Link Building for Lawyers: How to Boost Organic Traffic

Google isn’t going to rank you #1 for “best injury lawyer” or “top criminal defense attorney” just because your website looks amazing. (Insert obligatory joke here about “if you build it, they will come”… yeah, not on the internet they won’t.)

With over 460,000 law firms in the U.S., a sleek design is nice, but it’s not the hill to die on. The truth is, a beautiful site means nothing if no one ever finds it. Too many firms obsess over the perfect layout, fancy animations, or that one shade of blue… and then end up with a very expensive online brochure that never sees any real traffic.

At the end of the day, the priority isn’t just looking polished—it’s making sure potential clients can actually discover you.

That’s where link building comes in. It helps demonstrate your site’s authority, drive organic traffic, and improve your overall search visibility.

In this post, we’ll explain what link building is, how to develop a good link-building strategy, and mistakes to avoid in law firm link building.

What Is Link Building?

Link building means getting other websites to link back to yours. Think of it like a digital vote of confidence. When a reputable site links to your firm’s website, it tells Google, “Hey, this site’s legit.” That kind of endorsement can help boost your rankings in search results,especially if the links come from well-known, authoritative sites in the legal space.

But it’s not just about SEO. Good links also create new ways for potential clients to find you. For instance, let’s say someone searches “divorce attorney” on Google. They see Justia.com pop up and click through. If your firm is listed there, they might follow the link to your site and boom, you’re on their radar.

Tip: High-quality backlinks help you “piggyback” on the authority of referring domains. Justia ranks for 1.8+ million keywords, so it’s a great site to incorporate in your link-building strategy.

Create a Foundation for Your Link Building Strategy

The foundation for any link-building campaign is quality content. Before you chase backlinks, make sure your site gives people something valuable when they land. Whether it’s a service page or a blog post, your content should answer a question, explain something clearly, or help someone take the next step.

And don’t forget, content isn’t just words. Visuals matter too. Use charts, infographics, or even simple flow diagrams to break down complicated legal topics. Not only do these make your site easier to digest, but search engines like them as well. It’s a win-win: better experience for your visitors, and a stronger shot at showing up in search.

The Basics: Terms to Know for Link Building as a Law Firm

Before you apply any sort of link-building techniques to your lawyer website, you’ll have to learn a few phrases and terms (or you could get lost or waste a ton of time and money).

When targeting sites in your link-building campaign, you should consider these terms:

The anchor text

When you read your morning news article on Forbes or NY Times today, did you notice the clickable texts with hyperlinks? The text was most likely blue like this (this text is just blue as an example, not linked like the yellow text in this post). The phrases that lead to another page that provides readers with additional info. There are tools that can help you pinpoint Anchor Texts for your content such as Moz Pro or Ahrefs. 

Your domain’s authority

When creating a linking network, you’ll want to know how effective your strategy is. Domain Authority is a ranking metric developed by Moz that predicts how likely a website is to rank in search engine results. It’s scored on a scale from 1 to 100, with higher scores meaning greater potential to rank well. Plus, it is publicly available.

Why does it matter for attorneys’ websites? It analyzes your domain’s strength and authority, giving you data on how to increase your domain authority.

The domain rating

The DR is another critical metric available on Ahrefs. There is no magic number. It is all relative to what competitors you are trying to outrank with your law firm’s marketing strategy. It’s similar to domain authority but differs in that it estimates the strength of your backlink profile. Here’s an example of Ahrefs domain rating:

So, how does this help law firms refine their sites? It clarifies your site’s backlinking quantity and quality based on factors like domains and keywords. For instance, in this example by Ahrefs, the content piece scores 91, indicating the website has high authority and a solid linking strategy.

Your referring domains

A referring domain is any website that links back to your site. For example, if forbes.com links to your law firm’s site, that entire domain counts as one referring domain, even if it links to you from multiple pages. You want to receive links from a variety of high-quality sites that search engines see as trustworthy. 

For law firms, the most valuable links are from good content on reputable websites relevant to the legal industry. Of course easier said than done, which is why you need a backlinking strategy.

Nofollow vs Dofollow Links

These links can drive website traffic, but dofollow links are better because they pass their link juice to the linked page, which can quickly boost search engine rankings. Nofollow links don’t offer that benefit.

Paid Links vs Unpaid Links

While it’s OK to pay for a directory listing that links to your site, paying a website owner to link to your content is not a good link-building strategy. Google sees this tactic as an attempt to manipulate Google search rankings. Unpaid links, on the other hand, require outreach and cooperation, which creates more trust and authority for your site.

5 Ways to Build Links to Your Site

How do you start your link-building strategy? There are five ways, with a focus on acquiring high authority backlinks from reputable sources to improve search engine rankings:

1. Guest Post to Maximize Outreach and Visibility

You may know that guest posting is a good way to expand your online presence, but did you know it’s also effective for link building? The first step is finding reputable and relevant sites for your guest posts.

