Generally, it takes between 6 to 12 months for your legal marketing Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Strategy to see notable results. During this time, you’ll see the most improvements in your ranking and online presence. However, SEO Strategies are not a walk in the park and it takes extensive time, investment and dedication to see sustainable and ongoing results.
In this article, we’ll talk about Search Engine Optimization, it’s legal marketing goals, and why it is beneficial to invest in this type of marketing strategy.
What is SEO?
SEO, also known as Search Engine Optimization, is a foundation where content can be searched up and indexed by search engines such as Bing and Google. Quite honestly, in this day and age, it would be pretty difficult for your prospects to find out without having a basic understanding and implementation of SEO.
There are many different reasons why lawyers and law firms may find SEO confusing, and because results don’t magically appear overnight, there are also questions around this type of digital marketing, such as:
- Why does SEO take so long to show results?
- How do I know if my SEO campaigns are successful?
- What do I need to do to sustain and improve my SEO on a regular basis?
So let’s take this chance to answer these questions:
Why Does SEO Take So Long to Show Results?
Search engines like Google are constantly updating their platform and algorithms, which can make it pretty difficult for your law firm to keep up to date with them if you don’t have a dedicated marketing team to facilitate your campaigns.
Because of these constant changes, maintaining your SEO and online presence can be tricky. Gone are the days when there were many shortcuts that marketers could take to get higher results. Now it has become more challenging, but also more rewarding. When done correctly, you will not only land greater outreach, but more qualified prospects as well.
SEO is a long term digital marketing strategy, and although you may see results way before the 6 month mark, it’s still important to continue to revise and update keywords and ranking criterias on a regular basis so it doesn’t lag behind.
Especially in SEO, mistakes are made when the focus is on speed rather than sustainability, and it’ll not only hurt the quality of your leads, but also your ranking and standing with search engines if used maliciously, like using black hat tactics for example. In order to SEO to succeed, it’s important to focus on long-term results and establish long term goals to continue to maintain your ranking, especially if you’re lucky enough to make it to the first page of Google.
How Do I Know if SEO is Working?
While there isn’t a definitive answer, your SEO Strategy should give you parameters and reports to see if your SEO campaigns are performing well.
There are several tools which you can utilize in order to track your results and find solutions and improvements within them such as Google Analytics and SEM Rush
Google Search Console working to fix technical issues and see clicks and impressions for each of the pages.
Google My Business gives you insight to see how much your business interacts with your local clients.
While tools can help you understand your performance, it’s still important to understand what they mean. Here are a few terminologies that you’ll come across when looking into your SEO results:
Impressions: shows the number of times that a visitor or user has viewers your link or website
Clicks: shows the number of times that the user has clicked with your link or directed to your website
Ranking Pages: the number of pages from other sources that is currently connected to your web pages
Domain Authority: How relevant your website is in your specific area of practice or industry
Conversions: the number of actions website visitors have taken on your site. This can include filling out a form, engaging with a call or action or subscribing to an email list or newsletter
What Should You Include in SEO?
SEO strategies and best practices are constantly evolving, and there’s many factors that play a part. Here are a few:
Page Reliability
Page reliability is crucial in determining your page’s authority, relevancy and trustworthiness. It is crucial to have all three of these elements in order to procure the best possible SEO results.
Page Speed
Page speed is another important element of adapting to a successful SEO strategy. The longer it takes for your site to load, the lower the chance it will be for your page to score high on search engines.
Content Quality
As search engine platforms continue to adapt and improve its algorithms, quality content will play a huge part in your SEO score. Make sure your page is free from grammatical and spelling errors, and no broken images. If there are images on your page, ensure that they are correctly titled to avoid hurting your rankings.
What do I need to do to sustain and improve my SEO on a regular basis?
Now that you have established a SEO strategy, it is important to take the time to maintain it. It’s an ongoing process, if it’s not revised and tailored to the changes, you can’t expect to see improved results in the long run.
Here are a few steps you can take on an ongoing basis to see your SEO continue to strive:
Write relevant articles and blogs for your visitors
Search engine algorithms are very complex, and it goes beyond key analysis. Make sure that the content you publish is relevant to your area of practice and expertise and ensure that your content is trusted and gains authority.
Incorporate Keywords into Your Page
Even though keywords aren’t the only element in SEO and search engine ranking anymore, it still is a vital piece of the puzzle. Ensure that your keywords are embedded into your pages so that the search engine can pick up on it in the correct way.
Add Images and Interactive Elements
Have you ever considered buying a home? If so, have you ever used an online mortgage calculator either on the bank’s website or any third party website? Having interactive elements to your page will ensure that your visitors will have the opportunity to engage with the information you’re trying to share and engage your readers through imagery, posts and data.
Our SEO Specialists Are Ready To Help
SEO strategy is one of the most effective digital marketing strategies – especially for law firms. Our SEO specialists can help curate a strategy and budget that works for you to create an effective, health and thriving program.
Reach out today to (604) 670-7019 to get more information or fill out our questionnaire to schedule a free consultation with our leading experts.