1. Your law firm sites should be about legal topics on which you are an expert.
Notice that I said "law firm sites". While having one main site for you law firm is important, it's really just the beginning. Whether you're in a highly competitive legal market or a super-specialized niche, you will see better search visibility by using multiple practice-specific sites.
Further, you should start by concentrating on developing sites on which you are an expert. This way, your content will reflect your expertise and we know that good content is one of the most important components of search success.
2. Build a law firm site plan first, then execute it.
Many law firm's are so excited "just to have a site" that they make decisions in haste. This causes a lot of "re-working" (and wasted money) down the road. Think of your site as a building. Draw up the blueprint first before breaking ground.
3. Perform Competitive Analysis.
It is amazing how much more effective your search engine optimization campaign can be with some basic competitive analysis. Find out who is ranking well for your keywords and what they are doing to get those rankings. You will often be able to "match" their efforts which will make it easier to surpass them.
4. Map keyword research to specific pages.
Once you have determined which keywords you plan to target, map them onto specific pages of your site plan. Incorporate these keywords, where appropriate, into your title tag, meta data, headers, and text. Don't stuff keywords on a page for the sake of stuffing, it won't help (and could hurt).
5. Your law firm site search be usable and "search engine friendly".
Make sure your site navigation is easy to use, you have clearly identified calls to action, and that your site is structurally friendly for the search engines.
6. Keep your pages tightly focused.
Each page on your site should have a specific purpose. Again, outline the purpose of each page beforehand and then execute that plan. Always keep in mind the unique considerations involved in writing for the web.
7. Submit your site to relevant and reputable directories.
Avoid submitting your site to off-topic free-for-all directories. Look for legal directories, or better yet, practice specific directories that are highly relevant to your sites topic. Also, avoid sites with no editorial review process. Usually, these sites aren't worth the time it takes to submit your site.
8. Design and execute a link building campaigning.
This is the single most important part of increasing your law firm's search engine visibility (and the most time intensive). As you probably know, links are "votes" for your site in the unequal democracy of the web. You need to find ways of generating a quantity of quality links.
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Concise and well written article. I would add to not forget to make sure their is enough relevant content for those "long tail searches". These searches are done one or two times, never to be repeated. They are impossible to anticipate but can be captured with well written, relevant, and large amout of content.
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Good article -- I agree with Randy -- the long tail is up for grabs for any lawyer prepared to put a bit of work in. Many of the most popular search terms are already hard fought over by numerous lawyers -- the long tail however gives you the possibility of generating reasonable amounts of work at little or no cost.