Check Existing Back Links
First, I check the client's existing back links. This helps me get a sense of whether or not there might be some "link issues" (i.e. excessive spammy links that could be limiting site performance).
It also helps reveal opportunities for future link relationships (i.e. these people, organizations, businesses, etc have already linked to client's site, they'll likely be willing to link again).
Checking existing links also identifies sites that might have linked at some point in time, but for whatever reason, aren't linking any longer.
Check Existing External Links
In addition to checking for existing links that point to a client's site, I also check to see where my client has already linked out to. Again, this helps show any existing relationships that might be useful in future SEO marketing campaign efforts.
In some cases, due to bad advice, we will find that our client's site is doing excessive external linking. This usually happens because someone told them that it was a good idea to "link out" to a bunch of relevant sites (hint: generally not that great an idea).
Finally, checking existing external links can identify site parasites, hacks and other nastiness (i.e. someone hacked the site and is now linking out to their spam pages).
Check Competitor Links
Once I have a sense of who the client's major online competitors are (note this can be different from perceived offline competitors), I will usually run them through a variety of back link checking tools.
Most of the time (this is especially true for law firm websites / blogs) there's not much to be gained here. This is due to the fact that most law firms are participating in crappy SEO techniques.
I typically find that the overwhelming majority of our clients' competitor websites don't provide much in terms of useful link targets. Occasionally, we come across firms that are doing some decent stuff (i.e. scholarships, local link building, etc). But for the most part, it's spammy law firm directories, comment spam, article spam, etc.
Nonetheless, checking competitor sites that perform well in organic search results for your target terms provides a good "lay of the land" for forecasting how difficult certain results will be to achieve.
Check External Links for Relevant Authorities
Finally, and probably most useful, I use Screaming Frog to crawl relevant authoritative sites for external links. This helps identify sites that are likely to be good candidates for obtaining high-quality links in the future.
This is also a great way to find low-hanging link fruit (i.e. broken links, link pages on high-quality sites, etc).
It also helps to identify sites that don't link out as a general policy. Sites that have a policy of not linking go on the long-term link list.
Admittedly, none of these techniques is really cutting-edge. Most experienced SEOs have been using these 3 basic techniques for years now. The reason that I bring them to you attention is that most of the law firm websites I review, haven't even performed these basic checks.
Here's a recent Google SERP for "๐๐ต๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐น๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฝ๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ๐ต๐ถ๐ฎ." Ads? โLSAs? โLocal Pack? โLinks? โ ๐ท AI Overview? โ 6 firms listed. Only one tiny ๐. Click the ๐ฆ๐ต๐ผ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ button? ๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐ด๐ฒ๐: Here's a more detailed look at some of these firms: THE PEARCE LAW FIRM, P.C.Edith Pearce, […]
On April 22, 2025, Google sent an email updating Local Services Ads Additional Terms for Providers: Subject: Action required: important updates to Local Service Ads Additional Terms Many people are arguing that lawyers cannot participate in Local Services Ads, as this would constitute a per se violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct related to […]
Conrad and I recently joined Zack at Lawyerist to record a conversation about AI and marketing. You might think that we spend the whole time on how lawyers can use AI to publish content. You'd be wrong. While AI can certainly support publishing, there are many more interesting ways to use it in legal marketing. […]
As more legal services consumers turn to ChatGPT for local law firm recommendations, a fascinating intersection between AI, search, and maps unfolds. While Google remains the undisputed leader in local business data, ChatGPT is increasingly becoming an entry point for searchers seeking legal representation. But hereโs the kicker: instead of keeping users within its ecosystem, […]
When law firms contact us, they usually want to talk: โข PPC Ads โข SEO Rankings โข Lead Generation Very few want to talk: โข Brand โข Trust & Recognition โข Emotional Connection Admittedly, much of this concerns that AttorneySync is known for lead generation across those common digital channels. But even when we start […]
According to an October 2024 study by SE Ranking: "The legal niche triggers the highest percentage of AIOs (77.67%). The average number of links matched between the AI Overview resources and the top 20 search results was 6.49 for legal topics. AI Overviews for legal topics most frequently link to NYCourts.gov (114 links), YouTube.com (48 […]
I'm grateful for my friend, Charley Mann of Law firm Alchemy. If you're a lawyer, subscribe to his Free Email List. In a recent email, Charley calls out bad guru advice on hiring: "Trying to execute a major SEO improvement? You need to find people who will help you, instead of trying to DIY it […]
If youโve spent any time on LinkedIn, youโve likely seen posts from law firm SEO experts showing off charts with an โup and to the rightโ trajectory. These screenshots, often pulled from tools like Semrush or Ahrefs, are meant to signal SEO success. And itโs not just the agencies celebratingโ๐น๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐บ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ต๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ […]
Meh, links! All things being equal, links still tend to move the dial more than any other factor in legal SERPs. Maybe links are having a diminishing impact internet-wide. But in my experience, quality links, especially relevant links (both topically and geographically), tend to improve law firm visibility in search more than most everything else. […]