Link Building for Lawyers
Link building for law firms is essential in 2024, just as it has been for several years.
Inbound links from relevant websites continually land atop the list of the most important ranking factors, and this isn’t likely to change anytime soon.
As part of a well-planned law firm SEO campaign, high-quality links are a powerful growth accelerator.
To rank well, you must have good content, a well-structured website, and a plan for earning valuable links.
It is critical to understand the key differences between link building for local (GBP/Map Pack) and organic SEO.
This post will cover law firm link-building tactics that can help you improve your local and organic rankings.
The exact tactics you use should vary based on what goals you are trying to reach and whether your emphasis is on local SEO, organic SEO, or both.
Here are some practical examples of link-building tactics for local SEO, followed by organic link-building tactics.
Local SEO Link Building Tactics For Law Firms
When building links to improve your local SEO rankings, geo-relevancy is one of the most vital signals you can generate, even if these sites are not topically relevant.
Here are eight link-building tactics you can use to get your law firm’s local SEO campaign off to a strong start.
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Build Local Citations
Local citations are an essential part of any link building strategy. Google prefers to rank reputable and trustworthy websites, and local citations can solidify your brand as an established law firm.
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Submit Listing to Free or Paid Directories
The best way to build local citations is to submit your law firm listings to free or paid directories. These directories, such as Yelp or Yellow Pages, list your business name, address, and phone number.
This is a cheap and easy way to start, with many services offering citations from $5 per placement.
Creating strategic local citations can increase your brand visibility in the legal industry. Each placement also offers a direct connection from a potential client to your law firm.
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Ensure Accurate Information in Local Listings
While local citations can be an excellent strategy for boosting your local SEO, ensuring each listing has accurate information can be time-consuming and challenging. Duplicate listings, incorrect business categories, or inconsistent citation details can harm your link building efforts.
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Get Listed In Legal Directories
Get listed in reputable legal directories such as FindLaw, Lawyers.com, and Avvo. Other law firm legal directories include Nolo, Expertise, and LegalZoom.
Since these directories are also niche-relevant, they will provide some organic SEO ranking value and help generate referral traffic. Listings in these legal directories can also establish better client trust, leading to more qualified leads.
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Outsource Citation Building to a Professional
Of course, as with any marketing strategy, choosing the legal directories that make the most sense for your law firm is essential and most likely to bring you qualified traffic. We recommend selecting directories that are already well-established and have proven traffic.
Similar to building citations, keeping up with legal directory listings can be time-consuming. Outsourcing this task to a professional link building specialist ensures your law firm’s website is only listed on reputable directories that help establish your brand.
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Join Local Business Organizations
Join local business associations and organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce. These organizations often have online directories allowing you to create trusted citations that non-members cannot easily replicate.
This works exceptionally well if you can find local organizations related to the legal industry. Finding relevant local business organizations isn’t always easy, though.
A good link building strategy should include a thorough review of any local business organizations in your area, including benefits they offer, what they charge, and whether or not they limit the number of law firms in the group.
Local business organizations offer other benefits since they also expose you to a wide range of networking opportunities. When other organization members need services in the legal industry, they’re more likely to contact you.
Fostering these relationships helps create a professional network of other local-area professionals who may be willing to cross-post and generate links to one another’s audiences.
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Partner With Other Local Businesses
Build relationships with other local businesses in your area. Since the site topic doesn’t have to be topically relevant, contact people you know in the area who have websites and ask for a link.
You can also organize 3-way link swaps between multiple local businesses to return the favor.
Because a link building service benefits most businesses, it can be a mutually beneficial way to boost your rankings.
Some local website owners may also be open to guest posts, which allow them to feature an expert (you) on their website. Website owners are typically willing to accept a guest post with a link as long as your law firm can provide them with a high-quality article relevant to their readers.
However, since law firms don’t always have writers or editors on staff, they may need to outsource this task to a professional.
