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.
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