As a lawyer, your law firm’s website is one of your most important marketing tools. It’s how potential clients find you and learn about your practice. That’s why it’s so important to make sure your website is optimized for search engines. As a busy lawyer, you might not have the time to do this yourself. That’s where hiring a reputable law firm SEO company can be extremely helpful. But how do you know if they are really as good as they claim to be? The industry is notorious for being filled with fake experts and it’s hard to determine who is actually going to deliver results and provide a return on investment (ROI).
Whether you’re looking to hire an SEO agency or you’ve already hired one, you’re probably wondering how you can audit their work to make sure they’re actually doing what they say they’re doing. In this article, we’ll share some tips on how to audit your digital marketing so you can be confident you’re getting exactly what you’re paying for.
What is an SEO Audit?
An SEO audit is simply an analysis of your law firm’s website to see how well it is optimized for search engines. This can be helpful for many reasons. For one, it can help you identify any areas where your website needs improvement. Additionally, an SEO audit can also help you benchmark your progress over time. If you regularly audit your SEO, then you can track your progress and ensure that you are moving in the right direction. If you are working with an SEO agency, then an audit can also help you determine whether or not they are doing a good job.
What to Expect From a Good Law Firm SEO Company
There are a lot of SEO agencies out there. Unfortunately, not all of them are created equal. While campaign results are an important way to determine if your agency is doing a good job, they take time. There are many other factors that can help you determine whether or not an agency is a good fit early on. Here are a few things you can expect from a good SEO agency:
They Use White Hat SEO Techniques
You want to make sure that the agency you are working with uses ethical or “white hat” legal marketing techniques. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of agencies out there that use “black hat” or unethical techniques to try and game the system. These techniques might provide short-term results, but they will ultimately hurt your website in the long run.
Regular Campaign Reporting
A law firm SEO company will provide you with regular reports on your campaign progress. These reports should be detailed and easy to understand. Additionally, they should be tailored to your specific goals. If you are not seeing regular reports, then that is a red flag.
Realistic About Goals and Timeline
A good agency knows that SEO is a long-term investment. It takes time to see results from an SEO campaign. As such, they should be realistic about the goals and timeline for your campaign. If they are promising you specific results in a short period of time, then they are probably not being completely honest with you. Legal marketing is highly competitive and the success of your campaign depends on many factors such as your location, target market, and the competitiveness of your practice area.
Open and Transparent Communication
There should be open communication between you and the agency, and you should feel like you are in the loop at all times. If you feel like you are being left in the dark, or your calls and emails are going unanswered, then that is a sign that the agency is not communicative. Good communication is essential for a successful working relationship.
How to Know if My Legal Marketing is Working?
There is no single answer to this question because there is a multitude of factors that contribute to the success of an SEO campaign. However, there are certain metrics that can be used to gauge the effectiveness of your law firm marketing.
Website Traffic
One of the most obvious indicators of whether your SEO is working is the amount of traffic that your website receives. If you have seen an increase in traffic from organic search since implementing your SEO strategy, then it is likely that your efforts are paying off.
Rankings
Another way to gauge the effectiveness of your SEO is by monitoring your website’s rankings in the search engine results pages (SERPs). If you are able to maintain or improve your positions for key keywords, then this is a good sign that your SEO is working.
Conversions
Ultimately, the goal of any SEO campaign is to generate more leads and sales for your business. Therefore, another way to measure the success of your SEO is by looking at your website’s conversion rate. If you are able to increase the number of visitors who take a desired action on your website such as calling you or filling out your contact form, then this is a positive indication that your SEO is effective. If you notice that website visitors are leaving after one page, or that your conversion rate is low, then this could be a sign that your SEO needs improvement.
SEO can be a complex and time-consuming process, but it is essential for any law firm that wants to stay competitive in the digital age. If you are not sure whether your SEO campaign is effective, then consider conducting an audit. This will help you identify areas that need improvement so that you can make the necessary changes.
How Can I Conduct an Audit of My Law Firm’s SEO?