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Attend Local Events
Attend local events such as legal conferences, community events, and other gatherings. This can help you build relationships with other professionals in your industry, leading to collaboration opportunities and links.
However, to benefit from this strategy, someone may need to oversee the link trade process for your law firm’s website. Not every local business understands the importance of SEO or how to integrate its strategies.
To benefit from better search engine rankings, you’ll need a comprehensive strategy that prioritizes a high-value link building process.
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Create Local Resources
Offer local resources such as legal guides, checklists, and other valuable content relevant to your local audience.
You can also create informational guides about your city, which tend to attract natural links from other local sites once they start ranking. Remember, these guides do not have to be about legal topics to work for local SEO.
Additionally, when an audience finds content to be helpful, it helps create a more positive reputation for your law firm.
Creating shareable local resources can take time. From ideation to writing, editing, linking, and formatting, a lot of work goes into creating valuable local resources.
Additionally, the piece must be high-value to ensure the resources generate links. You also need to make sure the content ranks so it is easily found by others, who may then link back to it.
High-quality content that ranks requires useful information, authoritative and relevant backlinks, custom and quality images, and user-friendly formatting. Generating high-quality content may require the services of a link-building agency.
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Get Involved In Local Sponsorship Opportunities
Sponsoring local community events could also lead to high-quality link building opportunities.
You typically receive a link from their sponsor page when you sponsor local teams, events, and organizations.
In addition, if you sponsor events that get media coverage, you may pick up secondary link placements or mentions on reputable websites like your local T.V. station or newspaper.
Event and fundraiser organizers may be willing to include a link back to your law firm’s website in return for donating goods, services, or funds toward a community event. Sponsoring charitable events in your community can also create a more positive reputation for your law firm.
Identifying local sponsorship opportunities often requires outreach and organizational efforts. Without dedicated resources, some law firms may find this task extremely time-consuming, which is an excellent reason to outsource it to a professional.
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Use PR Syndication + Local Media Outreach
The days of using syndicated P.R.s to improve and manipulate search engine rankings are over. However, this tactic works well for GBP SEO, as it allows you to create unstructured citations for your business.
In addition, if you do targeted outreach on a locally relevant and newsworthy topic, you could receive related coverage or interviews from local media.
Identifying PR opportunities isn’t always easy, though, as many media outlets have lengthy, strict processes for this task in today’s times. Of course, law firms also need to generate media-worthy content or sponsorships to take advantage of this link building opportunity.
Many more tactics could be used, but those will give you a strong foundation, especially when paired with organic link building tactics.
Law Firm Link Building Tactics for Organic SEO
When building links for organic rankings, three factors impact the value of a link: authority, relevancy, and topical trustworthiness.
Topical relevancy is vital when building links to your law firm’s website to boost rankings and organic traffic. In addition to being relevant, the sites should have authority and trust signals.
Here are some proven tactics that work.
Creating Linkable Assets
Since modern link building for lawyers is heavily content-focused, let’s start by discussing linkable content creation.
Link-worthy assets can be promoted through outreach or attract natural links passively, depending on how aggressive you want to be.
Creating linkable assets for a law firm can be challenging, but here are some ideas to help you get started:
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Create Original Research
One of the best ways to attract high-quality links is to contribute research to the legal industry. When other high-authority sites create content, they’ll search for research and studies to support their content.
Conduct original research on legal topics relevant to your practice area: This can help generate high-quality backlinks from other websites that reference your research.
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Create Statistics Content
If you don’t have the time or resources to conduct first-hand research, you can use data from other sources to create an engaging post.
For example, if you are a personal injury law firm, you could use data from nsc.org to put together a post on large truck accident rates.
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Create FAQ Pages
Frequently asked questions (FAQs) have the power to build links through clear, direct responses. By anticipating the questions your clients may ask, you can present the same information to those who search for a similar query.
Additionally, other websites that answer these same questions may build links using your responses, helping your search engine rankings.
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Develop Legal Calculators
Search users are regularly using the internet to access valuable tools.
