LAW FIRM SEO 2019 The Secret To Reaching Page 1 of Google For Some of The Most Competitive Legal Search Terms - TAYMC
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The Attorneys' Guide
LAW FIRM SEO
2019
The Secret To Reaching Page 1 of Google For Some
of The Most Competitive Legal Search Terms
TAYMC in partnership with
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Check site speed & health
Chapter 2: Keyword research for your law firm
Chapter 3: Optimizing your website
Chapter 4: Using your blog to boost SEO
Chapter 5: Backlinking: Using other websites to
boost your SEO
About the author
Taylor McArthur (“TAYMC”) is an experienced law firm marketing consultant
and published writer for Attorney At Law Magazine.
Throughout her career, she has provided unique marketing advice to her
readers and has helped law firms nationwide achieve equal exposure and
opportunity in terms of online law firm marketing.
Introduction Have you ever wondered how some businesses appear on the first page of Google? They must spend an arm and a leg on marketing, right? Not necessarily... TAYMC, in partnership with Attorney At Law Magazine, have created this guide to provide a simple, cost-effective and step-by-step tutorial on how we get our clients on page 1 on a Google search -- on a limited budget. We're going to show you exactly what we do, how we do it, and by the completion of this guide, you should be able to: 1. Do it yourself. Structure your law firm’s website for your desired keywording, increase rankings, brand visibility and website traffic. 2 Protect your investment. Monitor & track the work of your existing SEO. What is SEO? Search engine optimization (“SEO”) is the process of getting traffic from the free (“organic”) search results on major search engines like Google, Yahoo! and Bing. All major search engines have primary search results, where web pages are shown and ranked based on what the search engine finds most beneficial to its users. Contrary to paid search results, such as ads and pay-per-click (“PPC”), payment for this type of optimization is not involved. Great SEO gets you to position #1 on Google
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nationwide rely on TAYMC for their digital marketing needs!
Client testimonials
"Since our firm started with TAYMC, our rankings for “personal injury lawyer” and “car
accident lawyer” have increased from page 4 to page 1! Case acquisition has climbed and
we’ve saved around $1,000 on SEO. Their solution is a no-brainer. Highly, highly
recommend this service."
- Brian M. Boyer, The Injury Firm
"We decided to hire TAYMC and their SEO team about 6 months ago. Since hiring them,
they trained our marketing staff on the SEO process and we've been able to take our entire
operation in-house!
This system really adds transparency and clarity to the SEO process. We are now page 1
of Google for Las Vegas car accident attorney."
- Kris E., CPK Law
"As a 56-year-old with absolutely ZERO knowledge of websites or search optimization, I
knew I needed help with my online presence. However, I was not prepared to spend
thousands on marketing. TAYMC's Managed SEO just made sense. It has helped me grasp
a better understanding of the process and begin the SEO process without feeling
overwhelmed! I am very grateful for this service."
- Linda H., Silver State Notary
.0 Getting Started: Check Website Speed & Health
Chapter 1 sections Chapter 1 toolkit
1.0(A) Check website speed Pingdom Page Speed Tester
1.0(B) Check website health SEMRush Website Audit
Why site speed matters
Statistically speaking, maintaining a site speed of 2-seconds-to-load or less is important if you
want to decrease bounce rate & retain qualified leads. Moreover, it’s become the new Google
standard for ranking page 1 for your targeted keywording.
Why site health matters
Google holds over 70% of search volume for all searches conducted worldwide, and for good
reason. They are concerned with maintaining a positive search experience for their users.
When you conduct a Google search, you are presented with various pages of indexed content in
the search results. These pages are graded by an algorithm that Google has written, and a huge
factor in their grading system is centered on the foundation, security and overall health of a
website.
If your website lacks security, properly organized content, or has a series of technical errors, you
will be penalized. That said, maintaining a healthy site is imperative to your SEO efforts!
TAYMC.COM | TMCARTHUR@TMMPUBLICATIONS.COM | (480) 219-9716
1.0(A) Check website speed If your website is not healthy, if it is slow or unable to be crawled (read by Google), you’re going to have a hard time getting it to “move”. Additionally, page speed holds significant weight in rank positioning! Run your site through Pingdom. If your website takes longer than 2-seconds to load, please review the following troubleshooting solutions at 17 Ways To Speed Up Your WordPress Website With No Coding Knowledge. 1.0(B) Check website health Websites come in all shapes and sizes, so an attorneys digital needs may vary by practice. But regardless of your needs, it is imperative that you keep a well-organized & healthy website. Especially for SEO. Run a completely free website audit to discover website issues ranging from duplicate content, broken links, HTTPS implementation and any 404 errors (dead pages). Sample issues that an audit will detect hreflang conflicts within page source code issues with hreflang values pages returning 5XX status code pages returning 4XX status code pages don't have title tags issues with incorrect hreflang links issues with duplicate title tags non-secure pages pages with duplicate content issues issues with expiring or expired SSL certificate broken internal links issues with old security protocol pages couldn't be crawled issues with incorrect certificate name pages couldn't be crawled (DNS resolution issues) issues with mixed content pages couldn't be crawled (incorrect URL formats) no redirect or canonical to HTTPS homepage from HTTP broken internal images version pages with duplicate meta descriptions redirect chains and loops format errors in Robots.txt file format errors in sitemap.xml files start free audit incorrect pages found in sitemap.xml pages with a WWW resolve issue pages with no viewport tag
2.0 Keyword research for your law firm
Chapter 2 sections Chapter 2 toolkit
2.0 Keyword research overview SEMRush Keyword Overview tool
2.1(A) Core keywording defined
2.1(B) Power-page® defined
2.2 Finding core keywords for your Helpful guides
practice area SEMRush Account Configuration Guide
2.3 LSI Keywording defined
2.4 Finding LSI keywords
Introduction
Keyword research is the single most important requirement for any successful SEO campaign.
