James Spillane
There’s a debate currently raging in a number of LinkedIn legal marketing groups about the value of search engine optimisation for law firms. While some group members believe a website not optimised for the search engines means fewer prospective clients, others insist that SEO is over-rated, especially in the conservative realm of law practices which traditionally rely on word-of-mouth recommendations as the tried-and-true route to winning new clients.
Those who are quick to dismiss SEO should note that in 2011 alone the UK marketplace for SEO grew by 18% to a value of £514 million, according to Econsultancy’s SEO Agencies Buyer’s Guide 2012. This upward trend in UK adoption of search engine optimisation practices indicates a rising need for optimised web content that has the potential to increase the visibility of a corporate website.
One of the recurrent arguments expressed in LinkedIn discussions is that law firms should disregard SEO and focus on producing high quality content, instead. This is certainly a valid point for old-school keyword-driven SEO. While ranking high for the right keywords is critical to your website getting found by new users, the only way to keep visitors on the page is by engaging them through compelling content. What is more, while many still draw a line between content marketing and SEO, there are indications that the distinction between the two domains will become irrelevant in the near future.
Content is becoming a critical part of SEO
You may think of search engine optimisation as a technical domain involving lengthy spreadsheets and testing keywords in Google Adwords. But with its most recent algorithm updates, Panda and Penguin, Google is moving closer towards a semantic search experience, serving up search results consisting of high quality socially shared content.
In fact, a recent report by Searchmetrics found that social media sharing and backlinks from reputable websites are the two most important factors affecting how a website ranks. Interestingly, the same study concluded that keywords are not as significant as they used to be as a ranking factor. Another prominent development, which Econsultancy identified in their SEO report, is the convergence of SEO, content marketing, and PR, pointing to a future where content marketing and SEO might become indistinguishable and inseparable as digital marketing techniques.
What does this mean for law firms who want to attract new clients?
Law firm partners, associates and marketing directors might rightfully argue that apart from commoditised legal services, search is not an opportunity creator. And indeed, prospective clients are more likely to start their journey for special complex and bespoke services by consulting their friends rather than searching online. But whatever type of service they are seeking, your prospective clients are likely to look up your website, your Facebook page and your Twitter profile, especially in a world where eight in 10 people search online before making a commitment to purchase a product or a service.
Faced with the challenges posed by the changes in the legal market such as ABS, law firms cannot rely on word-of-mouth only to gain competitive advantage – they need to build and optimise their online real estate.
As the boundaries between quality social content and SEO continue to blur and the two domains become more intertwined, law firms will need to build their online inbound marketing strategy around both. Great content is nothing without good SEO, which makes the firm’s content more visible. And vice versa, any SEO effort is pointless if there isn’t quality, engaging content which showcases your expertise, your trustworthiness and your commitment to providing outstanding legal services.
This article was written for Business 2 Community by James Spillane.
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If a firm’s prospective clients use search engines to find information related to their legal issues, then SEO should be a part of their marketing strategy. There’s not much more to debate than that.