SEO for Bankruptcy Lawyers

What is Bankruptcy Lawyer SEO?

Bankruptcy lawyer search engine optimization (SEO) is a strategy that ensures your website ranks and achieves visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs). Ranking high on SERPs results in more website traffic, which can boost lead generation and revenue growth. It also strengthens your overall bankruptcy marketing strategy.

SEO Vs. PPC: Which One to Choose For Your Bankruptcy Law Firm?

Pay-per-click (PPC) is a marketing strategy that involves running digital ads on search engines like Google, with advertisers paying for each time someone clicks on the ad. Businesses and marketing agencies run PPC campaigns like Google Ads for specific goals (traffic, conversions, engagement, awareness, etc.) and get faster and measurable results.

Ideally, you should use both SEO and PPC if your budget allows, as both these methods work extremely well towards attracting potential clients for your bankruptcy firm. While PPC delivers cost-effective traffic and leads, SEO ensures your website’s organic traffic and trustworthiness.

Why Do Bankruptcy Law Firms Need SEO in Their Marketing Strategy?

Bankruptcy law firms need SEO for sustained online visibility. With the right SEO strategy, you can achieve a steady stream of traffic, leads, and conversions that grows over time. Your website will also enjoy the benefits of having backlinks from reputable sites, which boosts domain authority. 

A recent survey shows that 74% of consumers use search engines like Google to find a lawyer or get legal advice. Most law firms understand this, which is probably why 75% of them consider their law firm website as the most effective way to promote their legal services online.

Most marketing goals are attainable and sustainable with a strong SEO strategy. Even with fast results, PPC is not enough to provide continued marketing success without SEO and other marketing strategies.

Buying Leads vs. SEO

Since SEO can take a while before seeing results, some lawyers may resort to fast and easy methods like buying bankruptcy leads. While this can work to achieve a short-term goal, it’s not the best way to grow your clientele.

Bankruptcy lawyer Jonathan Ginsberg of Ginsberg Law says that lawyer leads services don’t necessarily result in quality leads, nor does it provide the best option for people looking for lawyers. 

“The lawyers are not being really pre-qualified in any way, shape, or form. You don’t have any idea who the lawyer is, what his qualifications are.”

Considering this scenario, Ginsberg says, “If I’m looking for a lawyer and I’m researching on the internet, I would be much more inclined to look for a lawyer with his own website or her own website…and I could do my own research, make my own determination about the skills and qualifications of that attorney as opposed to filling out a five-line form.”

This reinforces what most marketers know, which is that law firm websites (optimized for search engines) can bring in relevant and high-quality leads that are most likely to convert.

Hiring Bankruptcy SEO Services Vs. DIY

Bankruptcy law firms may consider the DIY approach to SEO and find a strategy that works. Unfortunately, keeping up with changes to Google Search algorithms is a full-time job and lawyers might find that they don’t have the time to manage their SEO campaigns in the long run. 

In addition, working with a bankruptcy SEO agency gives law firms the freedom to focus on their cases and day-to-day tasks while an SEO expert makes sure that you achieve your goals with strong SEO efforts backed by experience and expertise.

How Much Do Bankruptcy SEO Services Cost?

Bankruptcy SEO services can cost anywhere between $3,000 to $15,000 a month, depending on factors like your current website performance and your SEO goals. This also depends on your law firm’s size, location, and competition.
Are you ready to take your bankruptcy firm’s SEO to the next level? Contact us to get started!

Search Engine Optimization 101 For Bankruptcy Attorneys 

Building your online presence, whether you’re a multi-location firm or a solo lawyer, requires a focused plan and strong implementation. Here are the basic concepts of SEO that you should familiarize yourself with.

Local SEO

Local SEO is a strategy that optimizes your business for local search. There are several steps to carry out an effective local SEO campaign. 

Optimize Your Google Business Profile

Creating and optimizing a Google Business Profile (GBP), formerly known as Google My Business, is essential in local SEO. You can optimize your GBP by:

• Entering the correct business name
• Entering the correct address, phone number, and business hours
• Using the appropriate business category
• Using high-quality photos
• Responding to reviews

With this strategy, your firm should land on the local 3-pack, which are the top three businesses that show up for a local search query (example below).

Once these are all completed, you should move on to the next steps.

Collect More Testimonials From Your Clients

Online reviews are considered ‌a ranking factor in local SEO, as it indicate your firm’s reputation and credibility.