Your keyword research is what will be used to design the internal structuring of your website (we
will discuss this in detail in Chapter 3); it is the predominant query users will include in their
Google search to find your law practice.
Section Overview
- There are two types of keywords: core keywords and LSI keywords
- Semantics and location play a huge role in selecting your keywording
- Core keywording and LSI keywording are used on each power-page®
No time for SEO? No problem!
Let us do it for you.
Managed SEO
View Plans & Features
TAYMC in partnership with
2.1(A) What is core keywording?
Core keywording is the keywording that typically holds the most search volume; they are your
money-making keywords; the keywords users will generally center their searches around.
You’ll want to use your core keywording on your power-pages®.
2.1(B) What is a power-page®?
A power-page® (also known as a webpage page) is a page on your website that is centered on
a major practice area. It is the page that renders in the search results when a user performs a
search on Google–or any other search engine.
Each power-page® should remain exclusive to one or two core keywords at most. For example,
a family law attorney would probably target “Divorce Attorney,” “Family Law Attorney,” “Child
Custody Attorney,” and so on… on individual power-pages®.
For a personal injury lawyer, typical power-pages® would include, “Personal Injury,” “Car
Accidents,” “Slip and Fall”. See an example of a power-page® below.
power-page
core keywording
LSI Keywording
So, now that you have a good idea as to what your power-pages® will be centered on, we need to
roll our sleeves up and do some keyword research.
TAYMC.COM | TMCARTHUR@TMMPUBLICATIONS.COM | (480) 219-9716
2.2 Finding core keywords for your practice area
Once you’ve successfully set up your account (click here for instructions) through your free 7-
day trial with SEMRush, I’d recommend you bookmark the page to your browser as you will
need access to this platform for every exercise moving forward! Be sure to make a note of
your username and password.
If you have read our set up instructions and still need help configuring your account, please
contact us at https://taymc.com/contact for a complimentary account setup.
Step 1: Create your power-page® template: Write down every major area of your law practice
that you want to target, separated into columns.
In this exercise, for example purposes, I will target personal injury law with the following
areas: Personal Injury, Car Accidents, and Slip and Fall. See my example in Exhibit 2.2(A)
Exhibit 2.2(A)
Step 2: Access SEMRush > Keyword Overview. Keep your power-page® template up and
once you’ve successfully created your free account, log in to access your SEMRush
dashboard.
- Navigate to the top left-hand corner where you’ll see a drop-down menu just below the site
logo.
- Make sure “SEO Toolkit” is selected. In the left-hand column, you’ll see a menu with every
tool available.
- Click on Keyword Overview towards the top of the left-hand menu.
TAYMC.COM | TMCARTHUR@TMMPUBLICATIONS.COM | (480) 219-9716
Once the page loads, you’ll see a search box appear. This is where we begin our
keyword research. As mentioned above, semantic and location play a huge part in
keyword research. Therefore, to run a successful SEO campaign for your law firm,
you’ll want compose your keywording into three main components: geographical
location + practice area + service type.
Referring back to the first column of my template, I’ll input “Los Angeles” + “personal
injury” + “Attorney”
Step 3: Phrase Match Keywords & Related Keywords. Once your search renders, pay
attention to the Phrase Match Keywords & Related Keywords section towards the bottom
of the screen. Notice below how my search for Los Angeles personal injury
attorney provides 3,600 searches per month, while Los Angeles personal injury
lawyer provides 2,400!
TAYMC.COM | TMCARTHUR@TMMPUBLICATIONS.COM | (480) 219-9716As you can see, keyword volume varies greatly based on semantic & location. Repeat this
process for every power-page® column on your power-page® template. Add every high-volume
keyword that you wish to target to a keyword list and sort by volume (high to low).
See my power-page® template in Exhibit 2.2(B). Notice how every column contains a variation
of high-volume core keywords exclusive to each individual power-page®.
Exhibit 2.2(B)
2.3 What are LSI keywords?
Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) is a system used by search engines to analyze searcher behavior
centered on keywording. LSI keywords are words and phrases with a strong correlation to your
target topic. Google’s algorithm uses them to determine content quality and relevance to a
users' search term.
For example, the words “premise liability” & "slip and fall accident" could be used as LSI
Keywording for a law practice, while the words “apple,” “Ford,” and “Clothing” would not.
power-page®
core keywording
LSI keywordingWhy do LSI keywords matter?
Google is concerned with maintaining a quality search experience for its users. Simply
put, the more context and information you provide, the higher you’ll rank. Therefore, it is
fair to say that LSI keywords are just as strong of a ranking factor as core keywords, and
it is imperative that your webpages contain a healthy amount of each.
2.4 Finding LSI keywords
On the SEO Toolkit page of your SEMRush dashboard, navigate to the menu on the left-hand
side.
