Keyword Research for Lawyers

Keyword research for lawyers involves identifying common search terms that you can incorporate into your online content and drive traffic to your law firm’s website organically. In many ways, it is an essential part of your law firm’s digital marketing plan. When done effectively, keyword research can help you reach potential clients where they are and when they need you, leading to increased conversions.

Conducting keyword research and incorporating it into your content is a strategic endeavor. It takes time and experience. With more than 25 years of experience in providing SEO for lawyers, Consultwebs can help you understand the role of keyword research in your firm’s campaign and help you use it to generate more clicks, calls, and revenue.

What Is Keyword Research for Lawyers?

The goal of keyword research is to pinpoint the terms that your potential clients may use when searching for legal services. These terms may include phrases and questions, such as “Los Angeles personal injury lawyer,” or “how do you file for divorce in New York?”

Effective keyword research for law firm digital marketing incorporates various elements, including:

User intent – Why does someone enter a search term? For example, their intent could be informational (“what to do after a car accident?), commercial (“top-rated law firms in Chicago”), or transactional (“free consultation with a Social Security Disability attorney”). Understanding the “why” can help you to address a potential client’s needs. It also helps your firm tailor your content to target audiences at every stage of their journey towards finding a lawyer.
Localization – Keyword research helps law firms target their service area by incorporating geographic locations where the firm has offices or represents clients.
Long tail keywords – Keyword research helps identify longer phrases that potential clients may use, such as “how much is the average truck accident settlement in Florida?” These long-tail keywords have lower search volume but often have higher conversion rates.
Keyword data – Comprehensive keyword research uses tools to produce data that helps identify and track keywords, measure search volume, keyword difficulty, and other metrics.
Application – Once you conduct keyword research, the final step is using your findings as part of your strategic search engine optimization (SEO) plan. Research can help you optimize existing pages, strengthen new pages, and identify content your site may be lacking.

Consultwebs uses proven practices to take the guesswork out of keyword research. We leverage our experience, knowledge, and data-backed strategies to make a law firm’s marketing dollars work as hard as possible.

Why Is Keyword Research So Important for Law Firms?

Keyword research for lawyers is one of the most cost-effective ways to direct search traffic to your law firm. When people search the internet, especially when they are searching for something they need now, they often click on one of the first few sites in Google’s list of results. Keyword research helps your business appear at the top of that list.

Keyword research also helps you focus your law firm SEO plan on specific terms, geographic terms, and terms that allow you to compete with larger firms. Additionally, research helps you develop content that is relevant and useful to users, lending you authority and building trust in your market.

Because you can track keywords, research produces data. You can use this data to find which keywords and related terms lead to clicks, calls, and consultations, and you can fine-tune your firm’s content accordingly.

What Are Helpful Keyword Research Tools for Law Firm SEO?

Many tools exist to help law firms analyze search volume, improve SEO, and upgrade content with the right keywords. These tools ensure you are using keywords to your benefit. Some are free, and others require a subscription.

Some commonly used tools include:

Google Keyword Planner – This tool helps build keyword lists. It generates keyword ideas, tells you how keywords might perform, and provides data on search term volume.
Google Search Console – Search Console provides information about how Google sees your website, how your site currently ranks, and how users interact with your site in search results. This tool also provides performance tracking, analyzes inbound links (backlinks) to your site, and can identify and help you fix some performance issues.
Google Trends – This program collects data on search trends across multiple platforms, including Google and YouTube.
Semrush – Semrush conducts keyword research and search engine results page (SERP) tracking. SERP data shows you how your site currently ranks for keywords.
Ahrefs – This tool monitors keyword search engine rankings and analyzes competitor sites. It also provides backlink data and can audit a website for SEO issues.
Moz – Moz can identify keywords that are ranking just outside the top 10 and help you improve them. It also finds keyword suggestions, related terms, and estimates keyword difficulty.
AnswerThePublic – This tool lets you track questions people search for. It can be used to identify long-tail keywords to incorporate into frequently asked questions (FAQs) and other content.
LawEval – Consultwebs offers clients access to LawEval, a proprietary SEO marketing tool designed specifically for law firms, to provide insights to law firms on how to create and refine content. LawEval provides 24/7 website performance monitoring, monthly reporting, and trend alerts. It also tracks leads from start to finish and shows real-time conversion rates and aggregate data from multiple marketing platforms, including Google and Facebook.

What Is the Difference Between Short-Tail and Long-Tail Keywords?

Short-tail keywords are simple, two and three-word phrases, such as “personal injury lawyer” or “medical malpractice attorney.” Long-tail keywords typically include a geographic location, and they are longer phrases or questions. Examples include “Fort Lauderdale burn injury lawyer,” “best DUI defense lawyer in St. Louis,” or “what is the most common cause of spinal cord injuries?” There are differences in how short-tail vs. long-tail keywords function and what they achieve.

