SEO Writing for Law Firms: The Ultimate Guide

How to Win at SEO Writing in the World’s Most Competitive Markets

Covered In This Article

• Keyword Research
• Topics
• Titles
• Headings
• Readability and Style
• Proofreading
• Originality
• Internal and external links
• Photos
• Backend SEO

Keyword Research

• Every keyword is a competition, and every page is a competitor
• Identify 50-100 keywords most closely related to the services you offer. Use these tools:

→Google Keyword Planner (free)
→Moz’s Keyword Explorer(freemium)
→Ahrefs’ Keyword Difficulty tool (freemium)
→SE Ranking (freemium)
→Ubersuggest (freemium)

• Other keyword planning tools
• Use tools that allow you to enter the website URL and see the most closely related keywords
• Then do the same thing with your competitor’s websites
• Keep a list of all the keywords from your website and your closest competitors’ websites
• Use a free keyword rank-checking tool from Semrush, Ahrefs, or Backlinko to do rankings research

→See which keywords you’re ranking for and which you’re not
→You want to rank for all of them
→Build your SEO around these keywords. They’re the skeleton of your SEO.

• Use long-tail keywords

→Long-tail keywords are typically 3-5 words and are more specific than simple keywords.
→The more specific your keywords and key phrases, the more likely you rank higher.
→For example, you are more likely to rank higher using long-tail keywords like ”San Diego bicycle helmet law” than the more general ”bicycle law.”
→Thus, we recommend using long-tail keywords in high-competition markets where ranking is hard.

• Use location keywords

→Location is very important when choosing keywords.
→Using location-specific keywords will help you:

✓Rank higher in local search results
✓Establish yourself as a local authority
✓Be more visible to potential clients in your area

→Thus, it is a good idea to include your location in your keywords – such as ‘’Encinitas business lawyer.’’
→Your keywords should target your specific location to find the right audience.

SEO Topics

• Choosing a topic (two paths to relevancy)

1. Choosing a topic by keyword
2. Choosing a topic by idea

• You can choose blog topics based on keywords or based on ideas.
• The important thing is that you write about what your potential clients are searching for
• Ideas for blog topics:

→What topics are most important to clients?
→What questions are clients asking in the searches?
→What are clients’ most common questions?
→What information do clients need to know?
→What topics are trending in your practice area and geographic location?
→What are clients’ biggest pain points?
→What types of cases do you want more of?
→Common pitfalls within your practice areas and how to avoid them.
→Topics based on keywords
→Changes to rules and regulations in your practice area’
→Blogs with influencers

SEO Titles

• The title of your article should include keywords and location keywords (i.e. ‘’San Diego Car Accident Lawyer’’)
• Your article should be clearly organized with headings (H1, H2, H3) for every paragraph or two
• Your headings should include keywords, related keywords, and location keywords

Headings

• Your headings should contain keywords and be properly formatted (H1, H2, H3).
• Headings are very important for Google rankings.
• Use headings often – one heading for every paragraph or two (or maybe three if the paragraphs are small).
• Using lots of headings makes the article easily readable and scannable, which means it will have a lower bounce rate.
• It’s a good idea to Google every heading and subheading and check the auto-fills for ideas about which words to use.
• It’s good to phrase headings as questions, as people often enter search terms in the form of questions.
• Using related keywords in your headings and body text is important
• You don’t just want to rank for keywords; you want to rank for all related keywords as well

→Example: use ‘’auto accident,’’ ‘’car accident,’’ and ‘’vehicle accident’’ in the headings and body text to rank for all three

• Using location keywords in your headings is crucial for local search results

→Example: if you’re located in San Diego and writing an article about bicycle safety, use a heading like ‘’Bicycle Safety in San Diego’’ instead of just ‘’Bicycle Safety.”

• Your titles and headings = clients’ search phrases
• The closer you match your titles and headings to the phrases your clients search for, the better your SEO will be

SEO Readability and Style

Formatting (headings)

• Your article must be properly formatted to rank
• Headings are essential for keyword rankings
• Headings help Google:

1. Determine the intent and purpose of your article
2. Categorize your article for relevant search results

• Your article must use headings (H1, H2, H3)

→Your headings should include keywords and related keywords
→Your headings should contain location keywords any time it makes sense to do so (i.e. ‘’San Diego Immigration Lawyer’’ instead of ‘’Immigration Lawyer’’)

• Use headings and sub-headings every 1 to 2 paragraphs (3 if they’re short)

