Google Ranking Factors for Lawyers

With over a billion extant websites with more than 200 million actively online and the legal niche being one of the most competitive in terms of Google rankings, it is critical to understand how ranking factors work. If you are going to outrank your competitors and snag one of those coveted top three spots or AI overviews, the content on your website must be of the highest quality and directly answer the user’s search query. There are over 200 factors the algorithm takes into consideration when ranking a law firm’s website. Here are some of the most important ranking factors for lawyers you need to know.

Top Google Ranking Factors for Law Firms According to Backlinko, there are over 200 factors that Google’s algorithm takes into consideration when determining where to position specific web pages in the rankings. Some of the most important factors your legal SEO agency should be focusing on include:

● Content

● Technical SEO

● High-quality backlinks

● Optimizing for user experience and mobile use

Content is King

Making sure that your website is content-rich should be one of your top priorities. Your SEO agency should be conducting careful keyword research and optimizing all blogs, practice area pages, and landing pages with on-site SEO.

It is important to understand what your potential clients are searching for online and what they intend to do with this information once they have it. Once you know your reader, and their intent in visiting your website, you can produce highly relevant content.

The more readers engage with your content, the higher your pages will appear in the rankings.

In the legal space specifically, content should be focused on “Your Money or Your Life”, also known as YMYL, and E-E-A-T, also referred to as “Experience – Expertise – Authoritativeness – Trustworthiness”.

YMYL content has a significant impact on the user’s safety, health, stability, or happiness while E-E-A-T focuses more on positioning your law firm as an industry leader that is recognized as being a trusted source of information.

When your content addresses YMYL and E-E-A-T, not only is it more likely to convert readers into clients, but it can also help boost your web rankings.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO involves optimizing each webpage on the backend. Content needs to be optimized with title tags and headers, internal and external links, and be mobile-friendly. Your SEO tech can ensure there is alt text for images, and that your website has an updated security

certificate, known as a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) which shows users that your website is safe.

High-Quality Backlinks

When other websites provide an external link back to your site, this provides more “link juice” from Google and other search engines. If other websites are linking back to your site, Google views that as a sign that your site is authoritative in the legal niche. It is not a matter of numbers, but a matter of quality. You want backlinks that include the location, targeted anchor text, and come from another authoritative website. You do not want backlinks that come from dangerous websites or those that do not see a lot of organic traffic.

Optimizing for User Experience and Mobile Use

One of the most important ranking factors is optimizing for user experience and mobile use. If the website is easily navigable, and pages load quickly, visitors are more likely to find what they are looking for. If users are not finding the information they are looking for, your bounce rate will increase, which means visitors are leaving your website shortly after arriving on the webpage. The longer the user spends on a specific webpage, the more likely is to see it as a highly relevant and engaging landing page.

Trust Lunar Local to Master Your Law Firm Website’s Ranking Factors

Although many lawyers understand how SEO works and the importance of rankings, taking on these responsibilities is a full-time job. You need your website to work for you while you are working for your clients. Turn to an innovative digital marketing agency that has a powerful track record of success.

Lunar Local offers free website analysis so you can get a comprehensive look into how your site is performing and which services you need to rank high in the search engine results pages (SERPs). Fill out our quick contact form or call us to schedule an initial consultation as soon as today.