Google, “Law firms accepting guest posts,” to find some good sites, or see this expansive list from SEO Labs.

Tip: Creating guest posts can be time-consuming, but using AI to capture your voice and generate authoritative content for your review can speed up the process and help you scale faster.

2. Ask for Links

Set up a Google alert for your law firm’s name or the names of your attorneys. When you get a Google alert that someone has mentioned your firm or attorneys online, review that content to see if it links to your site. If not, contact the site owner and ask if they’d be willing to include a link to a relevant blog post on your site, a service page, or an attorney’s bio page.

3. Register Your Law Firm Site on Legal Directories

Online law firm directories can enhance your link-building efforts. Directories are authoritative sites that pass link juice to websites, enhancing law firm credibility and improving visibility within the legal community. If your focus areas are location-specific, make sure you have a listing in local directories, and optimize your site for local SEO. When adding your firm to a directory, be sure to fill in as many fields as possible to show your credibility.

Free Directories

Good news: “Free” doesn’t mean “low quality.” There are numerous reputable legal directories, such as Avvo, FindLaw, and Justia.

Image: Avvo directory page that lists personal injury attorneys located in Miami, FL. 

Avvo is just one example of a website that makes it easy for prospective clients to find or ask lawyers for legal advice. There are options for sponsored listings, but at a minimum, make sure your practice has an optimized listing with information about services, team, experience, and ideally, customer reviews for social proof. 

Paid Directories

Paid directories like LegalZoom, Nolo, and Lawyer.com offer comprehensive profiles and priority placement perks. These directories can enhance a law firm’s online visibility by providing authoritative backlinks. You also get access to a more specific, tailored audience.

Paid lawyer-specific directories can be costly, but the brand exposure can be well worth the investment.

4. Sign up for HARO

HARO, or Help a Reporter Out, is a platform where journalists look for expert input on everything from legal issues to business trends. It’s a great way for attorneys to get quoted in news stories—and earn high-quality backlinks in the process.

Here’s how to boost your chances of getting featured:

Check your email and respond promptly

Since journalists receive innumerable questions daily, being active and attentive on the platform is crucial. To start, create a clear pitch that addresses the journalist’s query. Then, provide valuable insights or opinions.

Highlight your expertise

One of the main things you should do is highlight your credentials and expertise. When you focus on your unique perspectives, you can connect with a suitable source for the journalist’s article.

Provide relevant examples, data, and case studies to support your claims and showcase your expertise on the platform.

You can attract backlinks from high authority sites by highlighting your expertise, enhancing your online presence, and credibility.

Add your contact details

By adding your contact information on the platform, you are making yourself reachable when needed. This helps you respond promptly when a query pops up, and it can also help you build positive relationships.

Adding contact details can enhance a law firm’s chances of being contacted for expert opinions, leading to valuable backlinks.

Personalize your response

Not every query will receive a similar response. Therefore, it is crucial to tailor your pitch by directly addressing the journalist and referencing their previous articles. This shows that you have spent time understanding the needs, thus increasing the chances of earning a backlink.

5. Participate in Forums to Showcase Your Knowledge

Do you know that participating in different legal forums can help you build backlinks? Wondering how? If you engage yourself in answering queries that people post on Quora or Reddit, you can showcase your expertise, leading you to build backlinks. Building relationships with other website owners can also facilitate acquiring valuable backlinks. 

Start by identifying platforms where you can target audiences looking for answers. Focus on questions that will include links to your website for further information on the topic.

Answering general legal questions (rather than giving advice) can also help you appear in search results. Therefore, you can help people by providing valuable information about their queries and diverting them to your website. You can provide unique insights, practical examples, and case studies to substantiate your answers.

Add relevant links to your answers. However, do not overcrowd the answers with sources that divert traffic to your web page. Ensure you provide value and backlink content that adds depth and meaning to the response.

6. Avoid manipulative link-building tactics

It takes time, but focus on practices that genuinely earn links. Bad-faith tactics not only fail to improve SEO but can also lead to penalties from Google and wasted resources. Focus on ethical and sustainable practices in acquiring backlinks.

The Bottom Line On Link Building For Law Firms

Earning backlinks takes time, especially if you’re juggling cases, court dates, and client intake. But skipping it means missing out on one of the best ways to build credibility with search engines and drive qualified traffic to your site.

FirmPilot’s AI-powered platform handles the heavy lifting. From link building and digital PR to automated outreach, it’s built to help law firms strengthen their backlink profile without adding to their workload. Whether you’re a solo attorney trying to stand out locally or a larger firm just getting started with SEO, FirmPilot helps you get found by the right people, faster.

See how FirmPilot can help you boost website traffic and grow your client base.
Request your demo today.