If you've searched around for law firm SEO information online, you'll notice that a lot of people are trying to put SEO in a box. And while this might be good marketing for the companies offering these services, looking at search marketing like this is usually destined for failure.
Boxed law firm SEO services come in all shapes and sizes.
Sometimes they're described in packages. You'll see bronze, silver and gold packages.
Sometimes these boxes come with guarantees.
Guarantees make people feel good. That's why people who sell law firm seo services put them on their "boxes."
But when it comes to guarantees related to rankings, they usually mean one thing, scam.
That's not to say that there aren't things that people who do seo for lawyers can guarantee. They can guarantee their communication process. They can guarantee transparency. They can guarantee that they'll explain what they're doing on your behalf and why they're doing it. And they should guarantee those things.
The real question is:
Is the box filled with a canned process?
Canned content that no one cares about?
Canned link building schemes?
Canned social media strategy?
You want a nice neat and tidy box of SEO for your law firm. And there are plenty of people happy to oblige.
But whether it's 6 months, a year or several years, eventually you're going to want to take a good look at what's in the box. And you're probably not going to like what you find.
So what's the alternative?
SEO services that are designed specifically for your law firm.
While there are some general SEO principles that apply the across the board (i.e. making your site faster, optimizing html, optimizing site structure, etc), there is a whole other side that is about marketing. And that side doesn't fit neatly into a box.
It requires an understanding of the business side of your practice.
It requires an understanding of who the people you are trying to attract as clients.
It requires helping you create pages, content and other "stuff" that people actually want to read, watch and even listen to.
It requires getting that content in front of those people and other people who are ready, willing and able to link to, share, like and otherwise help you publicize that content online.
Can you put that in a box? Maybe. I haven't seen it yet.
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. […]
