SEO for Bankruptcy Lawyers: A Comprehensive Guide to Search Engine Optimization

When potential clients search the web for ‘bankruptcy attorneys,’ they do so secretly. This secrecy is understandable, as most prospective clients prefer to keep their financial struggles as private as possible. As a result, they are not asking for referrals for bankruptcy lawyers. Instead, choosing to conduct a general internet search to find a great attorney.

If you can't rely on referrals and word of mouth, the question is, how can you ensure that your website is one of the results they stumble across? The answer is search engine optimization services. Search engine optimization for bankruptcy lawyers is the key to connecting with new clients, increasing your law firm's visibility on the internet, and fueling business growth. This bankruptcy lawyer SEO guide will: 

• Explain how to get more clients with bankruptcy SEO
• Give top tips for SEO-optimizing your bankruptcy law firm’s website
• Explore how SEO and PPC work together for the success of your bankruptcy law firm
• Tell you how to access professional bankruptcy attorney marketing

How SEO Brings Clients to Bankruptcy Law Firms?

SEO involves optimizing website content and structure to rank higher in search engine results, driving more organic traffic to the firm’s website. Here are some of the key benefits of bankruptcy law firm SEO: 

• Increased visibility: Techniques such as keyword optimization and link building can help bankruptcy law firms become more visible in search engine results.

• Improved brand awareness: SEO helps bankruptcy law firms establish themselves as authorities in their field and build trust among their target audiences.

• Targeted content: It helps bankruptcy law firms create relevant and valuable content for their target audiences, thus increasing the chances of converting visitors into customers.

• Cost-effective advertising: SEO offers a more cost-effective way to advertise than traditional and other digital methods.

Top 10 Tips for DIY SEO for Bankruptcy Lawyers

Now that we've covered the basics, let's discuss some tips for optimizing your bankruptcy law firm's website. Top search engines like Bing, Google, and other search engines have advanced algorithms that rank your website based on many factors. If you want to move closer to the top of search engine rankings, we recommend that you:

Start With Local SEO for Bankruptcy Lawyers

The majority of people who are searching for bankruptcy lawyers are looking for someone who is in their area. Most people think they need to spend big money on nationwide advertising to attract new clients, but this is not always the case, as focusing your marketing efforts on local SEO could go a long way. Local SEO for bankruptcy lawyers involves optimizing your website and online presence to rank well for searches related to your business in a specific geographic area. 

If you rank high for local SEO keywords, you are more likely to appear in these searches. When you rank high in local SEO, you are more likely to appear in the maps section of the search results. For bankruptcy lawyers, this could mean optimizing for searches like ‘bankruptcy attorney in Chicago’ instead of just ‘bankruptcy attorney.’ 

To effectively target clients and boost your firm's local visibility, delve into our comprehensive Local SEO guide for lawyers, where you'll uncover proven strategies and techniques to dominate local search results in your practice area.

Google My Business

Potential customers search for services related to bankruptcy law and find GMB profiles. Make sure to create a law firm account with GMB and fill in all the information about your business, including name, address, phone number, hours of operation, website URL, and more. Add keywords to your description to make it easier for potential clients to find you. Upload high-quality photos of your office, staff members, and services. This will make your profile more visually engaging and create a good first impression.

Furthermore, create posts to reach potential clients to promote your legal bankruptcy firm and share helpful content related to bankruptcy law. You must include links to your website in these posts to draw attention and drive traffic.

Most importantly, ask for customer reviews to get feedback on your services and build trust with potential clients. Make sure you respond to them accordingly and promptly. Leverage the Google Q&A section on your GMB to answer the frequently asked questions.