Length of article

• Practice area pages should be 2,500 to 5,000 words

→Check the word count of the article ranking #1 for your keyword, and write an article that is more comprehensive (build a taller skyscraper)
→Articles of up to 10,000 words may be necessary to dominate search results depending on the keyword and location

• Blogs should be at least 2,000 words

→However, it’s better to have 1500 tightly written words than 2,000 rambling words where the important information gets lost
→1,000-1,500 words may be okay for narrow topics, but longer articles are better able to dominate search results

• Home Page

→700-1,200 words (optimal range)

• About Us

→700-1,200 words (optimal range)

• FAQs

→500-1,000 words (optimal range)

Use short words

• Use the simplest and most direct words possible
• Use as few syllables as possible
• Avoid words with 4 syllables or more
• Avoid using legal jargon
• Avoid using technical jargon
• Explain things clearly and concisely in plain language

Use short sentences

• Sentence length greatly impacts readability
• 75% of your sentences should be 20 words or less.
• Break longer sentences down into shorter ones.
• The shorter the words and sentences, the more readable the article.
• All your legal blogs should be as reader-friendly as possible

Use short paragraphs

• Each paragraph should be 3-5 sentences (6-7 max) and 150 words or less.
• Each paragraph should be about a single topic.
• Divide longer paragraphs into two shorter ones, or use subheadings to break the paragraph down even further.
• Readers and search engines like short paragraphs because they are easier to read and scan, leading to a lower bounce rate (meaning that more people stay on the page)

Avoid lists and bullets

• Use bullets minimally.

→Instead, make each bullet a subheading and write a short paragraph about it – this will improve the article’s readability and search results.

• Avoid long lists separated by commas.

→Instead, use the same technique of making each item a subheading and writing a short paragraph about it.

Avoid passive voice

• Always use active voice in your blogs.
• Passive voice is harder for the reader to understand.
• Less than 10% of your sentences should be written in passive voice.
• Grammar tools like Grammarlycan be useful for identifying and eliminating passive voice from your writing.
• To change the passive voice to active, change the verb and switch the actor and receiver.  For example, change “Bob was hit by Bill” (passive) to “Bill hit Bob” (active).

Use transition words

• Transition words show the relationship between phrases, sentences, and paragraphs

→They are the glue that hold your text together

• Some of the most common ones are:

→And
→But
→So
→Because
→Therefore
→Thus
→Moreover
→However
→For example
→Likewise
→In conclusion

• Use transition words often to make your article easier to read and understand
• The easier your article is to read and understand, the higher it’s going to rank
• Without transition words, your article may be disjointed and read like a collection of sentences rather than complete thoughts

Include a Call to Action

• Every page should have a clear call to action, such as “Contact Us” or “Schedule a Free Consultation Today.”
• The call to action is how your website converts readers into clients.
• It may prompt the reader to call, email, complete an intake form, or make a purchase.

Use readability scores

• You can check your legal blog’s readability scorefor free using Microsoft Word.
• Your article should be readable by an 8th-grade student.
• If your readability scores are poor, you can improve them by:

→Using shorter words, sentences, and paragraphs
→Eliminating legal jargon
→Changing passive voice to active voice, and
→Using more transition words

Sources Section

• Create a sources section at the end of each blog, with descriptions and links to the sources
• Only cite authoritative sources like .gov and .edu sites
• Link to relevant statutes, forms, and government agencies
• Do not include internal links in the sources section
• This section is for authoritative, external links only

Proofreading

• Carefully proofread every article for errors and omissions
• Your articles must be error-free to demonstrate expertise and earn trust
• Mistakes in your online content erode trust
• Before your article goes live, carefully proofread it for typos, misspellings, and grammatical errors
• Always make sure your article is error-free before you publish it
• It’s best to have someone else proofread your article for you
• If you do not have someone else to proofread, use a grammar-checking tool like Grammarly to make sure your article is error-free before you publish it

Originality

• Originality is important for Google rankings
• Your search results suffer when you take content from other websites or your own website
• Always check your article for plagiarism and cannibalization before you publish it, and change duplicative language

→Use Grammarly to check your article for plagiarism
→Use Siteliner to check your article for cannibalization

Internal and External Links

• Internal links go to pages on your website, such as your blogs and practice area pages.
• External links go to any website other than yours.
• Use at least one internal link and one external link in every article you publish (practice area pages and blogs)
• Building an extensive network of backlinks on your website improves Google rankings and search results
• Internal links

→Use as many internal links as possible (but don’t ‘’link stuff’’)
→Be familiar with the material on your practice area pages and blogs, and link to it whenever possible