Develop calculators and other interactive tools to help your audience calculate legal fees, estimate damages, or perform other legal-related calculations.
These tools can be highly shareable and generate backlinks from other websites that use them as a resource. Many services will allow you to build such calculators easily without coding experience and embed them into your site.
Including examples using these calculators can further position your website or content as valuable, boosting your rankings.
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Offer Templates or Forms
People love freebies, and giving away templates or forms can help create share-worthy content.
Providing valuable templates or forms to website traffic boosts brand awareness and increases the chances of generating backlinks.
To leverage this tactic, you must first consider what sites will likely link to you. This will allow you to create a template successfully.
For example, if you are a real estate attorney, you could create templates for landlords and promote those to sites that offer loans, software, or other tools for landlords.
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Create A Podcast
Podcasts provide users with convenient entertainment that also offers value.
Discussing trending legal topics on a podcast positions you as an industry leader while generating backlinks from the podcast’s advertising efforts.
There are many ways to leverage podcasts for link building, but one of the most effective is interviewing non-competing lawyers.
This will give you unique and informative content that can be used to acquire links and give you a point of contact with other legal sites that could link to you.
Some law firms can also benefit from guest speaking on other’s podcasts.
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Start a Blog
Almost everyone knows blogging is essential to your website and helps your overall visibility in search engines.
Many people make the mistake of not thinking strategically about the purpose of their blog posts. Any post you publish on your site should have a clear audience and purpose.
One such purpose is to attract natural links, which, through internal linking, can redistribute link equity to your most important pages.
To maximize this, you should develop a hub-and-spoke blog framework that covers relevant but informational subtopics of your core pages.
For example, if you want to rank for “car accident lawyer,” you would publish posts such as:
- what does a car accident lawyer do
- how much does a lawyer get from a car accident settlement
- how long will it take to settle my car accident case
This provides topical support to your main page while answering common questions that those looking for a car accident lawyer would be searching for.
By combining this with posts about topics such as “car accident statistics,” you will have supporting content that can also naturally attract links—people giving out links love statistics posts.
By linking these posts together and to your main car accident page, you can efficiently distribute link equity throughout the cluster, maximizing the value derived from each link you earn or build.
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Monitor Unlinked Mentions
Unlinked mentions are an easy way to generate quick links with minimal effort. When a website mentions a brand, they usually include a link to the website.
However, some brands may fail to consider the value of a link. A quick email to the web page owner can sometimes turn these mentions into relevant links.
Discovering and taking advantage of situations when other websites mention your website offers convenient link-building opportunities.
Using online tools allows you to monitor brand mentions, which you can turn into high-quality backlinks.
Obtaining links for these existing mentions can be a timely task that requires regular monitoring and outreach. A link building specialist can help contact brand mentions and turn them into better search engine rankings.
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Haro/ProfNet Outreach
Haro and ProfNet are both platforms that connect journalists with sources. As a source, you can land links from high-domain authority sites, including some major media publications.
This method is time-consuming but should be part of your link building strategy unless you prefer to buy links on media sites, which is another viable option.
The downside of this method is that you don’t control which website you will get a link from, so the sitewide relevancy could be lower than you would like it to be.
When paired with a tactic like guest posting, the combination of high DA/DR links from Haro and the hyper-relevancy of mid-tier sites found via outreach is very effective.
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Blogger Outreach & Guest Posting
Blogger outreach and guest post link building are both tactics in which you contribute content to reputable websites in exchange for a link back to your website.
This tactic is usually part of a law firm link building campaign as it allows you to get legal industry-related links pointing to your site within hyper-relevant content.
Since this type of outreach requires someone from the other site to review and approve your submission, it is an editorial link.
This type of placement carries more weight than a directory submission or a sponsorship link, making blogger outreach links a powerful addition to your law firm link building plan.
Resource Page Link Building
Resource page link building for lawyers is a tried and true tactic that continues to deliver high-quality links, especially when paired with assets like tools, templates, and research content.
