The best search engine optimization (SEO) strategy for personal injury lawyers is the one that generates results. 

But that doesn’t do much for you. You need to know what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. 

In this guide, we look at the ins and outs of a comprehensive SEO strategy. 

With the right approach, you position your website to generate traffic and visibility with the idea of converting it to clients. 

Why an SEO strategy is important for personal injury lawyers

Developing and designing a high-quality website is a good start, but it’s just that — a start. 

You need to drive eyeballs to your website, and that’s based largely on your ability to rank at or near the top of the search engines for your target keywords. 

There are many reasons why you should devote time, money, and resources to improve your website’s search engine rankings. 

Consider the following:

• Improve visibility
• Establish authority within your legal niche
• Generate traffic
• Supplement other marketing tactics

8 tips to optimize personal injury law firm SEO

Now that you know why an SEO strategy for personal injury lawyers is important, let’s turn our attention to eight tips that can help you achieve your short and long-term goals. 

1. Position your website for success

Don’t dive headfirst into an SEO strategy without an idea of what you want to accomplish. 

Doing so can lead you down the wrong path, thus costing you time and money. Not to mention the fact that you give your competitors a leg up.

Develop your goals and audit what you already have.  

The way you develop and design your law firm’s website has a lot to do with your future results. Some things to keep in mind:

• A clean, modern website is a must: By impressing your audience with a well-designed website, you also improve its bounce rate and speed. Both of these things are important to competing for the top spot in Google. 
• Focus on producing unique, engaging, quality content: Content is and always will be king when it comes to search engine optimization. Your website should be full of unique content that engages your audience. This includes both landing pages — such as About and Services — and blog posts. 
• Include a contact form: It’s not good enough to drive traffic to your website. Your goal is to generate leads. The best way to do that is to make your contact information highly visible. In addition to a contact form, place your phone number in a prominent location (such as the top right corner of the header).

Don’t rush through the process of developing and setting up your personal injury website. Do whatever it takes to get it right the first time around. 

2. Mobile-friendly design

This wasn’t as big of a deal 10+ years ago, but in today’s day and age it’s an absolute must. 

According to Statista, mobile devices account for approximately 54 percent of all website traffic. 

Think about that. Roughly one out of every two people who visit your website will do so on a smartphone or tablet. 

So, if your website isn’t mobile-friendly, it’s time to make a change. 

Two reasons why a mobile-friendly design is critical:

1. It’s inviting to the user: Have you ever visited a website that isn’t mobile-friendly? If so, you know that navigating it is next to impossible. You don’t want your audience to have that same experience. Invite them in so they stick around.
2. SEO-friendly: A site that isn’t mobile-friendly is a site that will struggle to reach its full potential. Mobile-friendliness is a ranking signal in both Google and Bing’s algorithms. 

The percentage of people browsing the internet on mobile devices should continue to increase in the years to come. This makes a mobile-friendly design a must — not optional. 

3. Blogging

Search engines love unique, high-quality, fresh content. And for that reason, you should get into the habit of publishing new blog articles on a regular schedule. 

As a general rule, set the goal of writing and publishing a minimum of four blog posts per month. This works out to roughly one per week, which is a schedule that most people — even newcomers — can adhere to. 

Before you get started, create a content calendar that outlines details such as:

• Topic idea
• Proposed publish date
• Primary and secondary keywords

The more content you create, the easier it becomes to determine what has the best chance of moving the needle. 

Ideas to get you through the first month or two include:

• How-to guides
• Specific legal scenarios
• Case results 
• Informative content
• News

For example, if you cater largely to car accident victims, you could create a blog post titled “How to File a Personal Injury Claim After a Motor Vehicle Accident.”

Not only is that topic highly relevant to your audience, but it positions you as an authority and someone prospective clients should consider. 

4. Keyword research  

Gone are the days of stuffing your content with keywords, watching it move to the top of the search engines, and taking advantage of a boatload of traffic. 

Today, every piece of content you create should answer this question: What does the reader need to know?

