/>iThere are many ways to advertise your law firm to get more potential clients. Whether you’re investing in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), paid ads, social media, or all of the above, every marketing endeavor requires time, money, and energy!
That’s why hiring a strategic marketing partner can be one of the best investments you make for your law firm. A great agency will develop and drive your marketing campaigns—generating traffic and leads—while you focus on the more critical aspects of your business.
That said, hiring the *right* agency is key. In this guide, we’ve outlined the most important questions to ask when hiring a great SEO marketing agency for your law firm.
1. “How much experience do you have in doing SEO for law firms?”
Legal marketing can be very competitive, and the industry itself brings many restrictions as to what can or cannot be advertised. With this in mind, it’s crucial to find an SEO agency that has experience in law firm SEO and understands the nuances of legal marketing.
Ask your prospective SEO agency whether they have worked with law firms before, to what extent, and how those campaigns brought success for their clients. Prioritize SEO agencies that can provide specific answers and demonstrate a proven track record of success in working with law firms.
2. “What is your typical approach to local SEO for law firms?”
A reputable SEO agency will be able to describe their typical approach to a law firm SEO strategy. Though they may not be able to give you specifics as to what keywords to target or what updates are needed on your site, they should be able to summarize the general actions to be taken and why.
For example, as a law firm SEO strategist myself, I might explain how localization on geo-specific keywords is key, that we’ll develop a content strategy to attract more clients, and that we’ll generate high-quality backlinks to improve site authority.
Look for an agency that can communicate their approach with confidence.
3. “What’s included in your SEO packages?”
There shouldn’t be any confusion as to what is or is not included in the SEO service. Before signing a contract, make sure you understand what deliverables are included (and in what quantity) and which services are out of scope.
Confirming these details at the start will help ensure that you know what you’re paying for, as well as protect the agency from potential scope creep. The deliverables and costs should be clearly outlined in the Statement of Work (SOW). Keep in mind, however, that some activities (like “Keyword Research” and “SEO Advising”) are more difficult to quantify, so ask for clarity if needed.
4. “Does your service include backlink building, and if so, what does that entail?”
Backlink building can mean different things depending on who you ask. For some agencies, the process of acquiring backlinks for SEO is as simple as purchasing links from link vendors. For others, there is a more in-depth qualification process with manual efforts, content strategy, and outreach. All serve the purpose of increasing your site authority to improve rankings.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with either of these methods, but it’s important to verify whether backlink building is included in the service and what this entails. In essence, the most important thing is that the agency is procuring high-quality, relevant backlinks rather than purchasing low-quality links. Ask your prospective agency to provide an overview of their backlinking process.
5. “Is content included or does content need to be provided by my team?”
Content creation is often the most laborious task when it comes to SEO. Your law firm SEO strategy will likely depend on content—and a lot of it. If you can’t be burdened with writing content yourself, it’ll be important to confirm whether your SEO subscription includes content.
Ask prospective lawyer SEO company whether their SEO packages include content and how much. Ask them what the content planning, creation, and approval process looks like, and what your level of involvement needs to be. Make sure that their process aligns with your needs and availability.
6. “Do you have any case studies you can share?”
When it comes to hiring a great SEO agency, the proof is in the results. The best SEO firms will have case studies that clearly demonstrate their projects, outline what activities were performed, and demonstrate how those efforts paid off for their clients. Law firm-specific case studies are even better!
Ask the SEO firm if they have any case studies, whether published on their website, in PDF form, or in a presentation. Review the results of the case studies, taking note of traffic growth, lead generation, and conversion rate improvement.
7. “What is the typical project plan for an SEO campaign?”
The speed at which you see results from your SEO campaign will depend on your level of investment, the keywords you are targeting, and the speed at which the agency can deliver on SEO improvements. Few agencies will be able to tell you exactly when you might see results, but all agencies should be able to tell you the general cadence of a campaign.
For example, a typical SEO campaign with Hennessey Digital starts with a comprehensive website audit, leads into keyword research and content strategy development, then content creation and local SEO, and then continued backlink building and on-page updates.
Ask your prospective SEO agencies what the project plan is likely to look like over the first 3-6 months. Confirm what involvement may be needed from you, if there are any milestones to be aware of, and at which point you’ll have an account review with your law firm SEO strategist.
8. “How do you measure success?”
Success from SEO is about more than just keyword rankings. The true goal is to generate more clicks to your website, resulting in more viable leads. That’s why defining what “success” means with your SEO agency is essential.
First, ask the SEO agency how they intend to measure success. Listen for specifics regarding the tools that will be used, which metrics will be monitored, and how often you’ll receive reports. Avoid agencies that are vague when it comes to tracking progress, or strictly define “success” in terms of keyword rankings.
Second, communicate your own goals and what success looks like for your firm. Be clear about the metrics you wish to target, such as organic traffic growth, improved click-through rate (CTR), and form fill completions and phone calls. Before signing the contract, work with the agency to identify the most important Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for your business.
9. “How much direct interaction will I have with my SEO strategist?”
Many SEO agencies operate on a “set it and forget model” and that simply won’t work for most law firms. The space is too competitive for a boilerplate SEO strategy. You should find an SEO agency that will develop a custom approach and provide regular check-ins with an SEO strategist.
I recommend working with an SEO agency that provides monthly strategy calls, at a minimum. For more competitive markets and campaigns, more check-ins may be needed. The SEO agency should report on what was accomplished and what results have been generated on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis.
10. “Are developer resources available to make website improvements?”
Limited access to website developer resources can be a huge blocker to SEO improvement. If you don’t already have a web designer for your law firm (someone who can attend to technical site issues), you’ll want an SEO package that includes development.
Confirm whether the SEO agency has in-house developers or works with reliable contractors. Ask whether the agency is fully capable of implementing all technical updates. You do not want this to be a hindrance to your law firm’s organic success.
Developer resources are important when it comes to resolving critical site issues, such as slow website speed, broken URLs, poor site security, or missing schema markup. Be sure to work with an agency that’s equipped to handle all aspects of your SEO campaign.
Hire the Best, Manage the Rest
Working with a reliable SEO agency is a great way to outsource the more menial tasks associated with updating your site and attracting more clients. This is often more cost-effective than hiring an in-house team. A great SEO agency will have the expertise to run your SEO with confidence, opening more time for you to manage your practice and focus on your clients. The key is simply to ask the right questions to ensure you find an agency that will deliver on results!