Many resource page link outreach strategies use bulk outreach (a.k.a. shotgun skyscraper) to land links. If you plan to use this approach, you must carefully screen your prospect lists to avoid getting spammy links.
When done correctly, you could end up with dozens of links from a single outreach and follow-up campaign.
Broken Link Building
Broken link building is a strategy that involves identifying and replacing missing or broken links.
Sometimes, it’s as easy as updating the broken link with the website’s new URL.
Other times, it means securing and replacing the links with better, more relevant, trustworthy ones.
Sometimes, replacing or updating the content is also necessary. Blog topics and information can quickly become outdated, making it essential to provide new facts or statistics that help maintain your law firm’s reputation and credibility.
Broken link building also improves user experience, making it an extremely effective tool for increasing organic traffic. Search engines rank websites that are easy to navigate and offer a good browsing experience.
Niche Edits & Link Insertion
Niche edit link building involves adding links to existing pages or posts. On the surface, it is highly similar to broken link building.
Behind the scenes, most companies offering niche edit links leverage existing relationships with relevant sites, often built over years of outreach.
For this reason, it is generally best to work with a company that offers a niche edit service if you plan to leverage this tactic.
Now that we have covered some effective tactics for law firm link building, let’s discuss how to combine them into an effective strategy.
Pairing Tactics Into a Link Building Strategy
A strategy is the overall plan of action. Tactics are the individual actions that can be taken to reach the goals of the overall strategy.
To get the best results from your law firm’s link building strategy, you should design it with a clear desired outcome.
Build Link Building Campaigns Around A Specific Goal.
End State Planning is a military planning strategy in which you start by defining what would be considered a successful mission, then work backward to allocate the resources needed to reach the desired outcome.
Applying this method of thinking to your law firm’s website, content, and link building strategy will help you narrow your focus on which elements are most vital to reaching your end goal.
We have found that this results in faster rankings, more efficient SEO spending, and a much more substantial ROI for our clients.
Whether you decide to tackle link building on your own or hire an agency to handle it, creating a good link building strategy will pay tenfold.
Link Building for Your Law Firm’s Website – How To Get Started
In this guide, we have covered effective link-building techniques that can help you boost local and organic traffic. We have also touched on the importance of creating a strategy that aligns with your law firm’s goals.
Even so, link building is complex and detailed, so we have only scratched the surface today.
If you still don’t feel comfortable with link outreach or your internal link building efforts are coming up short, don’t hesitate to contact us today to discuss your challenges and goals.
Link Building Services We Provide
Stellar SEO has the experience and tools necessary for high-quality link building for law firms. ‘
We understand the intricacies of the legal industry and have helped other law firms successfully acquire high-value backlinks that lead to higher domain authority and better search engine rankings.
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Custom Link Outreach
Custom link outreach services ensure your law firm’s website is able to acquire backlinks from relevant websites in your industry. The quality and number of links your website needs depends on many factors, including your website’s backlink profile.
That’s why Stellar SEO takes a completely customized approach to link building.
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Blogger Outreach Service
Stellar SEO’s blogger outreach service includes creating strategic professional relationships with relevant websites in the legal space. Through these well-maintained partnerships and professional outreach services, we can acquire external links that boost your brand’s reputation and rank you higher in Google search.
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White Label Link Building
Want to help your legal clients better reach their target audience and rank higher? Link building is a potent SEO tool that offers many benefits, including more search traffic and better online visibility.
Stellar SEO’s white-label link-building services are customized to your unique client needs. We also offer discreet reporting that ensures your client’s satisfaction.
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Guest Post Service
You can expand your law firm’s online visibility by guest posting on other relevant websites while generating highly valuable backlinks. Our guest posting service helps identify the most relevant posting opportunities.
Then, we help generate share-worthy content ideas and even have a team of writers and editors on staff to create high-quality posts.
