Foolproof Backlink Management for Lawyers

Key Takeaways:

• Not only does your website need backlinks to support your SEO strategy, but you also need to use a backlink management tool and backlink tracking method to ensure you’re getting quality links.
• Learn about the various types of links and their functionality. You can also find out how referring domains affect the quality of your backlinks.
• Utilize these strategies, including Connectively, to get referrals, build outreach, and boost your domain authority.

Are you looking for a great way to get your law firm noticed? Maybe you don’t quite have a team of marketing professionals working in-house for you (most firms don’t!). But that doesn’t mean you can’t get PR. We are here to give you some tips about how you can get started on your PR journey today!

As part of our E-E-A-T series, we are working to communicate with law firms about all aspects of search engine optimization (SEO). In this segment, we’ll cover link building and, more specifically, how you can get started today with Connectively. That’s the new platform that houses what used to be called HARO.

Let’s explore how to utilize this new platform to enhance your law firm website’s backlink performance.

What Is Backlink Management?

Backlinks are links on other websites to your website. They help Google recognize your site as a reliable resource, a trusted authority on the topic, and so valuable that another website is sending its readers to you.

Developing high-quality backlinks is critical to building a strong SEO campaign. However, you need to have a way to manage those backlinks. That’s where backlink management comes into play.

Backlink management involves getting new backlinks and tracking the quality of those links. The good news is that numerous tools exist that can help you manage this process, reducing the amount of time spent on this task.

Why Is Backlink Management Important?

Before diving further into link-building tools, let’s talk about why any of this matters in the first place.

Not managing your backlinks doesn’t just hurt your search engine ranking — it can also help competitors get the leads you should have received in the first place!

Also, over time, some links can actually hurt your SEO campaign more than they help you. Not all links are equal.

If you have too many bad links, Google picks up on that and could remove your law firm site from Google’s indexing for being too spammy. Spammy links are a signal to Google not to send people to your website. At Array Digital, we encourage you only to use white hat backlinking strategies because we don’t want Google to punish you for low-quality links to your site.

How Do Backlinks Help With E-e-a-t?

There are several types of backlinks, but these four matter the most when it comes to ranking in search engines:

• DoFollow links: DoFollow links allow Google and search engines to move from your website to another site and back again. Every time a DoFollow link points to your site, it helps to establish authority with Google.
• NoFollow links: A NoFollow link is one that stops a search engine from following that link. These links are used when you want to link to pages or sites but don’t want to endorse that site. While a person could click on it, the search engine will not engage, which means it doesn’t contribute to the ranking of your site. These links don’t impact SEO, but they can still get people to your site and can help bring awareness to your law firm brand.
• Image: Image links are a way to drive organic traffic to your site and, therefore, are an important tool for SEO. They link an image to a website, allowing anyone who clicks the image to go to the website. Search engines recognize these links, meaning they can impact your site’s authority.
• External: External links, also called outbound links, link from your website to another website. This can help the reader get more information on a specific topic.

Backlinks help with E-E-A-T by increasing your authority. They boost your trustworthiness. Google’s algorithm recognizes these links and uses them as one component of your search engine rankings.

Pr Opportunities With Connectively

Let’s take a moment to discuss how we can actually build those links. How do you get links on high-quality websites that are going to give you a boost in trustworthiness and authoritativeness?

One of the tools you may have used in the past is called HARO (Help a Reporter Out). The website has recently gone through a significant change and, as such, has moved to a new location online. HARO is now known as Connectively.

On HARO, journalists, PR pros, and subject matter experts could share their knowledge for upcoming publications. For example, a reporter could post a query looking for an attorney who could break down a complex legal topic for a story they were doing. The attorney’s name would be in the article, and the news story would include a backlink to the attorney’s website. Then, search engine crawlers would move through the news story and find the link to your law firm’s website. Links like this can create a nice way to gain valuable domain authority.

So, How Does Connectivity Work?

With so much potential to help you with your backlink strategy, it’s worth it to utilize Connectivity for what it can provide to you. The first step is to sign up. While there is a free sign-up option, you can choose a paid plan if you have the time to devote to the process and you want as many opportunities as possible.

The paid plans are a worthwhile tool, but the free plans give you 10 pitches to start, and that’s a good place to begin this process.

Here’s what you need to know going forward:

• Create a profile. This is where you list your field of expertise (including all areas of your law practice) as well as a bio about who you are and what your history is. Include a link to your website here.
• Look through the queries. These are organizations, PR pros, and reporters looking for help with their topics. Use the search bar at the top to look for subjects of interest to you. Before you send in a pitch, read the requirements and ensure you can offer valuable, on-target insights so it’s a truly qualified answer.
• Write your pitch, including a subject and a description. You’ll need to sell yourself here. Why are you the right attorney or law firm to answer these questions? Give them a reason to want to use your pitch.
• Wait. Yes, you will need to wait until the reporter responds to your pitch. If you have a paid account, you’ll get an email when the reporter responds. You don’t get email reminders with a free account, which means you’ll need to be diligent about checking your account and responding quickly before the pitch expires.
• Meet the due date. Nearly all pitches have a due date associated with them, which is often when the reporter needs an answer. These queries for attorneys are competitive, which means you need to act quickly to secure a backlink opportunity.

