Speaker 1: 0:06

Why does SEO take so long? Welcome to Legal Marketing 101. I'm Toby Rosen. Have you ever sat there wondering why your Google rankings aren't skyrocketing to the top of the page after you spent all this time optimizing your website? Well, you're not alone. And no, it's not because you're slacking off or your marketing team is slacking off, or whoever it is. In this episode, we're going to break down some of the hidden mechanics, the legal industry's challenges that are specific to the legal industry when it comes to SEO, and we're going to talk about some smart ways to speed up the impact of your efforts.

Speaker 1: 0:43

And you know how it goes. You invest this time, this effort and sometimes a healthy chunk of your marketing budget to optimize your website and everything seems perfect. You've got the right keywords, crisp, fresh content, stuff going up every week, slick pages they're loading really fast and then crickets. You watch and you wait and you click on analytics obsessively and you expect your site to surge in the ranking. And after 30 to 60 days, the frustration starts to kick in. You start wondering did we mess something up? Should we have done something differently? And if that sounds all too familiar, rest assured, like I said, you are not alone and, more importantly, you're probably not doing anything wrong, because here's the truth.

Speaker 1: 1:25

Seo is not like flicking a switch. It's more like planting a garden you might put in all the groundwork today, but you're not going to see tomatoes tomorrow or next week, or maybe even the next week after that. It takes a lot of nurturing, patience and time. So why exactly does SEO take so long? Well, google is not being stubborn or secretive just to frustrate us, even though it definitely feels like that on most of the days that end in Y. The real reason is something called algorithmic trust building. Think about it from Google's perspective. Their entire job is making sure that users find reliable, trustworthy information when they search, and that takes more than just a few quick adjustments. Google's algorithms slowly test, evaluate and learn to trust websites over extended periods. They are looking for really consistent signals that your site is valuable, authoritative and user-friendly, not just optimized in whatever sense.

Speaker 1: 2:29

But here's the kicker. For law firms, seo is notoriously tough because our industry falls into Google's your money, your life category, the YMYL category. This means that our content isn't just judged, it's scrutinized heavily. Google understands that legal information deeply affects people's finances, health and well-being, so it holds your website to a higher standard. That extra layer of scrutiny can slow things down pretty significantly. And then there's the market itself. The legal industry is incredibly competitive online. You know this.

Speaker 1: 3:03

Think of the top keywords that we're going to target with your website, things like divorce attorney, criminal law attorney, personal injury lawyer. Everyone else in your city and every directory and aggregator across the country is fighting tooth and nail for the top spots on those coveted keywords. It's not just about doing things right, it's about doing things consistently better than everyone else over a long period of time. And yeah, I know that sounds really overwhelming. Trust me, we're going to come back to it. But before we go there, let's not forget about the infamous Google sandbox effect. This is especially powerful for new websites or recently updated domains. So imagine the sandbox as Google's testing ground.

Speaker 1: 3:43

New sites or sites that are making significant changes are put into a holding pen of sorts. They're temporarily restrained from ranking highly. Google waits, they watch and then they gradually release these sites into the competitive rankings once they've proven that they aren't spammy or unreliable. It's a really frustrating process. It's like sitting on the sidelines of a game you desperately want to play, but it's Google's way of protecting searchers from new sites that are attempting to game the system and provide less than awesome content. So if you're wondering why you're not seeing these quick wins from your SEO efforts, remember this You're building long-term authority, long-term trust and long-term credibility, and none of that can happen overnight. Like a fine wine, seo gets better with age, assuming that we store it correctly, we keep nurturing it. Essentially, keep going, stay consistent and eventually our garden is going to grow. But, like I said, we can't expect ripe tomatoes by tomorrow morning. So let's dive a little bit deeper into what's actually happening behind the scenes with our law firm's SEO. It's easy to imagine Google as this giant scoreboard updating in real time, but the reality is that it's a little more like a cautious detective.

Speaker 1: 5:01

Before Google even considers placing you prominently in search results, it's first going to find, crawl and index your content. Think of this as Google simply figuring out what pages exist and then filling them into this gigantic virtual library. After it goes in that library, that's when they start evaluating and ranking your content, and this evaluation process involves a lot more than just scanning your content and your keywords. Google is constantly checking whether your site truly deserves to rank well, and the way it measures this is through a few different signals. These are trust signals, authority signals and user behavior.