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Niche Edit Link Insertions Service
Our niche edit link insertions service involves identifying existing articles or blogs on other websites and inserting an external link to one of your website’s pages.
Another website owner may be willing to include a linked page to one of your articles or blogs for the opportunity to update outdated, existing content.
Attorney Link Building FAQs
Building links from other websites can be tricky. If you build the wrong type, your traffic from search engines will plummet.
Below, we look at some questions about how to get more high-quality links without finding your site on the wrong end of a Google penalty.
What is SEO for Lawyers?
SEO for lawyers is a digital marketing strategy that involves increasing a law firm’s online presence to rank higher in search engine results.
Search engine optimization for lawyers may include a mix of on and off-page optimization, link building, citation building, or content strategy.
How Much Does Lawyer Link Building Cost?
Law firm SEO service prices vary depending on your current search engine rankings, the competitiveness of your industry, and your location.
On average, you can expect to pay between $5,000 and $20,000 per month for SEO for legal websites.
However, the ROI is well worth the investment when you factor in the boost in organic traffic and brand reputation.
Why Should a Law Firm Have a Website?
Law firms need a website to succeed in today’s digital world. A website provides potential clients with an easy method of contact, and website content helps build client trust, increasing the rate of conversion.
A well-optimized website means you can appear at the top of the search results, which connects you to highly-qualified traffic.
How Can I Build Links Competitors Can’t?
Existing relationships are among the best ways to get links that competitors cannot re-create.
Connections you made in law school, other services you partner with, and fellow attorneys could all be a source of do-follow links.
How Do I Know If a Site is Accepting Guest Posts?
A lot of sites advertise that they are accepting posts; however, many of them are of low quality.
If you find a site you think would make a great link, take the time to reach out and ask. The worst they can say is no.
Does Linking to Other Websites Help?
As you may know, increasing the number of unique referring domains pointing to your website will help improve rankings and traffic.
However, you might not know that linking to other trustworthy websites can also be helpful as part of your overall strategy.
Do Search Engines Treat Law Firm Websites Differently?
Yes. Since legal questions and advice fall under YMYL (Your Money, Your Life) and E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trust), they are held to a higher standard for content and links.
This means that link building opportunities for law firms should be highly relevant and trustworthy to be beneficial.
Should I Optimize Internal Links?
Yes, you should link internally between relevant pages on your site. A good internal linking structure can help your law firm website rank higher and attract more traffic.
Potential clients will also benefit from this practice as it makes it easier to find related information.
Is it OK to Buy Links?
Paid links are widespread, although search engines like Google frown upon them. Buying links can help you increase the number of referring domains pointing to your site, boosting your site authority.
If you carefully screen paid link opportunities, you can use them as part of your strategy while staying on the right side of the Google algorithm.
A paid link will not necessarily harm your rankings any more than some of the free directories that have been de-indexed over the past years, so the issue is more about site quality than paid vs. free links.
However – it is ultimately up to your firm to weigh risk vs. reward when deciding whether or not to include them as part of your strategy.
We can work with both options at Stellar SEO to help your firm get high-quality backlinks.
Are Scholarship Links a Good Idea?
Getting links from scholarship pages can be risky. In one manual action penalty, Google cited scholarship links as part of a link scheme.
If you don’t take the time to ensure you get quality inbound links, almost any tactic can backfire and cause issues for your law firm’s website.
What Are The Top Link Building Tactics for Law Firms?
When it comes to law firm link building, free directories, paid directories, targeted prospecting to find guest posting opportunities, broken links, and content created to naturally attract links can all work together effectively – so long as you focus on getting links from high-quality websites.
Remember, site quality isn’t just determined by metrics like Domain Authority. You should consider if the site has a similar target audience, has a lot of low-quality links pointing to it, and if the websites mention selling links.
As mentioned above, your end goal should guide your strategy, and your strategy should determine which tactics are the best fit for your project.
A natural link profile is diverse, so don’t artificially limit yourself on your journey to the top of the SERPs (search engine results pages).