Step 1: Select SEO Content Template. This is located towards the bottom of the menu.
Step 2: Enter Keywording & Click Create SEO Template. You’ll see a search bar that requires
target keywording. Input all high-volume keywords from the first column of your power-page®
template and click on Create SEO Template.
Step 3: Locate Semantically Related Words. Once your SEMRush SEO template has been
created, identify the section for “Semantically related words.” Based on an in-depth analysis of
your top 10 competitors, this section will contain ALL of the LSI keywords you’ll need for a
successful power-page®, along with a recommended text length!
Step 4: Add LSI Keywords To Power-Page® Template. Add the semantically related words to
your power-page® template in its applicable column, below the core keywords. You have
successfully finished your first power-page® template! Repeat this process for each remaining
power-page® column of your template. See my final template in Exhibit 2.2(C) on the next
page.
TAYMC.COM | TMCARTHUR@TMMPUBLICATIONS.COM | (480) 219-9716Exhibit 2.2(C)
[ END OF CHAPTER ]
TAYMC.COM | TMCARTHUR@TMMPUBLICATIONS.COM | (480) 219-97163.0 Using your keyword research to reach page of Google
Chapter 3 sections Chapter 3 toolkit
WP Smushit
3.1 Using your content template to
YoastSEO
update your site identity
3.2 Using your content template to
create a new page or enhance an
Helpful guides
existing page
Smush Installation Guide
3.3 Adding and optimizing images on YoastSEO Installation Guide
your power-page®
3.4 Yoast before you post!
Introduction
Now that we have successfully created a content template for each power-page®, it's time to
begin our on-page optimization!
As the greater portion of website owners use WordPress as their CMS platform, that is what
this chapter will adhere to. However, this process is universally the same for almost every
website CMS, so sit back, take notes, and let's begin optimizing your website for page 1 of
Google!
If you are unfamiliar with the basics of WordPress, please read our WordPress for beginners
guide at https://taymc.com/
Section Overview
- Using your content template to optimize your site information
- Creating a new page or replacing an existing page in WordPress
- Google prioritizes page content in a hierarchal manner
- A webpage can hold images, videos, text titles and text content.
- Structuring, placement and implementation of every webpage is critical to your SEO success
As WordPress is the preferred CMS of nearly 60% of all website owners, I will use the WordPress
for example purposes in this chapter. It is important to note, however, that the theory described in
this chapter is typically uniform for all CMS systems. If you do not own a WordPress site, take note
of the information encompassed within this demonstration and apply the theory to your applicable
CMS.
TAYMC.COM | TMCARTHUR@TMMPUBLICATIONS.COM | (480) 219-97163.1 Using your content template to update your site identity
Log in to your WordPress dashboard. This can be accessed by opening a new web browser and typing in
yoursite.com/wp-admin. If an admin screen does not appear, or you do not have a login, contact your
website developer for the ADMIN LOGIN to the website.
Step 1: Log in to your WordPress Website. Once you have successfully logged in, you will see the
WordPress dashboard of your website. This is where you can edit the content and appearance of your
website.
Step 2: Optimize Site Identity. Locate the vertical menu on the left-hand side of the screen. Hover over
Appearance > Customize. A new menu will appear. Select "Site Identity".
You will then be asked for a Site Title & Tagline. For SEO purposes, we will focus on the Site Title.
- Site Title: You have two options here. You can either A). list your law firm name, or B). refer back to
your power-page® template. Find the keyword that you want to rank #1 for the most and input that
keyword into this box. I typically adhere to step B; however, this is completely up to you.
Click Publish at the top of the menu and return to the dashboard.
3.2 Using your content template to create a new page or enhance an existing page
From the dashboard, navigate to the top of the screen where you'll see your new site title inside of the
horizontal header menu. Hover over + New > Page.
TAYMC.COM | TMCARTHUR@TMMPUBLICATIONS.COM | (480) 219-9716Once the page loads, you'll be presented with a screen that looks similar to this: Your screen may look a bit different, and that's okay. This is your page editor, and their appearances vary based on plugins/themes. That said, the general functionality is uniform. UPDATE: With the Version 5.0 WordPress update, they've released the Gutenberg page editor. Install and activate the Classic Editor plugin for access to the post editor depicted in this demonstration. Step 1: Enter Page Title. Refer back to your power-page® template. Decide which power-page® you want to build first and find your highest-volume core keyword in that column. Referring back to MY content template, I'll begin building my Personal Injury power-page®. As my highest- volume keyword in my Personal Injury column is Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorney, that is what I'll use as my page title. On your page editor, locate the textbox that reads "Enter Title Here." I'll input Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorney into this section. Step 2: Check Permalink. Tab down to the main body content area. Wait a few moments until your page Permalink generates right below the Page Title. Make sure the spelling is correct as you do not want to change this once the page is published! This will be your first power-page® URL and it is critical to your SEO for this page. My new power-page® link now reads https://mysite.com/los-angeles-personal-injury-attorney. Note: If you already have a webpage with a permalink dedicated to your keywording, do not make a new page! Simply use the following information to enhance your existing page.
Step 3: Add Heading 1 Tag. In the body section of your page editor, you will continue structuring your power-
page®. If you'll notice right above the textbox, there is a drop-down option that reads "Paragraph"
Click the drop-down icon and select Heading 1 ("H1").
