Search engine optimization (SEO) is such a successful and popular marketing strategy because it is all-encompassing. That is, you can implement SEO across an array of different marketing platforms, and if done right, expect converting results.
But make no mistake; SEO requires a lot of time, effort, and most importantly, knowing what works for your audience. For instance, if most of your customers are found on social media, then it would make sense to invest more in social media SEO than in search engine meta descriptions.
One of the most important, yet overlooked, elements of SEO is link building.
Understanding Link Building
Simply put, link building is the process of getting other websites on the internet to link back to your content. Unfortunately, this is not as easy as it sounds, and many businesses have attempted to bypass this by buying links.
Search engine algorithms are, however, sophisticated, and such behavior can get your website penalized.
There are three primary ways of link building:
Internal Linking
Links that direct your visitors from one section to another within your website.
Inbound Linking
Links from other websites that direct back to your site. Inbound links are the holy grail of link building because it is mostly from here that SEO algorithms determine key factors like credibility and site authority.
Outbound Linking
When a link on your site directs a visitor to another domain on the internet. When done right, outbound linking helps search engine algorithms figure out your niche for SEO purposes.
SEO is multifaceted, but one thing’s for sure: link building for lawyers is a perfect opportunity for law firms to generate leads by ranking high in organic search results. Here’s why:
Why Link Building Is Important in SEO:
Referral Traffic Increases Website Popularity
Website traffic, on its own, will not affect your SERP rankings. What it can do is introduce other conducive factors that will make your law firm website appear among the first search results.
Traffic is easy to manipulate. Instead of search engines looking at the number of site visitors, they further examine things like how long the traffic spends on your site, how fast they leave, overall clicks on your landing page, and so on.
For instance, if your site visitors are hanging around to read a blog post or two, your site seems relevant and helpful. However, if the same number of people click on your website in the SERP but leave immediately due to slow load time, your ranking gradually deteriorates.
Shows Content Credibility
Quality content is a top metric in search engine algorithms. After all, Google only wants to bring users content that adds value.
When someone links back to your content, it is because they have found something of value that could be of use to their visitors too. If many sites have outbound links to your website, search engines are likely to rank you higher for content credibility.
Improving Your Website Authority
Domain authority quantifies your website’s importance. How valuable is it to other sites either in or outside your niche? It is also an important metric when search engines are ranking search results. The higher your website authority, the higher you will rank.
If several websites are linking back to your content, it has authority in that specific niche. Google, or any other search engine, will mark your website as authoritative. When people search for related legal content, the chances of your law firm website appearing on the first page are likely.
It is important to note that the quality of websites linking back to your site has to be authoritative too. One of the ways to ensure that only equally quality sites link back to your website is by providing relevant and excellent content.