Focus on providing the best possible customer experience to clients so they’ll go out of their way to leave you with glowing reviews. If you’re not getting a lot of reviews, set up a system for former clients to leave a review with various options (email, SMS, in-person, etc.) to make it easy for them to do so.

When you do get reviews coming in, make sure to implement a review management system in place to respond to all reviews, whether they be negative or positive.

Get Citations From More Bankruptcy Law Firm Directories

Google My Business is not the only platform for improving your local SEO. You can list your firm on multiple law firm directories under the bankruptcy practice area category to increase your visibility in local search.

Listing your bankruptcy on these online directories strengthens your online visibility to potential clients actively looking for your services. You can even create premium lawyer profiles tailored for your target audience, which is something that’s not available in Google Business Profile.

Build Your Bankruptcy Law Firm Website

On top of having a professionally designed website, you need to make sure that it’s created with SEO in mind. Here are some aspects of your bankruptcy website that you should focus on to ensure a high likelihood of topping search engine rankings.

Create Attorney Bio Pages

Attorney biography pages tell the readers about a lawyer’s educational background, professional experience, and industry achievements. These little sections are important for:

• Improving SEO
• Building trust and credibility with potential bankruptcy clients
• Better conversion rates

On top of getting results for your website, showing your face helps connect you with your audience and potential clients even before you meet them.

Build Landing Pages Around Your Bankruptcy Services

Landing pages are dedicated pages for a specific topic in a website. Bankruptcy law firm websites typically have dedicated landing pages for each service (e.g., Debt Relief, IRS Assistance, Chapter 7, Chapter 13, etc.). These help with integrated keywords for SEO while giving visitors clear information about your specialization and practice areas.

It’s also a way to make it easier for potential clients to take the first step into hiring you. Daniel Herrin, a Dallas-based bankruptcy lawyer, stresses the importance of creating dedicated landing pages. “When you’re doing these ads, where are you driving them to? If they’re going to your main website that’s a huge mistake. Every ad should have a tailored landing page, period.”

He encourages law firms to “get those landing pages to match that search term or that keyword so that what they search, the direct message or call-to-action to that is right in their face.”

Keyword Research

Keyword research involves finding search terms that people use to find a business on search engines like Google. When you find these relevant keywords and integrate it to your website, you improve your SEO performance. 

You can start with free keyword research tools like the Google Keyword Planner or paid ones like Ahrefs to get started with finding bankruptcy law firm keywords.

Top Bankruptcy Keywords You Can Target

Keyword tools are helpful for discovering keywords related to your bankruptcy law firm. In the example below, the tool provided keyword ideas based on the two keywords provided:

Keyword	Average monthly searches	YoY change	Competition
Bankruptcy firms	100 – 1K	+900%	Medium
Chapter 7 lawyer	1K – 10K	+900%	Low
Chapter 11 lawyer	1K 10K	+900%	Low
Chapter 7 lawyers near me	1K – 10K	0%	Medium
Chapter 7 attorney near me	1K – 10K	0%	Medium
Chapter 7 attorney	1K – 10K	-90%	Low
Chapter 11 attorneys	1K – 10K	0%	Low
Attorney chapter 7	1K – 10K	0%	Low
Best chapter 7 lawyers near me	100 – 1K	+900%	Medium
Chapter 11 attorney near me	100 – 1K	0%	Low
Chapter 11 lawyers near me	100 – 1K	0%	Low
Cheap chapter 7 lawyers near me	10 – 100	0%	Medium
Chapter 7 attorney for cheap	10 – 100	0%	Medium
Bankruptcy chapter 11 lawyers near me	10 – 100	+900%	Medium
Bankruptcy firms	100 – 1K	+900%	Medium
Debt lawyer near me	1K – 10K	+900%	Medium
Credit lawyer	1K – 10K		Medium
Lawyers for bankruptcies	1K – 10K	+900%	Medium
loan modification attorney near me	100 – 1K	0%	Low

You would want to aim for keywords with low to medium competition and choose only those relevant to your services.

Content Creation

The next step to your SEO strategy after keyword research in content creation for your website’s home page, landing pages, and blog. You’ll need to come up with content that integrates your target keywords, which helps search engines understand your site’s content.