Reviews

Reviews provide an important source of information for potential customers, as they can read about the experiences of other people who have used your services. Here are some ways to get reviews from clients: 

1. Ask for reviews at the end of each successful case. Make sure to remind your clients that reviews help other people make informed decisions about their legal representation. 
2. Request reviews on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. People are often more likely to write reviews if they can do it quickly and easily on a platform they already use. 
3. Send out automated emails to past clients asking them to submit a review. Use personalized language and give them clear instructions on how to leave a review. 
4. Include a link to leave a review on your website. Make it easy for clients to find and access the review page.
5. Create a survey or questionnaire that clients can fill out after resolving their cases. This will give you valuable insights into what you did right or wrong and what areas need improvement.

Legal Directories

By creating profiles on legal directories, lawyers can get more exposure to potential clients who are searching for legal services; however, choosing the best legal directory for your law firm can be a difficult decision. That's why, when choosing a legal directory, consider the following:

• Look for directories that have a high domain authority and a good reputation within the legal community. You can check online reviews, ask other lawyers for recommendations, or research the directory's history to get a sense of its reputation.
• Consider the directory's coverage and its relevance to your practice area and jurisdiction. Some directories specialize in specific practice areas, while others have a broader scope.
• Consider whether the directory offers advertising options and how effective they are. Some directories offer paid listings or sponsored content, which can increase your visibility.
• Finally, consider the cost of listing your firm in the directory. Some directories are free, while others charge a fee. Make sure to weigh the cost against the potential benefits before making a decision.

Citations

Citations are mentions of your business on other websites, and they provide social proof as well as additional information that search engines can use to determine the relevance of your website. Create a list of relevant local directories such as Yelp, Yellowpages, Apple Maps, Bing Places, and Google My Business. These directories can provide a valuable source for gaining online visibility for your website.

Furthermore, utilize online forums and discussion boards to interact with potential clients. Reach out to local media outlets and ask them to mention your bankruptcy law firm in their articles.

Reach out to other businesses in the local community to see if they'd be willing to add a link to your website on their site. This type of backlinking is invaluable and can help propel your website up the SERPs (search engine results pages). Most importantly, seek out professional associations and organizations related to your field, such as the American Bankruptcy Institute or the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.

Produce E-A-T Bankruptcy Legal Content

One of the many criteria Google uses to evaluate a website's content, known as E-A-T, is based on Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. A page's E-A-T attribute shows that its high quality, so it is crucial to have good, quality legal content to help explain the process and answer any questions people may have.

To produce E-A-T bankruptcy legal content, you find high-quality, reputable sources for your information. This includes official government websites, reliable news outlets, and academic journals. Make sure your content is accurate and up-to-date. Nothing will turn off your readers more than outdated information. Additionally, write in a clear, concise, and easy-to-understand style. Remember, your readers are likely to be lay-people looking for simple information, not legal jargon.

To learn more about how your law firm can benefit from a strategic content marketing approach, check out our in-depth guide to content marketing for law firms, which provides practical insights and examples to help you get started!

Keyword Research

Proper keyword research involves studying search trends and understanding the competition to determine which search terms related to bankruptcy laws and topics are most likely to drive traffic to a website. This will help inform the structure of the content and how to optimize it with the search engine in mind. 

The first step in performing keyword research is to identify the different types of keywords you want to target. This includes short-tail keywords, long-tail keywords, and niche-specific keywords. Once you have identified the type of keywords that you want to target, you can use tools such as Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush to find relevant keywords that have high search volume and low competition.

After you have identified a list of keywords to target, you can optimize your content around these keywords and track the performance of each keyword over time.

On-Page Optimization

On-page optimization involves using these identified keywords strategically throughout a page or post by incorporating them into headings, subheadings, titles, meta descriptions, anchor text, and other parts of the page's content. This is beneficial for both clients and search engine crawlers.

Additionally, it is vital to ensure that the content is high quality, easy to read, and contains facts and opinions that can be backed up with reliable sources, as this helps establish credibility and trustworthiness.

