Lawyer SEO Keywords For Small Law Firms In California

If you’ve read up on or currently dipping your toes into Lawyer SEO, you might already know the basics of using keywords. The basic principle is to look for relevant, high-volume keywords to rank for. If you rank high, the high search volumes will bring traffic and engagement to your site, boosting lead generation.

That said, Lawyer SEO keywords are more than just going with the highest search volumes available. There are alternative strategic options to help you slowly work your way to the top of the SERPs.

Why Consider Non-High Volume Lawyer SEO Keywords?

High-volume, general keywords are still crucial to your success. However, high-volume keywords naturally attract more competition, including big, established, and popular websites.

For small firms, this might be a steep climb to the top. You’re likely dealing with websites and law firms that already have high authority, considerable backlinks, and good average traffic. Competing on those grounds is difficult, especially if you don’t have foundations to help boost your law firm website.

So, the quick answer is that you shouldn’t stop optimizing for high-volume keywords, but you need to ensure you’re not ignoring alternative (perhaps less competitive) keywords. Developing and trying to rank for various keywords is better than stagnating with one.

What Other Keywords Should You Use On Your Small Law Firm’s Website?

Now that we’ve established how highly-competitive general keywords are, let’s look at other types of keywords that would help diversify your law firm SEO keyword options:

1. Long-Tail Keywords

High-volume keywords are usually shorter. This means they’re more general, so more people use them to conduct searches. So, for example, more people will use “California Lawyer” than “San Diego California Lawyer”.

As mentioned earlier, the more people there are in the SERPs, the higher the search volume. So, the higher the search volume, the more competitive it will be. Since long-tail keywords tend to be more specific, the lower the search volume and competition.

While long-tail keywords don’t boost as much traffic, it’s much easier to rank for them. In addition, since you’re dealing with less competition, the faster you’ll be able to climb up the ranks. Sometimes, it’s much better to rank high in multiple low-volume SERPs than it is to get buried in high-volume keyword pages.

2. Local SEO Keywords

Local SEO keywords are also long-tail keywords. They’re more specific and therefore have lower search volumes.

Aside from the possible benefits of being long-tail, local SEO also plays a massive role in boosting visibility to quality leads. This is because local SEO keywords are focused on location, a few examples being: “irvine personal injury attorney”, “divorce lawyer los angeles county”, “employment law san diego ca”, and so on.

Done right, you boost visibility in the local searches. Remember, your clients will come from the state you’re licensed to practice in. After all, not many people based in Florida will often not need a California lawyer. Focusing on delivering content and catering to people in California ensures you’re attracting people who are most likely to become law firm clients.

3. Trending And Seasonal Keywords

Trending and seasonal keywords are flooded with traffic for a short time. While this means interest might go down eventually, this spike in traffic could be a great way to find new users and attract them to your law firm website.

Of course, your content and offers need to be good enough for them to stick around even after the trend dies down. So, you want to ensure you’re building a website and making content compelling people to stay on your law firm’s website for as long as possible.