How Does Connectively Build Backlinks?

It’s not always easy to work with journalists because the competition can be fierce. However, getting your law firm’s name on news sites can be a valuable backlinking strategy. In fact, the process is beneficial to both you and the reporter.

The key to using Connectively successfully is:

• Respond to pitches quickly.
• Provide insight into the topic that’s truly unique, interesting, or otherwise valuable.
• Respond promptly to any questions sent to you after you’ve submitted your details.

In exchange, you receive a backlink to that article.

Remember, showing Google that your website is trustworthy and authoritative directly impacts your website traffic. Google ranks your site higher in the SERPs, and that helps more people looking for your services to find you.

The number of backlinks you have contributes to your overall SEO success, but it is far from the only component of this process. You must work to build a site that benefits your readers, convinces them to take action, and creates a positive user experience. In other words, building link equity is just one component of a much larger SEO strategy.

Five Alternative Methods to Get Your Law Firm Noticed

Connectively is an excellent resource for getting new links to your website to help build your backlink profile. However, there are a few alternative methods that can also help improve your SEO results and complement or amplify this effort.

• Hire a digital marketing team: While outreach through Connectively is an excellent way to get your name out there, it doesn’t replace the importance of a dedicated marketing team (specifically your digital marketing team). You need these professionals to help you brand your site and services while also increasing your website traffic.
• Contact news outlets: This is another way to do some outreach. If you have an interesting take on a specific big news story, you can contact news outlets and convince them to publish a story about it.
• Apply for awards: Awards are an effective component of building your brand’s trustworthiness and authoritativeness. Awards demonstrate your experience and trustworthiness, both crucial components of E-E-A-T. They also help convince your reader to trust you.
• Sponsorships: Get into the community and sponsor events, teams, and charities. Uses these relationships to create inbound links to your site on those organization’s websites. You’ll also build your local reputation, which is a great way to draw in new clients organically.
• Offer scholarships: Create a scholarship to support a high school or college student who hopes to study law in your community. Press releases and news articles about the scholarship and your efforts can help build backlinks to your site.
• Guest posts. Guest blogging is the process of writing content for another website. Your post should include a link to your site as well. By linking to your site using appropriate anchor text, you can get not just some backlink equity but also valuable traffic for potential leads.

Each of these strategies helps to elaborate on your link-building campaigns. They can help to establish your brand, boost SEO through various ranking factors, and, ultimately, drive more people who really need your services to your website.

Why Law Firms Partner With Array Digital

It takes a strong strategy and consistent effort to rank well in the search engines. With all the moving parts that go into SEO, you need to invest significant time and effort to achieve better results and leads that grow your law firm. Most lawyers don’t have that kind of free time.

That’s where Array Digital comes in.

Law firms work with our team of strategists because we offer a wide range of resources, tools, and expertise in all aspects of digital marketing. Our strategists stay on top of the latest changes to the Google algorithm so that we stay dynamic and competitive in the ever-changing SEO landscape.

We listen to our clients and create custom strategies for them that help build success. Schedule an appointment to learn what Array can do for you. You’ll see what sets us apart from the very first meeting.

Testimonials

“Kevin and his team at Array Digital are the proverbial Pros from Dover. I was a guest on his podcast, and he made it easy and conversational. His digital marketing team is also top-notch — they’re growing firms by leaps and bounds. In the digital age, digital marketing is no longer optional, particularly in certain fields like PI law, criminal/traffic law, and family law that are volume practices. Kevin and Array Digital are uniquely positioned to help firms practice in the 21st century of tech.” – Rob B.

“Kevin and the Array Digital team are exceptional at what they do! If you are looking to grow your law firm, look no further. Array is the expert team that you need to take the complexities of digital marketing off of your plate and bring customers that need you to your doorstep.” – Greg T.

“Highly recommend Array Digital. Prior to bringing them on board, I tried to manage all the different marketing aspects of my firm by myself. As a result, my marketing was all over the place. Since hiring Array, everything is under one roof and organized. They communicate very well and genuinely care about their clients.” – Chris S.

Additional Resources

• The Best Budget-Friendly Way to Promote Your Small Law Firm: Utilize these steps to help market your law firm in an effective manner without spending too much. If your metrics are not meeting your goals, these inexpensive strategies can help you to see improvement.
• A Lawyer’s Guide to E-E-A-T: An Introduction: Let us help you improve E-E-A-T for your law firm. This guide gives you specific strategies to follow to find your strengths and take advantage of your competitor’s weaknesses.
• Local SEO Link Building Guide: Read our local SEO link-building guide for strategies on how to build your local ranking using legal directories, Google Business Profile, and more.

Are You Ready for a Foolproof Approach to Marketing?

Don’t waste time or limit your marketing reach. Contact Array Digital now to let us manage your site’s backlinks. Call 757-333-3021 to get the help you need now, or fill out our contact form.