Content Ideas

One of the best ways to start is by researching relevant topics to create informative and helpful content for existing clients and new ones that will come across your content. It's important to ensure that your content is well-written, accurate, and up-to-date with current bankruptcy laws. Some of the content you can produce are: 

• AMAs feature interviews with a top lawyer of the firm, the CEO of the firm, or another lawyer in the field. 
• Blog posts that include informative articles or news updates. 
• Educative videos on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and other platforms.
• Podcasts where you tell the audience about ‘inside bankruptcy law,’ answer FAQs, interview a guest, and have an audience call in to ask questions.

If you're looking for tips on how to create compelling website content for your law firm, be sure to check out our article where we provide a detailed guide to law firm website content, including best practices and examples to help you stand out online.

Backlinks

Backlinks are links from one website to another that allow readers to find more information about a topic. Backlinks can help increase your website’s visibility and rankings on search engines, as search engines will recognize the presence of backlinks as a sign of quality content. When incorporating backlinks into your content, it's important to ensure they come from reputable sources and link to high-quality content. 

You can include backlinks in your content by citing sources or linking to relevant articles, court documents, etc. These will help provide a variety of perspectives and give your readers more options for further research.

There are a variety of ways to build backlinks to a bankruptcy law firm website, such as: 

1. Guest blogging is one of the most popular methods for building backlinks since it allows you to showcase your expertise while providing valuable content to other websites. 
2. Influencer marketing is another way to build backlinks for your site. By connecting with influencers in the legal industry, you can leverage their reach and get more people talking about your bankruptcy services and linking back to your website.
3. Broken link building is a great way to find opportunities for new links on other websites while also helping them improve their user experience by fixing broken links
4. Social media sharing allows you to drive more traffic to your website while creating quality backlinks through social media posts. 

You can also build backlinks to your bankruptcy law firm website, such as directory submissions, press releases, and blog commenting.

Monitoring Your ROI From Bankruptcy Lawyer SEO

If you're paying for bankruptcy lawyer SEO, you want to make sure you're getting your money's worth- a positive return on your investment. There are a few ways to track your ROI, but the most effective method is to use Google Analytics to track your conversions.

• Start with Google Analytics. This platform allows you to track website visitors, their activity on your site, and traffic sources. It can provide you with valuable insights into which keywords are bringing in the most bankruptcy leads for attorneys and the performance of each page on your website. This data can be used to determine which keywords are working best for you and should be targeted more heavily in the future. It also provides detailed data on organic search engine rankings so that you can measure the effectiveness of specific keywords and phrases.

• Once you have identified the traffic source, you can track conversions by setting up goals in Google Analytics. For example, measuring conversions for bankruptcy inquiries can show which keywords and phrases drive those bankruptcy lawyer lead generation. Make sure you have goals set up in Google Analytics so that you can track how many leads each keyword brings in and how much revenue those bankruptcy leads for attorneys generate. This will allow you to make more informed decisions about where to invest in SEO. 

• Always keep track of your backlink profile growth. We have mentioned backlinks above, but since it is a key factor in SEO success, it is essential to keep track of these. When you’re building links to your website, it’s important to monitor the number and quality of links you’re getting. You can use a tool like Majestic or Ahrefs to monitor your backlink profile growth over time. This will help you identify any issues with bad links or links from low-quality websites. Additionally, you can use this data to develop an effective link-building strategy that will boost your rankings and ROI.

Create a Client-Oriented Bankruptcy Law Firm Website

The end game of SEO for bankruptcy lawyers is to drive traffic to your website. But what good is it to generate organic traffic if you send prospective clients to an underwhelming website? Suppose your leads are greeted by a website that does not look professional and authoritative. In that case, they will likely bounce and select the next law firm listed on the SERP.

This is why you need to make sure you: 

• Use clear and concise language related to bankruptcy law on every page. 
• Use simple and easy-to-understand navigation.
• Include clear and helpful CTAs (calls to action) on every page.
• Use engaging and visually appealing visuals.
• Include relevant and up-to-date content.
• Have a clear and concise description of your firm's bankruptcy law services.
• Employ a user-friendly and mobile-responsive design.
• Add contact information that is easy to find and click.
• Create a legal blog with informative articles about bankruptcy law.
• Include client testimonials.

