Legal marketing is special and so is legal SEO. For lawyers, attorneys and law firms, SEO is must today to earn qualified leads that connect them to potential clients and enhance the flow of cases to boost the business bottom line. Lawyers are usually wary of comprehending the basics of SEO that is necessary to find out the right agency, thinking it to be too much technical, which it is not. Unless lawyers have a clear understanding of how SEO works and serve their professional needs, they will remain vulnerable to unscrupulous SEO providers that can harm them. Trying to implement SEO without knowing its pitfalls can prove disastrous for legal professionals.
Before setting out to look for the right SEO provider, every legal professional who is keen to use SEO for his or her law-marketing firm needs to have a solid understanding of how search engine optimization works. This would help them to use the technology to aid law firm marketing without the fear of antagonizing Google. It would give them the confidence of being on the right track that leads to success in their profession. Since the SEO industry is unregulated, you will find both ethical professionals as well a host of rogues and con artists who pose as SEO experts and mislead consumers.
The threats from unscrupulous SEO professionals
- The most significant threat of going with bad SEO professionals, especially those who do not have any knowledge or understanding about the legal profession is that they might use obsolete techniques that do not add any value to marketing.
- There are high chances that they would fail to balance the needs of the profession with the search engine guidelines and draw the wrath of search engines that can sink the online marketing campaign altogether.
- Every law firm or attorney, if it relates to individual practice, has its own set of requirements to fulfill through SEO. There cannot be a one size fits all solution but the pseudo SEO professionals being unaware of the needs would use the same or similar content for various clients that would just not serve the marketing cause.
- The bad professionals of SEO do not care for any business ethics. They might camouflage their one-man show in the guise of a well-staffed organization. And to prove the point might outsource the service leaving you in dire straits.
- They may even go to the extent of fabricating performance and marketing reports.
SEO is not at all difficult
To create a smoke screen, the rogue SEO professionals give an impression that makes you believe that SEO is difficult, which it is not. They make it appear more complex and confusing so that they can maintain their stranglehold on unsuspecting clients. The reality is that SEO is easy provided you understand the basics, which not at all difficult and have access to the right system. Having done it, you would realize that knowing the fundamentals would make it convenient for you to work out SEO strategies that are easy to manage and cost effective too. Life is easy with SEO provided you abide by the Google guidelines that help to stay tuned for the updates and best practices. However, it is crucial that you avoid the trap of marketing predators and work your way to create a plan to beat competitors without exposing to risks and with low expenses.
Look for the precise SEO Company
While it is not difficult to do SEO by yourself, time constraint might compel you to look for suitable service providers to take care of your SEO. The service provider should give you precise technology, resources, and strategy while becoming the custodian of the system. When you are looking for service providers, ensure that the company or individual has enough knowledge and understanding about the legal trade and aware about its pitfalls. The most important aspect of implementing SEO successfully for legal professionals is that the service provider has to be empathetic to its clients so that they would know what works for the best.
Consider the professional ethics of the legal trade
Make it a point that the SEO professionals you work with are obliged to understand the rules and ethics that govern the profession and conduct of legal professionals. It is essential to work out SEO strategies that do not conflict with the professional needs. Often it might be necessary to use synonyms for keyword optimization of legal terms, but it has to done carefully because the choice of synonym should not alter the meaning of the term that can cause serious ethical problems for attorneys.
SEO does not exist in a vacuum but acquires the shape of the industry, trade or profession where it is used. Make sure that the technology and resources used for SEO conform the legal trade.
