The future of your law firm’s digital growth over time begins with making sure you’re hiring the right SEO partner from the start. The legal industry is defined by a competitive online marketplace, and if you don’t select an SEO company that understands the high stakes, you could find yourself facing a wasted budget or a damaged reputation. Your firm deserves a marketing partner that understands the importance of legal compliance and a performance-driven SEO strategy. Generalist agencies that aren’t set up with the capabilities to navigate the complexities of legal marketing can lead law firms down a detrimental road. This is what makes it so important to hire law firm SEO support professionals who have a deep understanding of the clients you serve and what it takes to reach them successfully online. Here, we’ll take a look at the top 10 things to look for when hiring an SEO company to make the process clear and streamlined.
The Top 10 Checklist for Choosing a Partner That Understands Legal Ethics and Performance
Proven Track Record in the Legal Vertical
Above all, making sure the legal marketing agency you’re considering for your firm has extensive experience in place is a must. The agency you partner with needs to understand exactly how to go above and beyond expectations set for traditional SEO strategies. For legal SEO, a vast knowledge of intake behavior, case types, and legal terminology is required to be successful. You’re also going to want your SEO company to have deep insight when it comes to the competitive landscape of your unique practice areas. To that end, be sure to look for a company that can and has previously:
- Demonstrated the ability to improve rankings for legal keywords
- Showcased case studies that are specific to the law firms they work alongside
- Acquired testimonials from attorneys
- Proven experience across a variety of legal practice areas
Making a proven track record of success in the legal vertical a priority is a sure way to verify that the SEO company you’re considering can deliver results in a highly regulated marketing environment.
Transparency in Reporting and KPIs
Communication is key to a successful working relationship with your SEO company. In the world of digital marketing, this means partnering with professionals who are committed to transparent and consistent reporting at all times. You should expect your SEO partner to provide reporting that is highly specific and shows both areas of growth and pinpoints places for improvement across your SEO strategies. Vague updates or dashboards of information that don’t make sense should be considered immediate red flags. A trustworthy SEO company will regularly report to your firm on:
- Keyword rankings
- Organic traffic growth
- Lead volumes
- Conversions
- Local Pack visibility
- Google Business Profile performance
If you feel as if the agency you’re working with is hiding behind confusing marketing jargon or generic vanity metrics, it’s time to dig in and ask tough questions.
Knowledge of Bar Association Advertising Rules
Hiring a general SEO company rather than a specialized agency is a risk for law firms when it comes to issues of compliance. That’s because general agencies don’t typically have a clear understanding of state bar advertising rules, which can unintentionally lead your firm into campaigns that violate guidelines online. The best way to avoid this is to make sure that the SEO company you’re considering is fully aware of the strict compliance standards in place when building a customized approach to your firm’s SEO. Be sure to ask them how they understand and work with rules around:
- Legal disclaimers
- Attorney bios
- Testimonials
- Case results
- Superlative language
If an SEO company can clearly explain these rules and the processes they have in place to remain compliant, you can rest easy, knowing your firm will be protected from violations down the road.
Content Quality and Legal Accuracy
The very foundation of SEO for attorneys starts with crafting high-quality content. You want to make sure you’re partnering with an SEO company that can produce not only well-researched content for your website, but content that’s ethically compliant and always legally accurate. Generic filler simply won’t cut it in legal SEO, so you’ll want to ensure your company has resources in place, like:
- Fact-checked legal practice area pages
- Writers ready to go with extensive legal experience
- A firm and standardized editorial review process
It’s also important to verify that your SEO company will be writing with user intent in mind. This means they’re able to consistently create clear, compelling, and factually specific pages that are accessible and easy to read for your prospective clients.
Technical SEO Competency
Even the most meticulously written content for your law firm won’t rank well if the SEO company you partner with doesn’t have a firm grasp on technical SEO. Successfully implementing technical SEO is required to ensure your law firm’s website is crawlable, fully optimized for search engines your prospective clients are using, and loads quickly for easy access to information. Take time to ask if the SEO company you’re interested in hiring can handle:
- Schema markup for attorneys
- Site speed optimization
- Mobile responsiveness
- Indexing
- Core Web Vitals
- Secure hosting
In order for your SEO to be successful long-term technical SEO must be a fully integrated part of your agency’s core skill set.
Backlink Profile Integrity (No “Black Hat” Tactics)
You want your SEO company to take an ethical approach to building backlinks from day one. Yes, these are essential for ranking but far too often, general agencies are willing to build low-quality or even spammy links just to move things along. For law firms, this is a big risk as it can ultimately be a choice that triggers penalties around compliance. These low-quality approaches are known as “Black Hat” tactics, which should motivate your firm to look specifically for agencies that are committed to “White Hat” link-building practices instead. It’s important that your chosen SEO company is building a backlink profile that’s legitimate and authoritative. You should never align with an SEO company that promotes:
- Fast results through digital shortcuts
- Sell link packages
- Private blog networks
- Guaranteed rankings
Local SEO and Google Business Profile Mastery
Local search visibility has the power to really boost your firm’s ROI over time. That makes it worth your while to look for an SEO company that knows just how important it is to your online strategy. You’re going to want to work with an agency that understands how to seamlessly optimize reviews, reputation management, and local citations. Be sure to ask how they approach your Google Business Profile, local landing pages, and Map Pack rankings to ensure local SEO is an integral part of your marketing approach at the most important points in the process.
