Chapter 7 | Link-Building That Works for Law Firms

SEO Link-Building for Law Firms

Backlinks are connections from other websites to yours that signal to Google that your content is credible and worth ranking. Backlinks matter a great deal. They’re one of the most influential signals Google uses to measure your credibility.

Knowing that backlinks are essential, some firms jump into them, pushing for quantity over quality. When they do this, they are, by default, engaging in practices that can harm their SEO. Here are some common mistakes to avoid when building your linking strategy:  

• Buying low-quality links that don’t move rankings (in some instances, this can hurt your rankings)
• Wasting money on shady guest post schemes
• Ignoring link-building completely

If you want to grow your case volume, compete for top search terms, and become the go-to firm in your area, you need to be strategic in your approach. And your focus should be on a system built on trust, strategy, and relevance.

Let’s walk through what works.

Why Law Firms Still Need Backlinks

Google uses links to measure:

• How much trust your site has built
• The topics and areas you should be associated with
• How you stack up against your competitors

Without quality links, your content doesn’t get the authority lift it needs to rank, especially in a market like personal injury law, where the competition is fierce.

The mistake we see over and over again? Most vendors focus on link volume instead of link value. That either stalls your progress or opens you up to penalties.

If the links don’t come from real sites, aren’t locally or topically relevant, or don’t contribute to your firm’s overall credibility, they’re not helping you grow.

The Link Strategies We Recommend (and Use)

At AMG, we don’t chase backlinks. We build strategic connections that drive search results and brand equity. Here are the six things that we focus on and what we advise our clients to do:

1. Guest Contributions on Legal and Local Platforms

Reach out to:

• Local media outlets
• State or city bar association blogs
• Medical or small business sites in your region

Write about something meaningful. Don’t just submit templated fluff. Use your real experience as an attorney to offer insight others can’t.

Tip: Skip the “write for us” farms. Build relationships. Offer value. Position yourself as the expert.

2. HARO (Help a Reporter Out)

Reporters need quotes. Legal commentary is always in demand.

Sign up, respond to relevant queries, and aim for quality over volume. A well-placed quote in a major outlet can be more valuable than a dozen average links.

Best practice: Write responses as if they’ll be published. If they are, you’ll earn a strong, trustworthy link that also boosts your personal brand.

3. Podcast Guesting

Podcasts are one of the most overlooked opportunities for law firms.

When you appear on a show, they typically:

• Add a link to your website with the published episode
• Share content across social media
• Add transcripts with your name and firm included

Plus, podcast content creates credibility and context, both of which help Google understand who you are and what you do.

4. Turn Sponsorships Into Links

If your firm already supports local causes—youth sports, schools, nonprofits—ask those groups to link back to your site.

Make sure:

• The link is do-follow
• It points to a relevant page (homepage or city-specific)
• You track it using UTM parameters if needed

You’re already giving back. Don’t miss the digital value.

5. Use Legal-Specific PR Platforms

Tools like Law Firm Newswire allow you to publish press releases with backlinks to your most important pages.

Unlike broader PR platforms, this platform is specific to attorneys. The links they generate are niche-specific and highly relevant to PI law.

Getting a link to your car accident page from a respected legal outlet signals strong topical alignment.

6. Reclaim Missed Opportunities

Don’t leave value on the table. Use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to:

• Track down mentions of your firm that don’t link back
• Find and fix broken backlinks
• Revive high-performing pages that have lost traction

Fixing just one of these can bring more SEO value than adding a dozen new links with no relevance. Most firms overlook this, which means if you put in the effort, you gain an edge they’re missing out on.

Don’t Let Your Site Leak Authority

Here’s a hidden problem:

If your site links out to too many third-party sources, especially without a strategy, you’re giving away the authority you’ve worked to build.

Our rule?

Only link to trusted, high-authority domains. Government sites, hospitals, and court systems are fine. Everything else should use a rel=nofollow tag.

Why this matters: Most directories (like Justia, Avvo, FindLaw) don’t give you authority—they take it. You should protect yours the same way.

Focus on Relevance Over Raw Metrics

Relevance and the quality of backlinks matter much more than the quantity of links achieved.

A backlink from your city’s chamber of commerce is often more valuable than one from a high-traffic tech blog.

It’s not the number of links that matters most, it is the quality and relevance behind them. Google looks at where the referral is coming from, what it says about you, and how well it fits with your practice and location.

To earn links that move the needle:

• Get active in local business communities and associations
• Build referral relationships with nearby healthcare providers or service shops
• Share value-driven content, quotes, or case insights that others want to reference and link to

These kinds of relationships drive both visibility and trust, online and offline.

Chapter 7 Checklist: Link-Building That Works

• Produce one high-quality guest post or co-authored article per quarter
• Regular HARO submissions from an attorney or agency rep
• Podcast appearances that include a backlink to your site
• Community sponsorships converted into links
• Legal PR published through Law Firm Newswire or similar
• Monthly backlink audit to recover lost or broken links
• External links set to rel=nofollow when appropriate
• Local link partnerships built through chambers, associations, and vendors
• Track all link growth in Ahrefs, SEMrush, or a comparable tool
• Measure authority alongside leads, not just rankings

Most agencies chase backlinks. We build trust.

If you want a system that earns links the right way, through relationships, credibility, and strategic content, we’d be glad to show you how it works.