What Your Law Firm’s SEO Should Look Like in 2012

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Edgy SEO has provided a nice round-up of 18 SEO Experts On How To Do SEO In 2012.

The list contains some of the best minds in search. While there are a variety of ideas, one theme rings true throughout:

Search has changed, and it’s more important than ever to focus on quality content development.

In 2012, your law firm should dedicate even more resources to content development. While frequency of publishing has value, frequency should never be done at the expense of quality.

If you had difficulty meeting your publishing deadlines in 2011, you should probably consider scaling back your frequency and focus more time on quality.

Start by thinking about your audience’s demand for online information. What type of stuff do your prospective clients look for online? What topics are being discussed that are relevant to your practice? Who is writing on this subject matter and where? What are your social networks buzzing about?

Once you’ve listened to what’s being discussed, set down to develop something that contributes to the discussion. Don’t write in marketing isolation. Link to other sites that are developing the conversation. Share your contributions with those authors.

In 2012, your law firm’s SEO mantra should be, “Make the web better.”

Here are just a couple ideas:

• Checklists.
• Analysis of new laws and how they might impact your clients.
• Resource lists. Where are some places that your clients can go for reliable information on your subject matter?
• Webinars. Host a webinar either for other lawyers or prospective clients. Give information away for free.
• Create a video. Well-executed informational videos add your personalized voice and messaging.

These are just a few content ideas that you should consider in 2012. The great news is that for those lawyers that adopt a quality content approach to SEO, the world is their oyster.

Most law firms are stuck on more traditional strategies of link building and content spamming. I suggest that these methods will continue to become less and less effective this year. Plus, the harm that they can do to your professional reputation is likely to increase.

So how do you know whether your content “is working”? It’s actually quite simple. Is it attracting readers, links, and shares? In other words, are people discussing your content online? Are they sharing it with people they know? Are they quoting you or otherwise citing and linking to your content? If not, then it’s likely that it’s not working. At least with regard to gaining visibility and authority within search engines.

Finally, in 2012 you should spend more time thinking about the additional ways that people use the internet in addition to search. How do your audiences access information online? Do they regularly visit particular sites? If so, get your message out on those sites. Engage in discussions via commenting. Don’t become overly reliant on search as your soul source of visitor traffic.

Build more relationships offline and take those relationships online by growing your networks on platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter.

Stop thinking of your law firm’s SEO campaign like an advertising or marketing campaign. Think about it in terms of more traditional professional networking.