As mentioned in our WordPress for beginners article, Google reads each webpage in a hierarchal order. Next
to the page title & permalink, H1 is the third-most important element in regards to on-page optimization.
This tag should only be used once, and in this tag you'll want to target your second-most important keyword
in the applicable column of your power-page® template.
As I am creating my personal injury power-page®, I'll input Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyer as my H1.
Step 4: Add Heading 2 Tags. Press the enter key to create a new line of text. Notice the text defaults back
to Paragraph. Click the drop-down and this time, you'll select the Heading 2 ("H2") option.
Unlike the H1 tag, the H2 tag can be used multiple times. The H2 tag is the fourth-most important element
in terms of on-page optimization.
Refer back to your power-page® template. Create a new line of H2 text for your remaining core keywords.
My final core keyword structuring for my personal injury power-page® looks like this:
page title
permalink
H1
H2
H2Step 5: Write Page Content Using LSI Keywording. Now that we have structured our core keywording, it's
time to start writing content!
The remaining content you write should be in Paragraph formatting, as we are finished using our header
tags.
Refer to your LSI keywording on the applicable column of your power-page® template. As you write your
webpage content, you'll want to make sure you include every LSI keyword in that column.
See my final text content below (with highlighted LSI keywording for demonstration purposes):
Pay special attention to the slight modification in my H1 & H2 tags. I did this to make the text
sound more natural to my readers. This practice is OK; however, you should keep your H-tags
between 20-70 characters.
Once you've added all of your LSI keywording, press the Preview button on the right-hand side of the screen.
TAYMC.COM | TMCARTHUR@TMMPUBLICATIONS.COM | (480) 219-9716Once the page loads, you'll be presented with a live preview of how your webpage will appear to your visitors.
Don't worry if it looks boring at the moment--we will get into adding images later.
Step 6: Access SEMRush > SEO Content Template. Copy the entire webpage content to your clipboard and
access your SEMRush dashboard in a new browser window.
If you'll remember from Chapter 2, on the left-hand side of your SEMRush dashboard is a vertical menu with a
list of tools. Locate ON PAGE & TECH SEO > SEO Content Template
Step 7: View SEO Template. Your previous content template for your power-page® should be saved as a
recent template. Find the template for the power-page® you are building and press View SEO template.
If your template does not appear, simply re-enter your core keywording from the applicable power-page®
column and press Create SEO Template.
Step 8: Real-Time Content Check. Your SEMRush content template will appear on the next screen. This
time, however, you'll navigate to the second tab at the top of the screen Real-Time Content Check.
Click that
Step 9: Modify Until Your Power-Page® Content Is Perfect. Once the Real Time Content Check page loads,
you'll be presented with a text editor similar to your WordPress page editor.
Paste the text you copied to your clipboard into this section and you'll see a scoring system appear on the
right-hand side of the screen. Modify your text until you have a perfect score.
Once your text is perfect, copy and paste it back to your WordPress page editor to replace the existing
content. Click Save Draft and proceed to the next section.
TAYMC.COM | TMCARTHUR@TMMPUBLICATIONS.COM | (480) 219-97163.3 Adding and optimizing images on your power-page®
Now that your on-page content is perfect, we can dress it up by adding a few images. It is best practice to
add images to your webpage as they assist in boosting your SEO efforts.
Step 1: Add Media. On your WordPress page editor, right below your permalink, you'll see a button that
says Add Media. Click that button. A media library will appear displaying every image on your website. You
can either select an existing photo, or upload a new one from your computer.
Click on the image you want to add to the page. On the right-hand side of the media library, you'll see
ATTACHMENT DETAILS with information pertaining to that image.
Step 2: Optimize Alt Text. In ATTACHMENT DETAILS, you can
edit the image dimensions, image title, caption, Alt Text and
Description.
The most important element in this section is Alt Text.
The Alt Text tells Google what the image is about. In this case,
we will optimize each image you add to the webpage with your
core keywording.
How many images should I add per page?
The general rule of thumb is 1 image per 150 words. So, if your
page is 1,500 words long, you should have 10 images on your
webpage.
Once you've optimized your images, click the button to Insert into page located at the bottom-right of the
screen. Reposition the image to compliment your content and just like that, you've successfully optimized
your first image!
3.4 Yoast before you post!
This is the final step to Chapter 3. Please pay careful attention as it is also the most technical. If you
haven't already done so, install and activate the free Yoast SEO plugin.
TAYMC.COM | TMCARTHUR@TMMPUBLICATIONS.COM | (480) 219-9716Haven't installed Yoast SEO yet? Here's
how:
- Click on Plugins on the left-hand side of
your WordPress dashboard.
- Click Add New
- Search "Yoast" in the search box.
- Locate Yoast SEO, press Install Now.
Once installed, press Activate.
Already installed it? Great! Let's finish optimizing your power-page®.
Step 1: Return To Power-Page® Editor. On the WordPress dashboard, locate the Pages link in the
vertical menu on the left-hand side of the screen. Once your page directory loads, locate the power-page®
you are working on and select the Edit link. This will take you back to the page editor for your power-
page®.
Step 2: Locate SEO Widget. Scroll down to the bottom of your power-page®, below the text editor. You
should see a widget for Yoast SEO. Your widget will look similar to this:
TAYMC.COM | TMCARTHUR@TMMPUBLICATIONS.COM | (480) 219-9716Step 3: SEO Title & Meta Description. We are only concerned with a few elements in this widget: the SEO
title & the Meta description.
