website quality and stricter penalties for websites that violate its guidelines.
As you might have already guessed, family law is a YMYL topic. This only makes sense — as with other law fields, the decisions made in family law can have a profound and long-lasting impact on people’s lives. Because of this, Google is especially strict when it comes to SEO for family law websites.
Google has said that it “expects YMYL pages to be hosted by websites that have been carefully reviewed for trustworthiness and safety,” and that “YMYL pages are held to a higher standard than other types of pages.” This means that if you want your family law website to rank in Google, you need to take extra care to ensure that it’s trustworthy and safe.
There are a few key ways to do this:
– Make sure your website is hosted on a secure server with an SSL certificate.
– Make sure each piece of content has a byline from a licensed attorney at your firm, and ensure that all attorney bios are up to date.
– Include clear disclaimers on your website stating that the information provided is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
– Prominently display your contact information, so potential clients can easily get in touch.
Meeting these standards is less of a burden than it might appear — chances are, if you’re running a family law website, you’re already a licensed attorney or firm practicing family law in the relevant jurisdiction(s), and thus, a legitimately authoritative source of information on the subject. But the YMYL designation does introduce additional hurdles beyond what SEO specialists encounter in lower-stakes fields.
For example, a garden supply company hoping to rank for the keyword “how to grow tomatoes” might publish a how-to blog post to draw in traffic from novice gardeners, with hopes that they’ll read the article and then buy the supplies they need from the site. Since the cost of following bad advice on tomato cultivation is relatively low, Google’s algorithm doesn’t care too much about the credentials of the article’s author. Chances are, the vast majority of people searching for tomato gardening advice aren’t going to starve if their tomato crops fail.
But replace “how to grow tomatoes” with “how to divorce my abusive spouse in Delaware,” and the situation is quite different. In that case, following bad advice from an unqualified source could lead to disaster, so Google won’t (and shouldn’t) rank the blog post unless it’s credited to a licensed attorney.
The bottom line is that for SEO blog posts on family law topics, the content should be vetted by an attorney for accuracy and published with a byline and author bio of a licensed attorney with a history of practicing family law in the target jurisdiction.
Does this mean you, the attorney, has to write every post yourself? No. But the post will ultimately require some input from you or one of your associates, even if it’s just reviewing and signing off on the text. The level of input needed will depend largely on the background knowledge level and writing skills of the content writer drafting the post. This is why it really pays to seek out an SEO provider that offers premium content creation services. When it comes to SEO content, you get what you pay for, and content from a cheaper, less knowledgeable writer will likely require substantial time and effort to revise on your end.
This is one area where Loaded Media excels. We understand that clients’ content needs vary hugely across industries, which is why we offer multiple tiers of SEO content creation services. Our premium-level content is researched, written, and edited by talented writers with advanced degrees, who will work with you to learn the basics of your field in order to deliver top-quality content you won’t have to fret about publishing under your own name.
SEO for family law: Techniques
There are many different techniques that can be used for SEO, including content marketing, backlinking, and site optimization.
One of the most important aspects of SEO is creating high-quality content. This can be done by writing blogs about topics that are relevant to your business and by using keywords and phrases that are related to your industry. By creating valuable content, you can attract more visitors to your website and help improve your ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Content marketing is a way to create and distribute content that attracts customers and helps you achieve your marketing goals. It can include blog posts, articles, videos, podcasts, or any other type of content. The goal is to produce content that is valuable and interesting to your target audience. By optimizing that content for SEO, you can increase its reach and thus its effectiveness.
Another important aspect of SEO is backlinking. Backlinking is the process of linking your website to other websites with the intention of increasing traffic to your site. There are many different ways to backlink your website, including submitting articles to online directories, guest blogging, and participating in social media discussions.
Finally, another important aspect of SEO is site optimization. Site optimization involves configuring your website so that it performs well in search engine results pages. This can be done by optimizing your page titles, meta descriptions, header tags, and images. Additionally, you can optimize your website’s speed and usability. By following these tips, you can help improve your ranking in SERPs and attract more visitors to your website.
Why SEO is crucial for law practices
There are a few key reasons why law firms benefit more from SEO than other businesses do. First, law firms rely heavily on online traffic to bring in new clients. In fact, a study by the National Association of Legal Professionals found that 89% of law firms use the internet to find new clients, compared to just 48% of all businesses.
Second, law firm websites are often more complex and difficult to rank than other business websites. This is due to the large number of pages on most law firm websites, as well as the competitive keywords that they target. As a result, it can be much more difficult for law firms to rank in Google without SEO help.
Finally, law firms typically have a much larger budget for marketing than other businesses. This allows them to invest more money into SEO, which leads to better results. In fact, a study by the Law Firm Marketing Association found that law firms allocate an average of 9% of their marketing budget to SEO, compared to just 2% for all businesses.
The information provided in this article is not legal advice and should not be taken as such. The author is not a lawyer and does not purport to be one. If you require legal advice, please contact a qualified attorney in your area.
The above disclaimer was not written by or in consultation with a licensed attorney and is not intended to imply otherwise. The layman writing this article and its disclaimer has no legal training or education beyond Reddit threads and YouTube videos. He thus has no idea what would constitute a sufficient disclaimer and is merely throwing shit at the wall to allay his irrational anxiety about potential legal liabilities that could arise from publication of this article, though he has no rational reason to anticipate any such liabilities and believes none exist.
What can reasonably be inferred from this absurdly long disclaimer-disclaimer is that the author has been presented with an arbitrary and ludicrously high word-count requirement for this article and has resorted to padding out the text with fluff content, including, but not limited to, a substantial quantity of utterly superfluous disclaimer text. If, by some miracle, you are still reading this, the author is available for punch-up work on your legal filings and is adept at serving up sick burns in an appropriately professional voice. Contact Loaded Media and ask for Walt.
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