Practice Pages

These pages can give potential clients an overview of the bankruptcy process and how the firm can help them navigate it. They also provide information on the attorneys specializing in each area of bankruptcy law, allowing potential clients to understand better who they would be working with. 

The practice pages of a Bankruptcy Law firm should include the following: 

1. An overview of the types of bankruptcies and services the firm offers, including Chapter 7, 11, 12, and 13 bankruptcies. 
2. Information about filing for bankruptcy, including eligibility requirements, the process of filing, and the potential consequences of filing. 
3. Detailed information about the firm's experience in bankruptcy law, including a summary of successful cases and notable clients. 
4. Details about the attorneys and support staff at the firm, including their qualifications, certifications, and credentials. 
5. Contact information, including physical addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses. 
6. Links to relevant external resources, such as government websites, educational materials, and other legal services. 
7. A list of frequently asked questions about bankruptcy law, with answers from the firm's experienced attorneys. 
8. Resources such as books, articles, and websites to help individuals and businesses understand the bankruptcy process.

Take Care of the Schema Markup on Your Law Firm Bankruptcy Website

Modern schema markup is a type of microdata present in your website's background. When you add schema markup to your website, users can view a more in-depth description of the page on the search engine results page.

Schema not only provides better descriptions for users but for web crawlers as well. Web crawlers are a type of software used by search engine algorithms. These crawlers scour the web in order to find relevant search results for users. Crawlers also play a key role in ranking your page.

Mobile Optimization and UX for Bankruptcy Website

When creating a bankruptcy law firm website design, it is important to consider mobile optimization and UX, since many individuals access various sites through their phones. To provide a good user experience (UX) via mobile, you should take several steps to optimize a website for mobile devices. 

Start with responsive design. A responsive design ensures the website will display correctly on any device, regardless of size or operating system. This allows visitors to navigate the site easily, find what they need quickly, and contact the firm. 

The navigation menus should be designed to be easy to use on a small screen. Extensive drop-down menus should be avoided, as should multiple layers of navigation. Instead, prioritize the most important elements and make sure all menus are easily accessible from the home page. 

Furthermore, test the website thoroughly on various mobile devices to make sure everything works properly. Optimize search engine visibility. Take advantage of mobile-friendly SEO techniques, such as adding meta tags and titles specific to mobile devices. 

SEO and PPC: Working Together for Your Bankruptcy Law Firm's Success

While SEO should be the cornerstone of your attorney's digital marketing campaign, there is no need to choose between search engine optimization and PPC services for lawyers. In fact, the best digital marketing campaigns leverage a combination of both SEO and PPC for bankruptcy lawyers.

A PPC campaign can deliver prompt results and help you start generating traffic almost immediately. Conversely, an SEO strategy takes more time to generate results but will provide a steadier stream of traffic. That is why many bankruptcy lawyers use PPC to supplement their SEO marketing efforts, especially in the early stages of their brand-building campaign.

Access Professional Bankruptcy Attorneys' Marketing

There is no question that a lot goes into SEO for bankruptcy law firms. If you want to master SEO for bankruptcy lawyers, you will need to conduct thorough keyword research, post quality blog content, acquire quality backlinks, monitor your online reputation, and much more. Oh, and you will need to use local SEO tactics as well.

Naturally, learning all these skills while trying to manage your bankruptcy law firm's day-to-day operations can seem impossible. The good news is that you do not have to tackle this challenge alone. Instead, you can partner with a law firm marketing agency that provides local SEO services for law firms, like Grow Law Firm.

Grow Law Firm, named a top SEO Agency in Chicago by UpCity, is a digital marketing agency that also assists businesses in finding trustworthy and reputable service providers.

As the premier digital marketing agency for law firms, Grow Law Firm provides a comprehensive suite of brand-building services. We can assist with everything from attorney SEO services to managing your PPC marketing campaign and building your law firm's website. To learn more, contact our team today.