Search Engine Optimization still works for attorneys in Texas. After all, someone has to rank on the front page of Google. But is it too late to start?
Google’s front page varies a lot from year to year. In 2023, most searches for injury lawyers look like this:
Local Services Ads
Google Ads
The Local Pack
Organic
The Local Pack.
The 3 results with a map beside them make up the Local Pack.
Ranking in the Local Pack results in quality leads.
In general, if you rank organically, have good, recent reviews, and you’re near your users, you have a good chance to show up in the local pack.
Local Pack results change based on a user’s location. The Houston Local Pack is going to look much different at the Houston Zoo than it will over at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
If you are considering opening a new location, be sure it’s near a populated area and away from other attorneys.
Review count, review score and review recency are all factors.
Organic Results.
How tough it is to rank depends on a few things, such as who your competition is and how long they’ve been doing it.
There are only a few spots on the front page for attorneys. Google’s algorithms currently reward Forbes content marketers and directories such as Justia, Super Lawyers, FindLaw & Yelp. In general, there only 3 or 4 precious spots left for attorneys.
Is it worth it? That depends. In some small cities with attorneys on every block, you can rank at the top of Google and only obtain 1 or 2 cases per month. In some larger cities, if you dominate, you could get 50 – 100 cases each month. In Texas, the current sweet spot appears to be in the cities with 100,000 – 500,000 people, such as Wichita Falls, Richardson, Carrollton, Irving, Plano, Laredo, Arlington, and some others.
While all the volume comes from ranking for a keyword such as Amarillo Personal Injury Lawyer, there are always ways to rank for other important high intent transactional search queries which prospective clients are searching for.
A Note on Google Ads & Local Services Ads.
Google Local Services Ads (LSA) is a pay per call platform, meaning you only pay for calls to your law firm which last over 30 seconds. LSA is a very affordable and cost effective. Unfortunately, it’s currently plagued with a terrible algorithm and doesn’t always work.
Google Ads is rarely cost effective in a major city.
How To Actually Do SEO for Law Firms in 2023:
Some large firms have their own in-house marketing teams while some small firms go the DIY route. Most firms who are successful in ranking on the front page of Google utilize SEO services for personal injury attorneys.
To rank in 2023 in any major city in Texas, you need:
On site SEO. Most attorneys have a fast, secure, mobile friendly site which converts well. Having proper title tags and decent quality content is the next prerequisite for a solid SEO foundation.
Links. Hands down, the most important thing Texas injury lawyers need are backlinks. Some law firms have natural press from settling major cases for celebrities. Some are very active in their communities and obtain powerful, geographically relevant links. For everyone else, they need a skilled link-builder who can obtain topically relevant links.
Content. High quality, human written (sorry ChatGPT) content, written for humans has a strong impact on rankings, the Google Local Pack, and of course, conversions.
Stay on top of the latest marketing tips and listen to other attorney’s success stories over at OptimizeMyFirm.com.
Search Engine Optimization still works for attorneys in Texas. After all, someone has to rank on the front page of Google. But is it too late to start? Google’s front page varies a lot from year to year. In 2023, most searches for injury lawyers look like this: Local Services Ads Google Ads The Local…… Continue Reading