An Insider’s Look at What Technical SEO Specialists Do

Key Takeaways:

• A technical SEO specialist is a professional who oversees the functional aspects and ranking of a website.
• These professionals keep websites moving, managing everything from schema markup to page loading speed.
• Technical SEO is a critical tool for organic ranking for law firms.
• Array Digital has the technical SEO specialists you need to get results.

How do websites attract visitors? And what are the key components that drive traffic? We cover all of these topics at Array Digital, but today we are honing in on technical SEO.

Did you know that 93% of web experiences start on search engines, those search engines drive over half of a website’s organic visitors, it’s clear that simply having a website isn’t enough. Your site needs to be doctored and handled with care, it should probably even have a “fragile” sticker right on top, because the algorithm is a delicate game.

Ranking in Google isn’t easy, your website needs to be healthy, light, and easy to navigate. So let’s dive in and take a peak at what our technical SEO specialists do in house, and why technical SEO is an important part of any marketing campaign.

Now, you could technically skip this deep dive into technical SEO and hire a specialist. But if you are like us and would like to dive deep into the data, stay tuned.

What is technical SEO for law firms?

Technical search engine optimization (SEO) improves a website’s functionality, making it easier for search engines to find your law firm’s website, understand what it is about, and display your site in relevant searches. Technical SEO also manages the client’s experience with the site. Factors like whether the site is mobile-friendly and whether it loads quickly have a massive impact on whether visitors turn into clients.

Technical SEO makes it easier for search engines to understand and rank your website. Without careful consideration of how search engines move through your website, you may make it unnecessarily difficult for them to rank it.

Why is technical SEO important for law firms?

Implementing good technical SEO practices is essential for law firms because it directly impacts how accessible your site is to potential clients. If search engines cannot index your site and see its value, you will not rank well, no matter what keywords you use.

Problems with the technical aspects of your website can also:

• Cause your site to load slowly, which encourages people to seek out other websites
• Limit traffic and the ability of viable clients to navigate from page to page
• Lead to poor user experience, especially if people back out often, which can negatively impact your rank on Google

Ultimately, poor technical performance means fewer leads.

As a law firm, your full web development and digital marketing process hinges on prospective clients’ ability to find and contact you. That is why ensuring your site is operating at its peak technical level is critical.

Glossary of SEO terms

Here’s a list of some of the most important digital marketing terms you should know that we’ll refer to throughout our guide.

• Backlink: A hyperlink from an outside website that directs to your website
• Bounce rate: Percent of users who leave a webpage without clicking through any links to other pages
• Breadcrumb: An easy way for a user to see the position of a page within a site’s hierarchy, it helps with navigation
• Conversion: When a site user contacts your law firm via phone call or contact form submission, also called a lead
• Crawler: Also called a spider or web crawler, an online bot that indexes web pages and figures out their content for better search results
• CTR: Click-through rate; the percent of users who click a link out of users who saw that link
• Index: Database of webpages where the web is crawling; the database search engines use to fulfill search engine requests
• Keywords: Words and phrases used in search engines to find results
• Link building: The act of gaining new backlinks to your website
• Meta descriptions: The text under a link in a Google search usually gives a short summary of the page’s content, used by crawlers to help determine the page content
• Off-site SEO: SEO tactics outside of your website that improve your site’s rankings, such as link-building
• Onsite SEO: SEO tactics on your website to improve search rankings, such as site architecture
• Organic search: Unpaid search engine results ranked algorithmically
• PPC: Pay-per-click ads; ads that charge for every time a user clicks the link
• Ranking: How high a link appears in Google’s organic results for any given keyword
• Rich results: Google results that are not a basic hyperlink; Carousels, snippets, and Google Business Profiles are all examples of rich results
• Schema: Structured data that tells crawlers precisely what is on your page; enables rich results in Google searches
• SEO: Search engine optimization; the process of improving website content and technical structure to increase quality traffic from unpaid searches
• SERP: Stands for search engine results page, the results that appear in a search engine when you enter a search query (keyword)
• Technical SEO: Optimizing website and server structural elements to enable more accurate indexing and improved rankings

How technical SEO specialists improve your website

Technical SEO specialists improve your website’s search engine ranking. That, in turn, helps to increase the likelihood of generating more leads for your law firm.