You can manage your content creation process with these steps:

• List all content ideas. Based on your target keywords (and audience research) make a list of articles, blog posts, and other types of content.
• Schedule each content for writing and publishing. You can use a content calendar tool or software to visualize when your content is published.
• Create a system to promote your content. Make it a habit to share your content on social media (you can automate this step with social media management apps). 

Actively publishing and promoting your content not only boosts SEO, but it demonstrates your expertise and helps win over prospective clients. 

Helpful Website Content Around Bankruptcy and Finance

Here are some examples of content that your bankruptcy website can include:

Bankruptcy topics	Finance topics
Types of Bankruptcy (Chapter 7, Chapter 13, etc.)	How to create a budget
FAQs about bankruptcy	What are the different types of debt?
Step-by-step guide on the bankruptcy process	Strategies for investing
Common pitfalls that lead to bankruptcy	What is debt consolidation?
How to file Chapter 13 bankruptcy in [location]	How to pay off debt: Step-by-step guide
Eligibility requirements for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in [location]	How to build an emergency fund
How to hire a bankruptcy attorney in [location]	How to improve your credit score

Link Building

Link building is the process of getting other sites to link back to your bankruptcy website. These links (called backlinks) help rank your site in search engine results pages (SERPs) because it indicate your site’s credibility.

Some link-building best practices include:

• Create quality, optimized content
• Reach out to link-worthy websites (related to your niche)
• Fix broken links in your website
• Use HARO (Hep a Reporter Out) to respond to journalist queries about your area of expertise
• Reach out to websites that mention your business and request ‌a backlink

Local Sponsorships

Another strategy for building brand awareness within your community is by sponsoring local events. Some ideas are:

• Financial literacy workshops. Set up a booth and give away informational brochures or offer free consultations.
• Support groups for debt and foreclosure. Offer free consultations while following ethical guidelines on solicitation.
• Radio shows and podcasts. Sponsor local podcasts or radio programs that talk about personal finance. 

Note that bankruptcy law firms are subject to ethical advertising guidelines, so focus on building trust and awareness with your audience and avoid misleading information when promoting your firm.

Digital PR

Digital public relations (PR) are a collection of digital marketing strategies primarily aimed at businesses to build brand awareness and convey a positive image online. Unlike traditional PR that carries out press releases and media placements, digital PR uses social media and SEO.

Some examples of digital PR initiatives that suit bankruptcy law firms include:

• A YouTube channel that addresses bankruptcy concerns 
• A weekly podcast about debt management 
• A partnership (interview, guest blog post, collaboration) with a popular social media influencer who talks about financial literacy

When your marketing efforts provide value to your audience, your bankruptcy firm not only attracts new clients, but becomes a trusted resource in the community. 

User Experience and Technical SEO

Technical SEO helps fix technical problems on your website to improve SEO and make it easier for website visitors to use.

Here are the most common ways to apply technical SEO to a website:

• Improve navigation and website structure
• Improve website speed
• Optimize for mobile devices
• Link content within your website

These and other technical SEO strategies help search engine algorithms understand your site’s content and consider it for ranking.

Measuring ROI and Iterating Strategy

When all your SEO campaigns have been running for a few months, you’d want to know how they are performing. There are metrics that you need to track when measuring SEO performance.

Google Analytics

You can use Google Analytics to track your website’s performance. The common metrics to track are:

• Users: The total number of visitors to your website for a specific timeframe
• Sessions: The total number of browsing sessions in your site during a set period.
• Keywords: Specific keywords people use to find your website
• Channels: Shows how users found your site (organic search, social media, paid ads, referring websites, etc.)
• Bounce rate: Percentage of visitors who leave your website after viewing only one page

You can create custom reports to source only the data you need and analyze the performance of your site based on a specific goal.

TrackRight

TrackRight is a useful SEO tool that tracks website traffic and leads from interfaces like forms, chat, and calls. It also allows users to track Google My Business keyword rankings. 

Unlike Google Analytics, TrackRight allows law firms to visualize conversion rates clearly and adjust their strategies accordingly based on adequate data.

Final Thoughts

And that’s how you do holistic bankruptcy SEO. It could take anywhere between 3 to 6 months see some momentum in your organic search traffic once you kick off SEO. But your local visibility for important bankruptcy keywords may improve sooner. If you’re out of time and want us to help you with your bankruptcy SEO campaign, then contact us to get a free audit of your firm’s website.