Keyword Research Tools for Law Firm SEO

Keyword research is the foundation of SEO (search engine optimization) and crucial for success in pay per click marketing. The importance of proper keyword research can not be understated. Finding out what a client
 or prospect is typing, what keywords they’re using to find a law firm like yours, is a coveted insight because any successful SEO strategy relies on using the right keywords to attract your target audience to your website. As with just about everything else related to marketing online, having the right tools at your disposal can make all the difference.

The following is a list of some of the best tools (both free and paid) available across the internet for keyword research and planning:

Google Keyword Planner

Since its start in 2012, Google Keyword Planner has quickly dominated most of the keyword research market. By performing a simple Google search, the user is able to see the results of a variety of useful statistics for each keyword such as the search volume, the quantity of average monthly searches, and the average cost per click. It quickly calculates and suggests the best matching searches for your specified keywords, enabling you to do competitive analysis easily and effectively.

Google Keyword Planner is fully-automated and free to use.

Google Autocomplete

Google Autocomplete is one of the easiest to use, and most overlooked, keyword research tools.

Hiding in plain sight, you’ll find Google Autocomplete by simply typing your keywords into Google’s search box. When you enter a keyword or phrase into the search field, suggestions that are associated with the term appear automatically in a dropdown menu.

You will get a different number of suggestions for different keyword or phrase combinations, but the suggestions will show you plenty of related terms and phrases that will help with deciding where to go next with your SEO or PPC efforts.

Tip: Try using Google Autocomplete with the Chrome web browser in incognito mode. This will make sure the suggestions you see are not influenced by cookies or history that may be stored in your browser.

Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest is considered one of the best options outside of Google Keyword Planner. It is not difficult to see why: Ubersuggest allows you to search for specific and newer keywords that may not yet appear in Google Keyword Planner.

This useful alternative to Google Keyword Planner promises and delivers valuable resources for both SEO and PPC (pay per click) keyword research. It provides you with ideas that are both practical and profitable for content marketing campaigns. Best of all, as powerful as it is, it’s still free to use.

WordStream’s Keyword Tool

WordStream’s Keyword Tool permits the user to perform searches with specific niches in mind, as well as group them based on common themes, making group ad launches even easier. Wordstream’s software is designed for the “power user” who considers keyword planning to be a major part of the overall marketing process.

While WordStream’s Keyword Tool is both extremely practical and user friendly, only the first 30 searches are free. After that, additional searches will require a sign-up fee (starting at $264 per month).

SEMRush

SEMRush is unique in that it has a wide variety of tools designed specifically for startups. You’ll find tools for SEO, PPC, and of course, keyword research.

On one hand, using SEMRush means being able to take advantage of a database of high-volume words that perform well on popular search engines. On the other hand, you can also research low-volume keywords that help you to avoid competition and make estimating keyword value even easier.

They also offer access to 28 international SEO databases and the ability to research in 16 major languages.

Although this tool is not free, if your law firm’s website aspires to do well in the international niche, SEMRush is absolutely worth the cost, and offers pro subscriptions for $99.95 a month.

Ahrefs Keyword Generator

If you’re looking to come up with a list of long or short-tail keywords you might like to rank for, Ahrefs Keyword Generator is a helpful tool. The platform can help you find up to 150 keyword ideas for any seed keyword.

For instance, if you search for “personal injury attorney,” you might get one hundred keyword ideas containing that word along with their estimated monthly search volumes.

The tool also enables you to research keyword ideas in other search engines aside from Google including YouTube (the world’s second largest search engine), Bing, Yahoo, Amazon – the list goes on.

Similar to SEMRush, the tool also shows you the Keyword Difficulty (KD) score for the first 10 keywords on your list. This is a number between 0–100 that estimates ranking difficulty. Generally speaking, the higher it is, the more backlinks you’ll need to rank.

Plans for the tool start at $99/ month and the tool offers a free 7-day trial.

Takeaway

As you can see, the keyword research tools available for SEO keyword research vary from simple to sophisticated. The right tool for you is going to depend on budget and what your law firm is trying to achieve through its keyword research.

If you’re looking for phrases to help guide content creation, there’s probably no need to break the bank. If, however, you’re looking to get the most bang for your buck through PPC marketing, it could be well worth it to spend some money for the extra power that comes with the paid keyword research tools.

Contact us today if you need assistance developing a comprehensive SEO keyword research strategy that will improve your search visibility and increase the number of visitors to your firm’s website.

Originally published on Aug 24, 2017.