There are a number of different methods that can be used to conduct an audit of your law firm marketing. However, most audits will generally follow these steps:
1. Reviewing current on-site SEO
2. Analyzing site architecture
3. Checking for technical issues
4. Evaluating off-site SEO factors
5. Identifying opportunities for improvement
6. Generating a report with recommendations
On-Page SEO
The first step in any SEO audit is to review the on-site optimization of your law firm’s website. This includes evaluating all of the content and elements on your website’s individual pages to ensure that they are optimized for both search engines and users. Some key on-site search engine optimization (SEO) factors to consider during an audit include:
- Title tags
- Meta descriptions
- Headings (H1, H2, etc.)
- Image alt text
- Page content
- Internal linking
- External linking
- URL structure
- Mobile-friendliness
- Page speed
Site Architecture
After assessing the individual pages on your website, the next step in an SEO audit is to evaluate your website’s overall architecture. This includes looking at both the internal and external linking of your website to ensure that it is easy for both users and search engines to navigate. Some key site architecture factors to consider during an audit include:
1. Navigation
2. Site map
3. URL structure
4. Breadcrumbs
5. Linking (internal and external)
6. Anchor text
Technical SEO
In addition to reviewing your website’s content and architecture, another important step in an SEO audit is to check for any technical issues that could be negatively impacting your rankings. This includes things like broken links, duplicate content, and missing pages. Some critical technical SEO factors to consider during an audit include:
1. Domain and server issues
2. Crawling and indexation problems
3. Redirects
4. Duplicate content
5. Broken links (internal and external)
6. Missing pages (404 errors)
7. Meta robots tags
8. XML sitemaps
9. Canonicalization
Off-Site SEO
After reviewing your website’s on-site SEO, site architecture, and technical health, the next step in an SEO audit is to evaluate any off-page SEO factors that could be impacting your rankings. This includes things like link building and social media. Some key off-site SEO factors to consider during an audit include:
1. Inbound links
2. Social media signals
3. Brand mentions
4. Directory listings
5. Local citations
6. Online reviews
7. Guest posting
8. Link building
SEO Audit Report and Recommendations
Once you have completed your SEO audit, the next step is to generate a report with your findings and recommendations. This report should include an overview of your website’s current SEO health, as well as a list of specific areas that need to be improved. It is also important to note that SEO is an ongoing process, so your report should not be viewed as a one-time fix. Instead, it should be used as a roadmap to help you continue to improve your website’s SEO over time.
If you’re working with a reputable SEO agency, they should be able to show you the work that they’ve done to improve your website’s overall visibility. They should also be able to answer any questions that you have about the work that they’ve done.
Free Tools to Audit Your Law Firm SEO
There are a number of free tools that you can use to audit your law firm’s SEO. These tools can help you identify on-site, off-site, and technical issues that may be impacting your SEO. Some of the best free SEO audit tools include:
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a free tool that can be used to track a website’s traffic and performance. It can be used to identify which keywords are driving traffic to your website, as well as which pages on your site are performing well.
Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a free tool that can be used to track a website’s organic search traffic. It can be used to identify which keywords are driving traffic to your website, as well as which pages on your site are performing well.
Screaming Frog
Screaming Frog is a free tool that can be used to crawl a website and identify any technical SEO issues. It can be used to identify things like broken links, duplicate content, and missing pages.
Moz Free SEO Tools
Moz offers a number of free SEO tools, including a site crawler, keyword research tool, and link analysis tool. These tools can be used to identify technical SEO issues, as well as to improve your website’s overall link profile.
Yoast
Yoast SEO is a free WordPress plugin that can be used to improve a website’s on-site SEO. It can be used to optimize your website’s title tags, meta descriptions, and images as well as give recommendations on how to improve your website’s content.
A Law Firm SEO Company Lawyers Trust
If you’re a law firm looking to increase your online presence, look no further than Growth Lab. We are an award-winning legal marketing agency specializing in PPC, LSA, and SEO for lawyers only. We have a proven track record of helping law firms increase their visibility online and grow their businesses. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you!
