Search engines are getting better at providing users with the content that matches their needs. This is good news for prospective clients who are looking for the legal services your law firm provides.
But it’s made search engine optimization (SEO) more complex. As search engines continue to update their algorithms, law firms must navigate the changing landscape in order to maintain their search rankings.
The use of keywords for SEO has existed since the early days of online marketing. Over time, other factors that influence search rankings have become more important to SEO.
But keywords still matter when it comes to successfully marketing your legal services. What’s important is that you use keywords the right way to achieve lasting results.
Begin With the Needs of Your Clients
The effective use of keywords in your marketing campaigns begins with the needs of your clients. When Google rolled out its Hummingbird update, its use of semantic search changed the ways in which law firms achieved high rankings in the search engines.
Rather than emphasize keywords, Google began to place a higher priority on content that was more in line with the words and phrases that are more likely to be used in the natural language.
This allows Google to better understand the intent of its users and provide more accurate search results. This means that your law firm must consider a broader range of keywords and phrases during its research phase.
Using Keywords the Right Way
After considering the needs of your clients, you can begin to develop content around keywords that answer their most important questions and provide the information they’re looking for.
Your keywords should consider the various contexts in which your services can be placed. What other needs and questions might clients have that are indirectly related to the services you offer?
Don’t limit your content to the use of a given keyword. Instead, broaden your perspective and consider other topics that are related to a user’s search.
Most importantly, content that keeps the reader in mind (not just search engine algorithms) will be viewed favorably. Your content should strive for quality by using proper grammar and a natural style that’s likely to appeal to online users.
Where Do Your Keywords Go?
Knowing where to place keywords is still important to a successful SEO campaign. Their placement contributes to the rankings your law firm can achieve when done correctly.
The page titles within your site are great places to emphasize your keywords. Header tags are also important elements that should include keywords for your law firm.
Search engines use header tags to determine the hierarchy of your content. Including keywords makes it easy for your content to be properly indexed and ranked.
Meta descriptions give valuable information related to your pages when users view links in the search engine results pages. Your meta descriptions should include the keywords you’re targeting for better SEO results.
Alt tags provide search engines with information related to images on your site’s pages. Search engines are unable to “read” the content of an image, and alt tags make it easy to describe that image. The file name, description, and captions of images can all include keywords.
Your content and headlines must also include keywords. You can use related phrases to strengthen your content and appeal to the search engines. In addition, the URLs of your sites pages should also include relevant keywords.
Keyword optimization still matters in achieving higher rankings for your law firm. But the ways in which keywords are used has changed.
Understanding semantic search and how to strategically place keywords within your site structure ensures that you get the best results from your SEO efforts.
Let us know what keyword strategies have worked for you. If you need more information on how to optimize your law firm’s keyword strategy, let us know in the comments section below.
