Technical SEO: SEO for Law Firm Websites

If you are looking for info on technical SEO for law firm websites, this is the presentation for you. Join us as we cover various aspects of technical SEO, including website security, crawlability by Google and other search engines, website speed, page layout, usability, and ADA compliance. In addition, participants will receive our recommendations for SEO tools and analysis, including Google Search Console, PageSpeed Insights and Rich Results Test, and other third-party tools. Before we close, we’ll also share strategies for addressing important issues for law firm sites, such as duplicate content, schema markup, and AMP, while offering solutions to help optimize your website for conversions.

Topics covered include:

SEO & Websites Legal Marketing

Agenda:

What is Technical SEO

Security
Crawlability
Speed
Page Layout and Usability
Third Party Tools

Security
- Https
- Usernames and Passwords
- WordPress & Plugins
Crawlability
- Sitemaps
- Page Linking
- Duplicate Content
Speed
- Google PageSpeed Insights
- AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages)
- WordPress
Page Layout & Usability
- Google PageSpeed Insights
- Responsive Design
- Conversions
- Schema Markup
- Core Web Vitals
- ADA
Third Party Tools
- Google Search Console
- Google PageSpeed Insights
- Google Rich Results Test
- Screaming Frog
- WAVE Evaluation Tool
- SemRush

Duration of this webinar: 90 minutes

Originally broadcast: November 16, 2022 11:00 AM PT

Webinar Highlights

This webinar is divided into section summaries, which you can scan for key points and then dive into the sections that interest you the most.

00:02 Introduction

Tim Stanley, CEO of Justia, leads the discussion, drawing on his extensive experience in online marketing for law firms. The session will cover technical SEO basics, usability, core web vitals, and accessibility, with a focus on practical implementation. Technical SEO is presented as a complement to content, not a replacement, highlighting the need for a balanced approach. The webinar aims to provide actionable insights that participants can apply to their websites.

04:34 Technical SEO Basics

Website accessibility is crucial for legal professionals, aligning with ADA requirements and enhancing SEO. Tim discusses the importance of schema markup for law firms, which helps in appearing in Google search results. He emphasizes the need for secure websites using HTTPS, which has been a Google ranking signal since 2014. Redirects are essential to ensure old pages and unsecured domains point to the correct, secure versions. Proper use of robots.txt and sitemaps is vital for guiding search engines in indexing website content. Tim advises using tools like Google Search Console to identify and fix broken links, enhancing SEO performance.

17:35 Core Web Vitals and User Experience

Core web vitals are critical for SEO, focusing on real user experiences rather than just test scores. Tim explains the three core web vitals: largest contentful paint, first input delay, and cumulative layout shift. These metrics assess how quickly and smoothly a website loads and responds to user interactions. Optimizing for core web vitals involves ensuring fast loading times and minimizing unexpected layout shifts. Tim highlights the importance of using tools like Google PageSpeed to diagnose and improve website performance. He advises against hiding elements during tests, since real user experience is the priority for Google.

34:49 AMP and Its Benefits

Tim discusses the benefits of Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) for improving mobile site performance. Google's AMP cache allows faster loading by storing copies of AMP pages on its servers worldwide. Tim explains that while AMP is not inherently faster, it enforces simplicity that leads to better performance. He notes that AMP is particularly beneficial for law firms aiming to improve their mobile search presence.

43:45 Accessibility and Schema Markup

Tim emphasizes the importance of website accessibility for both legal compliance and SEO benefits. He recommends using tools like WAVE to assess and improve website accessibility features. Schema markup is highlighted as a tool to help search engines understand website content better. Tim advises focusing on schema elements like name, address, phone number, and FAQs for SEO enhancement. Consistency between website details and the Google Business Profile is crucial for local SEO success. He suggests using plugins to integrate schema markup into websites, especially for law firms.

01:00:25 SEO Tools and Best Practices

Tim recommends using SEO tools like Screaming Frog and SEMrush for site analysis and improvement. He stresses the importance of core web vitals and schema markup for effective SEO strategies. AMP pages are suggested for mobile optimization, although they're not mandatory, since they provide a competitive edge. Tim advises regular checks for technical errors and updates to maintain website performance. He highlights the role of content in SEO, noting that technical aspects should complement strong content.

Please note this AI-generated summary provides a general overview of the webinar but may not capture all details, nuances, or the exact words of the speaker. For complete accuracy, please refer to the original webinar recording.

Speaker

Tim Stanley CEO
Justia

Tim Stanley is the CEO and founder of Justia, one of the most visited legal portals in the world. Justia’s mission is to make law and legal resources free for all. Before founding Justia, Tim founded and was CEO of FindLaw. He is the general counsel and on the Board of Trustees of Public.Resource.Org, and was previously on the Board of Nolo and American LegalNet. Tim has a BS and MS from Stanford University and a JD from the University of Michigan Law School.

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