Short-tail keywords have a high search volume and can quickly establish your firm as a topical authority. However, there is a lot of competition for short-tail keywords, and they usually do not yield high conversion rates.
Long-tail keywords have less competition but also a lower search volume. Because they are targeted and often answer an immediate question or a problem, they reach users in the decision-making stage, often resulting in higher conversions.

Typically, you should balance content with both short-tail and long-tail keywords.

What Is Keyword Difficulty?

Keyword difficulty, or SEO difficulty, measures how hard it is for a search term to rank at the top in search results. Keywords are ranked from 0 to 100. Data on keyword difficulty can help you identify which search terms are most beneficial for your firm to target.

How a keyword’s difficulty score is calculated varies from one keyword research tool to another. Factors to consider are:

What is the power of competing websites?
What is the number and quality of inbound links to competing sites?
How well-optimized are the top pages for the keyword?

A “good” keyword difficulty score will depend on your aims. Here’s a breakdown of what the scores mean:

Low difficulty (0 to 30) – These terms are easiest to rank for, but they do not have high search volumes. Low-difficulty keywords can be useful for firms that have just developed their online marketing or want to incorporate long-tail keywords that are easier to rank at the top of search engine result pages.
Medium difficulty (31-60) – These keywords fall in the mid-range for both search volume and competitiveness. Established websites for firms that have built authority in the industry should be able to rank for these terms.
High difficulty (61-100) – These keywords are the most searched and most competitive, and firms that rank for them usually have well-established and highly authoritative websites. Ranking for these terms requires time, a strong SEO strategy, and a strong web presence.

Note that keyword difficulty is not the same as keyword competition. Keyword difficulty measures organic search traffic. On the other hand, keyword competition measures paid search terms and tells you how much competition you might find for keywords you bid on.

How Can You Do Effective Keyword Research for Your Law Firm Website?

The effective use of keywords should lead to increased web traffic, increased conversions, and, ultimately, increased consultations and new clients. Keyword research typically follows a systematic process that is part of an overall law firm SEO marketing plan. Three basic steps are:

Identify the practice areas you would like to bolster or the target markets you would like to reach. Based on this information, you brainstorm “seed” keywords, which are short-tail keywords like “premises liability lawyer.”

Use keyword research tools to generate data that you can use to adjust your keyword usage for maximum benefit. For example, you might use Semrush to do competitor research or Moz to measure keyword difficulty. You will also want to ensure that your keywords align with the intended user intent.

Map keywords to pages, usually assigning one primary target keyword per page. You can also group pages by related terms, such as nesting a “texting and driving car accident” page under a broader practice area page with the target keyword “car accident lawyer.”

Consultwebs has the tools, knowledge, and experience to help your law firm perform effective keyword research that translates to business for your legal team. We focus on measurable outcomes and can elevate your digital marketing.

How Can You Optimize Law Firm Content with Keywords?

Once you identify the target keywords, you need to incorporate them into your content in a way that search engines understand, and that delivers the right information to the right person at the right time.

You can optimize your keyword use by combining the following methods:

Localizing Keywords and Content

You want your content to reach your service area. Adding a location to keywords, whether it is a city or state, can narrow the focus to those most likely to click through to your site and call your firm. You can also incorporate localization in other ways, such as adding the names of busy intersections to a pedestrian accident page targeting a particular town.

Writing for User Intent

Different keywords fulfill different users’ intents. You want to ask yourself why someone is using a search term. Is it to gather more information? Are they comparing law firms? Are they ready to hire a lawyer? You may target someone looking for information with an FAQ page, and then use additional on-page keyword optimization to guide them into your site. Long-tail keywords can be particularly helpful in targeting users with a specific intent or question. Typically, they are also less competitive search terms.

Writing Naturally

You do not want to twist your wording in a way that is not natural just so you can “stuff” your content with keywords. Ideally, you want to make your content as readable as possible. Law firm SEO uses active voice, simple phrasing, short paragraphs, subheadings, and bullet points to make information easy for the reader to take in.

Using Keywords in Various Page Elements

Using keywords in headings and subheadings can help your page rank higher. You can also optimize pages by using keywords in URLs, meta descriptions, title tags, and under images in alternative text (alt text).

Incorporating Internal Links

You can include keywords as internal links to encourage users to navigate deeper into your site. For instance, searching “who is liable for a dog bite in Texas” could lead users to a dog bite FAQ page that includes an internal link to a practice area page attached to the keyword “Texas dog bite lawyer.” This search could lead them to a page that includes links to dog bite lawyers in the various cities in Texas that your law firm serves.

What Is Semantic Search?

Semantic search uses latent semantic indexing to identify relationships between search terms and concepts, rather than relying solely on keyword matching. Semantic search tries to understand the meaning and context behind search terms and deliver results tailored to the user’s intent.

A semantic search for “child custody lawyer” might bring up results for “how to modify a child custody agreement” or “how do courts decide what is in the best interest of a child?” A semantic search for “truck accident injury” might bring up “truck accident lawyer” pages or pages that explain truck driver negligence.

Understanding semantic search can help you further optimize your site. It can help your firm develop content that includes relevant semantic keywords.

