Building Local Citations for Law Firm SEO

Local citations are any reference to your law firm’s name, address, and phone number on an external website such as legal directories, business listings, or local news sites. For example, if your law firm is in a legal directory like Avvo, Justia, or FindLaw with accurate contact details, that’s a local citation. 

These citations matter because they can affect your firm’s visibility in local search results. Google may look at local citations for context about your firm’s credibility, relevance, and location. The more high-quality, consistent citations your firm has, the stronger its local search presence. 

But citations don’t just help with rankings. They build trust with potential clients and drive referral traffic from sites where consumers search for legal services. A well-placed citation on a legal directory or local chamber of commerce, for example, can put your firm in front of people ready to hire an attorney.

So, how do you build strong local citations for your law firm? And how do they impact local SEO? Let’s break it down.

5 local citations you can build right now

Foundational citations establish your law firm’s local presence. Below are five essential types of citations your law firm can start building immediately. 

Legal directories

What they are: Legal directories list law firms based on their location and practice area. Depending on the directory, they may feature firm details, attorney profiles, client reviews, and even peer endorsements. 

Why they’re helpful: Legal directory citations provide relevant industry-specific citations that reinforce your law firm’s authority. Further, many legal directories rank well in search results, which can increase your firm’s visibility and drive referral traffic from people actively looking for a lawyer.

How to get them: Many legal directories offer free basic listings but premium placements often require a fee. Prioritize authoritative directories such as: 

• Avvo
• FindLaw
• Nolo
• Lawyers.com
• Martindale
• Justia
• SuperLawyers

Local business directories

What they are: Local business directories list companies operating in the city or region. They may be government-run chamber of commerce directories in some cases, but more often they’re privately owned directories. 

Why they’re helpful: A local business listing reinforces your firm’s local relevancy and can build trust with clients looking for a local attorney. In some cases, local directories can drive referral traffic from consumers searching for a lawyer in their local community. 

How to get them: Check if your local chamber of commerce website lists local businesses. You can also research regional directories that are privately run, but be selective. Some directories offer little to no SEO or referral value, so consult your SEO agency before investing time in acquiring low-impact directory listings. 

General business directories

What they are: General business directories are platforms that cover a broad range of businesses across all industries and locations. 

Why they’re helpful: A listing in a general directory gives you a citation from an authoritative website. Further, listings on directories like Yelp could boost your search visibility and generate referral traffic. 

How to get them: Start by securing listings on these widely recognized general directories: 

• Yelp
• YP.com (Yellow Pages)
• Bing Places
• Apple Maps

Google Business Profile

What they are: Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is your firm’s official business listing with Google. Consumers see GBPs in local map results when searching for nearby attorneys.

Why they’re helpful: GBP is one of the most influential sources of local traffic. A well-optimized GBP can increase your visibility in local search results, such as queries seeking a lawyer “near me.” Further, client reviews on your GBP strengthen your firm’s credibility and trust in the community. 

How to get them: Create or claim your GBP for each of your physical office locations. Populate the GBP with accurate NAP details, practice areas you cover, and photos. Encourage clients to leave your firm reviews. 

Social media accounts

What they are: Social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and X (formerly Twitter) allow businesses to establish a presence and engage with their audience.

Why they’re helpful: Joining social platforms can provide another citation source, and many of them allow business listings. Social platforms not only give your firm the opportunity to spread brand awareness and engage with the community. They can provide a local citation listing your business’s information.

How to get them: Create and maintain active profiles on key social platforms: 

• Facebook Business page
• LinkedIn Company page
• X (formerly Twitter)
• Instagram

These five citation sources lay the groundwork for a strong local citation profile. But to maximize your visibility, go beyond the basics. 

2 more types of local citations for your law firm

Beyond the foundational citations listed above, the following are two often-overlooked sources of citations that can strengthen your local presence.

Local news 

Mentions in local newspapers and business journals provide local and highly authoritative citations. To earn mentions in local outlets, issue press releases about major firm news, such as winning a landmark case for a client or your community involvement. You might offer legal commentary on trending topics related to your area of practice. 

