What is SEO?
SEO, short for “search engine optimization,” is an ever-changing strategy to improve websites and increase their visibility when people search for related products or services in Google, Bing, and other search engines. Improved visibility in search results means the more likely your pages are to grab the attention of and attract prospective and existing customers to your law firm or practice.
SEO is a central part of digital marketing. People all over the globe perform trillions of internet queries annually, frequently with commercial intent to find information about services or products. Search is usually the principal source of digital traffic and complements other marketing avenues. Improved visibility and ranking higher in search results than others in the same market can substantially affect a company’s bottom line.
Lawyers don’t need to be SEO experts, and it’s unreasonable to expect them to be. However, they need to have an excellent online presence to get noticed and drive prospective clients to their site.
What is Backlinking?
There are at least 200 known Google ranking factors, with backlinks being one of the most critical for Google search. When one website links to another website, it’s known as backlinking. Backlinks are a way of connecting an external website to your website. Also known as “incoming links” or “inbound links,” backlinks are an essential part of the current SEO strategy. The more backlinks your website receives, the higher it should rank on Google and other search engines.
One common strategy is to use your own guest posts, quotes, and features on other websites as a way to create backlinks. For these purposes, make sure that you are selecting content that is interesting, helpful, and in one way or another related to your website’s content.
Google rewards unique, valuable, high-quality guest posts. Having your content featured on another site is a win for the site’s owner and for you. Since website owners who use guest bloggers allow their writers to include a backlink to their website as a trade-off for their content, it’s an excellent way to strengthen your own backlink profile.
How Backlinking Benefits SEO for Your Law Firm’s Website
Backlinks tell search engines that your website matters. In the eyes of Google, backlinks are like votes. Getting new links generates more votes, so to speak, and increases your score in the popularity contest of the internet. However, in order for the links to boost your SEO (rather than harm it), they must be from sites related to the same topic as yours. Typically, more votes for your site increase credibility and will likely provide a higher ranking in relevant searches.
When a website links to your site, they imply to the search engines that your content is interesting and relevant to their readers. In addition, search engines use links to understand what your website is about. For example, search engines assume that when one site links to another, there is a relationship between the content on the two pages. If you have a website, this means you should try to get links from well-known and respected websites in your industry.
There’s no doubt that backlinking and adherence to SEO strategies take time and work. However, the more backlinks you can garner and the more you improve your SEO, the easier it will get and the more you will experience positive results.