• External links

→External links to authoritative sites establish credibility and build trust with Google
→Thus, external links to trusted sites are good for SEO
→Link to relevant statutes and legal authorities in your articles
→Link only to high-quality, trusted sites (such as .gov or .edu sites)

• Link text (anchor text)

→Use concise link text
→Long link text can cause confusion and functionality issues
→Keep link text to four words or less and use the minimum necessary words
→However, make the links as descriptive as possible and provide as much context as possible
→Google assigns value to context, so giving context helps rankings
→Context helps Google understand the purpose of the link and the article
→Be brief, but be as descriptive as possible

• Link stuffing

→Every link should be on-topic and add something to the article
→Don’t ‘’link stuff,’’ or cram as many links into the article as possible, thinking it will help SEO. It won’t.
→Search engines penalize for ‘’link stuffing’’
→Use links often, but only when it makes logical sense

• External links open in new tab

→Make sure your external links open in a new tab. Otherwise, it registers with Google as people leaving your site.

Photos

• Every article you publish should have a featured image that is:

→Directly related to the written message
→Professional quality
→Attention-grabbing
→Consistent with the style of the other images on your site
→Clear, centered, properly focused, and uncluttered

• You can find free professional photos on Pexels, Pixabay, and other free stock image websites.

Backend SEO

Install a WordPress SEO plugin

• Installing a WordPress SEO plugin makes it much easier for you to configure your backend SEO
• Two recommended SEO plugins are Yoast and Rank Math

For each article you publish, use your SEO plugin to optimize the article for:

• Alt Text (Photos)
• Indexing and Site Mapping
• Keyword Density
• Tags
• Title Readability
• Google Snippet
• URLs
• Metadata

Add Alt-Text to Photos

• Put a clear description of the photo’s contents, including keywords, in the photo’s alt text.
• The alt text should be descriptive enough that people would know exactly what is in the photo without seeing it.
• The description should include the context of the photo.
• Adding proper alt text optimizes the photo for SEO and helps Google rankings.
• Don’t use the word ‘’image’’ or ‘’photo’’ in the alt text. Google already knows it’s an image or photo by the file type.

Indexing and Site Mapping

• Having your site indexed by Google is crucial for rankings.
• If your web pages are not indexed, they will not appear in Google search results.
• Request that Google crawl and index every on your website
• You can index pages individually or submit a sitemap to index many pages at once
• Any time you update a webpage, have Google index it again (right away)
• Some SEO plugins like RankMath allow you to index webpages directly from the backend of your website

→Otherwise, you will use Google Search Console to request indexing

Keyword Density

• Your keyword density should be 1-3% (1-3 words out of 100).
• So, for a 1,000-word article with a five-word key phrase, you would use the key phrase six times.
• Using the key phrase too few or too many times will cause the article to rank lower.
• Use related key phrases or synonyms if your key phrase density is too high.

→Using synonyms and related keywords is good because you want to rank for those words also

• Synonyms do not count towards keyword density.
• You can measure your article’s keyword density using a WordPress plugin like Rank Math.

Tags

• Use your SEO plugin to tag each article for keywords, related keywords, and location keywords

Title Tag

• The Title Tag is the title of your article
• Choose the title by thinking of a few keywords people are likely to search for, then type them into Google.
• Google will auto-fill the keywords with long-tail key phrases.
• These auto-fills are the most popular searches on the topic.  Thus, they are a great source for keywords and key phrases to use in your title.
• Using your location in the title of your blogs and practice area pages is a good idea.
• It helps Google define the purpose of your webpage and connect you to the audience you are trying to reach.
• You want to optimize for search results within your geographic area.

→For example, use a title like ‘’Electric Scooter Laws in San Diego’’ rather than simply ‘’Electric Scooter Laws.’’

Google Snippet and Meta Descriptions

• Your Google snippet convinces readers to click on your link instead of a competitor’s
• Your Google snippet should contain sharply written text that makes readers want to click your link (no boring, generic text).
• Optimize your Google snippet using your WordPress SEO plugin

→Use keywords
→Use related keywords
→Use location keywords
→Tell who the article is for, what it’s about, and how it accomplishes its goal
→Use ‘’why’’ words (who, what, when, where, why, how)
→Use power words that trigger emotions
→Focus on the user and what they are looking for

URLs

• Use descriptive URLs
• Use keywords in your URLs (but don’t keyword stuff)
• Standardize your URL naming policy
• Be concise (remove non-essential words and syllables)

→75 characters max.

• Make it reader-friendly (prioritize user experience)
• Don’t cannibalize URL slugs from your other pages

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