How to Get Quality Backlinks for your Firm

One critical area for SEO for law firms is link building, which relates to the work needed to attract high-quality links back to your firm's website.

SEO for law firms involves many moving parts. It is equally important to manage the firm's technical SEO while optimizing on-page SEO, creating content, and optimizing all local listings. Everything needs to work in tandem to improve your firm's search ranking, giving you a higher possibility of attracting new clients.

High-authority backlinks can, in turn, improve your firm's website authority in the view of Google, which creates a good possibility of higher search rankings and more valuable website traffic.

Generating quality backlinks for your law firm is not mission impossible; however, it is also not easy. Law firm SEO is a competitive area, so it is necessary to be thorough, creative and results-focused in order to attract relevant and quality backlinks to your firm's site.

In this guide, we will feature some of our proven methods to grow high-quality links for your law firm's website.

What are backlinks, and why do they matter?

As we have mentioned above, a backlink is a link on a website page that links to your firm's website. Search engines, including Google, view backlinks as a kind of "vote" for a webpage. Pages with a high number of backlinks are usually higher in the organic search engine rankings.

Some of your firm's backlinks will grow organically through publishing engaging content that gets picked up by other websites and links to your content. However, in order to meaningfully grow your backlinks, you will need to take action to increase your search rankings.

This does not mean you should go out and purchase links; this is a risky practice, so it is better to generate links by following best practices to avoid any SEO penalties. Google, for example, prefers links that appear natural, as if one website links to a piece of content because it makes sense for their context; these types of links will be most valuable to your firm.

 Quality backlinks can be valuable in growing your firm's online presence in multiple ways; here are three of the key benefits:

Website visibility

The more your website is shared across different websites, the more visible your firm will be. Increased visibility means more website visitors, which can lead to more clients and an enhanced brand profile which can build your firm's brand reputation. The more highly Google ranks the website where your website has a link listed, the more valuable the link is. Relevancy and context also play a critical role here. This is why you should work to get more exposure for your law firm on as many relevant and high-value sites as possible. For example, be sure you create social media profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook, X, YouTube, etc. Online legal directories and law firm listings on websites such as Lawzana can also be valuable backlinks. You can also consider creating a Wikipedia page; there are many options, and it's important to be creative.

Website traffic

Your firm's links on relevant websites can lead to increased and targeted website traffic. For example, a user may click the link and visit your site, which could lead to a potential new client.

Website authority

Backlinks remain a key ranking factor in Google's search algorithm. The higher the number of links your firm has on multiple high-authority and relevant domains, the more chance your firm has of ranking highly for target keywords. Backlinks indicate to search engines that your firm's content has authority, and your site should be ranked high in the search results.

Examples of quality backlinks for law firms

Not all links are created equally. You must prioritize building quality backlinks if your firm aims to rank higher in the search results.

One quality backlink can be more impactful than one thousand low-quality backlinks; low-quality backlinks can do more harm than good.

Here are some examples of places to look for high-quality backlinks, along with the best link-building methods to attract relevant, high-value links to your firm's site so you do not have to buy links:

Legal Directories

Legal directories are specific to the legal industry, such as Lawzana, Avvo, Justia, Nolo, and Findlaw. Many respected legal directories online today offer law firms the opportunity to generate high-quality backlinks. Some of these options may require a fee or subscription, though many are free; for example, some may offer a limited profile for free, with lead generation options available for paid accounts. One of the most valuable fields for your firm's SEO is the website link field, which is an opportunity to increase your relevant and high-authority backlinks. 

Moreover, the backlink offers a channel for referral traffic which relates to users who find your firm in the directory and then click through to your firm's website. Users coming from a legal directory are high-intent searchers who could become potential clients, as they may be in the decision-making stage of the customer journey, which means they may select your firm. 

As with local business directories, some may have something called nofollow links, which have limited benefits for SEO; however, they can still serve as a source of high-value, relevant website traffic. Some legal directories have a section to give client reviews, which offers social proof to potential clients and is one factor they may consider when comparing law firms.

For SEO purposes, it is essential that your firm's information matches across all your online profiles, so be sure to be consistent. 

Local business directories 

The key here is to claim and optimize your Google Business Profile. This will offer a platform link to your firm's website and appear in Google Maps and Google Search results. Potential clients can find and contact you with Google Business and leave reviews.

Other examples depend on your firm's location, such as  Yellow Pages (or Yelp) and Chambers of Commerce. These sites will provide a platform for your law firm to set up a business profile with a backlink to your website. 

One of the most effective and simplest ways to uncover relevant, valuable backlinks is to conduct Google searches for your practice area of expertise and geographic location. Then you can review the search results to reveal the websites that come up on the first or second page. Here you can pick out the directory websites that have the option to create a profile and add your firm's website URL.

Networking and PR/Media 

One of the first places to start when setting a link-building process is asking relevant business owners and blog owners who are either in your existing network or who you may be aware of to link your firm's site. The more relevant the link is, the better, especially if you can generate a contextual link back to your website.

Another example of networking may be that one of your lawyers is speaking at an event, and this could help build their reputation and that of your firm; here, you can ask the organizer to list your firm on the website or share information about your firm in their newsletter or on social media. 

