How to Get Your Law Firm Found on Google

(Updated 1/3/2024)

“How can I get my law firm found on Google?” is one of the questions I’m asked the most.

So to answer this question, I often ask one of my own: How do you think Google makes money?

Some people know the answer to that question right away, and others aren’t sure.

Well, Google makes money by selling advertising, and just like any other advertising platform, the rates that Google can charge advertisers is directly tied to the number of people Google can deliver to view your ads.

So it pays for Google to be the best search engine it can possibly be. (After all, if you used Google and the results it delivered weren’t relevant to you, you would eventually switch to another search engine.)

How does Google figure out which results to show you each time you search?

Of course, the precise algorithms that Google uses are proprietary secrets, and they are continually changing and being improved. However, Google does teach webmasters how to create websites that have the potential to rank well on the search engine.

By following Google’s instructions and utilizing the correct website platform, any attorney can succeed online and drive prospects to their law firm. This article will tell you how.

How to Get Your Law Firm Found on Google – My No-Fail Recipe

Prevalence, Prominence, and Proximity

I’ve talked before about “The 3 P’s” — Prevalence, Prominence, and Proximity. It’s a system I use in writing to help me create content that is meaningful to the search engines.

• Prevalence – This means making sure that the article I’m writing uses the term(s) I want to get found for, as well as variants of that term;
• Prominence – This means that the article I’m writing must mention the term I want to get found for near the beginning, as well as multiple places throughout the content;
• Proximity – This means the article must have other words near the term I want to get found for that enhance the meaning.

Relevance and Authority

Google’s algorithms examine many factors in the split-second that it takes to show you search results. These include the words in your search query, topic relevance, authority or expertise of the sources, as well as your geographic location and other search settings. Google applies weight to each of these factors as part of its decision-making process.

Google has access to lots and lots of information about you and your past search habits which you may not realize — about 10 years ago, Google started delivering personalized search results to you, which means that the results that you see on Google won’t necessarily be the same as someone else typing in the exact same search phrase.

Many people get bogged-down trying to figure out how Google’s search algorithms work. There’s no shortage of “free” tools online that promise to help. Names like Spy, SEM, Rush, Ranker, MOZ, and hundreds more offer to “analyze”, “score”, or “rank” your web pages — I’ve seen business owners pouring over spreadsheets and charts trying to improve their “SEO” (search engine optimization).

But — there are much better and easier ways to optimize your law firm’s website for search engines.

To succeed with search results, your law firm’s website needs to predictably attract, engage, and convert clients from free search engine traffic.

That success comes down to just two (2) things:

User Experience and High-Quality Content

• User Experience – this refers to the level of satisfaction a website visitor has when coming to your site (does it answer their questions and provide a call-to-action for them to take);
• High-Quality Content – this refers to the relevance of your content to the visitor’s inquiry along with your authority or expertise in the field.

There are also off-site components to SEO (your social media presence, for example, and the extent to which others are sharing your content), and technical aspects (such as the platform on which your website is built and maintained — we use WordPress exclusively, self-hosted on your own domain, never shared). Oh, one more thing — you also need an awesome webmaster to keep it all optimized and running.

Remember that both user experience and high-quality content are important. A stunning website with poor quality content won’t engage prospects for very long, just as a well-written website with poor user experience won’t encourage a prospect to reach out and take your call-to-action.

Get Your Law Firm Found on Google – Is Content Really King?

In a word, yes. Google relies primarily on the text on your website in deciding whether or not your site will be relevant to a visitor’s search and thereby make that visitor happy with the results.

Remember, Google is in the business of connecting searchers with relevant content.

When Google refers a searcher to your website, it also learns from the outcome. A visitor might remain on your website for a while (this increases the likelihood that Google will refer others to your site), or the visitor might quickly abandon your website (this decreases the likelihood that Google will refer others there).

The Internet Levels the Playing Field for All

I’ve often said that the Internet levels the playing field for all. What does that mean? It means that everyone — big businesses as well as small ones — can succeed online if they pay attention to content and the search engines. Unlike paid advertising, success on the search engines isn’t limited to those with the biggest budgets.

Content drives SEO; without it, SEO success is impossible.

Internet Presence makes it easy to have a Google-friendly website and social media presence. All of our services are “done-for-you” which means no more spending precious time by the business owner.

If you’re struggling with how to get your law firm to rank on Google, call us at (203) 548-0070 or email me, Andy Lehrfeld, anytime.