Site Title
Meta
Description
1. SEO Title: This is the blue link that users will click on in the Google search results. It should encompass
your power-page® H1 Tag + the site title we optimized in the beginning of this chapter.
2. Meta description: This is the snippet of text that renders on a Google search, below the clickable text.
The Meta description holds absolutely ZERO SEO value; however, it acts as a marketing tool for getting
users to click on your listing. Google allows up to 160 characters in the meta description, so make it as
concise and enticing as possible and once you've finished....
Scroll to the top of the page and press "Publish."
Repeat this entire process for each power-page® on your power-page® template and proceed to Chapter
4.
[ END OF CHAPTER ]
TAYMC.COM | TMCARTHUR@TMMPUBLICATIONS.COM | (480) 219-97164.0 Using your blog to boost SEO
Chapter 4 sections Chapter 4 toolkit
4.1 Setting up your blog SEMRush Topic Research tool
4.2 Finding topics to write about
4.3 Writing blog posts that boost SEO
4.3(A) How long should my post be? Helpful guides
4.3(B) Page title and Heading Tag SEMRush Account Configuration Guide
4.3(C) Writing content that appeals
to readers
4.3(D) Writing content that appeals
to Google
4.3(E) Adding a category to your
post
What is a blog?
Every website has two content publishing option: pages and posts. We went over how to create a page in
Chapter 3--now it's time to explore how to create a post, and understand the importance of posting.
The importance of posting to your blog
Google is concerned with maintaining a quality search performance for its users. That said, a huge ranking
factor in terms of SEO is continual content production. Why? They want to see that you are actively
pushing out new, informative content that its users find useful.
A blog is automatically configured into almost every website. It is used as a platform to demonstrate your
expertise, views, and knowledge (usually in the form of "How-To" guides and other informational articles) in
an attempt to establish yourself as an expert.
You can access the blog of almost any website by typing in "website.com/blog" to your browser.
Try it out: Conduct a quick Google search. Type in "What to do after a car accident". The first page that
appears in the search results will likely a blog post.
How often should I post to my blog?
1x-2x per week is standard. Anything less will jeopardize your attempt to achieve page 1 rankings.
Blog structure
Most blogging platforms are uniform in terms of functionality. Here are common features that a typical
blog will include:
- Header with the navigation bar (the same header & menu that appears on every page of your website)
- Main content area with your content/article
- Categories & Tags
TAYMC.COM | TMCARTHUR@TMMPUBLICATIONS.COM | (480) 219-97164.1 Setting up your blog
As WordPress is the preferred CMS of nearly 60% of all website owners, I will use the WordPress
for example purposes in this section. It is important to note, however, that blogging functionality is
typically uniform. If you do not own a WordPress site, take note of the information encompassed
within this demonstration and apply the theory to your applicable CMS.
Step 1: Log in to WordPress. As instructed in Chapter 3, access your WordPress dashboard. You can access
this by opening a new web browser and typing "www.yoursite.com/wp-admin". If an admin screen does not
appear, or you do not have login credentials, contact your web developer for ADMIN ACCESS.
Step 2: Adjust Permalink Settings. Once you've accessed your WordPress
dashboard, find the vertical menu on the left-hand side of the screen. Click on
Settings > Permalinks
Step 3: Select Post Name. A new screen will appear titled "Custom Settings". Make
sure the bullet next to Post name is selected. This is imperative for SEO purposes! Save
any applicable changes and return to your WordPress dashboard.
Step 4: Add New Post. Navigate to the top of the screen on your WordPress dashboard
where you'll find a horizontal header menu. Hover over + New and click on Post.
TAYMC.COM | TMCARTHUR@TMMPUBLICATIONS.COM | (480) 219-9716Once the page loads, you'll be presented with a screen that looks similar to this: If you completed Chapter 3, you'll be familiar with this layout. Your screen may look a bit different than mine, and that's okay. This is your post editor, and their appearances vary based on plugins/themes. That said, the general functionality is uniform. UPDATE: With the Version 5.0 WordPress update, they've released the Gutenberg page editor. Install and activate the Classic Editor plugin for access to the post editor in this demonstration. Step 5: Add Categories. Look for the Categories widget on the right-hand side of the screen. You will use this widget box to categorize every blog post moving forward. Click the blue link at the bottom of the widget + Add New Category Refer back to your power-page® template. Add the heading from each column as individual categories. (Ignore the -Parent Category- dropdown in the widget). For my categories, I will list Personal Injury, Car Accidents, and Slip and Fall. My Categories widget box now looks like this:
4.2 Finding topics to write about
If you haven't already done so, please register for our recommended topic research tool to significantly
speed up and simplify this process!
SEMRush Topic Research tool
Please register for a free 7-day trial to utilize
this tool for the most successful completion
of Chapter 4.
You may cancel at any time.
SUBSCRIBE
Already subscribed? Proceed to section 4.4
Step 1: Access SEMRush. Keep your post editor up and open a new browser window. Access your
SEMRush dashboard and navigate to the left-hand side of the screen where you’ll see the vertical toolkit
menu. Click on the toolkit dropdown at the top and select Content Marketing Toolkit
Step 2: Select Topic Research. Once the toolkit loads, select Topic Research near the top of the vertical
menu.Step 3: Get Content Ideas. Enter any core keyword from your power-page® template and press Get content
ideas.
