8 Local SEO Tips to Build Your Law Firm’s Online Presence

Local SEO is key to any business’s success in 2021 — and a law firm is no exception. After all, 46% of all Google searches have a local intent, and that number will only go up for businesses that operate on a regional scale.

What does this mean for your Long Island law firm? It means that if you can optimize your site for local search, you will be more likely to get more website traffic and qualified leads.

Here are a few tips to help you get the most of your local SEO in Long Island:

• Test your website speed: If you want to retain your site visitors, your website should load within three seconds. So, before you focus on getting more people to your website, make sure they don’t leave even before they get there since your site takes ages to load.
• Make sure you are using the correct keywords: The keywords you choose must match what people in your area are searching for. You can use a keyword research tool such as Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush Keyword Magic, or Keywords Explorer by Ahrefs to identify the most popular search terms for law firms in Long Island like yours — as well as how tricky it will be to rank for them locally.
• Create or claim your Google My Business profile: Your Long Island law firm’s Google My Business page is your local listing, which shows up in Google Search and Maps. You cannot afford to overlook the exposure that comes with being listed in Google My Business.
• Optimize your Google My Business profile: Google ranks business profiles based on their relevance to the search query as well as their site’s overall quality. This means that optimizing your Google My Business profile can help you hold more sway in local search, feature for more search queries, and potentially gain more clients.
• Reference your location in key parts of your site: You should include your targeted location in the title tag, headings, body, and meta description of your site’s landing page and any product/service pages. Keep in mind that Google hates plagiarism and may penalize your pages in search results if they have duplicated content.
• Optimize your site for voice search: Voice search has grown in popularity in recent years and will continue to do so — and for good reasons. It enables online users to search faster and multi-task. What this means is that you must optimize your site for voice search. Think about the keywords that are commonly used in voice search rather than just search queries. It is important to remember, for example, that users will generally ask questions using voice search, such as “Who are the best family law attorneys in Long Island?”
• Get your firm listed in reputable local directories: Listing your law firm in reputable local directories can help you rank higher in search results. Google indexes directory entries and may return the directory entry at the top of search results so long as it is a reputable one. So even if you are unable to achieve a higher ranking for a specific keyphrase, your law firm may still be visible through search results from other directories.
• Ensure your website is mobile-friendly: Your website’s mobile-friendliness can significantly impact your local SEO. Most searches are now conducted on smartphones, and 61% of those mobile searchers are more likely to contact a local business if their website runs well on smartphones. Google also favors websites that run smoothly on mobile devices. So, if your website does not run well on a smartphone, you risk losing out on local SEO.

Following these tips can help you ensure the success of your local SEO marketing in Long Island, allowing you to get found and drive more traffic to your firm’s site.