The search landscape has evolved over the years, but these changes are generally driven by same goals: improving the user experience and making the process of accessing information faster and easier.
As legal content marketers, we knew the changes to search engine algorithms, introduction of AI Overviews, and growing use of AI systems were going to greatly affect how people find lawyers and access legal information. We anticipated this shift.
We adapted our platform and services so that our clients – lawyers and law firms – can reap the benefits of a powerful content marketing tool: The Legal Examiner.
As a third-party blogging platform powered by lawyers, firms, paralegals, and industry writers, The Legal Examiner has become an established and trusted source of legal news and information. And the benefits of third-party publishing are why you should become a Contributor.
This overview of the top benefits of publishing on a third-party platform is the first in a series. Three follow up posts in the coming weeks will dive deeper into each benefit to give you a greater understanding of why you and your firm should join the Legal Examiner. They will be linked to at the bottom of this page.
Increases Online Visibility
The use of firm websites and social media profiles are not enough to get cited by AI or show up in search results. And yet, people who need information related to a specific legal topic, or who are looking for a lawyer, turn to search engines and AI. Lawyers who haven’t adjusted to the realities of what these systems require are losing their audience reach, and competitors are taking their place.
One of the top benefits for lawyers who blog on a third-party site like The Legal Examiner is that it increases your online visibility. In turn, you can expand your audience reach, a necessary component of creating awareness of who you are, what you do, and the answers or solutions you can provide.
The legal information and news you post as a Contributor on The Legal Examiner helps to develop a crucial digital footprint that matters to search engines and AI systems. It creates backlinks to your own website, but great content also links to external sources that back up your message.
Publishing on The Legal Examiner helps to gain online visibility, increasing organic traffic. This type of traffic is highly valuable. Your name and brand get in front of your target audience and can engage them in ways that your firm’s website content or blog can’t achieve on their own.
Builds Authority and Credibility
The legal industry is a competitive place, and the reality is that paid ads can only achieve so much. Potential clients and other legal professionals need more than sales pitches and ads to develop trust in lawyers and their firms.
Lawyers and their firms need to be connected to several online domains. Why? How often search engines and AI systems cite your content or direct users to it depends on whether they consider you an authority on what’s being searched. Publishing on The Legal Examiner can be effective at showing these systems that what you have to say is based on solid expertise – and that it has a purpose, meets a need, is highly interesting or important, or affects people and they need to know.
Then there’s the fact that The Legal Examiner is already established and trusted and our Contributors continually share high-quality and high-value information that maintains that trust. This benefits the firms and their lawyers who publish content on our legal news platform.
Reinforces Your Brand
Branding is about much more than your logo and letterhead, the colors used on your website, or the design on your business card. In fact, what people associate with your brand is deeply connected to your words – the messages in and value of your content.
Your personal brand as a lawyer and your firm’s brand identity is directly tied to the online visibility and credibility you achieve through third-party publishing. The more your audience sees your name and the legal topics you're associated with, the greater the impact on your brand.
Effective branding develops loyalty, and loyalty is what positions your firm as the go-to authority in your niche. But it takes commitment and consistency for your audience to really understand who you are and engage with you when they need something. All the content you post on our platform helps build towards this next step, and the brand you reinforce has a vital role in getting results.
The trust built through demonstrating your knowledge and expertise, and the personal connection and empathy that comes with sharing your experiences and unique perspective, are part of your brand. And when content is relatable and easy to understand, it strengthens what your audience sees in you.
The key takeaway is this: Traditional search engine optimization strategies for law firms are not enough, but third-party publishing can help bridge gaps in and expand online visibility, develop trust, and reinforce branding efforts.
Sign up to become a Contributor or contact us to schedule a meeting to learn more about how publishing on our third-party platform can benefit you and your firm.
Further Reading
Nick Carroll