How To Get More Family Law Clients with SEO

Finding clients has become extremely difficult for family law practices. Rising costs make acquiring new leads challenging. And huge firms are flooding the market, pushing out the smaller players.

In fact, a recent survey found the #1 struggle for most lawyers is generating new clients.

This holds true in the family law space as well. Most individuals don’t wake up wanting to hire a divorce or custody attorney. They find themselves in a difficult legal situation and start desperately searching for representation.

When they do, they primarily turn to one place: Google.

That’s where SEO comes in…

Used properly, SEO allows your family law firm to appear right when prospective clients are searching for legal help online in your area. But it requires more than just having a website and waiting for Google to send you traffic.

You need an effective search strategy tailored specifically to ranking for high-value family law searches in your market.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through exactly how to do that, just as I have for countless other family law firms across the country.

Does SEO still work for family law firms?

In short, yes.

Google is [by far] the best source of leads for family law firms, for a number of reasons:

Google provides the highest quality traffic

When someone searches for “family lawyer Miami” or “divorce attorneys Dallas”, they have an immediate need for representation. They are looking to have a conversation with you right now.

Compare that to social media, where NO ONE is looking to hire you and you have to incessantly create content in order to get people’s attention.

SEO allows you to connect with qualified prospects ready to hire you on the spot.

SEO grows exponentially over time

The leads and visibility you gain from SEO are cumulative. The more pages you rank, the faster word spreads about your firm in the community. This creates rapid growth that no other online source and provide.

SEO offers the highest ROI

While paid ads require ongoing spend, SEO brings “free” traffic. One law firm we assisted saw their monthly visitors grow from 40 to 7,000 in under a year using SEO, which provided a 4,000% return on investment. There’s simply no other traffic source that can provide the same type of return for family law firms.

Simply put, SEO works for family law when executed correctly. Now let’s discuss how to make it work for your specific firm.

SEO offers privacy to searchers

Going through a divorce is a painful, private process. A lot of people going through a separation want to do it privately, and likely want to speak to an attorney without anyone knowing. Google offers the ability to find a lawyer without the help of anyone else.

It starts with the “right” keywords

Careful keyword targeting allows you to reach families based on their specific situation. Choose keywords that capture their feelings and pain points, not just legal terminology.

Target phrases like “child custody advice” rather than “custody litigation firm.” Speak to emotional struggles like “divorce support” and “domestic abuse assistance.”

For example, an individual beginning the divorce process may search:

• “Affordable divorce lawyers near me”
• “How does divorce work?”
• “Child support options”

A worried parent pursuing custody could search:

• “Child custody lawyers in my area”
• “How to get full custody of a child”
• “Explaining visitation rights to a child”

You want your firm to appear at the top of search results for these terms. High visibility means more opportunities to guide families through uncertainty at the outset.

For maximum visibility, go local

If you want to boost your family law firm’s visibility, it’s crucial to optimize for local search.  When someone searches for a local lawyer, such as “divorce attorney San Diego”, Google will trigger a Local Pack in the search results.

This Local Pack displays a list of 3 attorneys in the mapped area, along with their contact information, photos, reviews, and more. Based on our experience, the majority of leads for law firms come from appearing in this Local Pack.

If you want to get your business up there in those valuable listings, you need to make ranking a top priority. And the best way to do that? It’s all about building and optimizing your Google My Business (GMB) profile. This profile acts as your digital storefront on Google and is a major ranking factor for local SEO.

Here are key elements to optimize in your GMB listing:

• Verify your law office’s physical address in the service location. Virtual offices don’t qualify.
• Fully complete your profile with images, business hours, correct phone numbers and website URLs.
• Select the most relevant business categories such as “Divorce & Family Law Attorney”.
• Accumulate at least 20+ positive Google reviews from satisfied clients. Added credibility improves local rankings.
• Build local citations by claiming optimized profiles on sites like Avvo, YellowPages, etc using the same business name, address and phone number (NAP).
• Use location-based keywords related to your practice areas in your profile’s meta titles and descriptions.

By checking these boxes, you make it easy for Google to connect your profile with relevant local searches. This leads to prime positioning in the Local Pack when users search for family law representation near them.

Funnel visitors into your legal ecosystem

Creating effective SEO content for family law requires a nuanced approach. Put yourself in their shoes. Consider their mindset and emotions when first seeking legal help.

Start by mapping out a logical chronology, a funnel – from a client’s initial concerns to ultimate case resolution. Address key questions surrounding separation, divorce, custody rights and more. Explain how you aim for compromises that are truly fair to every family member.

The funnel should guide website visitors through three stages:

1. Awareness Stage – This is when people start to become aware they may need legal help but aren’t ready to hire a lawyer yet. Content should focus on questions like “How does the divorce process work?” or “What should I consider when pursuing child custody?” The goal is to provide information to build familiarity and trust.
2. Discovery Stage – At this point, visitors understand their situation needs legal guidance. Content should address next steps like “Documents needed to file for divorce” or “How to build a child custody case.” This stage moves visitors closer to contacting a law firm.
3. Action Stage – Now the visitor is ready to hire a lawyer. Content focuses on convincing them why your firm is the right choice, such as case studies of satisfied clients. Calls-to-action should direct them to contact or scheduling pages.

For example, a content funnel could look like:

• Awareness: “How to Tell Your Child You’re Getting Divorced”
• Discovery: “Beginner’s Guide to the Divorce Process”
• Consideration: “Why Hundreds of Florida Families Choose Us for Their Divorce”

Also iIllustrate your process with examples and success stories. Share testimonials from clients who found closure after working with you. This content, optimized effectively, builds trust and authority with both search engines and vulnerable families.

Invest in technical SEO to maximize your rankings

A website built on a technically sound foundation offers a better experience for struggling visitors. Proper technical SEO also helps search engines properly index and rank your content.

While technical work may seem irrelevant to your service, small improvements make a big difference:

• Mobile optimization ensures your advice is easily accessible on any device. This provides a reassuring user experience.
• Fast load times get your firm’s expertise to visitors quicker when they need it most. Don’t let delays heighten their distress.
• Secure pages establish trust in you as a secure resource for sensitive family matters.
• Structured data enhances listings by highlighting key details like areas of practice.
• XML sitemaps guide search bots directly to your most helpful content.
• Optimized tags prominently display your firm’s compassionate approach in search results.
• Eliminate broken links so visitors can seamlessly explore your guidance without frustration.

While you focus on serving clients, partner with an SEO agency to handle the technical details. Well-executed technical SEO removes friction, connects people to your counsel faster, and enables you to focus on what really matters: working with family clients, all without worrying about the hassle of marketing optimizations.

Need help getting more family law clients?

Gaining visibility on Google is critical for family law firms to connect with prospective clients during vulnerable times. With the right search engine optimization strategies, you can rank higher and attract families who need your counsel.

Start by choosing keywords that resonate with people’s needs and pain points. Then, appear in all local SEO results by optimizing your Google My Business profile. High visibility in the Maps pack means more opportunities to demonstrate your firm’s expertise.

Craft relevant content that speaks to people’s worries. Guide them through the legal process with valuable articles and resources. Share client success stories to showcase your firm’s commitment to fairness.

If you want to expand your reach and connect with more clients in need, partner with WEBRIS. Our blended search strategies help family law firms rank higher, drive more traffic, and convert qualified leads.

Let us handle the digital marketing details so you can focus completely on client relationships. Don’t leave your online visibility to chance – schedule a consultation call today to discuss how our proven approach can help your firm grow.