Compliance is a vital service and a highly regulated practice, so it stands to reason that potential clients will perform plenty of due diligence before deciding whether to hire your firm. And their search may very well begin where the vast majority of answer-seekers start out: Google.

Your compliance firm needs to establish trust and demonstrate expertise, yes. But it also needs a stellar website and content strategy to stand out in a sea of competing search results.

If you’re trying to get your name out there, here are some best practices that will help you bring search traffic straight to your door.

Best Practices for Increasing Search Traffic

Build a User-Friendly Website

Your website should be built with your users in mind. People who are pleased with a website’s performance are likely to stick around longer — and the longer they stick around, the better you look to Google.

A few pointers:

• Choose a mobile-first design. More people are searching on their phones than on their desktops. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re losing traffic. And you’re likely to get dinged by Google, as well.
• Check your loading speeds. A slow site leads to frustrated visitors, which leads to poor rankings. Tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights and GTMetrix allow you to check your load times. Some of the better ones will even show you how to fix the issues.
• Keep it simple. It’s a website, not a scavenger hunt. Don’t make your visitors scour your site for what should be simple to find. Stick to clear menus with pages like “About Us,” “Services” and “Contact.”

Use the Right Keywords

Pretend you’re a company looking for a compliance firm. What would you type into Google to find yourself? Phrases like “compliance audit services” or “regulatory compliance for small business” probably come to mind.

A good keyword research tool goes a long way to help you gain insight into what your target audience might be searching for.

Don’t sleep on “long-tail keywords.” Highly specific phrases might deliver less traffic, but they’ll bring in visitors who are looking for exactly what you have to offer!

Create Valuable, Relevant Content

You should create content that’s designed to solve problems. The more useful your content is, the more people will trust in — and click on — your site.

Some types of content to include:

• Educational blog posts focusing on industry trends, compliance updates and frequently asked questions.
• Evergreen content that can be shared on a regular basis.
• Case studies to show how you’ve helped past clients or companies avoid or navigate sticky compliance situations.
• Downloadable resources such as free guides, checklists or templates. (This is also a great way to capture email leads!)

Leverage SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) can seem intimidating, but you don’t need to be a web wizard to make it work.

Some tips:

• Use heading and subheadings to break up your content and make it easy for humans (and Google) to scan.
• Make the most of your meta descriptions. Make sure you’re including the keywords you’re trying to rank for, and keep things brief but clear.
• Use internal links to keep visitors on your site longer and demonstrate your expertise.
• Don’t overlook local SEO. If your firm operates in specific regions, incorporate your city and state into your keywords to drive local traffic to your site.

Is Your Compliance Firm on Google’s Good Side?

Getting found on Google (or any search engine, for that matter) takes time and effort, but it’s one of the most cost-effective ways to grow your compliance firm’s visibility. When you create a stellar website, offer valuable content, and keep up with SEO best practices, you’ll build trust with clients and search engines alike!

Do you need help getting your compliance firm in front of more people? Let Mischa Communications show you the way. Here’s your next step.