Law Firm SEO: 8 Ways to Increase Traffic to Your Practice Area Pages

One of the primary goals of search engine optimization (SEO) is to guide prospects to your law firm’s website, which includes your practice area pages. Your practice area pages communicate to potential clients what it is you do, how you can solve their problems, and other information about why they should get in touch with your firm. By driving more traffic to these pages, you’ll increase the chances of generating more leads from search engines. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at 8 optimization strategies that can help you improve search rankings and increase traffic to these important pages.

1. Optimize one page per practice area

Resist the urge to pack multiple services onto a single webpage. Instead, it’s wiser to organize them into logical categories, assigning each specific service area its dedicated page. This approach not only makes it easier for users to locate exactly what they’re looking for, enhancing their overall experience, but it also significantly benefits SEO. By doing so, you improve your site’s chances of ranking higher in search engine results, as it allows for more targeted keywords and clearer, more focused content.

2. Create practice pages using a unique template

When creating practice pages you shouldn’t use the same page design as you do for a home page or contact page. There are certain elements of an optimized practice area page that will differ from other pages on your site. Ensure the template you’re using when adding practice information has the following components: 

• A clear CTA
• A review or testimonial (multiple, if you have them)
• Industry or association certifications or awards
• Rich content such as a video or slideshow

3. Improve the quality of your content

Make sure each practice area page is rich with relevant and valuable content for your visitors. Better content means higher rankings in Google, whose guidelines follow the “E-E-A-T” criteria which stands for expertise, experience, authority, and trustworthiness.

Search algorithms are more sophisticated than ever, and know how to determine if content is actually valuable, so you have to keep the searcher’s intent in mind. It’s important to focus on keywords within your writing, but be sure to avoid keyword stuffing. If you come across pages where every sentence seems to contain the city name, you know that the marketers are trying to optimize by adding the keyword as many times as possible – and that’s a bad strategy. 

A proper content strategy is to approach your writing by anticipating your prospects questions and answering them. Instead of just repeating the phrase “Philadelphia Copyright Specialists” throughout your pages, consider content that adds value to your target audience. On your practice pages, consider writing about the specific areas of copyright law that pertain to your city, elaborate on big copyright cases that happened in your area, and link to a case study that showcases your firm’s exemplary work.

4. Practice local SEO: use keyword and location combinations

Develop a strategy to improve your rank within your target geographic by using keyword and location combinations. The first step is getting a feel for where your firm falls in the ranking hierarchy for these local keyword combinations. Start by typing your practice area + location into a search engine. For example, something like “Copyright Infringement Philadelphia” or “Real Estate Lawyer Arizona”. The content that comes up is competing for ranking, and any firms that appear are your competition.

5. Update your practice pages metadata

Just like with any other SEO, the title tag and meta description of your practice pages are key. Make sure the keyword naturally flows in the title of the page and on the metadata. If possible, include the keywords toward the beginning. Remember that both the title and the meta description should be short (not to exceed 160 characters). 

6. Remember to optimize images

As they say, a picture is worth 1,000 words (or in this case, clicks). Optimize images by using descriptive filenames and adding relevant alt text that accurately describes the content of each image. This not only improves accessibility for visually impaired users but also helps search engines understand the context of your images. Additionally, consider optimizing image size and format to ensure fast loading times, which can positively impact user engagement and search rankings. Regularly review and update images to keep your practice area pages visually appealing and relevant to your audience.

Bonus tip: remember to leverage links – both internal and backlinks – to strengthen your content and overall website. For information on how specifically to do that, check out our past post: The Ultimate Guide to Link Building for Law Firm Websites.

7. Leverage social media channels

Don’t underestimate the power of social media in driving traffic to your practice area pages. Share informative content from your practice pages on platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Engage with your audience by answering questions, sharing success stories, and providing insights into recent legal developments. Encourage followers to visit your website for more detailed information on specific practice areas, and ensure that your social media profiles include links to relevant practice pages.

8. Analyze and refine your strategy regularly

SEO is not a one-time effort; it requires ongoing analysis and refinement. Utilize tools like Google Analytics to track the performance of your practice area pages. Monitor metrics such as traffic volume, bounce rate, and conversion rate to gauge the effectiveness of your optimization efforts. Identify patterns and trends in user behavior, and use this data to make informed decisions about future optimization strategies. Continuously test different approaches, such as tweaking keywords, updating content, or refining metadata, to maximize the impact of your SEO efforts and ensure long-term success.

Takeaway

Your law firm practice area pages display your unique services and expertise and provide the actual reasoning as to why someone should choose your law firm instead of a competitor. To drive more business online, it’s a must to focus on optimizing these pages for your target audience as well as for search engines. Follow our tips to increase traffic to your law firm’s practice area pages.

If you need assistance developing a comprehensive SEO strategy that will improve your search visibility and increase the number of visitors to your firm’s website, contact us for assistance.