In one of our blog posts from February, we laid out the 3 different kinds of search queries. These were:
- Navigational queries, which merely use search engines to find a specific site,
- Transactional queries, which use search engines to make and complete a transaction, whether that be to buy something, sign up for a newsletter, or something else, and
- Informational queries, which use search engines to answer a question, but without the intention of buying anything.
Earlier this month, we delved into informational queries, and how hosting a legal blog on your law firm’s website can boost your web prominence for targeted search queries and turn informational queries into transactional ones that generate clients for your firm.
Now, though, we’re focusing on navigational queries, an often overlooked aspect of search engine marketing for attorneys.
What Are Navigational Queries?
Navigational queries use search engines to find a particular website, using “branded keywords” associated with that site. An example is if you want to go to Amazon.com but, instead of going straight to the URL (www.amazon.com), you go to Google and search for “amazon.com.”
This is a classic navigational query. You have no intention of going to any other site than Amazon.com. You’re just using the search engine to take you there. You see a listing for Amazon.com at the top of the search engine results page (SERP), click on it, and carry on with your life.
Why Are Navigational Queries Important?
Navigational queries are important because imagine if Amazon.com was not at the top of the results. Instead, imagine that it was on the third page, buried beneath other listings. Even though you want to go to Amazon.com and have no intention of going to any site other than Amazon.com, when faced with combing through a heap of other options, you might not make it there. Amazon.com, because they were not at the top of the listings for their own brand name, has just lost a customer.
How Does This Affect Your Law Firm?
Of course, Amazon.com comes up at the top of the listings for its own brand name. In fact, unsurprisingly, it dominates the entire first page. It’s a huge company, with its website getting millions of hits per day.
Your law firm’s webpage, along with its online marketing budget, is likely a little bit smaller. However, losing traffic and potential clients that are interested specifically in your firm by being buried in the listings when someone searches for your firm by name is a real issue. This is particularly the case on Google, which seems less likely to boost your site to the top than Bing or Yahoo! Search when someone searches for your firm’s branded keywords.
How Legal Blogging Helps
By hosting a legal blog on your website, you gain an opportunity to wax poetic about the law, how you practice it, and the perks of hiring your firm. By talking about your firm, and dropping keywords like its name, location, and practice areas, you are building the kind of online reputation for it that search engines care about.
For example, at the end of its blog posts, Myers Freelance often mentions how its legal blogging services can help law firms like yours grow online. By doing so, its ranking for branded keywords have slowly but steadily improved over time.
Contact us today to get started on your firm’s site.