For mine, I will input "Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorney"
Step 4: Locate Questions Widget. The next screen will present you with a Mind Map. The Mind Map is a
compilation of every possible web search centered on your target keyword. Scroll down until you see the
Questions widget on the right-hand side.
This widget provides you with the most popular questions asked pertaining to your keyword --these are
excellent blog post topic ideas!
Step 5: Select A Topic. Find a topic you feel comfortable writing about and return to your WordPress post
editor.
My widget presented the question "What are the benefits of hiring a car accident lawyer?" so that is what I'll
use to compose my first post.
TAYMC.COM | TMCARTHUR@TMMPUBLICATIONS.COM | (480) 219-97164.3 Writing blog posts that boost SEO
Step 1: Return To WordPress Post Editor. Now that we have our topic selected, we can begin writing our first
blog post!
4.3(A) How long should my post be?
The general rule of thumb is to keep your posts at a minimum of 300 words. Any post encompassing more
than 1,000 words is considered great and posts that are 2,500 words or more are excellent.
That said, not every attorney has the time to write articles of such great length, so there is no harm/foul in
writing one 1,000+ word article for every three 300+ word articles.
4.3(B) Page title and Heading Tag
Step 1: Enter A Title. On your post editor, locate the textbox that reads "Enter Title Here." You'll want to input
a creative post title that will entice users to click on your blog post. For mine, I will use The Benefits of Hiring
A Car Accident Attorney.
Step 2: Check Permalink. Tab down to the main body content area. Wait a few moments until your page
Permalink generates right below the Title. Make sure the spelling is correct as you do not want to change
this once the post is published! This will be your first blog post URL and it is critical to your SEO for this
page. My permalink now reads https://mysite.com/the-benefits-of-hiring-a-car-accident-attorney
Note: If you already have a post with a permalink dedicated to your topic, do not make a new post! Simply
use the following information to enhance your existing post.
Step 3: Add Heading 1 Tag. In the body section of your page editor, you will continue structuring your blog
post. If you'll notice right above the textbox, there is a drop-down option that reads "Paragraph"
Click the drop-down icon and select Heading 1 ("H1"). As mentioned in our WordPress for beginners article,
Google reads each webpage in a hierarchal order. Next to the page title and permalink, H1 is the third-most
important element in terms of on-page optimization. This tag should only be used once per post, and in this
tag you'll want to use the title of your post.
My H1 tag will read: "The Benefits of Hiring A Car Accident Attorney".
TAYMC.COM | TMCARTHUR@TMMPUBLICATIONS.COM | (480) 219-97164.3(C) Writing content that appeals to readers
Now that you've optimized the page title and H1 tag, you can begin writing your content. As mentioned in
4.3(A), your post should range between 300-2,500 words. The longer, the better, but it is up to your
discretion.
The importance of creating readable content
The trick to getting users to actually read your content is to craft your content in a readable format. If a
reader cannot skim through your article to find the information they are searching for, they will likely exit
your webpage and find the information elsewhere.
Step 1: Create readable content. A great way to craft readable content is to write your posts in list format.
You can do this by dividing your content in to multiple parts.
Under your H1 tag, enter down to create a new line of text. Select Heading 2 from the text formatting
dropdown and write a creative headline.
Repeat this process for every list headline that you want to touch on in your article.
For my Heading 2 Tags, I'll use Four Reasons to call a lawyer & Four situations when you should call a
lawyer. See my post preview below:
H1
H2
H2
TAYMC.COM | TMCARTHUR@TMMPUBLICATIONS.COM | (480) 219-9716Step 2: Begin writing content. Once you've created a general, readable structuring for your post, you will
now begin writing content! Depending on how long you want your post to be, write a few paragraphs of text
below each heading on your post editor.
Make the information as easy-to-understand as possible! Avoid using complicated legal jargon as you are
trying to appeal to the general public.
What I mean by this is, consider replacing phrases like "torts law" with "personal injury law".
4.3(D) Writing content that appeals to Google
As we discussed earlier in this chapter, Google is concerned with maintaining a quality search experience
for its users. Therefore, it is best practice to include at least one (1) external link and one (1) internal link on
each post.
What is an external link?
An external link is essentially a link that is directed from a post or page of your website to an off-site source.
A great external link for attorneys would be citing a state statute. If you are referencing a law or statute in
your article, add a link to the statute in your text!
How to create an external link
In your post editor, identify a piece of text that references your off-site source. Highlight the most
descriptive snippet of the text and press the link icon at the top of your post editor.
A link box will appear near your highlighted text. Copy the URL (website address) of your
cited source, paste it into the link box, and press the blue button to apply the link.
That's it! You've successfully created your first external link.
In this text I am citing the CA Statute of Limitations for personal
injury law.
TAYMC.COM | TMCARTHUR@TMMPUBLICATIONS.COM | (480) 219-9716What is an internal link?
An internal link is a link that connects one post or page of your website to another post or page of your
website.
Internal links are critical for SEO as they provide Google with an easy way to navigate through your website.
