30 Unique Ways to Attract High Quality Backlinks to Your Law Firm Website

Law firm SEO is a multi-prong approach. Not only do you need to manage your technical SEO, but you have to conduct on-page SEO, create content, optimize your local listings, and more.

One important and often the most challenging SEO task for law firms is link building – attracting high-authority links to your website.

These links can boost your site’s authority in the eyes of Google, leading to higher rankings and more traffic.

But attracting backlinks isn't easy. It's often challenging, expensive, and time-consuming to get them.

In this article, I will go over 30 ways you can get high-quality links to your site.

1. Ask Your Network

An underrated link-building method is to ask business owners and bloggers in your network to link out to your website.

For example, if your contact has a legal blog that references the top lawyers in each state, it may make sense to get on that list. Or, see if any local bloggers will add your law firm as a resource for people looking for legal services in your area.

2. Alumni Lists & Directories

Most college and university websites have a section dedicated to their alumni – and some of them are willing to link out. If your alma mater has an alumni page and you’re able to get listed, see if you can link to your law firm’s website.

3. Chamber of Commerce

Getting a link from your local Chamber of Commerce is essentially a guaranteed link. The trick is getting in touch with the right representative to get listed.

You might have to go through a simple application process to get listed, but the link and possible traffic are well worth it.

4. Local Listings

Yelp, TripAdvisor, 3 Best Rated. There are endless local directories that you can get your law firm listed in. Be on the lookout for directories that focus on your city or state, as these will be more relevant to your business and are often easier to get into.

5. Niche Directories

Similar to local directories, niche directories are directories that focus on a particular industry. In your case, you will want to find directories that are relevant to the legal industry, like Avvo, Nolo, Justia, and Findlaw.

Many of these directories have followed links or, at the very least, can send traffic to your site via nofollow links. An added benefit of these directories is that many of them allow you to collect client reviews, which can work as social proof to help you attract even more clients.

6. Blog Directories

If your law firm website has a blog (and you should), you can potentially get it listed in blog directories.

To find these directories, simply do a Google search for “blog directories,” and you’re certain to find loads of options.

7. HARO

Help A Reporter Out (HARO) provides journalists with an entire database of sources they can reference in their articles and magazines.

By signing up for free HARO updates, you can respond to journalists’ queries and potentially get featured in reputable publications. If you get featured, you’re likely to get a link back to your website and earn some valuable media coverage.

8. Social Media

Most social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn give you the option to include a link back to your website. While not all of these links are followed links, they can send traffic to your website.

9. Content Marketing

If you’re taking the time to publish your own content on your website or blog, you should be marketing it across platforms to generate as much reach as possible. This might involve sharing it to your email list, social media, or emailing it to outside publications.

The more eyes you get on your content, the more likely you will earn more backlinks from people who love your content.

10. Paid Directories

If you are going to pay for backlinks, at least focus on earning links from reputable directories. There are some directories that are legit but require a fee to get featured.

You can earn a few followed backlinks this way and possibly drum up some traffic. Simply do a Google search for [best paid directories] and compare your options.

11. Networking/Offline Marketing

Like asking your network for backlinks, you can attend in-person networking events to form new connections that might result in backlinks.

While the goal should be to form genuine relationships, keep your eyes open to different opportunities. You might meet someone who is willing to interview you on their site or offer you a guest post slot, which could result in some valuable links.

12. Web Tools

Creating web tools to earn backlinks is an advanced method but can be highly effective. Web tools like calculators can be highly valuable to your audience and, therefore, valuable to other sites in your niche.

Think: [legal fees calculator], [loan calculator], [child support calculator]

13. Press Releases

Google has said that they “ignore” links from press releases, but they can still be a good source of dofollow links. This is because syndication can get your press release in front of other journalists and earn you backlinks from those websites.

So, if you have a story to tell, it might be worth running a press release to get you featured on high-authority websites.

14. How-to Guides

[How to] keywords are some of the most searched keywords because people are constantly looking for tutorials on how to complete tasks and accomplish their goals. Guides like “How to File for Divorce,” “How to Hire the Right Family Attorney,” and “How to Avoid Foreclosure” not only provide value to your potential clients but can also be picked up (and linked to) by other sites looking to reference this information.

15. Q&A Sites

Sites like Quora can earn you nofollow links that send traffic to your site, as long as you mention your website in your answer. On these sites, users ask questions, and you can answer based on your own expertise.