Keyword stuffing your content will actually hurt your organic search ranking, but working them in naturally will help your chances. 

Research keywords (and your competitors’ keywords) before you create any type of content, especially blog posts. You can do so with keyword analysis tools such as Ahrefs, SEMrush, and the Google Keyword Research Tool.

You should also use this opportunity to better understand what your competitors are doing. 

Answer questions such as:

• What primary and secondary keywords are your competitors optimized for?
• Where does their content currently rank?
• What can you do to ensure that your content is of higher quality?

Don’t spend so much time reviewing your competitors that you neglect your own keyword research. But make sure you at least have a high-level overview of their approach and how you can overcome them in the search rankings. 

5. On-page SEO 

As noted above, it’s imperative to develop a high-quality website that provides visitors with a good user experience. While doing so, devote the time necessary to on-page SEO. 

This is defined by Moz as follows:

On-page SEO is the practice of optimizing individual web pages in order to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic in search engines. On-page refers to both the content and HTML source code of a page that can be optimized, as opposed to off-page SEO which refers to links and other external signals.

In other words, even if you create the highest quality content in your niche, it doesn’t guarantee that it’ll rank well in the search engines. There are other factors that impact your rank in search engines. 

Google’s crawler bots sift the internet for webpages, so your website must be organized properly from day one. When combined with the right content and keywords, there’s a greater chance of reaching your goals. 

Another big part of on-page SEO is including the right types of landing pages. In addition to regularly published blog posts, static pages should include:

• About 
• Contact
• Frequently asked questions 
• Help
• Resources
• Attorney bio pages

Even if you don’t have in-depth knowledge of on-page SEO, you must make sure the basics are in place. Neglecting to do so can kill your chances of generating a high volume of search traffic or prospective clients. 

6. Attorney search engine optimization

As noted in section #5 above, attorney bio pages are a big part of law firm websites. 

A friendly face is a welcome sight for any visitor, but there’s also SEO value in including bios.

When people search one of your attorneys by name , your website should be the first search result they see. 

If a potential client wants to get in touch, don’t make them scour the internet for your law firm’s website. Use the right terms to describe the attorney’s practice areas so that someone searching for that specific service will push your law firm into the search results. 

An attorney page optimized with successful seo tactics should rank for your target audience. 

7. Local SEO

If you haven’t done so yet, stop reading and create your “Google My Business” profile. This improves the likelihood of your website being seen in local searches. 

For instance, if you’re a personal injury lawyer in San Diego, you want to rank for terms such as “San Diego personal injury lawyer” and “personal injury lawyer in San Diego.” 

While Google Business is your jumping-off point, other legal-specific websites also allow you to create a profile. Avvo and FindLaw are two of the most popular. 

Add your law firm to as many legal directories and local directories as you can find. It helps you brand your brand, improve your search engine rankings, and drive traffic to your website. 

8. Get Google Reviews

Today, more people than ever before read Google reviews before choosing a service. This holds true in every industry imaginable, from law firms to landscaping. 

While you can’t compensate people for leaving a positive review, it’s perfectly acceptable to ask your clients to leave an honest review. 

When your client engagement comes to an end, ask the person if they’ll leave you a review on Google (and other websites, if applicable). 

As long as you’re confident that they’ll say something positive —it’s always worth requesting. 

Note: if you have questions or concerns about ethics and legal regulations, read our blog post titled “Ethical Regulations in Legal Marketing.” 

Law firm SEO is important, but only if you play by the rules. You don’t want to blur any lines that could mislead others and get you in hot water. 

SEO success for personal injury law firms

With the above guidance, you have everything you need to create an SEO strategy that will generate leads and traffic. 

It doesn’t always come easy and results take time. 

But when you have a dedicated strategy to commit to, you’ll find yourself moving in the right direction at all times.

Of course, if you need any help along the way, you can schedule a discovery call to learn more about Kaleidico’s services. 

We know what it takes to get your law firm to the top. Let’s talk about it!