On September 26, 2013, Google introduced its new algorithm, Hummingbird. As Reuters reported at the time, the search engine giant’s goal was to serve users with an algorithm that would focus on matching “the meaning of queries with that of documents on the Internet.”

In other words, Google had moved away from matching search results with merely the words used by Web users in their search queries to results that would match the intent of users.

All of which raises the question: After Hummingbird, do you still have to be concerned about keywords in your law firm’s Web content?

The short answer is, yes, keywords are still very important. However, post-Hummingbird, it helps to view all of the words in your content as being important. After all, those words carry your law firm’s brand and serve as the launching pad for relationships with prospective clients.

Talk the Talk

Keywords reflect the language that your potential clients use when they are searching for legal services online. This is one reason why researching and integrating relevant keywords into your content is still crucial to your law firm’s online success.

However, with Hummingbird, you need to go beyond the words themselves.

It is not enough to place the term “Charlotte car accident lawyer” in your headline and scatter the term a certain number of times on your Web page.

Instead, you need to ask yourself, what do people want when they search for a car accident lawyer in Charlotte? How can our law firm target content to meet those needs?

Walk the Walk

Today, keywords should serve as just one of many different data points that ultimately will help you to provide quality, relevant content.

For example, does your keyword research show that people are using “car accident” in conjunction with other terms? They may be searching for “car accident settlement” or “car accident lawsuit” or “car accident insurance.” They may be entering the search query—or asking Siri—”What should I do after a car accident?”

You can tailor content around these searches. You could include pages on your site that explain what a person can recover a in car accident settlement, types of auto insurance they can tap into and steps they should take after being in a car wreck.

By doing this, you are using keywords as a starting point to provide content that will answer potential clients’ questions, establish your firm as an authority on a topic and possibly lead others to link to your content. You also send a strong signal to search engines about the quality and relevance of your content.

Beyond doing keyword research using tools such as Google AdWords Keyword Planner or Wordtracker, there are many other ways to discern user intent and incorporate that information into your website’s content.

For example, you can use your tracking system to note the questions that your law firm’s potential clients have when they call or submit an online form.

In doing so, you can get a better understanding of where they typically are in the decision-making process and tailor your law firm’s content to meet them at that stage.

• Do they need basic information about their legal rights and options after an auto accident or drunk driving arrest?

• Do they have a basic understanding of their legal situation and simply want to know if you are the right lawyer for them?

• Do they already know about your firm and want to know what to expect when they meet with you?

By answering questions for your prospective clients and taking care of your site’s users, it should naturally lead to the addition of relevant keywords, better search rankings and, ultimately, conversions.

Learn More about Keywords

The bottom line: Keyword is not a dirty word in online legal marketing in a post-Hummingbird world—depending on how your law firm approaches keywords.

Today, your law firm should view keywords as a way to help Web users (and, in turn, search engines) understand what your content is about and what searches it will be relevant to—not to “game the system.”

In that sense, your content should speak to your potential clients and not be aimed at “tricking” search engines. The keywords should be worked naturally into the copy as you provide the relevant, helpful information that potential clients are seeking in the language they are using.