You think you have a good handle on legal content marketing and SEO. A client types in a few keywords, Google runs those keywords through an algorithm and matches the search with web pages that include those keywords. So, to make it on the front page of Google, your firm’s website needs to be flooded with keywords, right? Not necessarily.

There are generally three false assumptions attorneys make about content marketing and its relation to search engine marketing. The first false assumption is that consumers know they need an attorney. The second false assumption is that consumers search directly for attorneys. The third false assumption is that people use a basic keyword search to find an attorney, such as “Personal Injury Lawyer San Diego.”

What’s wrong with these assumptions is that they fail to describe how people actually use search engines to find lawyers.

First, consumers may know they have a problem, but they may not know they need a lawyer to solve it. When consumers turn to Google search, they are often looking for a solution, not for legal representation. This is evident in their search behavior. Consumers typically type complex questions into search engines and look for the best answer from a credible source.

Consumers have come to rely on Google, because the search engine is designed to provide the best answers to search queries. The best answers come from credible sources, and Google often ranks those sources at the top of the search engine results.

Over time, consumers have become accustomed to finding the answers they need for the questions they have, and quickly become discouraged when they cannot find what they are looking for. The same goes for legal questions.

What this means for your law firm’s legal content marketing strategy is that it is not enough to focus on a few competitive keywords and pepper them throughout a law firm website. Clients want real answers to their questions. They are looking for high quality, original content.

Not ironically, Google is looking for the same thing.

Creating quality content for your law firm website that ranks is fairly simple. Start with your ideal client in mind. If your ideal client were to walk through your door, what questions would they ask you about their situation? What language would they use to ask the question? How would you answer their questions?

Try writing out a description of an interaction with your ideal client. What would be their pain points? What is their education level? Would they have previous experiences with lawyers? Answering these questions can help you write the right kind of legal content that reached consumers through Google search engine results.

Consider the following example:

A driver in San Diego gets injured in a car accident, and the other driver, who is at fault, doesn't have car insurance. The driver’s first search query may not be “Personal Injury Attorney in San Diego,” but rather something like “What happens if I’m injured by a driver without car insurance?”

The results will show to the best answer to this question, and the best results will be those that answer the question, not those that simply state “personal injury attorney” throughout the webpage.

A good SEO strategy requires high quality content. Start with the low hanging fruit—your law firm’s practice pages—then move on to publishing regular blog posts. You may see value in building out a simple FAQ section for each of your practice areas as well. Don’t stop there, either. Video content, infographics and social media posts are equally valuable content that can fit into your overall legal content marketing strategy.  The key is providing quality answers to real questions. Provide value to your website’s visitors.

Yes, you need to include keywords in your legal content marketing strategy, but keywords are not the end game. Getting people to your website is only half the battle. You also want to convert your site’s visitors into clients, right? By providing quality content that answers your visitor’s questions, you can build trust and demonstrate the value of your legal expertise.

Remember, the most successful lawyers write content for their clients, not for search engines.