I could write an entire guide on linking as it can become quite complex; however, as this guide is already
long enough, I'll leave you with the abridged version:
How to create an internal link
As my example post focuses primarily on car accidents, I'll want to use this post to boost the Car Accidents
power-page® on my website. Therefore, https://mysite.com/los-angeles-car-accident-attorney/ is the
page that I will direct my internal link to.
If you'll recall from Chapter 3, I optimized my car accident power-page® to rank predominantly for the
keyword "Los Angeles Car Accident Attorney". Therefore, I'll want to make sure that keyword is found
somewhere on my post.
Step 1: Add A Link To Your Power-Page®. Highlight the keyword that supports your power-page®. Click
the link button and add a link TO YOUR POWER-PAGE®. Just like that, you've created your first internal link!
Predominant keyword I'm trying to rank
for on my power-page®
Link pointing to my car
accidents power-page®
4.3(E) Adding a category to your post
Once you have successfully written your content and added at least one (1) internal and one (1) external
link, your final step to composing your blog post is quite honestly the simplest! If you'll remember from the
beginning of this chapter, we added categories to our post. Select the appropriate categories for the post
you've composed, and press the blue Publish button to publish your first post!
As my post is centered on car accidents, I'll select the Car Accidents & Personal Injury categories I created,
as a car accident is a subset of personal injury.
Press to publish your first
post!
[ END OF CHAPTER ]5.0 Backlinking: Using other websites to boost your SEO
Chapter 5 sections Chapter 5 toolkit
5.0(A) The anatomy of a backlink SEMRush Link Building tool
5.1 Good backlinks vs bad backlinks (recommended)
5.2 Finding quality backlinks
5.3 Backlink acquisition Helpful guides
SEMRush Link Building tool configuration
Introduction
By now you are a pro at on-page optimization. In our final chapter, we will briefly touch on off-page SEO.
Specifically, backlinking. Understanding backlinks and how they work is crucial for your SEO success.
Regardless of your experience with linkbuilding, we are confident that you’ll find this guide useful for your law
firm’s link building campaign. The premise and scope of SEO is ever-changing, and given Google’s latest
algorithm update, the importance of establishing a solid link profile has never been more important.
This chapter has been created to provide you with the ability to take the reins of your link building campaign
as quickly as possible. Although this chapter encompasses a lot of information, we’ve broken it down into
easy-to-understand sections and have provided a plethora of examples to support you on the learning
process.
Section Overview
- A link is a piece of clickable text on a webpage that navigates to another webpage.
- Backlinking is optimization done to your website by an off-site source, such as another website. It is the
most popular form of off-site SEO.
- A backlink is created when another website, other than your own, links to a power-page® or blog post on
your website.
- Not all backlinks are good. We'll teach you how to discover how to find good backlinks, how to acquire them,
and how to manage them.
TAYMC.COM | TMCARTHUR@TMMPUBLICATIONS.COM | (480) 219-97165.0(A) The anatomy of a backlink
To better understand the importance of your link building
efforts, it’s imperative that you understand what a backlink
looks like, how a backlink is created, and how search engines
view links.
Link defininition
A link is an HTML element that allows you to navigate between
webpages when you click or tap it. Links are found on almost
every webpage and are fairly simple to write.
What is HTML?
The language used to write a webpage. Don’t worry–it’s easy!
What Google sees...
anchor text/clickable text
"contact a Las Vegas Slip and Fall Attorney for help!"
start of anchor tag your website end of anchor tag
What you see...
"contact a Las Vegas Slip and Fall Attorney for help!"
1. Start of a link tag: In HTML, this is what we call the anchor tag. The anchor tag tells the
webpage that a link to other content (usually related content) is about to be called.
2. Your link: This is the destination link that the web browser is instructed to follow.
3. Anchor text/clickable text: This is the text that is visible to a user on a webpage. This is the
text that they can physically click on to navigate to your webpage. This text typically stands
out like this and it is best practice to optimize for keywording that you are trying to rank for. For
example, if you run a law firm in Las Vegas, NV called "The Injury Firm" and you are trying to rank
for slip and fall attorney, you’d typically want this text to read “Las Vegas slip and fall attorney”
“https://injuryfirm.com” or “The Injury Firm”
4. Closing tag: This closes the clickable link, making the text that follows static.5.1 Good backlinks vs. bad backlinks
Now that we know what a backlink is and why they’re important, it’s imperative that you
understand one critical element to any link building campaign: not all links are created equal.
To build a successful link profile, you must learn how to tell the difference between a good
backlink and a bad backlink.
What is a bad backlink?
A bad backlink (toxic backlink) is a link that is derived from unrelated and untrusted sources.
Once upon a time, it was common practice to engage in the practice of “buying” links from link
farms.
A link farm is a series of web pages created with the sole purpose of linking to a target page in
an attempt to improve SEO.
In other words, a website owner would pay a fee to acquire “x-amount” of links from a cluster of
websites (that typically held low domain authority) which would in turn point to their domain.
The links acquired held no real value and provided a bad user experience. Google soon caught
on and revised their algorithm.
Any website caught engaging in link farm link acquisition can be heavily penalized and even de-
indexed (removed from Google's database)!
What is a good backlink?
A good backlink comes from relevant, authoritative domains in your industry niche. If the site
that is linking to yours has a high domain authority and relevant content, it will help with your
SEO efforts significantly. There are a variety of ways to discover quality backlinks.