So, how do these specialists help facilitate improvement on your site?

• They optimize the site’s structure, making it easy for people and web crawlers to navigate through the website.
• They ensure accessibility for prospective clients using mobile devices.
• They enhance page speed, which reduces slowdowns and improves user experience.
• They pay attention to search engine algorithms to find opportunities to help you rank higher in the search engines.
• Your technical SEO experts also keep your site running from a background point of view, troubleshooting and fixing any technical issues.

What does a technical SEO specialist do?

The work of a technical SEO specialist typically includes monitoring, updating, and supporting your website’s function over time. These tasks include optimizing the site for Google, finding and fixing any technical errors present, and helping to boost your website’s authority through necessary updates. They may help with:

• Creating sitemaps to ensure search engines can understand the structure of your law firm’s website and how information from one page relates to another.
• They can update titles and meta descriptions to ensure your content targets relevant keywords.
• They monitor Google Analytics to track the effectiveness of your SEO strategy.

Top 5 characteristics of a good technical SEO specialist

A qualified technical SEO specialist is a reliable resource your law firm needs to ensure your site operates at its best. A good SEO specialist can help you with every aspect of managing your site.

There are some characteristics to look for when trying to find a good technical SEO specialist:

1. Thorough technical SEO knowledge, including a deep comprehension of search engine algorithms, website architecture, SSL certificates, and website coding
2. Proficiency with SEO tools, including any tools your site uses like Ahrefs, Semrush, Screaming Frog, or Google Analytics
3. Excellent ability to find and troubleshoot errors, including webpage redirects and 404 errors
4. Commitment to creating backlinks to websites with a high domain ranking and minimizing the use of any backlinks that could be detrimental to your site’s performance
5. Ability to optimize all landing pages through both on-page SEO and off-page SEO

Primary responsibilities of a technical SEO specialist

Technical SEO specialists handle multiple responsibilities to maintain the backend of your website over time. These responsibilities include:

• Managing your sitemap
• Troubleshooting web performance concerns, including crawling or indexing errors
• Managing keyword rank tracking and reporting
• Utilizing optimization strategies for enhanced performance
• Tracking site performance and making adjustments based on key metrics
• Utilizing their coding skills in HTML, CSS, Javascript, and other languages to keep sites operational
• Configuring SSL certificates on law firm sites
• Creating and monitoring a link-building strategy with strict quality standards
• Fixing any duplicate content issues
• Monitoring website speed and making adjustments to improve load times

Why technical SEO is essential for law firms

Your SEO consultant can help you understand SEO conceptually, but a successful SEO campaign requires skilled technical management. SEO involves layers of technical design that complement and enhance the other elements of your strategy, like content and link-building.

Consider the importance of local SEO, for example. Most law firms’ clients come from the firm’s local area. Your technical SEO specialist will help to determine if you are ranking for local keywords and where there may be opportunities for improvement.

Together, your SEO consultant and technical SEO specialist work together on several technical elements, including:

• Website performance
• Internal linking structure
• Keyword metrics
• Technical SEO issues
• Keyword research

An SEO strategy without technical SEO is like a house without a frame. No matter how nice the paint color you picked out, it won’t stand for long.

Why law firms partner with Array Digital

Array Digital works closely with our law firm clients to determine which SEO tools you require and the best approach to balance your goals and your budget. Our team is committed to providing you with a customized strategy that helps your website be found.

Testimonials

“Array Digital has built an awesome website for our law firm and used SEO to move us to the top of the page on Google. They are true professionals who know their stuff!” — James K.

“I have worked with Array for several years, and after having website management / SEO services provided by many companies over the years, Array has been the most productive and effective for my business.” — Sergio V.

Hire a technical SEO specialist and see the difference

Are you tired of navigating the complexities of SEO on your own? Array Digital understands that the digital landscape can be daunting and time-consuming, especially when optimizing your website for search engines. Our technical SEO specialists have the expertise and tools to elevate your online presence.

With Array Digital as your partner, you’ll know your site is in capable hands because we are committed to transparency and education with our clients. We will drive tangible results and propel your online success to new heights. Get started today and give us a call at 757-333-3021.