I've had this question asked of me several times recently. Usually, a potential client wants to know because they are interested in comparing "apples to apples" with other SEO quotes they've received. There are a number of SEO companies out there that design and sell SEO packages based on optimizing your site for a set number of keywords. Perhaps their bronze package includes 5 keywords, their silver package gives you optimization for 10 keywords, and with the gold package you get 20. With this type of setup, it appears that you are purchasing a more robust, better performing service when your site is being optimized for more keywords.
So how many keywords do we optimize your law firm's website for?
My answer is that this is the wrong question.
Good SEO is not a commodity product, it’s a service. The value of an SEO program should be measured in increased traffic, leads, and business for the firm. As such, it can’t be easily quantified by metrics such as the number of keywords that are promised to be used before you even get started. That type of decision should be made strategically as you engage in the SEO campaign and it will evolve based on a variety of circumstances.
In the legal profession, no client should hire a lawyer based on the number of motions he or she promises to file in court. The decision to file a motion will be made as a case progresses and the lawyer has the need to do so in order to get the desired results for his or her client. Keyword selection is not so different from this. It is an important part of the process and a necessity for successful results with your SEO campaign. But don't make the mistake of thinking that the value of an SEO campaign revolves around how many keywords your site is going to be optimized for before a campaign has even started.
Photo by MervC
Here's a recent Google SERP for "𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗹𝗮𝘄𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗮." Ads? ❌LSAs? ❌Local Pack? ❌Links? ❌ 🔷 AI Overview? ✅ 6 firms listed. Only one tiny 🔗. Click the 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 button? 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗲𝘁: Here's a more detailed look at some of these firms: THE PEARCE LAW FIRM, P.C.Edith Pearce, […]
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I'm grateful for my friend, Charley Mann of Law firm Alchemy. If you're a lawyer, subscribe to his Free Email List. In a recent email, Charley calls out bad guru advice on hiring: "Trying to execute a major SEO improvement? You need to find people who will help you, instead of trying to DIY it […]
If you’ve spent any time on LinkedIn, you’ve likely seen posts from law firm SEO experts showing off charts with an “up and to the right” trajectory. These screenshots, often pulled from tools like Semrush or Ahrefs, are meant to signal SEO success. And it’s not just the agencies celebrating—𝗹𝗮𝘄 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 […]
Meh, links! All things being equal, links still tend to move the dial more than any other factor in legal SERPs. Maybe links are having a diminishing impact internet-wide. But in my experience, quality links, especially relevant links (both topically and geographically), tend to improve law firm visibility in search more than most everything else. […]