Local events 

Participating in community events, fundraisers, or sponsorships can earn your law firm citations on the events’ websites. Your firm could sponsor local charity events or bar association gatherings, for example. Or your firm could host legal clinics, which local media may promote. Some firms partner with local nonprofits that list their business on the sponsors or partners page on their websites. 

A bonus: Many local news outlets cover community events. Your firm could earn a citation on a locally relevant organization’s website as well as a mention in a local newspaper. 

Steps to build your local citations

Audit your existing citations

Before adding new citations, identify inaccuracies and gaps in your current listings. Inconsistent or outdated NAP (name, address, phone number) information can harm your local SEO. Use tools like Semrush’s Listing Management tool to check for missing or inaccurate listings. You can also manually check the directories listed earlier in this article for any missing listings or inaccuracies in your name, address, and phone number. 

Review your competitors’ local citations

Your competitors have already done some of the heavy lifting. By analyzing their citations, you can identify high-value directories and sources you may have overlooked. Use the same tools to audit your competitors’ local listings. Which citations do you notice across multiple competitors? Be careful not to chase every listing your competitors have. Avoid waiting time on low-quality directories that provide little benefit. Consult your law firm SEO agency to determine which citations are worth pursuing. 

Get organized

Managing citations across dozens of directories can get messy. Keep your citation-building efforts structured and efficient with a tracking system. Use a spreadsheet to list your current listings and missing citations you need to build, such as those your competitors have that you do not. Next, create a schedule to build those citations. Some citations are quick to build, but others, like media mentions, require ongoing effort. Focus on high-impact citations first, like GBP, legal directories, and local business listings.  

Start building local citations

You have a few options to build local citations for your law firm.

• Build them manually by submitting your business to local directories one by one.
• Use an aggregator like BrightLocal to build citations in multiple directories at once.
• Rely on your SEO agency to build local listings that are relevant to your firm and market.

Make sure your NAP is consistent

Your name, address, and phone number should be the same across all citations. 

Inconsistent: 

• Doe & Doe, PLLC (Google Business Profile)
• Doe & Associates, P.L.L.C. (Yelp)
• Doe and Associations Law Firm (Facebook)

Consistent: 

• Doe & Associates, PLLC (Used everywhere)

Inconsistent NAP could confuse potential clients and could deteriorate any benefit you might otherwise gain from a strong profile of local citations. 

Update your citations regularly

Your law firm’s address, phone number, and other contact details could change over time. When they do, update every citation to keep them accurate and consistent. One of the most common local SEO mistakes law firms make is failing to update NAP when they move offices or change their phone number. The outdated information could confuse potential clients, especially if they’re calling old phone numbers, and drag down your local ranking efforts. 

How do local citations impact search engine rankings? 

Local citations help search engines validate your law firm’s legitimacy and location, which can influence your Google map results and even local organic rankings. 

Local SEO is critical for law firms, as ranking well for high-intent local searches like ‘car accident lawyer in [city]’ or ‘car accident attorney near me’ can drive highly qualified conversion-ready traffic. These are searchers who need legal help now, making local SEO one of the most important aspects of digital marketing. 

Are local citations and backlinks the same thing? 

No. Local citations refer to any mention of your law firm’s name, address, or phone number on an external website. A backlink refers to a link pointing from another website to yours. 

Some legal directories (e.g., Avvo, FindLaw, Justia) provide both citations and backlinks. For example, when you submit your firm to legal directories like Avvo or FindLaw, you not only include your name, address, and phone number (giving you a local citation), but the listing usually links back to your website (giving you a backlink). 

Links from directories, however, are no-follow links. A no-follow link tells Google not to pass authority for ranking purposes. Directories might do that so as not to show favoritism towards any law firm or business. While it may not be as valuable as a do-follow link, Google considers those no-follow links as “hints” and, thus, they do hold some value. Read our blog on backlinks for law firm SEO for more on backlinks. 

Can local citations lead to referral traffic?

Yes, local citations can lead to referral traffic that turns into real clients. Legal directories like Avvo and FindLaw attract lots of people searching for attorneys. Many of those users click through to law firm websites, sending those law firms visitors actively searching for legal representation. 

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