Link Building for Lawyers: A Comprehensive Guide
What is Link Building for Law Firms?
Link building is the process of acquiring hyperlinks from other websites that point to your law firm’s site. These links serve as signals to Google, indicating that your site is trustworthy and relevant, which can improve your search rankings.
The Purpose of Law Firm Link Building
A strong link-building strategy does more than boost your rankings. It helps expand your audience, fosters professional relationships, and opens doors for future collaborations. When reputable websites link to your content, search engines see this as a sign of credibility, resulting in better visibility in search results.
However, not all backlinks are created equal. Quality matters more than quantity. Links from relevant, authoritative websites are far more valuable than numerous links from unrelated or low-quality sites.
What Makes a Good Backlink?
While some SEO practitioners focus on metrics like Domain Authority (DA) or Domain Rating (DR), it’s important to understand that these are not official Google ranking factors. Instead, the following six elements define a high-quality backlink:
- Organic Traffic: A backlink from a website that receives significant organic traffic is a strong indicator of the site’s credibility.
- Relevance: Links from sites relevant to your industry will bring more targeted traffic and have a greater SEO impact.
- Anchor Text: The anchor text used for the link should be descriptive and relevant, helping search engines understand the linked content.
- Placement: Links placed in prominent areas of the content (e.g., within the main body text) carry more weight than those in sidebars or footers.
- Follow vs. Nofollow: “Followed” links are more valuable for SEO as they pass authority, while “nofollow” links, though useful for referral traffic, don’t contribute to SEO as strongly.
- Destination: Links to your main content pages or resources are more valuable than links to your homepage, as they help boost specific pages’ relevance.
How to Build Links for Law Firms
There are four primary methods to acquire backlinks:
- Adding Links Manually: This includes submitting your site to directories or creating profiles on social media.
- Asking for Links: Reach out to other site owners and request a link. This could be through guest posting, partnerships, or suggesting links for resource pages.
- Earning Links Naturally: By creating valuable content that others want to link to, you can attract organic backlinks. Content types like statistics pages, infographics, and tools often perform well.
- Buying Links: Although some firms buy links, it is against Google’s guidelines and can result in penalties.
Link Building Techniques for Lawyers
Here are 16 effective link-building techniques for law firms:
#1: Guest Posting
Guest posting involves writing content for another website in exchange for a backlink. To make the most of this strategy, aim to publish on reputable sites with audiences relevant to your practice.
#2: Lawyer-Specific Directories
Submitting your law firm to legal directories like FindLaw, SuperLawyers, or Justia is a straightforward way to build links. Choose directories with high domain authority and good curation standards.
#3: Scholarship Programs
Running a scholarship program can attract backlinks from educational (.edu) websites. Be aware, though, that this tactic has been overused and may carry some risk if not executed with educational value as the primary goal.
#4: Link-Building on Reddit
Building links on Reddit requires a thoughtful approach, contributing useful responses and linking only when it genuinely adds value to the discussion.
#5: Infographics
Infographics make complex information visually appealing and shareable. Promote your infographic across social media and encourage other websites to embed it.
#6: HARO (Help a Reporter Out)
Use HARO to connect with journalists seeking expert opinions. Responding to media requests can earn you backlinks from reputable news outlets.
#7: Testimonial/Review Link Building
Write testimonials or reviews for companies whose products or services you use. In return, many will link back to your website.
#8: Blogging
Publishing a blog on your site allows you to address common legal questions and issues, attracting links and establishing your firm as a knowledgeable authority.
#9: Local & Citation Directories
Adding your site to local directories like Yelp or Google Business Profile helps with local SEO and provides a basic level of link authority.
#10: Legal Article Contributions
Contributing legal articles to authoritative websites can earn backlinks to your practice area pages or resources.
#12: Crowdsourcing & Legal Roundups
Participating in legal roundups or creating content that crowdsources expert opinions can generate valuable backlinks and raise your profile within the legal community.
#13: Publishing Books
Publishing a book can attract links from review sites, book listings, and news coverage.
#14: Podcasts
Appearing on podcasts is a great way to earn backlinks from podcast hosting platforms and show notes.
#15: Ultimate Guides
Creating an ultimate guide on a topic allows you to produce in-depth, link-worthy content that other sites are likely to reference.
#16: Legal Awards & Associations
Links from legal awards or associations can enhance your website’s perceived authority and improve conversion rates.
Link Building for Lawyers Services
Many law firms choose to work with SEO agencies or link-building specialists who offer services such as:
- Content Creation and Promotion: Agencies create high-quality content and promote it to earn backlinks.
- Link Building Outreach: Specialists contact relevant sites to request backlinks or guest posting opportunities.
Link Building Glossary
- Anchor Text: The clickable text of a hyperlink.
- Backlinks: Links from one website to another.
- Dofollow/Nofollow Links: Dofollow links pass SEO value, while nofollow links don’t.
- Domain Authority/Rating: Metrics predicting a website’s ranking potential (not official Google factors).
- Guest Posts: Content published on other websites.
- Link Schemes: Manipulative tactics that violate Google’s guidelines.
- URL Rating: A metric evaluating a specific URL’s authority.
Let’s Recap
Link building is essential for law firms looking to improve SEO and drive more traffic to their websites. Focusing on high-quality backlinks, earned through strategic efforts and valuable content, will provide better results than pursuing spammy or manipulative tactics.
