The Lawyer’s Guide to Building Strong Local Backlinks

Having a website is just the first step to success — you need to make sure it’s found by potential clients. One effective way to achieve this is through building local backlinks. These links are important for improving search engine rankings, especially in local search results.

And that’s important for law firms, as most firms only work with local clients.

Local backlinks are links from other local businesses and organizations to your law firm’s website. They are important because search engines like Google use them to assess the relevance and authority of your site in your local area. The more high-quality local backlinks you have, the better your chances of appearing at the top of local search results.

In this article, we’ll go over the importance of local backlinks and outline practical steps to find backlink sources and successfully build those links.

Understanding Local Backlinks for Law Firms

Local backlinks are links from websites relevant to your law firm’s geographical location.

These backlinks should be both relevant to the legal industry and local — think local news websites, other local law firms, business directories, and other organizations in your community.

These backlinks are especially valuable because they signal to search engines like Google that your law firm is a trusted and recognized entity in your local area. When your website is linked by local sources, it suggests to search engines that your firm is involved and well-regarded in the community. This is the best way to improve your visibility in local search results, where potential clients are most likely to look for legal services.

However, not all backlinks are created equal. The quality of the backlink is important. Links from reputable and high-traffic local sites have more impact than those from lesser-known or low-quality sites.

Identifying Potential Local Backlink Sources

A big part of building local backlinks is identifying the right sources within your community.

Start by researching local news websites, community blogs, and business directories that are relevant to your area. These sources may be willing to publish stories about your law firm or partner with you, helping you gain visibility and build links.

For example, our client Yoav Niv has many of his cases covered on local news websites, earning him free press and valuable local backlinks.

Another approach is to explore partnerships or collaboration opportunities with local businesses and organizations. These can include sponsoring local events, participating in community service, or contributing to local causes.

Supporting local events and businesses not only helps you build relationships within the community but increases your chances of being mentioned and linked to on their websites.

Lastly, consider local legal associations, business groups, or even other (noncompeting) law firms. Engaging with these organizations can lead to your firm being listed on their websites, in their member directories, or their event announcements. These links are valuable as they come from highly relevant and authoritative sources within the legal community.

Strategies for Building Local Backlinks

Building local backlinks requires a proactive approach. Here are some strategies.

Best Practices for Outreach

Communication is key when reaching out to potential link sources.

Make sure to personalize your outreach emails. Address the recipient by their name and reference specific content or aspects of their website that caught your attention.

Clearly articulate how linking to your law firm’s content or website can provide value to their audience. This tailored approach demonstrates your genuine interest in a mutually beneficial relationship.

Here’s a template for an outreach email:

Subject: Potential Collaboration with [Recipient’s Website/Business Name]

Dear [Recipient’s Name],

I hope this message finds you well. I recently came across your [mention a specific article, post, or feature of their website] and found it incredibly insightful, especially [mention a specific detail or aspect that you liked].

I’m reaching out from [Your Law Firm’s Name], where we specialize in [briefly describe your area of expertise]. We’ve recently published [mention your content or feature that you’re promoting] that I believe would be a great resource for your readers, particularly those interested in [mention how it’s relevant to their audience].

I’d love to explore the possibility of having our content featured on your site. This collaboration could provide your audience with valuable information and a fresh perspective on [mention the specific topic].

In return, we’d be delighted to [offer a reciprocal link, guest post, etc.], ensuring our audiences benefit from our shared expertise.

Please let me know if this is something you’d be interested in, or if there are other ways we might collaborate. I look forward to the possibility of working together.

Thank you for considering my proposal, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Best regards,

[Your Name]

[Your Position]

[Your Law Firm’s Name]

[Contact Information]

Remember to follow up if you don’t receive a response initially, but do so respectfully. Clearly state what you’re offering in return, whether it’s a reciprocal link, a guest post on your site, or another form of collaboration.

Measuring the Impact of Your Backlinks

Tracking the performance of your backlinks is something you’ll want to do to understand their impact on your website’s traffic. Tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console can show you how much traffic is being directed to your site from external links.

You should also be monitoring the quality of the backlinks you acquire. A tool like Semrush can be useful here. It shows you all of your backlinks, where they can from, whether they’re do-follow or no-follow, and the quality of the link.

You want high-quality, do-follow links from reputable websites — think DA of over 30.

The last thing you want to keep track of is the broad impact of your backlink strategy. By that, I mean your website’s domain authority and improvements in local search visibility.

Again, something like Semrush can help with that.

Get Found Online with Local SEO

The best law firms actively look for and acquire local backlinks, but it’s a full-time job in and of itself. That’s why we recommend outsourcing.

If you’re looking for help with your law firm marketing, reach out. We have a team of specialists ready to help.