3 Crucial Steps In Keyword Research
Updated: May 10, 2022
Finding The Right SEO Keywords For Law Firms
Keywords are essential for Lawyer SEO. They're the search terms you will compete and be found for. You optimize your pages and blog posts for them. Here are the most important steps of keyword research to help make the best list for your law firm.
1. List Potential Seed Keywords
Seed keywords are the basic keywords that best describe your law firm, website, and content. Keywords like:
California Lawyer
Los Angeles Attorney
Personal Injury Attorney
Criminal Lawyer New York
Chicago Family Lawyer
Most keyword tools will provide you variations of your seed keywords based on relevance. In this step, seed keywords are used as your starting points. Next, you'll use them to look up relevant keywords in the SERPs or other SEO keyword tools.
The best way to make a list would be to start from general key phrases and work your way to more specific ones.
For Example:
You can start with fairly common keywords like "New York Attorney".
Write down your practice areas (i.e., "personal injury", "criminal law", "criminal lawyer", etc.)
Finally, use more location-specific terms (i.e., new york criminal lawyer, new york labor law attorney, etc.).
Since seed keywords are just your starting points, you don't have to worry about getting them right the first time. Chances are, you'll get better suggestions after running them through a keyword tool.
2. Use A Keyword Tool
After you have your seed keywords, you can now run them through keyword tools. In most cases, you will input these seed keywords into a search bar, and your SEO tool will show you a list of relevant keywords and their designated search volumes.
Remember: Some seed keywords have low search volumes. If so, try finding something else to replace it.
There are many free tools you can use for keyword research, and some of them are provided by either Google or Bing themselves. For example, here are a few you might want to try:
Keyword Planner (Google Ads). The first place to look for keywords is probably Google Ads Keyword Planner. You only need to enter your seed keywords and get a list of relevant keywords in return. You can also sort through your results and assess them using metrics like search traffic, competition, and bid ranges.
Google Trends. Unlike the Keyword Planner, Google Trends doesn't just give you a list of keywords. Instead, Google Planner provides data on how a topic or trend performs in the searches over time, allowing you to see the search volume and seasonality.
Webmaster (Bing). You can get data on how specific keywords perform on SERPs and how their rankings change over time. It can also show you related search phrases comparable to your seed keywords, just like Google Ads.
When you're listing your desired keywords, make sure you're taking note of the search volumes as well. This will help you decide which ones are worth incorporated into your Lawyer SEO strategy.
3. Filter And Organize Your Keywords
Once you get a list of keywords, you now need to organize them for better access in the future. When you choose which of them to use or discard, consider the following:
Global And Local SEO. Don't base your decision on the search volume alone. Intersperse your global keywords (i.e., "Criminal Law Attorney", "Personal Injury Lawyer", etc.) with more specific ones (i.e., "Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorney"). Both have their own benefits.
Short-Tail And Long Tail Keywords. Short-tail keywords tend to have higher search volumes because of how general they are. However, though long-tail keywords are lower in search volume, they're much easier to rank for. Ranking high for several long-tail keywords can be good for law firms just starting out with SEO; instead of getting buried in short-tail keywords.
Practice Areas. There are keywords for specific areas of law (i.e., "Personal Injury Lawyer", "Business Litigation Attorney", etc.). These are important for generating leads for specific types of clients. This is especially important for lawyers to find the right clients who they can best assist.
Main Or Primary Keywords. For every page you build, there should be a primary keyword you're optimizing for. Of course, you can add a few secondary relevant keywords here and there. Just keep in mind that having a dedicated keyword for each page makes sure you know where to link to, boosts your chances of ranking, and helps you avoid keyword cannibalization.
The bottom-line is: keyword research can provide you with the best keyword options, but integrating them into your pages requires strategic planning.
How LawyerLeadMachine Can Help Your Law Firm Out
Lawyer SEO involves regular keyword research and strategic planning. When done right, it can help boost your rankings, increase traffic, and generate leads.
If you need some help, we have SEO experts to help you out.