Write for Humans, Then Optimize for Search

Google’s search algorithm rewards authoritative content that reads like it was written by a real person – not by AI. Writing for people first positions your law firm as a trustworthy source.

Your content should convey your brand voice and read as if your lawyers were talking to their clients. Your web pages should also focus on fulfilling user intent and providing useful, actionable information. Additionally, your content should:

Avoid jargon, legalese, overuse of keywords, or awkwardly stuffed keywords

Guide readers with clear headings and subheadings, numbered lists, and bullet points. Make pages easy to skim, especially for people reading on mobile devices.

Once you have written for humans, you can optimize for search results by incorporating your target keywords naturally.

Why Should You Optimize for ‘Near Me’ and Other Natural Language Searches?

People increasingly use voice assistants, such as Siri, Alexa, and Google Voice, to search. People also search for services through location-based apps, like Google Maps. Optimizing content for “near me” and other natural language searches helps your law firm target high-intent users in your area and capture mobile web traffic.

Phrases like “lawyer near me” or “where can I find a lawyer” help get your firm included in local “map pack” results, which are often the first thing people see when searching on a cell phone. Ranking well in a local search also builds your firm’s credibility in your service area.

Phrases that target natural-language search queries can deliver results to people seeking immediate help. Examples of natural language phrases include:

“What is the best immigration law firm in my area?”
“How can I find a personal injury lawyer?”
“How long do I have to file a car accident claim?”
“Can my employer deny me workers’ compensation?”
“Why do I need a Social Security Disability lawyer?”

What Is Local Keyword Research for Law Firms?

Local keyword research for lawyers and law firms helps you focus your content to reach people in a targeted city, county, state, or region. It is important in law firm SEO because legal services are usually geographically limited.

Thorough local keyword research should provide information about the following in your service area:

Competitors, including firms that consistently appear in the map pack
High volume “near me” searches
Ranking keywords
Long-tail keyword searches

You incorporate local research by using phrases like “motorcycle accident lawyer in North Carolina,” “Philadelphia family law lawyer,” or “how to set up a trust in Alabama.”

Local keyword research goes well beyond just slotting in the name of a town. You can optimize local keyword usage by including additional local content, such as state statutes and municipal laws, or by linking to credible state and local websites, like the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Do Certain SEO Keywords Work Best for Law Firms?

Identifying the best SEO keywords for your law firm takes keyword research. But, in general, the following types of keywords work well in SEO for lawyers:

Practice area-specific keywords – Using a phrase that includes a practice area, instead of only “lawyer,” narrows the search term and ensures you target clients looking for a service you offer. Examples include “breach of contract lawyer” or “will, trust, and probate lawyer.”
Local keywords – Local keywords get traffic from local people who can actually use your firm. They are vital to attracting prospective clients. They include phrases like “Orlando product liability lawyer” or “divorce lawyer in San Diego.”
Long-tail keywords – Long-tail keywords are important because they reach users with a high intent, have lower competition, and higher conversion rates.
High-intent keywords – These terms target clients who are ready to hire an attorney. Common high-intent keywords include “hire a lawyer” and “consult with an attorney.”
Question-based keywords – Question-based keywords can satisfy user intent and lead people to blogs and FAQ pages that can drive them further into your site.

How Long Should Proper Keyword Research Take?

Conducting proper keyword research and using it to optimize your website is an ongoing process. It could take several hours to complete each stage of the keyword research process, from planning to using research tools to mapping keywords and optimizing pages. All told, this could amount to between 10 and 20 hours or more per project.

You will then need to devote time to monitoring, updating, and adapting to trends to ensure your site remains optimized. You will also need to conduct new keyword research when adding pages for new service and practice areas.

Our Law Firm Digital Marketing Team Can Help with Your Keyword Research

Consultwebs uses proven SEO techniques to help law firms connect with clients and bring in business. For over 25 years, we have partnered with firms across the country to achieve one primary goal – signing cases. We work with solo, mid-sized, and large firms. Our clients’ success is our success.

For instance, The Barry Law Firm, a niche lemon law firm, sought our help developing an organic search campaign. We assisted The Barry Law Firm with creating authoritative content and using a semantic keyword strategy. In just 12 months, our efforts resulted in:

An increase from 2-10 daily clicks to 110 to 140
A 126.6 percent increase in organic leads,
A 39 percent increase in monthly calls.

Clients love and trust Consultwebs because what we do works. Many law firms have been with us for years and have provided glowing testimonials, such as:

“There is no doubt that the help that they have given us has led to an exponential growth of my practice. In fact, my practice has grown each and every year since we started working with Consultwebs.”

– Phil Ryan, Ryan Bisher Ryan & Simons

Consultwebs conducts keyword research for lawyers as part of a comprehensive SEO marketing plan. Let us help you grow your caseload, grow your revenue, and grow your practice. Our goal is to help you build a site that ranks high, brings traffic that converts to leads, and builds your brand’s trust and authority.