According to a 2013 report from the American Bar Association (ABA), there are about 1.3 million licensed lawyers hard at work in the U.S. That’s about 26,000 per state. Of those, about 70% – roughly 18,000 per state – are in private practice. Given those numbers, it’s not hard to understand why competition for new clients can be pretty intense.

While word of mouth was once the most powerful tool for attracting new clients, today most lawyers today rely on the Internet to raise awareness of their services and draw attention to their practices. Unfortunately, the competition online is pretty fierce too: A Google search of the term “law practice” yields a whopping 144 million results; searching for “law firm” is a little less daunting, offering a mere 55 million results.

With so many firms competing for their slice of the online pie, it’s pretty clear law firms need some special help in ensuring they achieve the level of visibility they need to grow and thrive. And the best way to do that is with law firm SEO.

What is SEO?

If you dabble at all in your website design or online marketing for your practice, you probably know that SEO stands for search engine optimization. And you may also know that SEO has something to do with making sure your site incorporates certain keywords that people are searching for. But what you probably don’t know is that SEO for layers is about much, much more than just tossing in a few keywords and calling it a day. SEO involves a complex strategy based on search engine ranking algorithms and real-time data analysis that’s continually updated to reflect the most current search statistics.

To explain SEO and what it can do for you, we’re offering a free ebook with tips and guidance from leading SEO experts. But first, let’s look at some interesting statistics about SEO and its importance for today’s legal practices.

How important is SEO for lawyers?

As an attorney, you deal with a lot of information every day, and you know that when it comes to building a strong case, incontrovertible facts are what carry the strongest weight. So let’s cut to the chase: When it comes to the important role SEO plays today, the facts are crystal clear:

• 93% of website traffic comes from search engine results
• In the U.S. alone, more than 20 billion searches are being conducted each month
• About 12 billion searches are conducted each month on Google
• Nearly half of all business’ customers come from search
• About 80% of searchers ignore the paid ads, focusing instead on page ranking (SEO) results
• 75% of users never bother to look beyond the first page of search engine results

Those are some pretty amazing statistics, demonstrating not only the power of SEO, but also the critical need for an SEO strategy developed specifically for your target audience.

OK, but what can attorney SEO do for my firm?

Implementing a powerful lawyer SEO strategy for your website offers significant advantages for your firm. No, it can’t help you win cases, but it can provide a lot of other benefits:

1. It can improve your search engine rankings. As the statistics above show, the lion’s share of people searching for the services you offer are going to click on the top search engine results –typically the first, second or third result. A targeted attorney SEO strategy helps search engines find you in response to searches, placing you higher on the search results page.
2. It can help you attract new clients. Sure, you get some clients through word of mouth, but when it comes to getting new clients, most firms today rely heavily on the Internet. SEO based on real terms that potential clients are actually using is what’s going to draw their attention to your firm.
3. It can establish you as an authority. Search engine results may look like a bunch pf page listings to you, but where you fall can have a psychological influence on people who are searching for you. Sites that appear higher on the results list tend to be viewed as more trustworthy and “legitimate,” and when your site ranks high, you can significantly improve the way your firm is perceived by both current and potential clients.
4. It can help you build your brand. Just as SEO for lawyers can increase your authority, it can improve your brand by moving you to the top of search engine results, drawing more attention to your name and your services.

How we can help.

At Bigfoot Media, we’re committed to providing the most comprehensive array of solutions aimed squarely at improving law firm SEO. Web design and marketing is all we do, all day long, day in and day out. As a result, we’re really good at it. And we’re also good at understanding the unique SEO needs of law firms just like yours.

Not sure your firm needs a good SEO strategy? Don’t just take our word for it: Listen to what the experts have to say. Download our ebook, Learning from the SEO Experts, and read what leading SEO gurus have to say about the importance of SEO for today’s law firms. And when you’re ready to learn about SEO options for your practice, give us a call. We’ll be happy to discuss your needs with you with no obligation, and we can even develop a strategy that will help you get the results you want without the major time investment and hassle of constant site monitoring and development. Ready to talk now? Call us at 864-214-5504 and set up your own free consultation.