Speaker 1: 5:39

So first let's talk backlinks. A backlink from another trusted site is basically a vote of confidence. It's like a colleague endorsing your work on LinkedIn. The more reputable and more relevant the sites that link back to you are, the higher your credibility will climb in Google's eyes. And then there's content consistency. We've talked about this a lot. Google doesn't just want you to publish high quality content once and then call it a day. It wants you to demonstrate ongoing authority in your area of expertise. This means regular, reliable publishing, and that tells Google that you're genuinely interested in providing value. It's just building a reputation. It's, you know, always being on top of the latest legal development and not just being the person who shows up occasionally.

Speaker 1: 6:27

And then let's talk about how users are actually interacting with your website. This is something we can't forget. These are the user behavior signals. Metrics like how long someone stays on your site, whether they bounce away quickly or immediately, and how much they're actually engaging with your content directly all influences your rankings. Google sees this engagement as a signal that your content genuinely helps visitors, which means higher rankings for you.

Speaker 1: 6:55

But here's the legal twist for legal SEO, because your firm deals with critical, life-affecting issues. Google treats your content like it's an auditor with a fine-tooth comb. The review process is slower and far more meticulous. Your articles, blogs and resource pages aren't just scanned. They're going to be examined, re-examined and then tested against the stringent YMYL guidelines. And just when you think you've figured out Google's rules, it's going to go and shuffle the deck entirely. Updates to Google's core algorithm or local search guidelines or other guidelines there's a million of them. These can suddenly just rearrange the search engine results page and rearrange the rankings. This creates a really frustrating scenario where suddenly we're competing from square one again. So keep this in mind. Seo isn't slow because it's inefficient. It's slow because thoroughness and precision and good quality search results take a lot of time, and in legal marketing, the extra scrutiny we receive means that extra patience is definitely necessary. But if you do it well, the payoff can certainly be worth the wait.

Speaker 1: 8:03

Now let's talk bottlenecks. These are the sneaky speed bumps that make your SEO journey feel like you're stuck in traffic in Bangkok here on a Friday afternoon. Because even if you're doing most things right, there are some common issues that can slow you down significantly in the legal space. First up, the technical foundation of your website. This is really key. We've talked a little bit about it, but this is really important. Think of this as the plumbing behind your beautiful shiny office or house. No matter how stunning the lobby is or the entryway is. If the plumbing doesn, your beautiful shiny office or house, no matter how stunning the lobby is or the entryway is, if the plumbing doesn't work, you are going to have big smelly problems. Google cares really deeply about things like your site's load speed, mobile responsiveness and security. That little HTTPS in your URL, that's not just decorative. Ignoring these technical basics is like inviting Google's algorithm to just raise a skeptical eyebrow and then move along to the next site.

Speaker 1: 8:58

And then next we have inconsistent content strategy. This is a big pitfall. I see with a lot of firms. They publish a flurry of blog posts one month and then ghost the audience the next month. This can seriously confuse Google. It's like turning up for a court impeccably prepared one day and then showing up the next day with no shirt on. Google and your audience have no idea whether to trust you and they can't figure out if you're crazy or not.

Speaker 1: 9:22

And then there's the evergreen challenge of credible backlinks. Links from reputable websites are pure gold in Google's eyes, but in the legal sector, getting these backlinks Links from reputable websites are pure gold in Google's eyes, but in the legal sector, getting these backlinks can be really tough. It can feel like pulling teeth. Without these links, though, you're effectively standing outside Google's trust circle and just sort of looking in. But on the flip side, trying too hard to get these backlinks or trying too hard on your content can backfire pretty spectacularly. Trust me, I've seen it a bunch.

Speaker 1: 9:53

Keyword stuffing, or over-optimization, basically using our chosen phrases in every possible spot, is the equivalent of shouting our name repeatedly at a networking event. Instead of impressing Google, we're just going to be the weird guy in the middle of the conference raising red flags for everyone, like why is that guy screaming? And in Google's sense, this could trigger penalties or leave our rankings completely stagnant. And then let's not forget about the other big guys Avvo, findlaw, yelp, all the other directory giants. They have been dominating the top spots on our search engine results page for major keywords for years. Breaking through these defenses requires a relentless, smart and hyper-targeted approach.

