Search Engine Optimization

Attorneys receive hundreds of emails saying 'Your site is not optimized', we can do better. Here's the simple answer. Any site can always have better optimization. Let's say a site shows up #1 for Dallas Divorce Attorney, #1 for Dallas Family Law Attorney and #3 for Dallas Child Custody. Well, there's obviously room for improvement for the custody search, but I would think this attorney would be very pleased with his optimization and shouldn't potentially risk his other rankings to improve the custody ranking.

In my experience, only about 5% of legal websites have even decent optimization. Similarly, only about 5% of web development and SEO companies are good. Search engine optimization consists of three primary areas:

Content - Content is critical for any law firm. Relevant content using key words and phrases is a necessity. Optimization is a bit of a matching game, so having more content generally equates to more visitors.

Linking - Having other websites link to yours has become more important over the past couple of years. Inbound links from high page directories can increase rank. Simply put, Google feels like if alot of other important websites link to yours, you must be valid and will rank your site higher. Quality of inbound links is more important, but quantity helps also.

Tagging - Well constructed title tags are an important part of SEO. Meta tags still need to be done well, but don't have the same relevance they once did.

My best advice to any attorney or law firm in Texas looking for a web development or SEO company is to make sure they have done it for other attorneys. Ask them to run relevant searches in your market and see if they have gotten results.

Another piece of advice is don't hire a company that is only interested in getting your site to show up for a few 'vanity' phrases like 'Austin Personal Injury Attorney'. Consumers who need legal services search hundreds of different phrases when looking for an injury attorney. Only about a third of all search traffic from a well optimized site comes from vanity searches. Make sure custom content is a part of any SEO package you are considering.