I talk to lawyers on a daily basis about marketing a law firm online. What is interesting is that for all the various complexities and unique considerations that arise for each individual firm, the same misconceptions about SEO and rankings appear time and again.
The problem is two-fold. The first part of the problem is that rankings are the most tangible, easy to understand component of search engine marketing. It makes sense that I type in "Chicago personal injury lawyer", a list of lawyers pops up, and a potential client calls a lawyer on the list. The second part of the problem is that rankings are what the majority of SEO companies are selling. The end result is a community of legal professionals that are obsessed with their firm's rankings on Google.
The truth is that your rankings on Google are a component of a good search marketing strategy, but they do not define the totality of a well executed SEO campaign. There are many ways people search online for an attorney. Some search Google as if it were a yellow pages directory as in the example in the previous paragraph. However, far more users are utilizing Google as a research tool. They are looking up answers to their legal questions and researching their specific issue. A good SEO campaign takes advantage of both of these segments. Unfortunately, an obsession with rankings often ignores the individuals performing research and solely focuses those that are typing in a specific search phrase.
Additionally, rankings for a keyword phrase are only valuable if they are resulting in increased traffic to the site. All too often, lawyers are sold on attaining rankings for a particular keyword phrase only to find after getting the desired rankings that there is not an increase in site traffic as a result. Rankings are important in so much as driving targeted visitors to your site. The next step is having an engaging website (with great content) that turns those visitors into phone calls and emails, eventually resulting in revenue for the firm. All of these factors are important considerations when assessing your law firm's SEO. Rankings for the sake of getting rankings doesn't help.
Finally, Google is moving more and more towards personalized search results. The results for each individual user varies depending on their search history, location, social connections, etc. As mobile search grows to become a more significant percentage of queries and Google continues to build the social layer on top of it's search results, having a universal ranking for a particular keyword phrase across all searches is going to become more difficult. It's important to think about where search is headed when putting together your strategy instead of focusing on where it's been. Instead of obsessing over your ranking for a specific keyword, think about SEO as a way to position your website, blog, profile, or other โprofessional online presenceโ, as a source of information, answers, and solutions to a potential client.
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. […]