Speaker 1: 10:39

And then finally I mean I don't want to say finally, but lastly on this particular list is neglecting local SEO signals. We've talked about local SEO to death. I won't say too much about it. But your Google business profile, the reviews, consistent citations if you're not paying attention here, if you are neglecting these properties, man, these are the lowest hanging fruit possible, and Google really rewards firms that clearly signal their location and their relevance to local searches, especially now that 60% of searches, essentially, are mobile. So tackle these bottlenecks proactively.

Speaker 1: 11:14

These are the biggest pitfalls that I see law firms falling into, and if you attack them, you're going to win. You're going to turn your SEO crawl into a steady climb right up that hill. Just keep the momentum consistent, stay patient and you're going to get there. So how do we keep our expectations in check? That's really the last thing, because we know what we should be doing. We know that this takes a long time and we know that the process is what will help us win. But how do we keep our expectations in check? The first step here is to be really realistic. When you set your timelines, when you start a fresh SEO campaign or you make some big changes to the website, start thinking of things in 90-day chunks. Think of a 6-12 month runway before you're going to see real meaningful momentum. And yes, I know it sounds daunting, but SEO is a game of incremental progress and patience. There are no overnight miracles in this game, but don't worry, you can still achieve some quick wins early in the process.

Speaker 1: 12:12

So, instead of over obsessing about the big ticket terms that firms are battling over constantly, start by targeting a couple of long tail keywords and maybe some local phrases. These are usually a lot easier to rank for and sometimes they can drive really qualified traffic. So think a divorce attorney specializing in mediation in Austin, texas, or an insurance lawyer specializing in car accident, whatever it is. Do these instead of just divorce lawyer or insurance lawyer, which are going to be hugely expensive. But if you're eager to speed things up even further, focus on building your authority faster.

Speaker 1: 12:51

One of the best ways is snagging trusted backlinks from reputable sources like local bar associations, chambers of commerce, respected industry publications, anywhere. That's really powerful in terms of what you see on the page. It's probably going to be powerful in terms of signals sent to Google and these kinds of links. That's exactly what we're trying to do. It sends a signal to Google that the site is credible and that we're worth paying attention to, and don't overlook the hidden gems you know in your website.

Speaker 1: 13:20

Either Refresh and optimize the content you've created. Update an old blog post with fresh statistics, recent case studies, reviews. Any kind of new information like this can significantly boost your rankings without having to reinvent the wheel. Refreshing that content is just another way to sort of tickle Google a bit without having to invest so much in something new. And here's one that, look, we've talked about it forever. I've mentioned it a couple of times in this episode and I won't spend too long on it.

Speaker 1: 13:48

But maximize your local signals. Encourage your clients to leave reviews on Google and actively manage that Google business profile. Google absolutely loves local credibility. It is the low-hanging fruit that leads to quick, meaningful boosts to our SEO and quick, meaningful boosts to our bottom line. But above all, whether it's with SEO, it's with local, it's with paid advertising, whatever it is, consistency is king. And whether you're able to make one blog post this week or 10 blog posts this week, what really matters is these small, consistent actions, because they compound over time. They build up that SEO momentum that you're going to need to climb the rank steadily. And if you stay patient and you stay consistent, your SEO efforts will pay off. I promise that, but here's the thing.

Speaker 1: 14:44

This is my quick little recap, thanks to Chad GPT. Seo is a marathon. It is not a sprint, but for law firms it's like running uphill with Google watching you closely. So what I suggest you do today is figure out where the real bottleneck in your SEO is right now. Is it authority, is it content? Is it technical? And how do you get across that bottleneck? How do you take things to the next level and take advantage of what SEO capabilities you have and what SEO traffic there is left in the market today? Now, the huge caveat that we haven't talked about in this episode is Google's AI program Gemini. This is obviously a really big development in the world of SEO, and we're not getting into it right now. It is something we are going to talk about more in the future, but for today, that's it for Legal Marketing 101. Check out RosenAdvertisingcom for more Thanks.