Communication Style and Frequency
A successful long-term partnership with your SEO company requires regular and transparent standards of communication. For law firms, SEO is a significant investment, and your agency should be willing to clearly explain every step of the process whenever you’re looking for information. You can expect a professional SEO company to provide:
- Monthly reporting calls on your strategy performance
- Clear explanations of changes needed or areas that are working well
- Fast response times to your questions
- Regular check-ins for overall satisfaction of the partnership
Your firm deserves to work with an SEO partner that’s proactive, easy to reach, and aligned with your goals in the short and long-term.
Understanding of Your Specific Practice Area
The SEO approach that works well for family law firms is going to be drastically different from strategies put in place for estate planning, criminal defense, or immigration law attorneys. The SEO company you decide to work alongside must have a clear understanding of these differentiations from the very beginning. Your SEO team must know how to customize your SEO based on:
- Levels of client urgency in your field of practice
- Case value differences for the clients you serve
- Search intent of varying users looking for information online
- Intake behavior that can affect conversion rates
In the end, a one-size-fits-all approach isn’t enough when it comes to legal SEO. You need a marketing team on your side that can tailor your strategy to both your geographic market and your unique area of practice.
Contract Terms and Ownership of Assets
Signing on with an SEO company can be exciting for a law firm looking to grow its practice online. However, a contract should never be signed before you’ve taken time to review exactly who:
- Owns your content
- Owns your website
- Can legally take assets
It’s also important to verify how a contract defines contract length and cancellation terms. Far too often, general agencies create extended contracts with firms that lock them into a situation where they no longer own their website or digital assets. The SEO company you partner with should provide a contract that allows your firm to maintain ownership of your:
- Content
- Website
- Google Business Profile
- Analytics data
- Domain
Any contract that offers less is worth walking away from before signing on the dotted line.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
In a perfect world, all SEO companies would be created equal. In reality, this simply is never the case. When your firm is in the process of vetting SEO companies, or you’re wondering if you’re getting everything you paid for from your current company, there are some clear warning signs and red flags to look out for along the way.
A Promise of Guaranteed Rankings or Vague and Inconsistent Reporting
Above all, it’s important to avoid companies that tout guaranteed rankings. Google’s algorithm is one that constantly changes. This means you can know without a doubt that there’s not a single agency out there that can guarantee a top spot in rankings. It’s also vital to look out for SEO companies that offer vague reports on how your SEO strategy is performing. If your firm isn’t regularly receiving detailed reports on areas of success and improvement, you can rest assured there’s a problem at hand.
A Lack of Legal SEO Experience and Outsourced Content
It’s common for generalist marketing agencies to sign on with a firm without truly having an understanding of the ethics, legal terminology, or compliance standards required for successful legal SEO. These are agencies that are also highly likely to provide firms with AI-generated content or outsource content creation to writers who don’t have a solid legal background. If the SEO company you’re considering, or currently working with implements these practices, it’s an indicator that it’s time to part ways. Additional red flags to watch out for when considering SEO companies include:
- SEO pricing that seems too good to be true
- An inability to clearly define the strategy they plan to put in place for your firm
- A lack of open discussion around the importance of local SEO, especially related to your Google Business Profile
- Long-term contract options that don’t feature a clear exit clause
- Overall, poor standards of communication with your firm’s attorneys
- A tendency to overemphasize vague metrics around your SEO progress
Making the Final Decision
The SEO company your firm selects to work with is understandably a big decision. Choosing the right partner is key to ensuring your digital presence grows ethically, sustainably, and competitively in your marketplace. When you want to be sure you can avoid setbacks that waste your marketing budget and potentially damage your reputation over time, taking this checklist with you into the vetting process is the place to start. It’s a good way to keep the process streamlined and make sure your firm is aligning with an SEO company that’s experienced, committed, and has your firm’s best interests at heart.
How long does it take to see results from law firm SEO?
Typically, firms can count on seeing measurable results from SEO in anywhere from 3 to 6 months. Significant growth metrics often begin to show up between 6 months and the 1-year mark.
Should I hire a local agency or a national legal SEO firm?
Selecting a national agency for legal SEO is often a better choice. Compared to local generalist agencies, national legal SEO companies typically have a better understanding of legal compliance, practice area nuances, and the overall standards of competition. This leads them to frequently outperform their local agency counterparts on behalf of firms.
How much should a law firm spend on SEO monthly?
An SEO monthly budget is going to vary drastically from one law firm to the next, depending on how competitive their market is and where their practice area is located. That said, many competitive firms in high-stakes areas are known to invest anywhere from $3,000 to $15,000 per month into their SEO efforts.
Do I own my website and content if I fire my agency?
If you’ve partnered with an ethically sound SEO agency, the answer should be yes. It’s important to confirm ownership of digital assets before signing a contract with an SEO company to guarantee control of your website when you part ways.
What is the difference between SEO and lead generation services?
Lead generation services are designed to sell individual leads, many of which can be shared with multiple firms. SEO is a digital marketing strategy designed to build long-term visibility for your law firm and direct organic traffic to your website.
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