Table of Contents - Jump Ahead:
It is not the job of your SEO to save your business or make miracles happen on Google. They can adhere to best practices and do what is available to get you in front of potential clients and compete against your competitors. What most won’t do is do your business model research and business analysis. As a business owner it is your responsibility to understand the workings of your industry and track your numbers. Below are a few key aspects every attorney or legal business owner/manager needs to know to be able to direct their SEO for the best results.
Know how many legitimate and secondary competitors you have in your direct industry.
Understanding how many people you are competing against is crucial. It will tell you how many people are trying to cut up the industry pie. You want to know the big players in your industry and well as have a list of others who offer the service. This also is a great list to keep an eye of movement and changes with your competition. This list also provides your SEO an easy starting point to review competitors and also a reference for your SEO to provide some realistic result forecasts. Some SEOs offer a quick look, but it is your job to know who your fighting against for business.
Know how many clients you and your competitors are fighting for.
In many industries, if you asked a business owner how many people are using the service or product each month cannot tell you because it would require a compilation of all their competitors books. The legal industry is rare in that most of the information about potential clients is public record. For example, an attorney who practices family law can see the total number of divorce filings in their county for the previous month as well as if an attorney was retained. The information is usually always free and can be accessed from a computer in the office. Knowing how many average clients for the service you offer is important because you can see how big the pie your splitting is. It also helps your SEO know current industry trends and formulate accurate and obtainable goals.
Know the scale and scope of the service you offer.
You now know your competitors and how many potential client’s you are fighting for, but importantly you need to know how your service differs from your competition. Not all attorneys are created equally. A good example would be a criminal defense attorney. Many attorneys may say they practice criminal defense but the level of service varies. Is the service just responding to the case and attempting a settlement not to exceed the court norm, or does the service include investigations, trial representation and more? This difference not only sets you aside from the competition, either good or bad, but also is important for your SEO know what and how to marketing your service in the industry.
You Can’t Solve the Problem without All the Information
Your SEO is not a miracle worker. They know Google and they know how to place your site but they don’t have the inner workings and details of your business, that’s your job, your the owner. Not only is this information important and valuable for your SEO, it’s the basics of your business that will provide you many other insights to process and procedure which can further move down costs and move up revenue.
Questions about your SEO efforts or if you’re getting the most, our team is always available for questions. You can reach out on our contact for for business owners and as always, don’t forget to add your legal business to Legallistings.org, a free legal directory.