Alternatively, you may connect with a journalist or blog owner to write a legal article that is topical and relevant to their readers, which is a great way to get some PR, build your firm's credibility, and gain exposure. 

Guest posting on another blog is one of the most effective ways to generate high-quality backlinks because they provide context and value to the reader alongside your firm's website link.

This can take some work, as you may have to pitch several ideas to the target blogs in order to secure a guest posting slot. One of the best ways to progress this strategy is to monitor industry sites that might accept guest posts and compile a list, contacting them at the right moment with your pitch.

Google announced that they "ignore" links in press releases; however, they can still be a good way to build do-follow links, links that allow search engines to point back to your firm's website. Through the media syndication process, your press release will be shared with other journalists which can earn you backlinks from their websites.

Social media networks

Setting up your firm's business profile on social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter offers another opportunity to link back to your site. Again, ensure that the information you provide is consistent across all platforms, especially the website address and contact details.

Some social media networks may be nofollow links; however, they can still send traffic to your website. It is still important to claim your social media profile to protect your law firm's brand, as someone could set up a fake profile. 

Moreover, according to some research, social media mentions can be helpful for SEO. This means a user has referenced your firm without linking to your site. It is even better if the user has @ mentioned you, which would link to your firm's social media profile.

 There are tools available to scan the web and locate "branded mentions," and you can use it as an outreach method to request a link back by contacting the website or profile owner to see if you can convert the mention into a link.

Create linkable assets

Most link-building stems from valuable cornerstone content. High-value content has the added benefit of building trust with your audience and representing your brand as a thought leader. In order to generate links from your content, you may need to conduct outreach and do some relationship-building. 

If your firm has the capacity to create high-quality content, such as legal guides, these assets can generate backlinks, as people may link back to them or share them with their audience. Examples of linkable assets include ebooks or other forms of downloadable content.

Perhaps you can create a guide on real estate or how to set up a business in a particular region; your expertise is valued here. Your firm should consider relevant topics to your target audience, set the asset up on your website, and make it available for download, then publish it on your website to start building links and generating leads.

For social media, in particular, infographics can be an effective content type as they offer a way of transforming complex information into an easy-to-digest form. These can work alongside your legal guides. By working with a graphic designer, you can convert some of the key points in your legal guides to infographics that can be shared on social media or discovered via organic search or image search; be sure you add relevant tags to enhance discoverability. Attractive infographics can be valuable assets as other websites may link to them.

Another example may be an online calculator, such as a legal fees calculator. Web tools like calculators can be valuable to your audience, and they may link to these tools.

More generally, content marketing can be an effective and sustainable way to build links.

Suppose you are creating content on your website or blog; you will benefit from marketing this content through online platforms to reach as many people as possible. Here you can consider sharing through a newsletter, social media networks, or with other people or companies in your network.

Another method for content creation for law firms is writing about topical or current news related to your industry to attract search traffic. If your firm can act quickly and get out a piece of content while the topic is still hot or offer an interesting take on the topic, you have a good chance of your content being shared on social media, which means more content views.

The more people that view your content, the higher the chance your firm has of building backlinks from your content.

Video interviews or podcasts

These types of interviews can generate backlinks from the people involved in the discussion because they are highly likely to be sharing the content with their audience.

You can create a list of relevant topics for your target audience and connect with an expert to share their thoughts on the matter. Along with the backlink from the expert, you can promote the interview across your online platforms to drive social shares and backlinks.

Comments sections

Websites like Quora are good opportunities to build your firm's online presence. On Q&A websites, users ask questions, and using your expertise, you can answer the users' queries. For example, if a user asks how to set up a business in Singapore, you can respond with clear information and provide a link to your law firm's website if the user would like more information.

This method can generate nofollow links that send traffic to your firm's site if you include your website's link in your answer. 

Summary

Law is a competitive industry; in turn, SEO for law firms and marketing for law firms are also highly competitive spaces, and link-building can be one of the most challenging aspects of SEO. There are many methods to get higher up in the search results and few shortcuts; however, there are multiple ways to earn backlinks to improve your firm's SEO, some of which can be relatively simple.

Google continues to use PageRank in its algorithm, which is a "quality ranking for each page" by evaluating the quality and quantity of links pointing to the page. Therefore, link-building is critical for law firms for their website to rank in the search results.

We do not recommend paying for backlinks. Instead, test some of the link-building techniques mentioned in this article to improve your search rankings and attract new clients for your firm.

The essence of link building relates to a value exchange and forming mutually beneficial relationships. If your firm can create some leverage and offer value to another website (or individual publisher), it is possible to generate quality backlinks.

It is also an excellent strategy to review your competitors' websites to monitor their activity and identify opportunities to easily and quickly target new backlinks. Competitive analysis is an SEO method that requires a link-building tool and considerable manual work; however, it can yield excellent results.

Lawzana offers quality backlinks with all paid memberships, and we encourage you to invite clients to leave reviews on your Lawzana profile. Lawzana provides marketing and web development services; if you have any questions related to SEO for law firms or law firm marketing in general, please do not hesitate to contact our expert team at [email protected]