For example, if a user asks what to do after they get a DUI, you can answer with a step-by-step explanation and then link to your own law firm if they want more information.

The same goes for Reddit.

16. Attend Speaking Events & Conferences

Speaking events and conferences are great places to build connections, especially if you are one of the speakers.

If you’re able to land a speaking gig, you’ll often earn links back not only from the event hosts but from people who attend the event. You’re also likely to generate some social and referral traffic from the publicity alone.

17. Charities & Non-Profits

Charities and non-profit organizations often have donor pages that list the businesses and individuals that have donated to their org.

You have to be careful about these ones because they can be interpreted as paid links. We recommend donating out of the kindness of your own heart; if you earn a link back, that’s just a bonus.

18. Sponsor Events

Local events are almost always looking for sponsors – and they’ll usually link to you if you sponsor their event. At the very least, you’ll get a mention at the conference and possibly earn some clients that way.

Simply do a search for events in your local area and ask if they are looking for sponsors.

19. Branded Mentions

Sometimes websites will reference your business without linking out to your site. If you’re able to find these “branded mentions,” you can usually request a link back. To find them, use tools like BuzzSumo, Ahrefs & SEMRUSH to scan the web for your brand name and then manually reach out to the website owner to see if you can turn that mention into a link.

20. Offer Scholarships

Looking for a way to give back and earn a backlink in return? Your law firm can offer scholarships to athletes, high school students, or college students and possibly earn links from schools and scholarship directories.

Update your scholarship information year after year to earn more links and help individuals at the same time.

21. Cover Current Events

Law firms can write about current events to attract traffic from search since the topic is likely fresh in peoples’ minds. If you can get ahead of the curve or at least offer an interesting spin on a current event, you’re likely to get picked up by other publications (links) and get your content shared on social media.

22. Email Mentions

Occasionally you will come across mentions of your law firm in online magazines and blogs, but they might not be linking back to your site. It’s always a good idea to just email the publisher and ask if you can get a link back.

Worst case, they say no, and you still get some brand recognition; best case, you get a dofollow link and some bonus traffic.

23. Local Newspapers

While print newspapers obviously can’t link to your website, many of them post digital versions of their articles online. With a little PR, you might be able to get featured in local newspapers and earn a few links back to your site. This is another reason to stay up-to-date on current events and keep your eyes open to opportunities.

24. Industry Websites/Magazines

Industry-specific websites and magazines are always looking for new businesses and experts to feature. They might conduct interviews, accept guest contributors, have their own directories, or host a resources page. Do a search for legal websites that offer these kinds of opportunities and see if you can get featured.

25. Resource Lists

Like linkable assets, resource lists provide a ton of value to your audience and attract links from other websites looking for this information. As a law firm, you have tons of opportunities to reference legal documents, forms, tutorials, cases, and other guides that might be valuable to your potential clients.

26. Infographics

Infographics have a way of making even the most complex of information easy to digest and understand. You can work with a graphic designer to turn your legal how-tos into infographics that can be found via organic search or image search. If you create an awesome infographic, other websites will be itching to link to it.

27. Cover Controversy

Most firms like to shy away from controversy, but there’s no doubt that controversy can drum up a lot of visibility.

Is there a controversial court case that warrants your expert opinion? A trending topic that could use some input from a trusted lawyer? If people are already searching for these topics, you can attract loads of traffic to these articles and even earn yourself some backlinks from other publications.

28. Surveys

People love a good survey. They’re simple. They’re engaging. And, yes, they can even earn you backlinks.

Law firms can publish interesting surveys to get users buzzing about their results. These are easy to share on social media and can attract a lot of intrigue. If your survey runs for a long time and gets your audience talking, you’re likely to earn some backlinks too.

29. Statistics

People look to statistics to get a better understanding of the world, which makes them popular to cover in industry articles.

Do you have some knowledge to share about a legal topic? Want to summarize some industry findings? Posting about legal statistics can earn you links from blogs and industry websites alike.

30. Guest Posting

Guest posting is one of the best ways to earn backlinks because you are providing a ton of value to a website in exchange for a link.

Usually, you have to pitch some ideas to an industry blog in hopes of them offering a guest posting slot. Sometimes, though, you can write about whatever you want.

You can do a Google search for “guest posting sites” or simply keep your eyes open for industry sites that might accept guest posts.

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