TAYMC.COM | TMCARTHUR@TMMPUBLICATIONS.COM | (480) 219-97165.2 Finding quality backlinks
If you haven't already done so, please register for our recommended link building tool to
significantly speed up and simplify the link building process!
SEMRush Link Building Tool
This tool is not included in the free 7-day trial.
Please purchase a subscription through TAYMC
managed SEO or SEMRush for the most
successful completion this chapter.
You may cancel at any time.
SUBSCRIBE
SEMRush Link Building tool configuration in
5 minutes or less!
No thanks, I'll do it manually
Assuming you are logged into your SEMRush account, navigate to the left-hand side of the screen
where you’ll see the SEO Toolkit menu. Click on Link Building Tool.
Your screen should look something like this:
Click on the Prospects tab. Here you’ll be presented with an extensive list of every possible prospect
for your outreach initiatives. This list is derived from an intelligent data scan of your top competitors
link profiles on Google.
If you are not presented with a list, please refer to SEMRush Link Building tool configuration in 5
minutes or less!
TAYMC.COM | TMCARTHUR@TMMPUBLICATIONS.COM | (480) 219-9716Creating your prospects list
Step 1: Remove Any Unwanted Prospects. You may notice that a few of the domains listed are your
competitors. Simply check the box next to each competitor you come across and click the “reject” button
above.
Step 2: Add Desired Prospects To Your Outreach List. Once you’ve rejected your unwanted prospects,
refer to the heading of the prospect list and identify the Rating column. The rating score is calculated
on an analysis of over 50 backlinking factors and gives you a good indication of how good a link will
be for your outreach strategy.
Click on Rating to filter by best (5/5) to worst (0/5). Select each prospect with a rating of 3/5 and
higher and press the + icon at the top of the screen.
TAYMC.COM | TMCARTHUR@TMMPUBLICATIONS.COM | (480) 219-9716Navigate back to the very top of the page and click on the "In Progress" tab.
Once the page loads, you will be presented with your new prospect list based on your filtered data.
Keep this page open and proceed to section 5.3.
5.3 Backlink acquisition: contacting website owners for a backlink
Once you’ve completed your research and have created a list of prospects, it’s time to get to work! Before
reaching out to ANY website for a backlink, you have to make sure your webpage is worthy of being linked
to.
As an attorney, you’re an expert on your area of practice. Great examples of linkable content ideas include
blog posts like, “how to draft a will” “what to do after a car accident,” your home page or any other power-
page®.
Sending your first link acquisition email
In the header of your prospects list, you’ll see an email icon. If you have not configured your email yet,
please refer back to SEMRush Link Building tool configuration in 5 minutes or less!
Click the icon next to your first prospect. You’ll see a generic, templated placeholder text in the subject
line and body of the email. I would advise against using this template as I prefer sending more
personalized emails to really grab my prospects attention.
See an example email template on the next page.
TAYMC.COM | TMCARTHUR@TMMPUBLICATIONS.COM | (480) 219-9716Outreach email template
Hello (site owners name/blog name),
I wanted to let you know that I really enjoy reading through your blog and I find
your content to be very informative. The way you described (something on the
website) was perfectly explained–bravo!
As a licensed attorney in the State of (your state), I am hopeful that you’ll find the
information encompassed within my website at (https://yoursite.com/) equally
informative as it explains what you wrote about in great detail.
If so, I’d like to discuss the opportunity to acquire a link-back or mention on your
site. It would really mean a lot! Let me know what you think.
I appreciate your time.
Repeat this process for EVERY prospect on your list.
Follow up!
You’ve done your research, sent your email,
and now you’re done, right? Wrong.
I cannot stress the importance of FOLLOW UP
enough! If you do not hear back from your
prospect in a week, follow up.
Repeat this process at least three times, and if
you are not successful after your third try, give
it a month and repeat the process!
Consistency is key to acquiring backlinks.
TAYMC.COM | TMCARTHUR@TMMPUBLICATIONS.COM | (480) 219-97165.4 Backlink management
Now that you have a better understanding of how to find and acquire backlinks, it’s time to discuss an
equally important topic: backlink management.
A link is only as good as its webpage. A webpage that holds great domain authority today may later on
become penalized or de-indexed by Google. Moreover, a website owner could delete a webpage all together!
When webpages become penalized, they can become toxic. And toxic links are toxic to your SEO efforts.
RESTRICTED CONTENT
Please email tmcarthur@tmmpublications with your SEMRush
account # for access to this bonus section!
TAYMC.COM | TMCARTHUR@TMMPUBLICATIONS.COM | (480) 219-9716Final Thoughts
There's a lot of information to take in around law firm SEO. As instructed in this guide, you have
set procedures to implement, continual monitoring and testing to ensure your strategies are
configured correctly.
The main point to SEO is reaching page 1 of Google. The beautiful part? Google does not charge
you a dime for this form of advertising! Whether you are a new law firm or you have multiple
practices throughout the country, one thing is certain: if you're not first, you're missing out on an
abundance of free case leads.
We do not suggest you throw out your current marketing strategies, such as PPC and direct
advertising. This is solely a supplement to enhance your overall visibility and brand recognition,
making you more visible to THOUSANDS of locals in your practice area.
With that, thank you for taking the time to read through our guide! If you have any questions,
please do not hesitate to contact us directly at tmcarthur@tmmpublications.com.
Happy marketing!
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Let us do it for you.
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